Page 1
Demise of the 5 Door 900
To a lament about the deletion of the
5 door 900 configuration from the US.
market back tn the early 1980s, Bob
explained:
It was a tough call, but basically
involved reducing the model count to
a manageable number, given the
number of Saab dealers spread
across a territory as large as the
U.&., and the difficulty of getting the
right car to the right place at the
right time. | often heard comments
like: “The car ’m looking for is [their
personal preference]. I can’t seem to
find one anywhere, and I've con-
tacted [pick a number] dealers. How
come Saab can’t get me the car I
want?”
In North America, the inventory
costs and the expense of getting “the
right car to the right place at the
right time to satisfy an individual
buyer's preferences” increase expo-
nentially as the number of models/
exterior colors/interior colors’ trans-
missions, etc. increase. If you take a
Page 2
given number of models, multiply
that by the number of colors and
interiors, multiply that by whatever
other major variants there are to
choose from give you an idea of what
I'm talking about.
Let’s say, picking numbers out of
the air since the details really aren't
important at this point in time:
5 models:
& colors on average (since it did vary a
bit by model):
2 interiors (probably more most model
years, but this is a fair average);
2 transmissions, manual and automatic;
2 engines, turbo and naturally aspirated;
That gives youix8x2x2x2=
320 distinct configurations to choose
from. Consider the poor chap who
went to a Saab dealer in mid-
America, 1500 or so miles from the
nearest port. If Saab is delivering,
say, 25-30,000 cars per year through
around 250 dealers nationwide,
that’s an average of 100 to 120 cars/
year/dealer ... or an average of 8 to
10 cars/month/dealer.
Let’s say the average dealer tries
to keep two month's supply of cars in
stock at all times. That’s an average
of 16 to 20 cars (and a pretty stiff
interest expense that must be
carried). If there are several hundred
combinations to choose from, what
are your chances of finding exactly
the car you want at exactly the Saab
dealership you choose to visit at
exactly the time you go there? Not
very good. And the more choices
there were, the more difficult it was
for the dealers to “close the deals”
(and we're talking about crass
commercial interests here, after all!).
This is a basic principle that's
usually not clearly understood
unless someone sits down and works
out the numbers,
This is a serious issue here with
regard to distances involved. Here in
North America, cars must cross an
ocean, then in most cases be trans-
ported hundreds to thousands of
miles overland to the individual
dealers.
This is not the case in the
Swedish home market, nor in nearby
markets. The UK, for example,
receives cars in very frequent
shipments on what amount to car
ferries. The inventory turns quickly;
“special orders” can be quickly
fulfilled. Therefore, it makes sense to
offer a much wider model range in
nearby markets than it does on this
continent.
I hope this explains the thinking
behind dropping the 5-door. As I
said, it was a tough call. Among
other things, the Lovely Anne gave
me holy hell for dropping her favor-
ite model from the lineup, but it
came down to the lesser of evils
given the goal of restricting the
choices in the interests of sales and
distribution efficiencies.
Page 3
_ ’
aa Veen cement GASTON! ‘Sip |
= cmt BR
+
“
Isn't this age of electronic-this and
computerized-that amazing? For the past
several issues newsletter contributions have
arrived by fax, on computer disk, and by
overnight delivery. It won't be long before
you can submit your articles via computer
modem. I constantly marvel at the power of
this bax on my desk (though lately I've also
been known to curse it when it blinks out for
no apparent reason).
Since the personal confuser is such a
part Of most lives these days, a SAAB Club
electronic bulletin board has been proposed
by several members. Turns out there is one
of sorts, a special interest group for Saab on
the UUCP mail network (UNIX to UNIX
CoPy). Paul Matz of New York sent a
printout of E-mail that was exchanged over
this network. Paul writes:
“Someone at Dartmouth College
decided to start an electronic mail Saab
distribation. If | want to send a4 message to
all members, I send E-mail to
‘Saab@dartmouth.edu' who then forwards
it to all members. Those who want to
respond can send E-mail directly to me, or
post the response back to the entire Saab
group.”
