Rain Brings Out the Norwegian Lancias
I’m in a grumpy mood, the sky is heavy with rain-filled clouds, and the surroundings are colourless except the green grass. It is Sunday. On days like these, I like to stroll around the old part of my hometown in Norway, Fredrikstad. The city has one of Scandinavia’s best-preserved fortifications and within it lies charming shops and cafes. Sometimes there are old scooters and great vintage cars in the street, a perfect place to do nothing. Today it’s different, I’m restless and my clothes are damp from rainfall. Despite this, I stroll on the outskirts up on the city’s walls to get ideas and fresh air. That’s when the day takes a u-turn; I see a glimpse of something that can be nothing but a Lancia Aurelia coupe. Vittorio Janos masterpiece. I go further to bring the beauty in my eyesight. It turns out that this rainy Saturday in June will be anything other than expected. I have stumbled across the Nordic Lancia Meeting 2012 and suddenly feel energized and happy. Lancias do make rain shine.
Lancia owners may be looked upon as their cars: Passionate owners made of stern stuff. They drive their machines no matter what. When most enthusiasts would pamper their cars, these pain-loving creatures attack life head on. This is people who do not care about others’ opinions, trends or plain common sense. The vehicles are used in all weather, and a noisy gearbox or lack of lights is firmly put on the charm account. (If the starter does not work, you can just push start it, right?) Unobtainable parts are looked upon as a challenge, and people who have not understood the excellence of Lancia are looked upon as ignorant. If the vehicle fails, it is of course the owner’s fault for ignoring his maintenance routines.
No automaker has been so significant to build complex and sophisticated solutions on which there is absolutely no way to make money. However, lack of function is easily outshone by the Lancia’s brilliant sense of design. These hopeless cars make you lust for them. Lancia always created interesting cars and sometimes even timeless beauties. Maybe the essence of what makes Lancia more than just a car is that it makes a way to live.
For me, vintage Lancias recreate the time before bean counters got into the driving seats of our lives. Look at the pictures. It is simply impossible not to be seduced.
Let me see, what excuse can I come up with to get myself a Lancia?
