The story

Part of the intro sequence.

The story of the player character begins on the backseat of the Satsuma, where he is brought into the world by his mother in 1976 (exact date depends on the day you start a new game). An intro sequence depicting this moment plays when a new game is started: as the song Porilaisten marssi plays, the screen zooms out and eventually shows a top-down view of the car and a yellow title reading "SUOMI FINLAND 1976 [first name] was born" appears.

After the intro, the game jumps to the year 1995 which makes the main character 18–19 years old (again, depends on what day you started a new game). Little else is established about the main character other than that he is male.

The note from the parents.

The main character is living with his parents in Kesselinperä, but the parents are absent. Their absence is explained on a note seen on the fridge door after starting the game.

In Finnish the note says:
"Jos joku tillaa halakoja nii elä laiskottele. Laita isäs vanaha auto kunttoo tai viiään se sitte romuttamolle. Se on nyt vuostolokulla sotkenu autotalliva. Issäis sannoo että saat sen omakses jos laitat kunttoon ja katastat. Voit lainata enon pakettiauttoo jos täyvyy hoittoo asioit.
Jos käyt mökillä nii kato että tulipesät on sammutettu.
Elä sitte juopottele ja muista siivota kun sotket!
Tuumma Suomee sitte ku alakaa Teneriffa tympiä!
Terveisin äippä ja issäis"

Which translates to:
"Don't slack if someone orders firewood to be delivered. Fix your dad's old car or we'll take it to the scrapyard because it has been filling up the garage for years now. Your dad says if you repair the car and make it pass the inspection, you can keep it. You can borrow your uncle's van if you need to go run some errands.
If you visit the cottage, make sure the sauna stove and fireplace are put out.
Don't get drunk and remember to clean up if you make a mess!
We will return to Finland when Tenerife gets boring!
Best wishes mom and dad"

Family

The player character has some family living in Alivieska, though most of them are either absent or dead. The player character, their parents, and uncle live on a peninsula called Kesselinperä which is named after the family surname, Kesseli. The player character's family is a large part of the game's story.

Mother

The player's mother giving birth to him, as seen via modifications

Main article: Mother

Almost nothing is known about the player character's mother, apart from the obvious fact that she gave birth to him, partly seen in the intro. She is the one who wrote the fridge note, as the player character's father is mentioned in third person. She is likely a daughter of Kesseli's but changed her name when she got married.

Father

Main article: Father

The player character's father is the owner of the Satsuma and is driving it during the intro sequence. He is also mentioned by the player character's grandmother; she mentions that she is surprised he didn't become an alcoholic after not being picked for the national skiing team for the Olympics.

Grandmother (Sirkka Kesseli)

Main article: Sirkka

The player character's grandmother, Sirkka, lives in a modest house by the railroad tracks in the southern part of Alivieska. She says she's spent 78 summers in Finland, which means that she is at least 78 years old, and possibly older as she might be referencing living in independent Finland for that long. She will relate various things about the region and its inhabitants if one has the patience to listen.

Grandfather (Valto Kesseli)

Main article: Valto

The player character's grandfather, Valto, is mentioned by Sirkka, who says that he changed completely after returning from the war, becoming an alcoholic and eventually dying because of it. He also built the house where Sirkka currently lives along with setting up the fields around her.

Cousin (Pena Kesseli)

Main article: Pena

The player character's cousin, Pena, is a drunkard who can be found driving around the dirt roads of Alivieska in his green Fittan. Not much else is known about him, apart from the fact that he is very friendly to the player character, giving him a free ride whenever he needs one.

Uncle (Toivo Kesseli)

Main article: Uncle Kesseli

The player character's uncle, likely named Toivo Kesseli, lives in his house in Kesselinperä near the player's home. He is implied to be running KESSELIN URAKOINTI KY, being the owner of the company van and the Gifu as well. According to the note, he is a brother of the player character's mother ("eno" in Finnish). The player character's grandmother claims that he is an alcoholic and that's why he is periodically absent in the game.

Friends

In addition to the family, the player character has some friends living in Alivieska. Some of them are friends of the family, while others might be complete strangers to the player character. They help extend the story of the game even further.

Drunk hitchhiker (Jokke Ollevi)

Main article: Jouko

The drunk hitchhiker, dubbed Jokke, is a person who most likely gets introduced to the player character by a phone call. He is involved in many of the player character's exploits, but the most notable involvement comes from him calling the player character for a ride home. He will drunkenly reveal some information about his life while driving to his house, most notably the fact that he seems to be very unsatisfied with his marriage. Further story development will occur once the player character has become good friends with him by driving him home multiple times.

Shopkeeper (Teimo Pielinen)

Main article: Teimo

The shopkeeper, Teimo, is a very close friend of the family, although he seems somewhat cautious about the player character and his shenanigans. He is the owner of the shop and pub in Peräjärvi and appears to be very content with his life. He lives in a small house on the outskirts of Peräjärvi with his wife, Irma.

Firewood buyer (Mr. Livaloinen)

Main article: Firewood guy

The man who buys firewood can be found living in a house in the eastern part of Alivieska. He appears to be a friend of the player's parents, as he is mentioned in the note on the fridge door. Not much else is known about this man, though the bottle that he constantly holds implies that he is also an alcoholic.

Farm Guy (Mr. Tohvakka)

Main article: Farm guy

Tohvakka has a big farm near Peräjärvi. He calls the player by phone about the haybale job, because he cannot work anymore after he had his heart attack. He calls one more time when he wants his Arvo-Algotson 3000 combine harvester back.

Trivia

• The name "Kesseli" is a reference to a 1990 Finnish television drama series Lentsu.
• There is a theory that the song "Routainen maa" is about the player character's father. This is supported by the wooden locomotive in the living room of the player's house.
• Since My Summer Car is a very well made sandbox-story type game, it is easy for the developers to hide or even just the player community to miss certain references or even just things that are quite clear to notice, so it is advised to update this page if you are certain that something is missing.