I received this email yesterday from Martin E. The email had the title “the Saab is up for sale and I already miss her” – now that’s a sentiment I’m sure we could all understand.
Here’s a little of what Martin had to say:
Since the 9-5 doesn’t have 7 seats it is up for sale. And since Saab doesn’t offer any 7-seaters, we’re leaving the brand. A truly sad day for me.
I was out in the driveway giving it that last shiny treatment when it struck me really how much I’m going to miss this car. I’m going to miss that “solid as a rock”-feeling, I’m going to miss the comfort of the leather seats, I’m going to miss that smooth, high revving yet torquey engine, I’m going to miss the dashboard… The list could go on. But what I’m going to miss the most is something I can’t put my finger on. The essence of Saab I guess. Saabs (still) got something special about them – call it soul if you like. That invisible thing that make you really love your car instead of just liking it very much!
Back in 2001 I purchased a 1986 Saab 900 Turbo. It was a very nice metallic grey, a 5 door but with an automatic. I’d lusted after a 900 for some time leading up to the purchase and was reasonably satisfied with my buying (except maybe for the automatic, hmmm).
When I made the decision to buy it, it meant that I would have to sell what was at the time my current car – my Saab 99 Turbo. For around a week or so I owned them both and I remember on the morning the 99T purchaser came to buy it, thinking to myself “why on earth am I selling this car?”
It was, generally speaking, slower. It had none of the creature comforts of the 900. It was rougher to ride in. It looked a little funnier and definitely older.
But it had that certain something. So much so that I bought the car back a few years later.
I can understand 100% where Martin is coming from with his parting thoughts. Saabs have soul. They have that certain something. Some have it more than others but they all have it. The 99 Turbo has it in spades, which is why I’ll always want another one. Just look at it!
Have a think about it. I think it’d be a good idea for our new Cat In The Hat, Mark McNabb, to have some Saab Soul reading material. Entries coming very soon.
And if you’d like to shed a tear on Martin’s behalf and recall a Saab that you shouldn’t have sold, comments are open…….
As a kid, walking to elementary school, I was always attracted to that Saab 99 turbo that a dentist living nearby had in his driveway. That’s how it all began for me.
Twenty-something years later, I bought my first Saab – a 1999 9-5 V6. I actually rented it, and I still remember with sadness that day when I left the keys, and the car, at the garage. I should have never leave it.
Even though my wife and I now have two 9-3s, a sedan and a sportcombi, I still miss my “first love”.
Maybe it will change in a couple of weeks, when I get my next one – a Turbo X combi with a stickshift…
Robert
I sold my dad on a Saab, then my brother-in-law’s dad. I went away for awhile and my best friend got one. I got ready to buy my first car, and in spite of all of that I wasn’t going to get a Saab. I was going to get a cheap junker.
Long story short, I ended up with a Saab. Cuz Saab’s got soul.
If you want to talk about owner satisfaction…I’ve seen some trashed Saabs, and it’s a Sad thing, but this time around I looked at 2 Saabs. One was a 18 year old 900, and then I ended up with a 15 year old 9000, and both were in better shape than cars 4 or 5 years newer with just a fraction of the miles. Certainly a testimony of owners taking care of them, and higher quality materials too.
I needed to get rid of my Saab, but not a quarter mile goes by that I don’t miss it. Sure, it’s fun to be able to do burnouts and fly down the road and man oh man do I love the roar my engine makes (a real American roar, not some high-pitched Asian whine!) and that supercharger sounds like magic…but I’d definitely give it all up for my crappy non-turbo automatic POS NG900.
Martin, what, do you have five kids? What the heck is wrong with you? Sell one of the little buggers and BSR the hell out of the 9-5.
:p just kidding, of course.
I started off with a beautiful 5 door classic 900 in Scarabe green, but after a year or so I picked up a 9000 Griffin for reasons I forget.
A buyer was found for the 900 and I went a fortnight with them both on the drive until the 900 went to her new home. During that time I continued to use the 900 as my daily driver, but after she went I was kicking myself for selling the old girl.
Yeah, the Griffin has more power, better seats, and is generally better appointed (even though it drinks unleaded) but it doesn’t have the soul of the 900. Driving the 900 you was an experience, it was involved, and there seemed to a kind of bond between man and machine. By comparison the 9000′s simply a ‘point-and-squirt’ zero-to-speeding-ticket means of getting about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the Griffin, it’s a fine car, but it’s lacking the soul and feeling of my old 900. Would I swap it if the right 900 came along? I think you can guess the answer…
My first (and so far only) SAAB was an ’88 900 GLE. Loved it…loved every minute of it.
I loved the headliner that was stapled the roof (previous owner). I loved the odd positioning of the ignition. I loved that I didn’t know how to open the bonnet until reading the manual. I loved that the heated passenger seat made every woman that sat in it, feel that they had wet their pants. I loved the Indicator stalk that had to be kept in position to keep it working. I loved that every now and then, for the three years I had it, that it would stink of petrol for no reason and three mechanics couldn’t find out why. I loved that it worked everytime I got into it.
I just loved that car. The last time I saw it, the dash was melted and it smelt bad (it was written off due to a fire in the dash). I considered all these ‘faults’ as a part of the characteristics of my car. I miss it..a lot.
I know what you mean about the 9000 Matt. I drive one from time to time and much as I want to love it, its just not the same behind the wheel. The driving position is tough to get right and the steering feels remote.Perhaps thats it. I know that on my BMW, its the steering feel that really captures your senses. The 2.3T engine is a wonderful thing and the car feels so strong on the road but just not magical. Maybe I;m being too tough.
No 7-seat Saab? What about the Saab 95? (Well, it’s not a NEW car, but does it matter?
)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_95
DamoG – My turn signal switch did the exact same thing! I got so used to not clicking it into place, that now when I drive my current car or any other car, I never click them down, I always hold them down, and then laugh at myself after the turn. Sometimes I click them down without noticing and I drive around with a blinker on for a while like an old man.
imagine my dad’s regret when he sold his 1969 Sonnett V4 (immaaaaculate condition, lightly modified) for a then-new 1984 Chevrolet Cavalier Station Wagon! My sister was born in ’84 and he needed a practical car. That must have hurt – i can’t imagine a worse transition!
-James @ TCB