7th OF JUNE 2020
OUTSIDE ARVID ÅKERLUND’S GARAGE
It was a lovely summer evening, the calm sound of an open fire burning was interrupted every now and then by some laughter and storytelling, but still everything was very laidback and peaceful, when all of a sudden…
“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM”
MATS: For some reason, I am willing to bet that the thumping bass comes from a clapped out 1996 Farox Cielo wagon, on cheap Ebay coilovers, white with rattlecan flat black panda pattern and a “Save the manuals” sticker in the rear window…
ERIK: The odds are on your side, there is no chance that it is coming from something else…
The sound of the music blasting from the speakers became louder and louder, and the old Farox entered with a handbrake turn.
ARVID: Hey, young boy! Be careful with my gravel!
FILIP: You told me that you needed some help?
ARVID: Yes! Look, we have a fire there. And there we have too many sausages. And there we have too many cases of beer. Do you think that the three of us can get rid of all of this alone? Now, have some sausages while we are discussing our plan!
FILIP: But how about the car then?
ARVID: Well, we are finished. I patched up the floorboards with sheetmetal from some old barrels, that will have to do. We found the wipers in a box in the boot so we put them back, they might come in handy. Then we removed the chrome trim, it was in such a great condition that we felt that it was unnecessary to smash it up. But believe it or not, they were held in place with rubber cement! So it left no holes but I guess they are there somewhere underneath all the fibreglass filler. Then we had some racing livery made for it… (Laughing). It looks kind of a parody now but this is about having fun after all.
FILIP: Yeah…but when I heard about this, I thought that we were getting something cool, not a 50 year old grannymobile…
ARVID: The Manaoz was far from a grannymobile when new, they had great success in rallying with it and you could almost buy speedparts in the grocery store. I think you need to learn some car history, young man…
FILIP: Yeah…but old cars are so…boring.
ARVID: So, what is your dream car then?
FILIP: You already know that, it is a Toyota AE86!
ARVID: May I remember you that the AE86 is almost 40 years old at the moment?
FILIP: Yeah, but…it’s not like from the…50s or something.
ARVID: Young boy, I started with 50s cars in the late 60s and early 70s. They were considered worthless by then. And I thought the opposite, some people even thought that a new Proletariat was better than most old stuff, I laughed at them, I bought lots of fun old sports and luxury cars back then, if I had kept them all they would have been worth many millions now, but I got them for nothing at all.
FILIP: Yeah, but…
ARVID: So, what do you think about the cars of today then?
FILIP: Well, they are quite boring, it seems like everybody is building bland FWD crossovers, just look at the 90s and 00s, we got stuff like the Mk4 Supra, the Lancer Evo, Impreza WRX and now we have…nothing.
ARVID: So, do you see any similarities?
FILIP: Uhm, I guess I do…
ERIK: And have you driven on a track ever before?
FILIP: No, I haven’t…
ERIK: Believe me, it’s something completely different compared to thinking that you are king of the streets in your crappy old Farox. It will be an experience even on a mobility scooter then.
ARVID: Now, it’s time for something very important.
FILIP: What?
ARVID: We can’t put you on the track with no experience of the car whatsoever. So, before you start to empty the beer bottles, take a test drive with it. And just drive as hard as you dare, it’s better if it breaks down now than if it breaks on the track, we have almost a week to repair it now. It’s in the garage!
A while later, Filip left the garage and entered the neighbourhood with squealing tyres
MATS: Youngsters…they think they know it all.
ERIK: Yeah. It’s a good thing that we weren’t like that.
After what seems like forever, the powder blue old chariot from the Faroe islands came back.
FILIP: THIS IS THE MOST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD! Who thought that a car from 1970 even could be this fun? Amazing! It’s so…light! And the throttle response, wow! And it’s a manual, how cool! I regret everything I said now! Where can I get one? I want one myself!
ARVID: Well, there is more to it than meets the eye.
FILIP: But seriously, that checkerboard livery, what kind of drugs were you on?
ERIK: It was cool in the 90s when I was your age.
FILIP: Yeah, but that was like 100 years ago.
MATS: And now you are onto that again… Really, I am pretty sure that people will laugh at your damn Farox in 20 years, and to be honest, most people already do!
FILIP: Yeah, whatever, can we talk about something else? I’m putting the car back in the garage…
A while later someone was yelling from the garage
FILIP: HEY! ARVID! IS THIS CAR TOP SECRET IN SOME KIND OF WAY?
ARVID: Hahaha, no of course not, why are you asking?
FILIP: WELL, THEN I AM GOING TO PUT A PICTURE ON THE TRAFIKJOURNALEN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT!
And a while later, this picture was uploaded on the Instagram account…
MATS: Well, the youngsters might be annoying, but sometimes they are useful when they have their nose buried in their iPhone…
TO BE CONTINUED!
(Now, if anyone wants to use the last part of this story for RPing, you’re more than welcome!)