I posted some pics of my 'new' very red Saab on 2012-06-19 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/189891-machinery-some-pics-my-new-toy.html and since then we've done two trips to spend some time with my mother-in-law. It's about a 9 to 10 hour drive each way to where she's living these days, so I've been having fun. I thought it was time to show some respect to my old toy, a 1989 900 Aero/SPG that's done 310,000km.

I've owned this car for 13 years and it's mostly been used for long trips. For several years we drove to visit my mother-in-law every Christmas when she lived in QLD (1,800km/1,250miles) each way. Apart from about 400km of divided highway, most of this trip is ordinary 2 lane road, so there are many opportunities to drop it back into 4th or 3rd and plant the foot to overtake B-Doubles and road trains. It seems that some cars like this sort of driving and my old girl is still going strong. I got 8L/100km (29.4mpg US/35.3mpg imp) on the last long trip in March. I have never needed to add oil between annual services. The old girl deserves some respect

It was the middle of winter and a dull day in spite of a brief period of weak sunshine.





That wing is just so sexy And the wheels? Classics.


Saab had headlight washer/wipers 23 years ago, at least, and these still work.


Quality leather.


I had to get some work done on the driver's seat


Richard.

[Canada_Rockies]

Buy quality and it lasts and lasts. I owned a 1958 MB 220S from 1965 to 1971 that I bought in Germany when posted NATO - for DM 1,500 (C$405). I still bore my friends talking about that car. You've kept the old friend in great shape, and I am sure she enjoys stretching her legs every now and then.

[GeoJerry]

We had a Saab 900 4 door hatchback for two years while living in Scotland back in the 1980's. It was one of my favorite cars ever, and I hated to sell it when we left. It's been sad watching the demise of Saab, first GM turning it into a mediocre looking mass market style car, and then having to read about its struggles to survive over the past few years. I think it's a goner now. Too bad, it was such a good car. Thanks for posting these, I grew especially nostalgic seeing the dashboard again for the first time in many years.

[Bob Harris]

Richard, that is a quality ride, much like the aircraft they built for years.

[Sailor]

She's a beauty, my friend. It appears that this gal has received great care and good maintenance. I also like the way you photographed the car, particularly the third one where that terrific spoiler is on stage.

Jer

[borno]

looks nice for an '89 I'm driving our old '88 sentra, it's devoid of options but it does get 38 mpg

[RichardS]

Buy quality and it lasts and lasts. I owned a 1958 MB 220S from 1965 to 1971 that I bought in Germany when posted NATO - for DM 1,500 (C$405). I still bore my friends talking about that car. You've kept the old friend in great shape, and I am sure she enjoys stretching her legs every now and then.

I remember that one. I lived in Germany from 07/1957 to 05/1958, 08/1961 to 09/1963, 07/1966 to 01/1969 and 11/1969 to 11/1970. OK, I was at school or uni in England, for a lot of the time, but Germany was home. Your 220S was what we thought of as the big body MB (there was a smaller 180 and a monster 300 which was a very beautiful thing). By 1961, when my father had a new Jaguar Mk II 2.4, the 220 had shrunk a bit and grown some mini-fins. I can remember three variants: 220, 220S (twin carbs) and 220SE (electronic fuel injection). The 220SE was just a bit faster than the 2.4 Mk II Jag. My father bought a 3.4 Mk II a few years later. We were competitive In 1967 my girlfriend's father had a 300SE, a LWB fin-tail with air suspension, lots of wood, etc. He got me to drive it for a cross-country trip with him sitting in the front passenger seat just to check that I was competent enough to drive his daughter. He was a MP lt col (the provo marshall), so there was some pressure Nice car, but the 3.4 Jag was more exciting for an 18-year-old. The MB was automatic.

My old girl went for a fang today. We've been away from home for 10 days, so she needed some TLC. Pedal to the metal in 2nd on the freeway on-ramp was a lot of fun. Blew past a few modern ... oops ... rewind ... we had an enjoyable, sedate drive today. Yes ... that's right.

Richard.

[RichardS]

We had a Saab 900 4 door hatchback for two years while living in Scotland back in the 1980's. It was one of my favorite cars ever, and I hated to sell it when we left. It's been sad watching the demise of Saab, first GM turning it into a mediocre looking mass market style car, and then having to read about its struggles to survive over the past few years. I think it's a goner now. Too bad, it was such a good car. Thanks for posting these, I grew especially nostalgic seeing the dashboard again for the first time in many years.

I remember listening to a radio program in around 1992, late at night, driving home from a business meeting 3 hours from home in my 1984 4 door plus hatch turbo. The interview was with the GM woman who had designed the interior of the new Saab 900. I got excited and went to check out the new Saab. I was a bit underwhelmed by the vehicle they had produced. I started feeling a bit better around 2003 or 2004 and then they made the 2.8L V6 turbo Aero in 2006. Yum.

The dashboard/centre console is not original. Some years ago I went over a bump in the road just as the six-stacker was changing discs and the six-stacker jammed. The CD slot in the dash had-unit needed a service. It was cheaper to replace the stereo with a modern Alpine unit with i-Pod control. The "Aero" graphic equaliser was removed.

There are stories of Saab cars being resurrected by a Chinese company. Complicated.

Richard.

[RichardS]

Richard, that is a quality ride, much like the aircraft they built for years.