There are about 50 subscribers on the
network from all over the country and even
some from overseas. Much like NINES, it
consists primarily of questions and answers
on how to fix things, but without the benefit
(7) of an editor.
Anyone who uses UNIX and has
access (6 USENET can join, Send E-mail
to “Saab@dartmouth.edu” for details. If
., YOu are not a current UNIX user, but do
have a PC, software is available to make
your computer compatible with the UNIX
protocol. For further info, contact:
UUNET Communications Service
P.O. Box 2685
Fairfax, VA 22031-0685
703/876-5050,
Another medium that has been sharing
the Saab message is magazines. Import
Service, a trade publication for automotive
technicians, has carried a couple of step-by-
step repair articles on SAABs recently. In
the February 1989 issue they demonstrated
a SAAB 99/900 clutch replacement. Part
one on rebuilding a SAAB manual transmis-
sion appeared in the May 1989 issue. (Are
mechanics seeing a fot of these, or what?)
Anew magazine also arrived this
month, Classic Auto Restorer - “The How-
To Guide For Vintage Car Enthusiasts.”
One of several hands-on type articles deats
with the ever popular “sagging headliner”.
Though the author's victim is an old Chevy,
the instructions could also apply to replacing
the headliner in a SAAB,
In the same issue (June '89) there is a
directory of car clubs for virtually every
marque including Berkeley, Cartercar,
Jewett and Kissell, We are listed, as is the
New England Sonett Club. There is also a
directory of car museums. Did you know
there is a Front Wheel Drive Auto Museum
in Brighton, Colorado? (For an appoint-
ment and directions, call 303/659-6536.)
Despite its’ regional monicker, a look
at the membership list for the New Engiand
Sonett Club indicates it is more of a national
organization. Only a third of their members
reside in New England.
‘This month, all members of that club
received a printout of Sonett and V4 parts
provided by Saab-Scania, Since everything
is listed by part numbers, you would need a
parts book for it to be effective, bul it does
give Saab's suggested list prices and the
balance on hand in the warehouse.
Their quarterly newsletter always has
several tips for the Sonett owner, many of
which can apply to owners of V4 and 2-
stroke sedans as well. They have attempted
manufacture of some obsolete parts, but the
membership does not always buy sufficient
quantities to keep tooling costs low. Those
who have older cars and would like an
additional source for parts should consider
joining the New England Sonett Club. ‘The
address is:
P.O. Box 4362
Manchester, NH 03108
Overseas membership has expanded
greatly over the past couple of years. We
now have mémbers in Sweden, Finland,
Great Britain, France, West Germany, the
Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel, Japan,
Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Australia.
Most overseas Clubs are now sharing their
newsletters with us, and we are sending
NINES in return.
Less than a handful responded to our
request toward updating the mechanics list.
Please share with your feliow SAAB owners
if there is an independent shop / mechanic /
parts store in your area that specializes in
SAABs. Body shops and performance
shops are also in demand,
Tim Winker, Editor
a ET
23
Page 4
i.
de
tig ot,
Saab Returns to Rallying
Saab Cars USA, Inc. has returned
to the roots of the company’s competi-
tion history by sponsoring a Saab 900
SE Turbo in the SCCA/Michelin PRO
Rally Series. Saab has provided the
car to last year’s Group 2 Pro Rally
Champions, Sam Bryan and Rob
Walden, both from Washington state.
Their championship winning car was
an earlier model normally-aspirated
900 3-door (see NINES #224).
The rally-edition 900 features
Saab’s 2.3 liter turbocharged four-
cylinder engine, tuned to put out 300
horsepower, and coupled to a six-
speed XTRAC manual transniission.
The 900 competes in the new Group 5
category, for two-wheel drive cars.
The Bryan/Walden Team Saab is
sure to be noticed as they rocket
through the woods in the Monte Carlo
Yellow 900 with Saab’s unique Find
Your Own Road graphics.
“The Saab has performed excep-
tionally well during practice runs on
logging roads around Olympia,
Washington,” Bryan said. “We're
confident in ourselves and our car.
We're excited about getting back to a
turbocharged engine, which gives the
Saab outstanding mid-range torque
characteristics - perfect for the kind
of driving we do during rally racing.”
