AŠKODALOVESTORY
Foralmosthalfacentury,theIcelandicsalesmanandaccordionplayerhasboughtcars
ofonlyonebrand:ŠKODA.
T
hisuniquelovestorystartedwithadarkgreenŠKODA1000MBgiventhe
nameKossinn,whichmeansTheKiss.Thatwasin1968,whenFriðjón
Hallgrímssonboughthisfirstcaralongwithhisfatherandbrother.Since
then,therehavebeen12more.
JOINTCUSTODYOFACAR
ThisdarkgreenvehicleturnedouttobeaveryinfluentialinvestmentforFriðjón,who
hasnotboughtacarofanyotherbrandsince.Hisfatherdidn’thaveadrivinglicence,
soFriðjónandhisbrotherhadjointcustodyofthevehicle.Theywerereallyfondoftheir
newfamilyfriend,andsoonitgotaname.“AtthattimeitwascommoninIceland
tonameyourcars.MyfriendhadaWillysjeephenamedTwiggy,likethefashionmodel,
becausethecarwasskinnyandwithoutanytrim.MybrotherandInamedthecarThe
Kiss,andthenamefititperfectly,”saysHallgrímsson,whokeptthecarforfiveyears
andthenboughtanotheronejustlikeitbutthistimewithoutanyfamilymembers.
Forty-nineyearslater,heisonhis13thcar,aŠKODARAPID,andhehasnointention
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page1of8
oftryinganyotherbrand.ButwhatisitabouttheCzechcarbrandthathasmadeFriðjón
oneofthemostloyalŠKODAcustomersintheworld?“OneofthereasonsisthatI’m
veryconservativeandI’malsoquitestubborn.ŠKODAdidn’thavethebestreputation
earlyonandsomepeoplewouldbadmouthit.Iwouldn’tletanyonetalktrashabout
mycarsandwantedtoprovethemwrong.
Sure,therewereafewhiccupsinthe‘70s–forexamplewhenthelockswouldfreeze
upinthewinter,butitdidn’tbothermethatmuch.Butthemainreasonformyloyalty
toŠKODAisthefactthatit’smyfavouritecarbrand.It’seconomical,apleasuretodrive,
andmorespaciousthananyothercarbrandIknow.Iliketocompareittopeople.Two
peoplecanbeofthesameheightandweightbutbecompletelydifferent.It’sthesame
withcars.AŠKODAandanotherbrandcanbeofthesamesize,buttheŠKODA
issomehowmuchmorespacious.Idon’tknowhowtheydoit.”
FriðjónHallgrímsson
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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TheKiss
Partofthefamily
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page3of8
“IhavealwaysfeltlikeIhadaguardianangelandperhaps
Iwasbornunderaluckystar,maybeaŠKODAstar.Idon’t
wanttojinxit”
HallgrímssonwithRagnarBorgþórsson
BORNUNDERALUCKYSTAR
Friðjón’ssecondandthirdcarswerealsoŠKODA1000MBs.Atfirst,theywereused
astypicalfamilycars,butthatchangedwhenhestartedworkingasatravelingsalesman
in1974,sellingcollectedwritingsalloverthecountry.Friðjóncouldn’tfitallthebooks
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page4of8
intothecarbutdidn’twanttobuyabiggeroneandsohadtofindasolution.“Iremoved
allthecarseatsexceptforthedriver'sseat,stuffedthecarwithbooks,andheadedfor
theopenroad.MeanwhileIwouldkeepthecarseatsinmygarageandwhenIcame
backhomefrommytripsIwouldputtheminagainanddrivethecarasusual.Mybook
carattractedattentionandpeoplethoughtitwasabitfunny,buteverybodywelcomed
mewithopenarms,”saysFriðjónwhospentsevenyearsasatravelingsalesman,
anoccupationthatwouldtakehimonendlesstripsaroundthecountryandprovidehim
withanabundanceofadventureandanecdotes.“Ihavebeentoeverytowninthe
countryandvisitedthemostisolatedfarms.Someofthemwerepracticallyinthemiddle
ofnowherewithalmostimpassablegravelroads,butIwasalwaysabletoreach
mydestination,”saysFriðjónwhosometimesgotintodirestraitsonhistripsaroundthe
country.
