If you’ve ever doubted how much the world loves cars then you need to look no further than Iceland for the answer. Kaleo, a proud new age rock band from Iceland, recently released a single that was simply titled “Automobile.”

Kaleo’s lead singer Jökull Júlíusson and guitarist Rubin Pollock. Photo from www.islandmusic.is

Kaleo, the indie pop-rock band, emerged in 2012 with major appearances in the small Nordic island. Their appearance at Iceland’s Music Festival in November of 2012 vaulted them into fame among their countrymen.  

The Republic of Iceland has a population of 321,857 and a total area of 40,000 square miles, which makes it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The country is volcanically and geologically active and the interior consists mainly of a plateau consisting of sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, with glacial rivers flowing to the sea through the lowlands.

Despite the rough terrain and small population, Iceland has a high level of car ownership per capita. Registering one car for every 1.5 inhabitants, automobiles are the main form of transportation. Iceland has 8,099 miles of administered roads, of which 2,869 miles are paved and 5,181 miles are not. A great number of roads remain unpaved, mostly little-used rural roads. The road speed limits are 31 mph in towns, 50 mph on gravel country roads and 56 mph on hard-surfaced roads.

This is a country that truly loves it’s cars. 

Because of this love of automobiles, it seems like a natural fit that the most popular rock band from the island nation would produce a song praising the virtues of owning an automobile. If you close your eyes and listen to the lyrics, you will be hard pressed to believe that this band is anything other than an American group from the Pacific Northwest. This… goes to prove that automobiles are loved universally around the globe.