Due to short amount of time
between delivery and the start of the
season, Team Saab missed the first
rally of the '96 season at Wild West in
Washington in April, then ran into
teething problems during the Rim of
the World in California early in May.
Ultimately they rolled the car on a
late stage, putting them out of the
event. At the Susquehannock Trail in
Pennsylvania the first weekend of
June, the Bryan/Walden Saab was
leading the class by more than a
minute before a crank spark sensor
failed on stage five, forcing a DNF
(Did Not Finish).
The car that took Bryan and
Walden to the Group 2 title in 1995
has been purchased by Douglas
Schrenk, a technician at Walden’s
Scandia Autosport independent Saab
repair shop in Seattle. Also painted in
Monte Carlo Yellow, the Classic 900
3-door DNF'ed the first two rallies of
the season, the first due to a blown
engine, while a co-driver with motion
sickness caused the retirement at
Rim. Despite not finishing, Schrenk
did lead Group 2 (normally-aspirated
2-wheel drive) at both rallies and was
competitive overall with supposedly
faster all-wheel drive rally ears.
Also contesting Group 2 in Saabs
this year are last year's runners up
for the Group 2 title, Gerry Sweet
Photos by D. E. Baer, Boer images
and Stuart Spark in a 99, and Jeremy
Chambers and Neil Roeth in a 900.
Chambers/Roeth placed 4th in the
category at Susquehannock Trail,
while Sweet and Spark DNF'ed due
to a transmission failure.
George Plsek is running a 99
Turbo in Group 5 and led the class for
a time at Rim of the World, but
dropped back due to a variety of
problems late in the event, including
a broken axle. He was able to make
repairs at a service break and went
on to finish 2nd in class at Rim.
Saab's first rally victory came in
1950, just weeks after the first 92
rolled off the production line. Several
of the first Saab 93s to arrive in the
U.S. in 1956 were entered in the
Great American Mountain Rally,
where they placed first, third and
fourth overall, and won the team
award.
In 1980 and 1981, Jon Davis and
Harry Ward won SCCA Production
Class PRO Rally Driver, Co-driver
and Manufacturer's Championships
aboard a stock Saab 99. Due to the
efforts of several other Saab drivers,
Saab also was awarded the PRO
Rally Production Class Manufactur-
ers Championship in 1982.
Three Saabs lined up at Rim of the
World: Bryan/Walden 900 Turbo, Pisek/
Ratsam 9 Turbo, Schrenk/Tennis 900
Page 5
Of Wheels And Colors
Ah, yes. Minilite wheels. Brings-a
story to mind.
After Usigned on with Saab-Scania of
America back in 1979 (soon to be known
as Saab Cars USA, In¢.,) T eventually got
around to looking mto the company's Parts
And Accessories business. Being a bil of a
car enthusiast, | naturally noticed that we
listed gen-u-wine Minilite wheels, Matter
of fact, | also bad noticed there were
Minitiies on some of the company cars
parked in front ofthe Orange, CT, headquar-
ters.
Since | wasn't espectally fond of the
stock wheels coming on the cars from the
factory, and felt Minilites would fit nght in
with my still nascent drive to emphasize
PERFORMANCE as @ major part of moy-
ing Saab upscale onthe U, S. market, | asked
afew questions of our P&A people.
like how many Minilites were we selling
per year’?
- What. only 400 or se?! How come’
~ Well, sir, our landed cast is more
than $100 per wheel, and the Jug nats
cost cxtra, And we might as well tell
you now, sir, most of the 400 we sell to
ourselves, lo BO On Company cars
Understand that, using a normal
price buildup, landed cost to wholesale
to retail, would translate lo a retail price
of well over $200, Back in 1979!
