Frequent coverage of available Saabs will make this entry no surprise, but there are a couple of remarkable things about this car that merit a feature. While Saabs have a reputation for durability, for reasons that are not immediately apparent, we don’t see as many high-mileage examples offered as we would for other very durable makes. Perhaps collapsed driver’s seats have rendered them all undrivable? You can find this 1986 Saab 900 turbo 5-speed 3-door hatch for $2500 in North Seattle, WA.
Sometimes it’s amazing how many old cars a couple block radius can contain. On a recent drive, there were three interesting vintage cars, and this is not to mention the passing Datsun Fairlady roadster or the pre-GM Saab 900 convertible. The first car was a Volvo 122 2-door sedan. Fitted with slotted alloys in the 1970s, along with some little hoods over the headlights as you commonly see on VW Beetles, and some period foglights mounted in a strangely high position, this looks like a gently aged car that’s still working for a living.
If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, there’s a good chance you have some level of nostalgia (ironic or genuine) for the spoiler & strip performance packages they used to put on cars back then. Thanks to relatively new emissions and fuel economy regulations, manufacturers were likely reluctant to revisit the testing process for a limited-audience high performance models, so performance was in the eye of the beholder. Among its visual upgrades were a flat hood, red striping inside and out, and fog lights in the grill, but it did also get some proper performance features – anti-roll bars and a special grill with integrated fog lights. However, the rest of the world also got an upgraded engine (injected 2.3), where we had to make do with the standard 2.1 found on the regular DL. Anyhow, in the meantime it’s a fun oddity and possibly a good subject for an upgrade to a later Volvo turbo unit or a V8. Wait, did someone say V8? Today’s 242GT is available for $3300 in Arizona.
Rusty But Trusty 