1997 Chevrolet Astro Van AWD LT

Walkaround and Test Drive
1997 Chevrolet Astro Van AWD LT – Vortec 4.3L V6, 190 HP
4L60E transmission with all-wheel drive

This nearly 30-year-old van is still going strong at 347,000 km (217,000 mi). Surprisingly, it has very little rust and has never needed rust repairs—just regular undercoating. A paint job has been done at some point.

About this "Conversion"
This is another example of a crazy Danish tax exemption available for certain vehicles.
If a car, van, or truck has 10 or more seats (including the driver), it is classified as a bus. That means there’s no registration tax—only 25% VAT. In contrast, the normal tax on passenger cars, including VAT, is around 180% (yes, really!).

To put it in perspective, the price of this 10-seater conversion is approximately one-third of a normal 7-seater!

Some restrictions come with this great deal, though:

A bus driver’s license (Category D) is required.
Annual inspections are mandatory.
On the plus side, the road tax is significantly lower—only around $120/€110 annually, compared to about $1,200/€1,150 for a regular 7-seater!
To qualify as a 10-seater bus, some modifications were necessary:

Emergency exit signs were added.
Window-breaking hammers for emergencies were installed.
A fire extinguisher was fitted.
As shown in the video, two folding seats under the homemade tray in the rear make up the last two seats!

EDIT: Unfortunately, the footage showing the rear seats in operation was lost—sorry about that!

CHECK OUT this video and read about another true story about our car-hating "IRS" in Denmark
(IRS in Denmark is named SKAT, "skat" means tax , but it also means "treasure" and "darling" in Danish!!)
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