And that, dear friends, is how my
deal with Carroll Shelby began,
Atthe time Carroll had a wheel cast-
ing business out here in the Los Angeles
basin, | made an appointment wilh my
friend Shelby. flew to LA with 4 Minilite
in my suitcase, and told him Dwwanted o
price for wheels that were enough dif-
ferent inradii. ete, thar! couldn't be sued,
ihat would be “hell for strong,” would
¢ hub-conceniric, clear-coated, and ot
the highest quality,
LT needed them cheap if we would have
any chance to sell then in volume, And,
oh yes, they had better be perfect, because
] was going way beyond my aren of te-
sponsibility, sticking my neck way out, and
would hive to put a few. sumple wheels
through rigid testing before | dared put them
on the market,
We dickered for a while, then agreed
ona price, A few weeks later, some sample
wheels arrived al my office, | look twe of
them with me on one of my regular tips to
‘Trolihiittan, and asked my pal, design chief
16
by Robert Sinclair
ByGrm Envall to ake me to the room where
the company tested road wheels
Enval took me to a room filled with
component test rigs, and introduced me to
the person in charge. I briefly told the man
what | was up to, and gave him the two
Shelby wheels, telling bim | wanted them
put through the full OEM test, and I wanted
it done confidentially,
1 also handed him two fifths of tine
American bourbon, He gave me a broad
stnile, clearly indicating he understocd whal
| was upto. and that Iwas sticking my nose
way beyond what | was authorized to do,
and said he would send me the test results
when available,
The reports arrived a fesy weeks later,
The wheels passed with flying colors, of
course,
During u board meeting some weeks
later, I pat one of the wheels on the board
room table and mentioned we were tntro-
ducing Shelby wheels as part of our acees-
over (he subsequent years.
My wife and [happened to meet Carroll
al a dinner recently, at the Petersen Auto-
motive Museum in Los Angeles, He and |
hadn*t seen each other or spoken in quite a
few years. Now in his early 80s, Carroll
appears to be holding up quite well.
The business world can be a lot of fun,
provided you don’t take yourself too seri
ously
Ever wonder fiow the color of your
Saab iy selected? We know that the Lime
Green for the new 9-32 Conyertible comes
from Saab designer Maria Tianberg . the
head of colour and trim at Saab. The colar
was oyplred by tre Brazilian drink — the
vaipirinta
But what about the special grey SPG's?
Bob Sinclair reports:
During my watch al Saab, in the
LO80s.1 visited friends in Italy a number of
times, each time in loaners provided by my
Lewis Eig’s Sonett Il shows off the Shelby wheels
sories fine.
My boss, Sten Wennlo, the President
of the Saah Car Division, exploded. “Mr.
Sinclair! [PORBID TT! This isa safety part,
I forbid it”
| passed the factory test sheets to him,
“Gee, Sten, they passed all the tests at
Trollhattan. | assumed it would be okay.”
My boss und good friend Knew he'd
been had. There was much merriment
around the table.
U.S. Saab dealers sold many thousands
of Shelby Silvervane and Goldvane wheels
good friend and Saab importer, the late
Odoarde Pagani. For & oumber of years
Odoardo and 1 served on Biérn Rnvalls
“Color Committee,” which met several
times each vear to discuss and help make
decisions on colors and interiors, and such-
like.
Odourdo Pagan! campaigned Jong and
hard for durk gray to be udded to the Saab
color rungé, ( augment the black, which
was very popular in his market. As | re
mernber it, by far the majority of Saabs sold
in Itafy in the curly to mid [9ROs were black
NINES #267
Page 6
Turbo hatchbacks, something like 80% or
so of the total! Odoardo wanted to broaden
the color offerings a bit, but not too much.
Eventually, in response to his pleas, a
dark gray was added, called “Odoardo
Gray.” For the U.S. and Canadian markets,
we called it Edwardian Gray.
Robert “Bob” Sinclair joined Saab in 1958.
His first job was as a field rep calling on
Saab dealers. He rose to be Saab’s national
sales manager, then switched to Volvo in
1962 as advertising manager. He moved to
California as president of Volvo’s Western
U.S. subsidiary in 1967, then rejoined Saab
in 1979 as president/CEO, later chairman/
CEO. Bob Sinclair is known as the “father
of the Saab Convertible.” He retired in
1992, but as a longtime car (and motor-
cycle) enthusiast, he remains active in the
industry as a consultant, and as board mem-
ber of anumber of automotive-related com-
panies.
