Posts Tagged ‘saab’

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Disappearing Breed – 1991 Saab 900 turbo

June 26, 2013

RustyButTrusty has a soft spot for Saabs. The nice thing about our home base is the level of car nuttiness going on here, and people will truly buy anything. I don’t mean that in a bad way – but driving around the streets of this area, you’ll see all kinds of things on the roads, including rare stuff like the last version of the Saab 9-5, released just before the company went out of business. But in spite of their longevity, the first-generation Saab 900s are becoming a less and less frequent sight. At some point, that distinctive exhaust note these have should make it part of the fleet, but for now we’re left to admire from afar. And while you’ll find beaters and automatic turbo convertibles, it’s rarer to find a 5-speed hardtop turbo in good shape with relatively low (say, less than 150K) miles. Like today’s car, listed in Santa Cruz, CA for $3200.

1991 Saab 900 turbo right front

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More Lamenting – 1973 Saab Sonett III

June 23, 2013

As I mentioned in the last post, I grew up with a succession of Saabs in the family, and as such, I was quite sad to see Saab go. While they were not the same company by the time the lights were turned off, what with the overweight 9-5 and the overaged and somewhat bland 9-3, it looked like hope was just around the corner (kind of like Pontiac, honestly). And let’s face it, no car company is like they were in the 1980s, or the 1960s, and to some degree they’re much better for it. When was the last time you took a family road trip to Yosemite and the exhaust fell off the car, and you had to tie it up by the side of the road so you could drive to a rental car agency to finish the trip in a 1985 Camry? For my family, that was in 1985… Anyway, enough rambling, and back to nostalgia, where things were always better. Like this 1973 Saab Sonett III, listed in Gardena, CA for $1700.

1973 Saab Sonett III left front

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So Long – Triple Saab Feature

November 6, 2010

This month, my parents sold their last Saab. Here’s the car after 17 years of faithful service:

1993 Saab 9000CSE 2.3 turbo

We bought the car new in the early years of GM’s ownership of Saab, and while we were sold on the virtues of a Saab already, having cheap GM financing on top of that was only gravy. The car was $36K, and I remember arguing to have a CD player, leather seats and seat heaters to help the resale value. Well, since it sold for $2200, maybe that was a moot point, 17 years and 165,000 miles later. It’s funny how cars weave their way into your memories, in a way not many other possessions do… I vividly remember a roadtrip to Yellowstone in this car, getting all the contents of my dorm room in the back at the end of sophomore year, and doing a track driving course up at Thunder Hill Raceway. My family had Saabs for 29 years, so this is kind of the end of an era.

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