The downside of technology?
I know you all probably love your climate control systems. A modern HVAC system removes the all but the extreme elements as a point of concern when you’re driving. But there was something pretty charming about old-school methods at climate control.
I came across one of these old school techniques yesterday whilst looking up Saab 900 information at Wulf’s excellent Saabmedia.net website. A custom rear window louvre made by Saab. It’s not just your regular louvre, either. This looks like it was made to match Saab’s famous Inca wheels from the late 1970s and early 80s.
I’d gladly pay three figures to get one of these for my 900 now, even if I haven’t got Incas on my 1985 model. That louvre is retro-way-cool. I wonder how many were purchased during the product’s lifetime and if there are any hanging around in a warehouse somewhere?
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By the way, if you want to read all about the Saab 900 and it’s myriad features, there’s a scan of a 54-page engineering booklet on the Saab 900 at Saabmedia.net. It’s an incredibly good read and it’s stuff like this that got me to appreciate Saab’s design methods in the first place.
None of this wizardry was accidental.
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I remember my parents having one of these on their old 900 turbo… too bad that car is long gone…
Hey a 900 with a cover like that used to live at one of the places I worked, well it wasn’t the “special edition” of the louvre — just the standard one you see on some other 900s. There was also, though, a sticker touting that car’s air conditioning…so take that?
I actually have a copy of the engineering manual, as well as all the brochures, and even the window sticker for my 900. :O
I’d love to get some Incas and one of those louvres.
the louvers were a dealer installed option and can be found on ebay occasionally. Makes the car look even more 1980’s
That’s a very smart option. I wonder why there is no such kind of shading for the NG900 and OG9-3…
The 900 didn’t have a rear wiper. That makes having louvers a lot easier.
They’re great in the summer and keep the back much cooler (good when you have the dog back there). In the winter they’re a pain. Snow gets trapped in there and you have to hinge it up to clean it out. Also, it traps any dust and so on under there and the rear window gets dirty pretty quickly.
My mother and brother have them on their 900’s. Yes, we still use them as daily drivers in my family.
@Alexandre - The rear wiper was optional, but might have been market specific, my ‘91 5 door had one fitted.
My mother had the louvres on her old 900GLS she brought back from the US, car was scrapped (not much call for LHD brown, 3dr, 3spd autos in the UK) about 10 years ago but the louvres found a buyer in a matter of minutes and sold for a few hundred pounds…
Louvres make cars cooler.
HA HA HA HA HA.
My ‘89 SPG had them. I bought the car from the original owner and got all the records with it. I guess by ‘89 Saab was getting kind of embarrassed by them because the original sales receipt said something like, “Owner requests louvre’s - not recommended by Saab.” I think the PO was a retired school teacher or something (little old lady driving an SPG= awesome).
They really cooled the car down in the summer (the AC was of course in-op in 2004). I took them off in the winter because they trapped snow. My roommate loved how I kept them in our dorm room.
Anyway, I felt mega-cool driving that thing around UMass with the louvres on. Wish I still had that car. The jack went through the floor when I was jacking it up once. Darn salty New England winters. Sniff.