Page 7
Letters Cont'd.
on a Saab contains that word,
Quirkiness is relative. After driving a
Saab with the ignition “properly” on the
floor (tongue in cheek), you get in a 9000
and are reaching for the ignition on the floor,
but they went and put it in the “wrong”
(again, tongue in cheek) location!
I think that when some of the car
scribes get ready to do a Saab road test, they
consult their little book about what to write
about Saabs, which results in them always
using the words “quirky” and “rubbery.”
Immaterial to a Saab owner that happily
lives with and loves his or her Saab!
Roger Pfeiffer
Cedar Rapids, [A
More Oil Comments
I note that you trashed the part of my
last letter that did not support your sales. I
see that some members are reacting.
There are still no minimum standards
in your table and no note that “This test
method is not a substitute for engine testing
of an engine oil”.
Mr. Andrews spoke of “gelation” of
Toyota engines without mentioning the ge-
lation testing done on oil. His oxidation test
is not a measure of gelation. I am not going
to spend money getting the complete SAE/
ASTM testing procedures, but many things
make up a class SL oil. They are safe for
use in the hundreds of millions of engines
when manufactures maintenance instruc-
tions are followed. Stop scaring people for
profit.
1 also noted the crash pictures of his ac-
cident prone family. Go to any junkyard and
every bent car will have a story to tell, The
pictures reminded me of the old man at the
last convention who got up and said
“Saabism is a religion” and proceeded to
have a veneration of a couple of teenagers
whose indulgent parents bought them a high
powered car that was beyond their skill and
experience level. They lost control and mur-
dered an oncoming driver, losing their own
lives in the process. This caused much grief.
Teenagers have been doing this for de-
cades. I lost some friends that way and it
will not stop. Where are those car pictures?
I suggest you research the German
government’s tests. They bought three each
of several autos. Put one in Climate con-
trolled storage, used one in daily service, and
6
left one outside. After 20 years they crashed
all three cars. All 3 cars did not offer the
same protection after so long.
I note that my issue arrives about two
wecks after some others. The ads are very
dated then. | have no interest in the Saab
“religion”. Do not send me any more, It’s
time to leave the 1960's, 1970's and 1980°s
behind.
David Calabrese
Las Vegas, NV
Chuck Andrews responds:
Thanks for taking the time to respond
to my efforts in this publication. The title
of my column is Professional Perspective.
What I write is from my point of view as an
automotive professional and not for profit
as charged.
A much larger profit could be had from
not talking about problems and potential
problems and just fixing the results. Engine
oil sludging is a huge problem in the whole
auto industry, How you test oil or which
one you use is not an issue to me and
manufacturers recommendations are not
always in the best interest of all consumers.
If you were to visit our shop and interview
consumers with failures both mechanical
and safety related you might have a different
opinion. As long as we are a Saab Club
publication | hope all the writers will write
about issues relating to all ages of Saab
products. As you will see in my current
column there is sufficient interest in model
99°s that we still service a number of them.
We are an eclectic club. That is part of what
makes Saabs and their owners such an
interesting group,
Scary Saab Story
Tonight, I was testing out my car after
reassembling my shift assembly. I was driv-
ing around town and went on a back road
nearby. This road has a huge cemetery on it
with not a single light. It is surrounded by
trees and it was pitch dark. I was traveling
uphill and all of the sudden I heard a POP,
really loud as if something fell out of my
engine.
I then thought, s**t, I really messed my
tranny or drivetrain up. My car then died so
I thought, OK? Alternator maybe? Under-
stand that this cemetery is VERY old, one
of the oldest in New Hampshire and I broke
down right next the church, the VERY first
Catholic church in the state as a matter of
fact. Some of the headstones date back to
1770’s.
Also, just to get a feel for how scary it
is out there, | am 6'1" and weigh 225
pounds. I'ma very broad person with a foot-
ball player's stature. I was afraid, and locked
the doors, and turned on my fogs and blink-
ers. | hate it out there, too creepy and dark.
Plus, the church is haunted. And it was mid-
night.
Well, 1 called my mom to have her pick
me up. She then came and got me. I drove
back home with her, got a flashlight, and
went back out to the cemetery.
