Made in Sweden

February 17, 2010 2:21 PM

F*** YOU I DRIVE A VOLVO.
posted by iviken (62 comments total)

Related, there's an orange Volvo that drives around Ballard (the traditionally Scanda-hoovian neighborhood of Seattle) with a Swedish flag painted on the roof called the General Leif.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:29 PM on February 17, 2010 [24 favorites]

F*** YOU SO DOES THIS SPARKLY GUY.
posted by sallybrown at 2:32 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

And it's always heartening to know people think the Confederate Flag is emblematic of American cool.
posted by sallybrown at 2:34 PM on February 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

Is there anything here that is interesting?
posted by Burhanistan at 2:36 PM on February 17, 2010

From the fifth link:

When The Sex Pistols played in Sweden on July 28, 1977, a group of raggare waited outside and cornered some young girls who came out from the show. The girls had safety pins through their cheeks, and the raggare ripped them right out their faces.

Ah, so now I know what the Swedish word for "douchebag" is. Groovy.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:37 PM on February 17, 2010

I just learned that "peckerwood" was/is a racial slur originally used by southern blacks to describe southern whites. Here in MA, we used to throw it around in high school in a way that could be described as being synonymous with "dickhead".

Is this still used as a racial slur in the South today?
posted by rollbiz at 2:37 PM on February 17, 2010

F***

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:43 PM on February 17, 2010 [5 favorites]

Volvooooo! The Amazon kind!
posted by snottydick at 2:43 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Related, there's an orange Volvo that drives around Ballard (the traditionally Scanda-hoovian neighborhood of Seattle) with a Swedish flag painted on the roof called the General Leif.

That's actually the Norwegian flag. The Swedish flag is yellow nordic-cross on a blue background.
posted by iigloo at 2:46 PM on February 17, 2010

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.

Or this.
posted by Elmore at 2:52 PM on February 17, 2010 [6 favorites]

The only Volvo I've owned was not the kind of car to insult strangers from, at least if you wanted to get away in a hurry.

Although I suppose if they'd tried to ram me, they would have bounced off like a peashooter against a brick wall. That thing was heavy.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:53 PM on February 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

Yeah it's stupid shirt, but there are so many stupid offensive shirts around that this one doesn't really strike me as being THAT bad. I mean if you're Swedish and you are supporting your local car then whatever, it's idiotic but semi relevant ..but if you're using it as some kind of status symbol, then Fuck You- you're a tool.
posted by Liquidwolf at 2:54 PM on February 17, 2010

I just learned that "peckerwood" was/is a racial slur originally used by southern blacks to describe southern whites. Here in MA, we used to throw it around in high school in a way that could be described as being synonymous with "dickhead".

Is this still used as a racial slur in the South today?

I've lived in the south for 40+ years and never heard of it having racial connotations. It may have at one time, but I have mainly heard it used by whites to describe other whites.
posted by TedW at 2:54 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

That's actually the Norwegian flag. The Swedish flag is yellow nordic-cross on a blue background.

And wikipedia tells me Leif Ericson was born in Iceland. Shit, that kinda ruins it. Like the General Lee with a Canadian flag on it. And named the Lord Nelson.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 2:59 PM on February 17, 2010 [9 favorites]

When I was in Austria there seemed to be a big association with stoner culture and Confederate flags. Go figure.
posted by dunkadunc at 3:01 PM on February 17, 2010

Rude Kids' "Raggare is a Bunch of Motherfuckers" (mentioned in the Wikipedia article) is a pretty seminal piece of Swedish punk.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:05 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

That thing was heavy.

Don't make the mistake of confusing ponderous handling, lousy brakes, and ill-functioning steering linkage with high curb weight. Today's cars of roughly the same size are generally heavier than "old" Volvos.

For example, a new Honda Accord weighs roughly 500 pounds more than a 1991 Volvo 240 wagon.
posted by The World Famous at 3:13 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

sallybrown : And it's always heartening to know people think the Confederate Flag is emblematic of American cool.

I attribute this to the fact that, devoid of it's history, the battle flag is actually quite aesthetically pleasing, and was popularized by a TV show that made it "cool" without malice (except to fat, corrupt politicians and sycophantic cops) to people unfamiliar with why it riles some Americans up.

