Like Swade, I’m pleased to take a weekend break from the financial ills plaguing the General. In this post, you’ll find another TS regular first-time meet up, a Hirsch of a different stripe and notes about my recent 9-5 frustrations.

First, the “Hirsch”. I’ve seen this automobile before (perhaps here on TS?) with the same question attached: what is it, really? Apparently, according to a short piece in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Cars (December 2008), the car has changed hands recently and the new owner wants to know its history.

According to the title and registration, this Southern California car is a 1960 Hirsch. However, since it has a 1965 Ford 289 cubic inch (4.8 liter) V-8, the rear end from a Datsun 280Z and the front end from a Pontiac Fiero, it’s clear that the car was built much later than 1960. More like 1985 or so. The body is fiberglass. At this point, the best guess is that our “Hirsch” is a one-off prototype for a fledgling car company that never made it. If you know more, drop the folks at Hemmings a line.

More Saab-related goodies to come from that edition of Hemmings Sports and Exotics Cars in the very near future. If you’ve got the US$5 or so that it costs, I recommend a trip to your local bookstore to snap up a copy.

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While in the Cleveland, Ohio area this week, I was fortunate enough to hook up with TS loyal reader and sponsor, Andy Rupert. Andy and I talked about a number of things, including Saabs, the state of the automotive sales business, his success at Leikin and a host of other topics of the day. I was indeed excited about the chance to meet and break bread with Mr. Rupert and, due to a very short night that night before, I was caffeinated to the nines (get it — NINES). I’m definitely a talker anyway, but I was truly in rare form Thursday when we met at the Cracker Barrel in Willoughby, Ohio for lunch. Andy, I hope that I didn’t wear you out!

Andy was gracious enough to bring a black 2006 9-7x from the dealership for me to test drive, and I must say that I liked it better than I thought I should, but I’m still not a fan of the SUV class of vehicles. If I want a truck, I’ll buy a truck. I don’t want my people mover to drive like a truck.

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Here's a photo of us at Leikin Motors, where Andy has a number of great Saabs on hand. A couple of sharp 9-3 sedans at good prices, a very pristine 9-5 wagon and, of course, the 9-7x. If you’re in the market for a Saab, give Andy a call.

(As an aside, I differ from Swade in my opinion of the Volvo C30. This is a great-looking car in the flesh and it is very well-constructed. Andy’s got a spankin’ new grey metallic example out front. Sweet.)

Finally, I’ve given up on two DIY repairs on the 9-5: the dreaded 08 code and the cabin ventilation fan. Twice now I’ve considered the 08 code fixed only to later find that I’ve incorrectly indexed the motor output to the blend door shaft and the system is inactive. Additionally, my cabin vent fan motor repair has gone south. As you may recall, I extended the length of the brushes to contact the rotor on the vent fan motor. It still works, but the fan is very noisy at times which is highly annoying. The gents at Eurofix will be handling the blend door repair and I’ll be ordering a replacement cabin ventilation fan soon. I think that I’ll get a new fan rather than a used one simply based upon my experiences with the old fan in my car. I don’t want to buy a used fan and motor only to find that the parts are near the end of life.

Once these fixes are done, I’ll start in earnest on the 900 ‘vert. It needs a new windshield and a new cabin vent fan, too. I’m debating some new leather and new carpet, and I’ve got a parts donor in view for some trim. Finally, the car really needs some new front suspension components, especially shocks and ball joints. More to come on that front in the very near future.