It's been grand to drive. Five-speed manual, turbo-charged 2.3 liter engine. Apparently Saab turbos are well-regarded, with no "turbo lag". I've never had a car with turbo. It's nice to have a car that doesn't flinch at accelerating, even uphill.
My Saab, with kayaks on top.
As it turns out, Richard Hammond (of British Top Gear fame) had a piece on this wagon a while ago, compared with a Volvo.
Everything highlighted about the Saab is true of mine, except for the multi-point tie-downs. I'm sure I have them, I just haven't used them yet.
Why did I buy a Saab? By all rights I ought to have been a Subaru buyer, or a Toyota. My main goal was to have a small SUV-ish vehicle for hauling my boats around, and at one point, I even considered something new because I might have needed a daily driver - living in Manhattan I've got quite a few mass transit options, and in the end I found ways to get to work without driving. But by the time I was looking seriously at the used market in my price range, I came across Saabs priced about the same as Subarus, and I decided I didn't like Toyota's control layup.
Eventually, it came down to dealership experience. I found a Saab dealer I liked, and had two bad experiences at Subaru dealerships. I suppose when your cars are so popular that they're back-ordered, you don't need to give new customers the time of day.
Back up a minute, you might say. Did you say Saab dealership? They went out of business years ago!
True. When owner General Motors declared bankruptcy, Saab was put on the market and several deals fell through until the company was eventually acquired by a Chinese joint venture in electric batteries for cars. What I found was, a luxury used car dealership in New Jersey that has Saab-experienced mechanics and sales guys on hand.
I took them another Saab wagon to them for a once-over, and it came back with so many problems I returned it and came back to try their stock. I test drove a 2008 95 sedan and the car I bought, and decided I liked the wagon better. I had a good dealership experience, and I figured that even with a used car I'd have a place to bring it in for service. One the high end of consumer goods and services, it's relationships that count.
In short order I was Saab this, Saab that. I used Saab as an adjective (that's very Saaby), as a verb, (I don't need a lift to the spa, I'm Saabin'), and an exclamation (Saaberific!). I still Saab around, but only on the weekends, and less in the winter than in the fall.
Regular car people tried to warn me off Saab, mainly on two key points: hard to work on and hard to get parts. The first is less true in the GM era than in the pre-GM era. Saabs still do unusual things like placing the ignition next to the emergency brake, but in the old days they also mounted the engines backwards, with the radiator and other smaller pieces facing the cabin wall, making them hard to reach. On the second point, fellow Saab enthusiasts (Saaberati) and the dealership assured me that parts can be gotten, and in fact are still being made. Additionally, in the GM era, enough components were repurposed from GM's global brands that the part I need may not be a Saab-specific part at all.
On the flip side, some Saaberati turn their noses up at the GM era, though most respect Saabs as Saab no matter their pedigree. I do have to say that I feel my Saab is in the sweet spot for GM ownership - a second gneration, after they solved some oil sludging problems in the engine, but before the console had its Saab look replaced by the more, er, general General Motors look.
Driving
The Saab is a beaut to drive. It accelerates, handles amazingly well, though as Hammon points out in the video, brakes kinda shrug their shoulders at first before getting to it. Mine's a five-speed stick and I've found that fifth gear is way the hell over in the passenger's lap practically, but by now I'm used to it.
Little features present themselves well. There's an armrest that slides forward for the perfect position to keep the right hand on the shifting knob - and that is exactly where the fabric is most worn. The console tilts towards me and is easy to read and operate. My favorite bit though is "night mode": all the lights on the console go off, every gauge except speedometer goes dark, and then, it's just you and the road. It's brilliant, and makes driving the local parkways a lot of fun at night.
Neighborhood
Now, of course I had to find other enthusiasts nearby. I've counted about half a dozen Saabs in the neighborhood both before and since I bought mine. There' the 93 Aero sedan, and a 93 ragtop coup up the way. There's an old 900 series with ski racks on top, and another 95 wagon just like mine a bit further afield - I've only run into it on the way to the grocery store.
One day I saw a woman in the Aero. I walked past, wondered, dithered, then walked back and introduced myself. Yes, I am that weird woman in your neighborhood, "Hi, I've been admiring your car for months now and I just wanted to say so, and I've bought my own." She said her two-year-old son could spot and identify all the Saabs in the neighborhood. Saab on, lady.
Shortly after, I spotted a man in the ragtop. Now, I couldn't help myself. "Hi," I told him I was not only a new Saab owner but had just chatted up another in the neighborhood. He was very friendly as well, loved to drive with the top down, which is still possible given our unusually warm weather lately.
A friend has joked about there being a secret Saab handshake. I'm pretty sure I could form one as this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment