This past weekend I had the opportunity to go up to Sweden and attend Vallåkra träffen which is something I've wanted to do for quite some time. This year I was able to go for work in order to write about the show. The show takes place at a tiny community airfield in Skåne near Landskrona. It's definitely a great show - very different from car shows I've gone to in the States.
It's a 2 day show and the emphasis on the first day is on classic trucks but there are still lots of cars setup on all over the show field as well as vendors like Hankook tires, BSR, Rica and many parts chains and audio shops lining the roads leading to the runway. The local Volvo dealership group also had a stand in one of the hangars and was offering special deals on basic maintenance parts. However, if you're used to U.S. parts prices, even the sale prices would have been shocking.
Another hangar housed Bilsport Magazine and they had stacks setup with every issue from the past several years as well as some classic editions for sale. I managed to pick up a couple of issues featuring an in-depth series on tuning whiteblock motors with advice from Leif Hermansson who apparently has gotten 1,100 hp out of one.
The second day is all about the cars (although the Swedish military was there with some heavy equipment doing demonstrations and even having a tank race which was one of the loudest things I've ever heard).
Most major car brands were represented but probably 75% of the cars there are Volvos. The organizers told me they were expecting something like 3000 cars but it was very cold and rainy on Sunday morning which probably kept a number of people away although there quite a few cars from Finland as well as Norway and Denmark and a small group from the German Volvo Club.
Here are some photos from the two days:
Saab Story
The trucks
Some of the show cars:
The judges own cars:
The Volvos:
Not Laser Blue:
From Russia:
The Nordic R Club: