Well, that’s another birthday done and dusted. My 39th year is underway!!
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Add another two to the list of movies with Saabs in them.
Russell Crowe is starring in a flick called State of Play. It’s being filmed in Washington and sees Crowe driving a light blue Saab 900 from the early 1980′s. The film also features Ben Affleck (which is a worry) and Rachel McAdams, and it’s a political/mystery/thriller thingy.
Like most things featuring Saabs recently, however, you’re getting notice well in advance. The movie will come out in 2009.
AND
There’s a new movie about to hit screens (maybe it has already) called Martian Child. It features both Cusacks, a kid who lives in a box, and a Saab 9-5 wagon.
Looks OK. Here’s the preview. Thanks Markac.
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If you’ve got a Saab 99 or 900 then there’s a high likelihood that you’ve had to fix the roof lining at some stage. I tried to do it myself in my old 99T and failed miserably. The shell was busted due to water exposure from the sunroof.
I guy on Flickr has just posted some photos of his attempt at doing the job. We’ve only got the ‘before’ photos so far and I’ll keep an interested eye on my Flickr feed to see how it goes. I wish him well, but taking it all apart is the easy bit…..
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A relative on Andy Rupert’s recently sent him these four “business card” promotions, which he received at the Columbus Auto Show. Each features a different model with some facts about the car and Andy says they’re very well done.
Interesting addition to the marketing effort, and an interesting story by Andy as well 
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And finally, I drove this today in part one of the Alfa experiment. It’s a 1987 Sprint with a whopping 105hp!! I used to have a 1982 version of this prior to getting my first 99T.
The output isn’t quite a paltry as it sounds as the car only weighs something like 970kg and it still feels like it’s getting along pretty quickly. It sounds awesome and handles like it’s on rails. Fun fun fun, but I’m not sure it’s the one for me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Lets hope this year brings you a nice letter from your insurance company saying that you can fix your ‘baby’.
Happy birthday Swade! Its mine TOO!!!!!
Hope you had a great birthday.
Good looking Alfa. I think it’s (called) a GTV here in the States. My dad’s always wanted one (they’re rwd). I’ve always wanted a red 164 s quadrifoglio.
I saw another movie (trailer), Smart People, the other day with a white c900. Looks like it will have a major role/screen time.
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/180978…tv-s.56311473-
Happy Birthday once again.
The definitive C900 headliner repair how-to is at twinsaabs.com.
Happy birthday Swade! My 21st is coming up shortly…
Happy birthday, old man. You’ve got me by two months but you look a lot … well … er … a lot … more mature. Yeah, that’s it.
re: Saab cars in movies
Time Changer is a pretty good Christian film which involves a 19th century seminary professor travelling through time to see how society has changed by the year 2000. The most prominent actors are Gavin MacLeod (Love Boat) and Hal Linden (Barney Miller).
As my family and I were watching it a few weeks ago, I noticed a silver 9-5 (?) stopping on the street near him shortly after he arrives in the future (32:54). It doesn’t play a prominent part in the film, but it was nice to see.
Happy Birthday Swade!
Happy Birthday Swade!
Re: Alfas, I test drove a 159 almost 2 years back because they kept sending me invites in the mail.
It’s the only Alfa I ever driven and it wasn’t half bad!
I had a 1971 Spider Veloce (ragtop) 1750 for 7 years. The basic engine and transmission were rock solid and it was a delight to drive when it could be driven, but everything else from the tempermental Spica fuel injection to other electricals, rust-through on the rockers, brakes, and switch-gear were always in need of attention. The car was in the shop as much as on the road, and highway trips were spent hoping that nothing would give out. Add its RWD to our 5-month winters in Montreal and thank goodness it was not my only car at the time. Alfa has long since (perhaps wisely, along with parent Fiat and cousin Lancia) pulled out of the Canadian market. One still sees the occasional 164 sedan around. Swade, if you get an Alfa, make sure your SAABs are ready in reserve! My 2007 9-5 now has 35000 km (and it’s not our daily driver), and has not been in the shop except for a windshield wiper clip, wheel alignment (both on warranty) and oil changes (not on warranty in this country), it’s a blast to drive, gets 7.5 or better l/100km on regular gas (less carbon footprint in the refining than super) with snow tires and fully loaded at “Carolina and south” highway speeds, holds four adults with room to stretch (five if needed), and goes like stink for hour on hour (our longest run was 20 hours – yes with breaks) with no back-ache. It may be an older basic design, but they sure have the bugs out and some of us do like the looks. For a very happy birthday, do consider spending the money on your Viggen or other SAAB and leaving older Alfas for people who like to fix rather than drive their cars. Many happy returns!
PS to the young man in Michigan who has been thinking about a new SAAB: In my opinion, experienced drivers should start with lower-powered cars for a few years. The HOT SAABs (or any “fast” car) are a bad idea for starters. A used base model 900 or 2.0t, or a new Saturn Astra would be better choices until one is no longer classified by the insurance companies as being a young person (especially male) in a high performance vehicle. It has nothing to do with the cost of such insurance (some people can afford it); it’s because of the real risks to self and others while also not racking up demerit points.
Swade – welcome to the 39th age brigade. At least I had mine on 29th January. Apparently I saw light on a Wednesday wayback in 1969 which is good for Saab drivers.