The 2017 Summer Escape – Dreaming of the Sandman

The recent sad events in Barcelona have cast shadows over vans and cars.

These long endemic societal enablers that mobilised millions and built countries, now momentarily viewed as social disablers when deployed maliciously.

But such events as a direct impact upon the average individual are still extremely improbable.

And as such vans and cars must continue to be recognised as the near miracles of mobility that they actually represent, and not as potential weapons against the public by a miniscule number of antagonists.

(NB recognise the immeasurable social relief brought about every day thanks to the motorised capabilities of the emergency services).

So, as we enter the 'back-end' of summer what better depiction of the holiday spirit and the joy of FUNctional mobility than the iconic 1970s Australian Holden Sandman.

This car-derived ute and van 'hybrid' served what was then still an up and coming nation, used as both daily work-horses and weekend/holiday retreat mechanisms.

So helping to take the nation itself from a global 'backwater' toward its full potential of economic maturity and a global cornerstone.

The spirit of this utility-van now seen elsewhere across the globe, by GM, VW, FIAT and others, from Brazil to South Africa to SE Asia and far beyond - even as 'proper pickups' take increased market share - and wherein some of tomorrow's generations will inevitably be conceived thanks to many people's own 'highway holidays' to the coast and their own experience of a 'summer of love'.

In need of its own escape, the investment-auto-motives weblog returns in mid September.