The vets vintage car blog

The Saab 900 Rose Quartz (1986) was owned by my uncle until the autumn when I turned 4 years old, and I still remember it well. It had beautiful luxury pink plush upholstery and a hood that opened forward, just like my dad’s Lada 2102 (which my dad had for about eight months longer; I’ve written about that here on my car blog). My brother and I always thought the Saab looked gray, but my uncle insisted it was pink, and we always teased him about it. It turned out that the car was indeed named Rose Quartz, and its actual color was pink. I've always thought the Saab 900 was cool. During my childhood and teenage years, I really admired my uncle's model, but more recently, I've come to believe that the earlier models are even cooler. For example, the 1979 Saab 900 GLE Aspen police car was produced in limited numbers for the American police force in Aspen. There were also several Saab 900 MK1 Aspen police cars produced in later models, along with the Saab 99. Even more Saab Asp...

Even worse mafia cars were probably the Camrys of our neighbors. One drove a Toyota Camry model from 1982 to 1986, and the other drove a model from 1986 to 1991. Both were some crazy neighbors, and the one with the newer model (who was the worst) was said to be an 'old Nazi.' The Toyota Camry was reportedly also the most stolen car in the U.S. in the '90s and 2000s. This 'Nazi' was said to have driven one with a star on the hood. But back to the Toyota Carina... My dad forgot to check the oil for a while because the oil light stopped working. This resulted in the engine developing a knocking sound just before we were going to scrap the car. In July 1999, we drove it extra hard after parking it outside in a field during an orienteering event. There was a lot of mud in the area, making it difficult to get out. I think driving it so hard to get out of the field was really bad, considering the car already had engine knocking. I remember when we took the Toyota to the ju...

My folks had themselves a Renault 12 station wagon since they were newlyweds, all the way until my sister was about three years old and my brother was still on the way. That ol' car broke down after Mom and Dad built their house. Lookin' back, I reckon it must’ve taken a whole lot of wear and tear during its time. The Renault 12 was a ride that AMC Motors (American Motor Corporation) teamed up with Renault to churn out for the American market, callin' it the AMC Renault 12. By the '90s, there weren’t many Renault 12s left in Norway, especially not the station wagon kind. There were also some real nifty versions of the Renault 12, like the Renault 12 Alpine and Renault 12 Gordini. I once spotted a  Citroën GS  sittin' in the ditch near Minde on the old E134, just before Kongsberg. It was snowy, dark, and slippery. My mom mentioned that my old aunt, who also drove a Citroën, had spun out in this neck of the woods after possibly attendin' some party in the Dramme...

I remember seein' two Toyota Hiace MK2 s parked in a garage belonging to some mechanics who lived just down the road from where I grew up. As for the Toyota Liteace, someone I know had one back in the early '80s. The Liteace MK2 is a different kind of vehicle compared to the Hiace MK2, but they look similar enough that I reckon they belong together in this post. My parents’ friends also had a Toyota Hiace in the '90s. Oddly enough, the fella had the same name as the guy who drove the Liteace back in the early '80s. The Toyota Hiace is known as a cool classic camper van, perfect for goin' on holidays. I once spotted a 1985 model for sale down in Grenland in the old Telemark county, and it was covered in stickers from the orienteering event Sørlandsgaloppen. So, if you're an active orienteer over 50 with kids who’ve flown the nest, and you're lookin' to explore new interests, you could snag one of these to take on vacations, to orienteering events, and to ...

Back in the day, some orienteers that Ma and Pa knew out in Kolsås owned a Buick Century from around 1939-1940. Most of the time, that ol’ beauty just sat there in their garage. These folks were also behind the 'Flaggspretten' orienteering event in Bærum and had once been part of the now-defunct Lommedalen Orienteering Club. Nowadays, orienteering and 'turorientering' (hiking-based orienteering) have really made a comeback for the first time since the '80s, especially 1987—the year I was born. Now, we ain’t sayin' orienteering doesn’t fit in with car enthusiasts. This old couple had other hobbies besides orienteering, too. You can bet all those nature-loving folks loved to drive their classic cars, decked out with flags and May 17th flowers, especially during Norway's Constitution Day celebrations in May. My old principal had a  Chevrolet National Tourer/Chevrolet Independence  from 1931 just sittin' in his garage, kinda like the orienteers' Buick. I...

(This is the kind of Nissan Cherry my aunt must've had. I wonder if this picture was taken in front of the swimming pool?) Simca sure made a name for itself with some mighty impressive models, especially in the rally scene. One of their most iconic rally cars was the Simca 1000 Rallye series , particularly the Rallye 2 and Rallye 3 models. These little speedsters were built for performance, with powerful engines and sharp handling, making 'em favorites in European motorsports back in the '70s. Both my grandmother and aunt are said to have owned a Simca. My grandmother still had hers when she passed away when I was 5. The car had been sitting in the garage unused for the last few years of her life. Apparently, my brother, who was 7 at the time, managed to start up the engine while it was still parked in the garage. Simca definitely made some stylish and powerful rally models! My aunt also had an old 1984 Nissan Cherry . It was blue, with the logo of the conservative party p...