In my youth, probably around 1979, I had a fresh driver's license and I was looking for a car. At that time I was playing drums in Kärsäräkä (Snoutsnot), my first band. I wanted to get a van so I could haul my drums and other band equipment around.
The situation in Finland was tricky. Included in the price of a car was a thing called
"car tax" (autovero). This tax was was about 50% of the price of the car! That's right! Consequently cars were twice as expensive in Finland than let's say in neighboring Sweden. This tax was not collected on vans, so vans were much cheaper than cars. Vans had some limitations though. In vans you could only have two passengers in addition to the driver. You also had a big yellow sticker in the back of the van indicating that you were not supposed to drive that vehicle faster than 80 kilometers (50 miles) hour.
Kärsäräkä had four members, so legally I couldn't have taken the whole band to a gig in a van.
I, however, violated that law just about every day.
My dream vehicle therefore was pre- 67 VW Microbus, similar to the one below.
It had to be pre -67 because they looked so cool. 1967 was the best year for both type 1
(Bug) and type 2
(van) Volkswagens, because it was the last year with the cool body style and the first year with 12 volt electrical system. There was one of these microbuses (I think it was 1966 though) at a used car dealership near my fathers office. I was ready to buy it, but a co-worker came to see it before I bought it. He told me not to get it because there was so much rust damage near the rear axle.
My father kept telling me that I should get something cooler. He knew a guy who had a Austin-Healey, a sports car similar to the one below.
It had very low mileage ( about 8000 km since new ) and the guy was willing to let it go really cheap. I kept telling my father that I need a van and I turned that Austin-Healey down. My father told me that I was stupid. He told me that the opportunity only knocks once. There would never be another deal like that.
A couple of months later the opportunity did knock for the second time. Most of my father's customers were in the automotive field and they knew where to get a cool car. Unbelievably there was another Austin-Healey with almost as low mileage and almost as low price tag. My father was adamant. He insisted that I should get that car. I turned this one down too. My father told me that I was an idiot for not buying that car. He predicted that in few years I would regret this decision and I would be kicking myself for the rest of my life.
I did not get a microbus or any other van. I kept using my father's company van for gigging. I kept violating the law by having way too many people in the van. I seem to remember that I once had 29 people in that van. I am sure the statute of limitations has expired on this one. When I was doing my military service I finally got my first car. It was a 1963 Volvo PV Sport. (Volvo 544S in the U.S.) Similar to the one below, even the color was the same.
When I came to the U.S. to study in 1982 I had to sell my beloved Volvo. It was a great car - it was built like a tank. Actually, I think it was stronger than a tank. It was a great car for Northern European winters - the heater could be adjusted anywhere between "hot" and "way too hot". I wish I still had it.
However, now every time I see an Austin-Healey driving by I kick myself.
And I kick myself hard. My father was right and I have told him so.