] got back to the site and with the flash-
light. 1 opened the hood and turned the flash-
light on. I then inspected belts and the al-
ternator, which all seemed to be fine. I
glanced to the left as I was about to walk
over to the tranny and saw it. The intercooler.
pipe had blown off of the throttle body!
1 took out the screwdriver, popped the
pipe back on, tightened the screws, and
drove off. My mom couldn't believe how
fast] fixed it. She thought my car was toast.
l explained to her it was really just a gigan-
met oe ere
Zach’s car posed at the graveyard.
NINES #270
Page 8
By Carl Levine
Saving That Saab
Every so often, the opportunity to
assist fellow Saab brethren (or future
brethren-in-law, as it were) with their
crazy vehicular acquisitions arises.
Zach had been down in West Virginia
since Thursday, installing a transmis-
sion in his newly acquired 1988 SPG.
Incidentally, a host of other issues
had cropped up and his buddy that he
was working with was very, very sick.
The phone rang around midnight on
Sunday, and as I lay there in bed with
Alicia we both knew who it was. We
didn’t think much of it, but when her
mom came upstairs and said “Zach
wants to talk to you”, | knew it wasn’t
good. He explained the situation and I
knew where it was leading, and before
1 knew it I was off to West Virginia in
the morning.
The 9-5 was readily equipped for
the task and I set out around 7:10am. |
didn’t stop for a good 100 miles or so,
in fact, my first cup of coffee was in
Enfield, CT. After battling urban
sprawl madness on CT-15 in Berlin as
I didn’t get on as far south as I should
have, I finally reached the Wilbur
Cross. I was making semi-decent time,
so I figured I'd swing by and see if
John Moss was still cleaning out the
training center. When I arrived at the
Wallingford facility, I didn’t see a Saab
parked out front but the door to the
center was unlocked and so | went in.
The double ended 900, which he and
Roland St. Sauveur, Jr. built is the only
vehicle in the front of the building. The
900 engine on a stand was still there
as well as some random posters and
whatnot. No sign of John, I walked out
back, and saw a late 1970s 99 2-door
notchback with CT plates along with
random engines, transmissions, equip-
ment and that 96. No sign of John. |
figured he ran out for a bit, so I left a
note on the hood of the double headed
900 and returned to my journey to the
land of sheep.
The Wilbur Cross gave way to the
Merritt Parkway, and by this point my
squirrelly fuel gauge was telling me
that the car was nearly out of gas. |
pulled over and paid $2.34/gal. for mid
grade. Now with a solid 19 gallons of
gas (love having a very early produc-
tion car), I was set for the rest of the
journey to West Virginia. The Merritt
dumped out onto 1-287, and I went
over the Tappan Zee Bridge. I-287 was
the spot where my 1997 900SE Turbo
was the most scenic interstate that I had
traversed thus far. | saw Seideling Hill,
where eons of layers of rock can be
seen In one sweeping vista. As the road
continued deeper into Appalachia,
signs of religious fanaticism sprouted
from the surroundings including
“Noah’s Ark, being rebuilt here!” It’s
good to know that some crazies in
Maryland will be ready when the next
40-year flood comes up. The last few
miles of I-68 were in West Virginia,
and believe it or not, I was excited to
see the intersection of I-79. I was al-
Terry, the kindly sheep herder.
overheated and destroyed a thermostat
on the way to the Saab Owners’ Con-
vention 2002, so I was sure to flip off
the exit where it happened. A quick
lunch in the Township of Bernards
filled the other empty void and I con-
tinued westward on I-78.
Now we all know how uneventful
those rural Pennsylvania interstates
are, so | won't bore you with those
details. So I went I-78 to I-81 to 1-70W.
1-70 begat I-68, which in my opinion
most to my destination: Salem, WV. I
took I-79 down to US-S0 in Clarksburg
and 10 miles west to Salem.
