This single shot caught my eye at the Cohort. It was posted by LDeren, and the date-time stamps say June 28, 2014. Given how close that date is to the summer solstice, I’d guess this was taken pretty late at night. So this is where ’59 Cadillacs go for their retirement.
Cohort Outtake: Helsinki Night
– Posted on August 9, 2014
Better to live the good life in retirement in original splendor in Scandinavia than to have questionable chrome aftermarket wheels installed, being painted pearlescent bile green and have a 350 Chevy dropped in.
In my humble opinion!
+1
or suffer the indignity of bouncing along as low rider.
+1 there’s some stunning restorations of American cars in Scandinavia.Some horrible things are done to classic cars to”improve” them.Engine swaps,suspension mods,lairy paint and monster wheels with rubber band tyres and a set of speakers Motorhead could use are pet hates of mine
+1
Yes there are a lot of old Cadillacs coming to Scandinavia/North-Eastern Europe. Might be a 10y old picture, but all the cars on it are still on the roads come summer time.
Looks just like central Stockholm on a summer weekend night – similar architecture, overhead trolleybus cables, bland colored Mercedes and Audis, and flamboyant American land yachts lording over them. Makes me a bit nostalgic for last year!
The large building on the left of the pic looked vaguely familiar to me. It’s the Sokos Hotel Vakuuna, and I stayed there one night in 1984 or 1985, on a stopover between Stockholm and Montreal.
The hotel sits atop a large department store, and I still remember the distinctive hotel room – it was quite small, even by European standards, but very well appointed and very functional. It felt very much like a boat cabin.
The following morning was a Sunday, May 1st. Looking out my hotel window, I noticed the streets were full of joyous, but very drunk revelers. May 1st is celebrated throughout Europe much like Labour Day in the U.S. and Canada, but in Finland, it also signals the end of a very long, dark, cold winter, so it’s party time! Very much a family affair, but a lot of adults were drinking out of champagne bottles – at 10 AM on a Sunday!
Later that day, the party continued on the Finnair flight to Montreal. There were four Finnish businessmen in the middle row in front of me, and throughout the 11 hour polar flight, they kept ordering double drinks from both aisles. While they were a bit noisy at times, it all remained very civilized and under control.
Love this shot.
I recall seeing something very similar in Stockholm on a summer evening about 5 years ago, before I know of CC and when I had a flat battery in my camera……
I remember seeing a big AMC fest in Sweden some while back….apparently the Javelin and AMX are HUGE over there.
I was lucky enough to spend last Sat night in central Stockholm. It was cruise night. Informal cruising on open city streets. Dominated by 60s and 50s American cars. Lots of convertibles and lots of 4 dr hardtops plus everything else you could think of. Street rods and one rat rod I saw. But even without the cruise night, you see old american cars on the road quite often. Far from Stockholm we saw a early 50s Chrysler towing an equally classic camper trailer.
Here’s a pic
what is the cost of keep an antique car there?
I have no idea, I was on vacation, I live near Chicago. But everything else costs about twice what it does in the US. Of course I have no idea what they pay there either.
I live in Puerto Rico, and near where I reside there is a gentleman who almost daily drives a 1960 convertible Coupe de Ville in outstanding original shape. Red with a white top, looks terrific. I truly admire the guy for this.
Great photo–the evening light makes the whole scene charming and the Caddy is the star!
THANK YOU for this and the additional photos ! .
I used to own a ’59 Caddy DropTop , fully optioned with Magic Eye , leather seats , Wonderbar Radio , Hydromatic drive and so on .
It used too much gas so I let the L.A.P.D. just tow it away…..
Oops .
-Nate
Been there, the downtown train station is in the background.
Working for a company that has head office in Finland I’ve been lucky to travel there a couple of times. Downtown Helsinki is a great place, they have car shows down at the pier sometimes, hmm could be a good idea for a QOTD…
DougD is right, every 1st Friday during summer months there is cruising night in Helsinki and informal (…well, after 30-odd years it’s starting to be kinda formal) gathering of classic cars at the Central Market Square, by the seaside. If you happen to be in town, check it out… the square starts to fill with cars around 7 pm