The fact that it's tied to an image of "rebels" doesn't help, either.

All that said; I'd kinda like to drive a fucking Volvo. I hear they are boxy, but good.
posted by quin at 3:13 PM on February 17, 2010

I'm sorry, but this line:

When Patrik (Mehlqvist, 31) arrived they exchanged a couple of less-than-friendly glances, eyeing up each other’s Dodge Coronets in a sort of Mexican standoff on wheels.

is right out of the Onion, right?
posted by mark242 at 3:16 PM on February 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

I thought you needed three people for a Mexican standoff.
posted by dunkadunc at 3:18 PM on February 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

Nope, my Mexican co-worker Arturo and I had a stand-off a few years ago. He totally won, man, that dude could just stand for hours. I was way out of my league.
posted by quin at 3:28 PM on February 17, 2010 [10 favorites]

I spent several years of my childhood (in the 1980s) in a small Eastern Finnish town famous for its lively raggare scene. 1950s music. Rockabilly hairdos. And yes, confederate flags everywhere. Most of the guys draping their cars with it explained it as "just a racist flag", but I met one or two who launched into a rant about how the Southern States should secede from the Union.

It was bizarre.

Dear god I hated that place.
posted by sively at 3:33 PM on February 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

About a week ago I was walking in the area adjacent to the central station here in Stockholm. At this time of year, the cold and wet season, plattan (as it is known) has a sort of Christmas market going on. The sweatshirt to the right was one of the fine items on sale.

"Plattan" is local slang for Sergels Torg which is no where near the Central Station.

And a "raggare" is someone who drives a classic American car.

Wearing a T-shirt in Sweden that says "Fuck You - I drive a Volvo" would translate as "Fuck Me. I drive a Volvo." ("Fuck Me" as in feel sorry for me.)
posted by three blind mice at 3:36 PM on February 17, 2010

They rock and they roll but they won't fall down!
posted by HTuttle at 3:37 PM on February 17, 2010

wait until they finally start getting Happy Days episodes over there in Europe. Raggare are going to go crazy for the Fonz.
posted by nowoutside at 3:41 PM on February 17, 2010

"peckerwood" Is this still used as a racial slur in the South today?

It may have at one time, but I have mainly heard it used by whites to describe other whites.

Only another peckerwood can call a peckerwood a perckerwood.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:49 PM on February 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

Right now I'm driving two. I LOVE them. Seriously, you can't kill the things. I've had three prior to these two and have yet to spend more than $500 combined in repairs. I only got rid of them because I got bored with them.

So "Fuck you-I drive a Volvo" is a sentiment I feel when I drive by a mechanic or someone is telling me about how their car is in the garage again.
posted by sourwookie at 3:55 PM on February 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

Right now I'm driving two.

Driving two cars while posting on the internet. Awesome.
posted by Elmore at 4:05 PM on February 17, 2010 [8 favorites]

I met my wife in 1996 or so, and, within days of knowing her, told her that she really needed to trade the old Volvo 240 wagon in.... I was driving a Jeep Cherokee at the time.

I traded the Red Cherokee for a new white one... and, a few years later, traded that for a Wrangler.

I got tired of the Wrangler, and traded that for a new Subaru... and, eventually went back to Jeep with a Liberty....

It's now 2010, my wife is still driving the same Volvo 240 shoebox, and I've spent the past 14 years making car payments.

So, I totally get the "Fuck you, I drive a Volvo!" thing....
posted by HuronBob at 4:07 PM on February 17, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'd like to hand these shirts out in Berkeley.
posted by brundlefly at 4:22 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

The NYC version of that shirt wouls say "Fuck You, I Say Fuck You."
posted by jonmc at 4:34 PM on February 17, 2010 [3 favorites]

I mean, there can't honestly be someone on this planet that drives a Volvo that is so content, satisfied and down right ready to defend his choice of vehicle (unmitigated) that he would ever actually say that - let alone wear it.