Zach was waiting in the parking
lot of the gas station next to the shop
where his car had been sitting for the
past three years. He and his friend
Chris had done a great deal of work to
the car, so it was looking and sound-
ing pretty sweet. They put the trans-
mission from one of Zach's parts cars
into it, totally resealed the engine, put
22
NINES #277
Page 9
on a new crank pulley and before re-
installing the powertrain, detailed the
engine compartment. | had a look
around the place, it was pretty sketch...
lots of Chevy trucks and toothless folk.
We all hopped in the 9-5 and headed
over to Clarksburg to indulge in the
beefy delights of Outback Steakhouse,
gas up the car and visit Wal-Mart. We
got back to the shop around 10 and it
was time to get to work.
Now all that was left was for me
to check it over and make sure they
didn’t miss anything. After all, Chris
caught whatever Alicia had last week
when he was up here helping Zach pull
the transmission from the aforemen-
tioned parts car and when one is that
out of it, who knows what he could
have missed. The brakes were spongy,
so we gave the system a bleed. The
engine would stumble when Zach hit
the brakes, but it was written off as LH
2.2 issues, I took a listen to the brake
booster and it was hissing pretty bad.
Thankfully, there was a spare servo in
the collection so we installed that and
it seemed to improve things. Terry Sr.,
the sheep herder, came to visit a few
times and imparted his Appalachian
wisdom upon us.
By 1:30am, Tuesday, the car was
detailed, had working brakes and was
ready for the 700+ mile trip back to
Claremont, New Hampshire. We called
it a night and retired to our luxurious
ra
The car in its old location...
SS oe
accommodations. Oh wait, did I say
luxurious? | lied. One Ninety, it sounds
like some fancy restaurant in Boston
but in actuality it was a run down
$17,000 house that the absentee owner
of the shop purchased for Chris and
friends to shack up at. I had neglected
to bring anything to sleep on, as I was
told there would be “something.” An
egg-crate foam dealy and some strange
government-issue blanket did the trick,
albeit poorly.
The alarm emitted its shrill, piere-
ing tone at 6:30 and I attempted to
shower. Somehow, even with the lack
of water pressure, | cleaned up and we
were packed up and on the road by
7:15. A stop at Bob Evans was obliga-
tory as Zach had never been. Two eggs,
sunny side up with sausage and two
biscuits did it for me. We left
Clarksburg at eight-something and
headed north to 1-68. We stopped in
Maryland for a pit stop and to call
Keith to see if he could look up the
radio code for Zach’s car. He wasn't
at work yet, so Zach ended up not hav-
ing tunes for the whole ride.
We know the drill, I-68 to I-70 to
I-81 to I-78. We stopped at the PA bor-
der to gas up and get some lunch-type
food. A guy in a Volvo station wagon
sporting Panasport minilite knockoffs
rolled in and we had a quick chat with
him. He was a former Sonett owner
and knew enough to identify Zach’s car
as an SPG. We took I-78 back to [-287
and found that the bridge was closed
because of an accident. In a last ditch
maneuver, I cut off the highway and
redirected our two-Saab caravan onto
the Palisades Parkway up to US-6, We
took US-6 up to Carmel and hopped
onto I-84.
The ride on I-84 back to I-91 was
quick and we were back in Claremont
at 9:20pm. It was definitely good to
be home, in a place where | can look
out the window and only see one
Chevy truck. I kissed Alicia, and then
felt compelled to kiss the floor because
| had never really appreciated just how
good we've got it up here in New
Hampshire.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005
Page 10
ess EEE EEE
GLSC GM Historical which was a rather large warehouse- Once inside, however, we were
Center Tour looking building in an industrial park. greeted by Jan-Willem Vester, Tom
On June 24, the Great Lakes
saab Club was invited to tour
the super-secret not-open-to-the
public GM Historical Collection, i
located “somewhere” in Sterling itt
Heights, Michigan. This same
facility was shown on the Speed
Channel's “My Classic Car" a
year or so ago, when host Dennis
Gage was shown the “collection”.
Rather than bore you with
all the months of prep work that
went into this, I'll attempt to give
Saab enthusiasts and car nuts in
general a sense of the significance
and breadth of this outstanding
collection of automotive history.
The first facility we toured was The group poses outside. Ai!
the actual “historical collection,” photographs provided by Jim Laman.
More Club News on page 25.