Fair audience….

it is my pleasure, though not a pleasure in the usual sense, but in that lofty idyllic sense that’s reserved for the theatre, to present to you, O faithful reader, another installment in the journey that is the Saab Pride of Ownership competition. No normal contest, but a celebration of all that is good and right in the world (i.e. Saabs and beauty)

Dramatis Personae:

Car and words: RJ
Camera: Benzon

Curtain!

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Imagine a black-tie holiday dinner party. Imagine an evening to get together, eat, drink, dance and live. Imagine you want to arrive in something sleek, classy and sophisticated. Imagine arriving stylishly in my Saab.

I love the Holiday Season. Not only do I love the Holidays, but I love my Saab as well. So nothing goes better together than Saab, the Holidays and the winter weather. This is the time of year to show our very best to our fellow man, where our positive character and spirit is brought to light, much like that spirit from years past from our founding Saab aircraft engineers, where their vision was embodied in the first Saabs and that tradition is still true and alive today.

So let us take a step back in time, where the history, heart, and spirit of the 1915-1916 Panama California Exposition at Balboa Park and its Spanish Colonial architecture, meets the soul, timeless and collective Scandinavian beauty which we dearly call Saab.

It is a cool and crisp Winter evening in San Diego, California. A clear night with the perfect view of the full moon and the jet black 9-3 atop the Cabrillo Bridge which is the official entrance to the 1915 fair with the California Tower jutting 200 feet in the air beside a blue-and white-tiled dome with a lofty inscription from Deuteronomy 8:8, “A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees, a land of olive trees and honey.” The Cabrillo Bridge strung with colored lights is a heartwarming site at Christmastime. Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, 22 years before his reign as president, was the first passenger to ride across the only cantilevered bridge in California, built as a dramatic entrance to the 1915 fair. The fair was designed to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal by bringing attention, money and fame to a struggling port city of some 40,000 residents. The fair was such a success that it was kept open for an additional year; and in 1935-1936, a second exposition brought further lasting developments to the park.

I drive along with Holiday cheer in my 9-3, with the Cabrillo Bridge leading me towards the rich history of the California Tower and to my dinner location inside the heart of Balboa Park and in front of the Casa del Prado. The ornaments and embellishments on the facade include the face of Neptune, the figures of St. Jerome, Queen Isabella and the Goddess of California and a veritable covey of cherubs. Looks like I’ve finally arrived to dinner.

And if you see that endless “runway” in the left side of the photo, you’ll know that the feeling of taking off in our “Jets” is more than just magical. Not only were the spirit of the architects and fanfare of the 1915 fair present this memorable night, but also the spirit of the Saab architects who have designed such brilliant pieces of automotive art. Both of their legends live on.

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A beautifully written piece, and some great photos to match.

Thanks for sharing……