Ruminations from the Road

Posted by eggsngrits on October 11th, 2007 5 Comments Printer-Friendly

While on a rare visit to New England this week several things caught my eye, some of them not exactly related to the region or Saabs, but here goes:

Long-time reader, one-time Saab owner, related blogger and adventuresome singer, Andy Rupert, certainly had a close-up view of a massive train wreck in his hometown of Painesville, Ohio. And, no, we’re not talking about his XJ6. This was a real train wreck that made the national news outlets. Huge fire, etc. I hope that everyone is OK. According to the reports, the accident wasn’t near any occupied buildings.

———

From the looks of things this week, I can confirm that Boston has a much higher percentage of Saabs on the road that most of the other places that I visit on a regular basis. I’ve always wondered what the true cause(s) of the difference are, so if anyone has any ideas, please post them. I’m sure that weather is a factor — New England can be very snowy and cold during the winter months which are already starting. I may also believe that the population density and the lack of parking space for a larger vehicle (read: SUV) also plays a role. Finally, if the assumed Saab driver profile is correct, there are likely more of those folks in the greater Boston area.

Let us know your thoughts.

(Let me warn you about relying on the ‘we’re more sophisticated’ argument. Along with a higher concentration of Saabs, Boston also appears to have a much higher concentration of crappy econobox beaters, too. That runs counter to any position regarding discernment.)

——————–

While in the excellent Detroit airport terminal A (terminals B & C are horrible), I noticed a gift shop for the Henry Ford Museum. They have some really cool reproductions of early advertising, great scale models, books and other trinkets that are (mostly) Ford (don’t ask me why the online gift shop has a Chevrolet toy car on the first page, but it does). I wondered if the Saab Museum in Trollhattan had had a gift shop offering anything truly unique as far as memorabilia is concerned.

Neither the US nor the Swedish website seem to have much information.

——————

Finally, if you’re in Boston with an evening to explore, I suggest a start at Neptune Oyster on Salem Street. Unbelievable seafood. Shellfish in general are just plain better in New England, but Neptune is the specialist that takes the game to the next level. Oysters, fried clams and lobster rolls were all among the very best seafood I’ve ever had. Great beers to complement the food, too. Take a thick wallet, ’cause it ain’t cheap. Go early ’cause the place only seats about twenty people and the line winds out the door for most of the night.

Comments (5)
Trackbacks & Pingbacks (0)

Comments

dmr said:

I have always been puzzled by the ‘Saab’s unique. You don’t see that many around’ argument that’s been floating around this blog. Over here in Boston, Saabs are as mainstream a car as you can get (there are at least 5 9-3s on my street alone).

-October 11th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Jeff said:

It was like that in Encinitas when I went to visit my uncle. There were 10 or 15 Saabs on his block. Here, however, mine’s the only one within a 20-block radius, and back where my family lives, it’s even worse.

-October 11th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
James said:

I’d be interested in what the Frappr map ends up showing. Growing up in suburban Maryland I did not know a single Saab owner. It wasn’t until my wife (transplanted Bostonian) and I started looking for a new car and she insisted on Saab being at the top of the list that I began my love affair with the marque.

Since then I’ve noticed that my particular place of residence, Arlington County (just on the other side of the river from Washington DC) is FULL of Saabs. My street of 10 houses has only two, but just withing a block radius is an additional 9-5 sedan, a 9-5 wagon, and a 9-2X!

I won’t try to attribute this to certain characteristics of the drivers, other than to say that I have noticed that the more urban the setting, the more Saab’s I see. I see quite a few in DC proper, quite a few in the inner suburbs, and then progressively less as you move farther out.

Oh, and one other point about Boston: size. Boston is old, the streets are old and cramped, and parking is difficult. Parking and manoevering a hatchback (or even a SportCombi) is a lot easier than parking a giant SUV.

-October 11th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
dmr said:

Not sure about the weather being a big factor. Especially in the summer, you see a lot of guys cruising in their 900 drop tops. That’s about as much bling as Boston will tolerate.

-October 11th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Mark S. said:

The oldest Saab dealership in the US, Charles River Saab, is located just outside Boston, and Framingham Massachusetts has been home to one of the oldest Saab establishments in the country as well, which started off as Gaston Andrey Saab/Ferrari/Alpha Romeo (that’s where I bought my first Saab back in the ’80’s. Saabs were in worthy company at that facility and it was a very special place). Its latest incarnation, after Gaston Andrey sold out, was called Saab City, Framingham, which was recently closed down. Saabs are now sold along with Cadillacs (UGH!) and Hummers in a nearby auto “department store”, under the GM umbrella (note to GM-your obsession with homogenization will not be good for Saab). I think that Saab’s strong presence in New England is partly due to the existence of such dealerships. It’s also due to the fact that Saabs happen to be brilliantly designed for New England conditions. Sporting in summer months, and able to contend with nasty winter storms as well. Traditionally, potential Saab customers and potential Caddy customers would never have reason to step foot in the same dealership. I hope this new arrangement will not be detrimental to Saab sales and that we’ll continue to see many of them on Massachusetts roads!

-October 11th, 2007 at 11:27 pm