theCARhack

In Saab’s heyday—before the takeover by General Motors and after it first appeared in the US—I remember reading a report that more Mensa (the “high IQ society”) members owned Saabs than any other brand. Talk about a niche. More important to why I have this fascination with Saab is the fact that the classic 900 and 900 Turbo were real sport sedans at a time when few were to be found. Think back to 1979, BMW was really only beginning to hone their sport sedan offerings beyond the ubiquitous 2002, but they were as expensive as they were slow. Detroit had nothing to offer and Japan Inc was still on the economy rung of their automotive evolution.

In 1979 Saab introduced a light pressure turbo to their already sporty handling 900 sedan and created one of the great icons of modern motoring. Along with such cars as the BMW 2002, Honda Civic, the VW Rabbit (Golf) GTI, and Audi Quattro, the 900 deserves a place in the car enthusiast’s hearts as an early trailblazer in the sporty car market.

It is with the classic Saab 900 history in mind that I decided finally to pick one up for a winter long try. Sure Saab’s history is much deeper than just the 900 of the early 1980s, but it hits the sweet spot in my connection with cars. Call it nostalgia if you wish, but the car simply resonates with me and so when I went looking for a winter car on eBay it is on Saab ad I landed.

For those of you who live in glorious sunshine year around, the concept of a winter car might be foreign to you. Let me quickly explain. Here in the Midwest where we have actual seasons and winter brings with it snow, slush (combination of snow and rain), salt (to get rid of the snow and ice) and frost pot holes and heaves in the roads (thanks to the freeze-thaw-freeze cycle), driving your “good car” year around hurts the car-guy soul. Winter cars also give us a good excuse to pick up cheap, older models of cars we’ve always wanted to try out but never had the inclination to go out and buy when it was brand new.

It really is great fun flinging a car around in the snow and ice knowing that if you break it, it will not break your bank account. It’s a Snow Belt thing, you wouldn’t understand.

Back to the car; I found a plain Jane white with blue velour interior 1990 Saab 900 with 117,000 mile on the odometer. A small used foreign car dealer on the edge of the Smokey Mountains in southern Kentucky had it up for bid on eBay, with no reserve. A cool grand later, I was the winning bidder—the first time I ever spent so much on a car sight unseen but the vital stats sounded good and the seller had high marks for honesty from past buyers.

In the next installment of the Saab Chronicles I will talk about the first meeting of car and new owner, be sure to check back.