Thanks, Bob. I've never understood the compulsion to replace a car every year or so. When I was an employee, the fully-paid company car was a perk and a status thing, along with the corner office and the blond gate-keeper. The "my car is better than yours" sort of thing. Since I've been self-employed for many years, I'm not into that. But I have to admit that the corner office on mahogany row, the blonde gate-keeper, the fully-stocked bar in the office had their attractions.

Richard.

[RichardS]

She's a beauty, my friend. It appears that this gal has received great care and good maintenance. I also like the way you photographed the car, particularly the third one where that terrific spoiler is on stage.

Jer

Thanks, Jer. She's been looked after. But she's also had to perform My friend, Horst, told me that I should get my Saab serviced at Swedish Prestige. Horst and I have done a bit of boat building together (A-Class cats) and he gets excited about perfection, so I tried it out. Dean Randle, the owner, told me many years ago that Saab turbos like to get hot and a good thrash helps them. I have no reason to disbelieve him

Horst, BTW, has an immaculate 356 SC.

I've been trying to emulate your great car photos. I couldn't find a spot like your latest 135i shots, so I settled on the car park of a local sports ground.

The wing, the spoiler, is just so sexy It's also good for holding coffee mugs at pit stops.

Richard.

[RichardS]

looks nice for an '89 I'm driving our old '88 sentra, it's devoid of options but it does get 38 mpg

In the Saab world 1989 is not old Your Sentra looks pretty good. That model wasn't sold here. We had the Pintara (2.0 4cyl) and the Skyline (3.0 6cyl The 3.0 Nissan engine was also used in the VL Holden Commodore. It was an almost perfect combination. The only time I've appreciated an automatic.

Richard.

[FruitLooPs]

Cool shots, makes me miss my first car which was a '91 9000 2.3CS turbo about 5 years ago

Same plush leather interior seats, weight activated fasten seatbelts sign and dome light like in an airplane really impressed me haha. I got it cheap but not without its worries, missfiring when on boost being the primary concern (turned out to be simple, cracked sparkplug ceramic - worrying sign of the previous owners abuse as I discovered down the track). If I had manual transmission i'd still have it i'm sure. I didn't know at the time, but the ZF auto's are a bit of a timebomb in these if not maintained, as the 2.3 engine torque figures are close to the max the trans can handle - I checked the fluid in mine once I learned of this and found it was burnt toast it also had a towball for towing with .. ominous sign. It never did go on me, but I always knew it was just around the corner. The turbo was also very nearly gone, sounding like a police siren as it came on and went off boost with gear change (one of the turbine wheels was eating a heatshield as I discovered while rebuilding it ).

On the open road very little came close, I think even my friends much later 2006 subaru outback has more road and cabin noise. It was such a nice quiet interior and smooth powerful acceleration from the turbo for overtaking even with a full car load at open road speeds I wish NZ was a larger place, it was a bit of a pig on fuel around town. Also I did have an engine oil fire while driving it once, but that was entirely my own fault for a terribly thought out 'alteration' somehow I managed to blow it out with my own breath I was pretty dizzy afterwards though In the end the car was just too complex for its own good, at least in the sense of not having not being maintained appropriately in the past (bushes bearings worn engine mounts, old radiator gave up headlight reflectors had been chrome spraypainted!? etc). Live and learn.



That was mine on its last big road trip up to the north island before on-selling.

It makes me sad that they've gone under. Most Saab owners are a particular bunch, a bit different from the rest - but in a good way, like Pentax owners

Sorry for the rant, bit of a highjack I just got a bit nostalgic /eyes fog over

I love your 9-3 Aero too, mmmm.

[RichardS]

Cool shots, makes me miss my first car which was a '91 9000 2.3CS turbo about 5 years ago

<snip>
Sorry for the rant, bit of a highjack I just got a bit nostalgic /eyes fog over

I love your 9-3 Aero too, mmmm.

I feel your pain. Saabs need to be maintained.

Life with the white car has not been without its occasional ups and downs. There was the air mass meter failure that cost around $800 to replace the failed one. Titanium wire with a voltage across it to measure the air flow into the engine. Kerb side UJ failures when the rubber boot protecting the UJ fails. And then there was the gearbox shaft that snapped on the day before a 4 day long weekend. It was an obvious manufacturing defect - brittle fracture at an oil hole. Someone let the metal overheat when drilling the oil hole. Textbook pictures. In spite of all that, the memories are very positive.

The red car is a mega mmmm

Richard.

[GeoJerry]

There are stories of Saab cars being resurrected by a Chinese company. Complicated.

I don't know if they intend to continue the Saab line, or if they're just buying into the manufacturing facilities and expertise. Is the Saab plant in Sweden (Trollhatten I think it is) still staffed and operational, or has it been shut down permanently?

I looked at a 9-5 several years ago and thought it was a pretty nice car, but just didn't have the Saab feel to it anymore (except they kept the console ignition).

[RichardS]

I don't know if they intend to continue the Saab line, or if they're just buying into the manufacturing facilities and expertise. Is the Saab plant in Sweden (Trollhatten I think it is) still staffed and operational, or has it been shut down permanently?

I looked at a 9-5 several years ago and thought it was a pretty nice car, but just didn't have the Saab feel to it anymore (except they kept the console ignition).

I think it's just the facilities and manufacturing expertise they want to keep.

Richard.