Onceduringablizzardhehadtotrailatruckblindlyforhoursbecausehecouldnotsee
athingexceptforthetaillightsofthetruckinfrontofhim.ThefunnythingisFriðjón
arrivedhomesafeandsoundinhissmallcarwhilethetruckgotstuckinsnowafterthey
hadpartedways.
AnothertimehegotintoabitofadilemmaaftersellingbooksinDjúpivogur,asmall
townof456peopleineasternIceland.Hewastravelling103kilometrestoHöfnalong
acurvingroadwithahandfuloffarmswhenthetripwentawry.“Ihadfilledthetank
atDjúpivogurbutonthewaytherewasaroadgraderinfrontofmethatleftaridge
ofsnowontheroadthatIhadtogetover.AfterdrivingawhileIlookedatthegaugeand
noticedthecarwasalmostoutofpetrol–theridgehadtornaholeinthetankandIwas
inthemiddleofnowherewithnoinhabitedareainsight.
IdecidedtoputmytrustinmyŠKODAanddrivelikeamaniactoHöfn.Imadeitjust
intimebeforeIrancompletelyoutofpetrolandtheguysatthestationfixedthehole
inthetank.Ihaveafewmorestorieslikethesethatalwaysendedwell,whichisinpart
whyIhaveneverwantedtochangecarbrands.IhavealwaysfeltlikeIhadaguardian
angelandperhapsIwasbornunderaluckystar,maybeaŠKODAstar.Idon’twant
tojinxit.”Friðjónsayswithasmileandawink.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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Aproudowner
“ThemainreasonformyloyaltytoŠKODAisthefactthat
it’smyfavouritecarbrand”
ANEVERLASTINGLOVESTORY
Friðjónhasbeenasalesmanmostofhislife.Nowretired,hecanfocusonhisinterests,
whichincludetravelingandcampingwithhisfamilyandfriends.He’salsoanavid
accordionplayerandchairmanoftheAccordionClubinReykjavík.Sincehegothisfirst
ŠKODAhehasbeenoncountlesscampingtripsandtoaccordionfestivalsalloverthe
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page6of8
country.Hiscarshavealwaysbeenapartofhisadventures.
Askedaboutthemostmemorablemoments,herecallsdrivingtothewesternmostpoint
ofIceland,thebeautifulLátrabjarg,whichisalineofcliffs14kilometreslongandashigh
as441metresatonepoint.Healsorecallsaveryspecialdayin1995;theday
hemarriedhissecondwife,GuðrúnSigurðardóttir.Theweddingencompassedallhis
favouritethings:hisbelovedwife,beautifulsceneryinthecountryside,accordionmusic,
andhisbeige-colouredŠKODAFELICIA.“Wepackedupourcarandwenttoanaccordion
festivalinthecountryside.Wegotmarriedoutdoorsandspentthenightinourtent.
Itwasperfect.”
Hallgrímsson’scurrentcar,aŠKODARAPID,ishis13thŠKODA.ItwasinDecember2013
thatoneofhisfavouriteŠKODAsalesmen,RagnarBorgþórsson,gotintouchwithhim
andtoldhimaboutthisnewtypeofŠKODAthatpiquedhisinterest.“Itwasthefirst
RAPIDthatwasregisteredinIcelandandofcourseIboughtit.It’sthefirstdieselcar
Ieverbought,andImustsayI’mreallyhappywithit.It’sefficient,apleasuretodrive,
anditcaneasilytowmytrailertent.
Ialsolikethelookofit.IhavealwayslikedtheŠKODAlook,butIhavetosaythattheir
designkeepsgettingbetterandbetter.Mydreamcar,theŠKODASUPERB,isthebest
exampleofthat.It’sreallygorgeousandclassy,butIdon’tneedsuchabigcarandthe
RAPIDfitsmeandmywifejustfinefornow.”AskediftheRAPIDwillbehislastŠKODA
Friðjónisadamant.“Noway.Ihavehad13ofthembutthereisstilltimeformore,”
hesayswithsuchenthusiasmthatoneisconvincedthisuniquelovestorywilllast
forever.”
Amanandhiscar
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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ŠKODAFELICIA
Dreamcar:ŠKODASUPERB
Wouldyouliketolearnmore?
Pleasecontacttheresponsibleperson.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page8of8