Sadly, one of my classmates fits this description perfectly. (In fact, "Volvo" is the second item on his list of Facebook interests, directly following "Foreign Food".)
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 4:49 PM on February 17, 2010

Ok, that techno song in the one video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdfq7uWKFH8) is adorable. I must have it. Anyone know what it is?
posted by Jinkeez at 5:24 PM on February 17, 2010

My Baldar Volvo offers protection against the Loki Prius and Element and Lexus Nexus 6.
posted by effluvia at 5:33 PM on February 17, 2010

Fuck You, I drive a Hyundai!

We're just saying fuck you right? Like for fun? FUCK YOU! Hi Jonmc, how's it hanging?
posted by Divine_Wino at 5:49 PM on February 17, 2010

I drive a PT Cruiser, because it was cheap. It's retro-ish. Does this mean I can chill with those dudes?
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:49 PM on February 17, 2010

klang's formative driving experiences were in a 1989 740GL (circa 1995-7). That car might have lived forever if he didn't have a little brother who also learned to drive on said Volvo. He found out that bending rims on a 10 yr old Volvo = totalled car. Plus the headliner eerily draped everyone's head by the time it was 10.

OTOH the Volvo 240 was a noble, eternal beast. HuronBob, there's a faded baby blue 240 in our part of the county that has a bumper sticker proclaiming "Working on my 2nd Million Miles."

Of course, my grandmother has better pickup, and she's been dead 8 years.

Oh, and Fuck you, I drive a SAAB.
posted by klangklangston at 5:52 PM on February 17, 2010

Totally derailing on "peckerwood" here, but currently it's most used as prison slang for white inmates who are affiliated with one of a variety of white-power skinhead gangs. See Wikipedia and UD.
posted by rusty at 6:07 PM on February 17, 2010

Heh. So, I see I left myself logged in at my folks' house again.

My formative driving experiences were primarily in a Taurus that I totaled. And technically, my current slogan is "Fuck you, I ride the bus." (Catchier than "Fuck you, sometimes I drive my girlfriend's Focus.")
posted by klangklangston at 6:07 PM on February 17, 2010

My Volvo 240 had 243,000 miles on it and was 23 years old when I finally got rid of it.
Sadly, I got it right at the end of its life.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:22 PM on February 17, 2010

I've never driven anything but a 240, and hopefully never will. They're cheap as hell, unkillable, and so safe that I've walked away without a scratch after being rear-ended by a car travelling 60 miles an hour. Plus they look hella tight.

But there's no way that I could wear a "Fuck you, I drive a Volvo" shirt with a straight face. That's like saying, "Fuck you, I floss," or "Fuck you, I enjoy a nice cup of tea." Which I do, but still.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 7:17 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hi Jonmc, how's it hanging?

Ok. I just recovered from bruised ribs and freinds of ours are getting hitched. Meet me at Bar None one of these days and I'll update ya, motherfucker.
posted by jonmc at 7:43 PM on February 17, 2010

Also, fuck you all sideways, I take the subway.
posted by jonmc at 7:47 PM on February 17, 2010

I've owned a 240 for 19 years (230k miles) and never had an engine or transmission problem, despite multiple fender-crunchers. Of course, the body has been falling apart in bits and pieces for years. As my mechanic says, "You drive them to the junkyard."

How ironic that such an obvious family-ferry would have a male symbol in the middle of its grill. (Though it's not, apparently.)

Instead, I always though a fitting counterpart to TruckNutz would be the Volva^TM.
posted by gottabefunky at 7:57 PM on February 17, 2010

I'm usually standing up if I'm on the subway. Please fuck me vertically instead.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:59 PM on February 17, 2010

Fuck you, I ride a bike.

Ahh, now that's good smug :-)
posted by Mister_A at 9:47 PM on February 17, 2010

Fuck You, I drive a Hyundai!

Oh god, as someone else who once could have proclaimed that by way of my wife's car, all I can say is "I'm deeply sorry, and I hope you can move on from this point..."

Seriously, I don't like to do the anthropomorphizing thing much, but that car fucking hated me. Luckily it chose suicide before I had an opportunity to murder it. Because I had a plan that involved a bit of det-cord, a jack-hammer, and a considerable amount of thermite.

I planned on explaining it as an "Act of A Vengeful God" to the insurance company.
posted by quin at 10:08 PM on February 17, 2010

Ok, that techno song in the one video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdfq7uWKFH8) is adorable. I must have it. Anyone know what it is?

Busshunter, Fjortisdunk.
posted by iviken at 10:48 PM on February 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

I've owned an '83 240 Turbo and '89 240, both wagons. Although the '83 was a much better ride I think I miss driving the '89 more, especially in Manhattan. Nothing says, "Go ahead and hit me, I don't care," like a beat up, rust spotted Volvo.
posted by Lokisbane at 11:33 PM on February 17, 2010

I've owned two Dutch made Volvo 340 models. A really fun car to drive, especially because it has a reputation of being driven by geriatric drivers. People gave you lots of space on the road. Jeremy Clarkson hated this model especially.
I've always wondered what was up with the male symbol in the logo though.
posted by charles kaapjes at 12:02 AM on February 18, 2010

Any subculture that idolizes Rebel Without a Cause based on its iconic imagery while ignoring the incredibly awful story about the horrors of feminism deserves to drive old cars.
posted by srboisvert at 2:01 AM on February 18, 2010

Volvo means "I roll" in Latin, which, ironically, is quite cool.
posted by Onanist at 3:24 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Fuck you. I'm an anteater.
posted by hypersloth at 3:35 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

Jinkeez : Ok, that techno song in the one video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdfq7uWKFH8) is adorable. I must have it. Anyone know what it is?

Well Shazaam says it's "Brian Wilson says" by Tears for Fears. I have a sneaking suspicion that this may not be 100% accurate...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 4:19 AM on February 18, 2010

Suck My Dick, I'm A Shark

Also, my dream car is a murdered-out '83 240 DL. Doom Wagon Forever.
posted by FatherDagon at 7:22 AM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

huh. so what you're saying is that my battered grey '96 850 sedan that's been a lawn ornament for the past four months cos I've never gotten round to getting it past emissions is some kind of nerdcore cool? or else I suck because I'm apparently a Scandinavian wigger kid? Or I'm cooler than everyone else by default because I ride my bike(s) instead? I've lost track of this thread.

I think it all equals out anyway because 2 of the 7 bikes I ride in lieu of my clapped out Volvo happen to be fixies... maybe someone on MeFi can come up with an equation for this?
posted by lonefrontranger at 7:43 AM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I drive a murdered out '88 245, and you can't have it.
posted by sluggo at 7:44 AM on February 18, 2010

Sodium, yeah, my phone's TrackID thing was clueless, too -- luckily, iviken has come to the rescue! His answer is above :)
posted by Jinkeez at 8:32 AM on February 18, 2010

Is this still used as a racial slur in the South today?

Yes. I haven't had 40 years of sampling, but I've been called both a peckerwood and a spook, but never casper, which is my favorite. Perhaps unusually for those who might get called a peckerwood, I've spent a lot of time with people who might use such a pejorative

Haven't you people seen Back to the Future?
posted by cmoj at 9:48 AM on February 18, 2010

Sodium, yeah, my phone's TrackID thing was clueless, too -- luckily, iviken has come to the rescue! His answer is above :)

A little more googling - the song "Fjortisdunk" (also known as "Do you wanna be my fjortisboy") is credited various artists, but it seems the correct answer is Burken ft. Erikane:
"It’s not commonly known who “Burken” and “Erikane” is, but their song “Do you wanna be my fjortisboy” has reached some success through filesharing."

There's also the speed up version, and several fan made videos.

The song is not on iTunes or Spotify, the artist does not have a page at MySpace or anywhere else, it seems. The song was probably posted here first, but the link to the MP3-download does not work anymore.
posted by iviken at 10:13 AM on February 18, 2010

I drive a Hard Bargain.

Keeping it on the road is pretty hard, but it was a bargain.
posted by Elmore at 4:42 PM on February 18, 2010

The only time I've heard "peckerwood" used in any way was in Back to the Future 2, where the lead singer of the band at The Dance calls Biff's deputy "peckerwood" in response to something he said (might have called him "boy" in that way). In this way it was clearly used by a black man against a white one, but at the time I didn't know it's meaning, but it sounded bad.

Also, now that I think about it, the whole band was totally hot-boxing the fuck out of that car...
posted by Xoder at 5:41 PM on February 18, 2010