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Call me an analytical nut case. I had a Saab project car in the 80s. I should have know better as it came from salt-infested Montreal; the snowiest big city in Canada.
But rust wasn't the problem. I doubt if you could name one system on that Saab that didn't break down at one point or another and still, I poured cash into it.
So why would I buy another Saab? Because when it ran right, there wasn't another car around that could touch the '79T for winter capability and sheer driving exhiliration. (I equipped said project Saab with Hakkepellittas.) As well, there was something about the integrity of the car when all systems were working right that I had not ever experienced (I had previously owned a '71 Volvo for 11 years.) In the Foothills of the Rockies, this was a Dukes of Hazard Saab as I was frequently out of the city to gas plants in remote locations through rough, hilly 2-lane semi-paved roads thick with ditch-side trees at 4000 feet+ ASL, where Saabs excel.
Recall that in the mid 80s, when I bought my first Saab, Detroit was selling slow, soft, gas-guzzling junk and Eurocars were too damn expensive. I finally had to break down and sell the '79. By that time, we'd bought a Pontiac 6000 STE. Nice, stiff car but slow and definitely not of Saab calibre.
Sold on the virtues of turbocharging, and wanting a city car which would be practical and fun, I bought off the floor of an autoshow a Dodge Colt Turbo and ran that until some dumb mechanic didn't take the air bubbles out of the cooling system on replacing the coolant, thereby ruining the head for good. In winter, I ran this Colt with Hakkepellitta tires.
We got into the Saab when (a) GM took over and I used many GM-Visa points accumulated through foregn travel (b) my wife wanted out of an '89 Bonneville SE recommended by Road & Track for people who could not afford a Lexus. The Bonny was a nice car.
When it came down to three GM cars against which to cash out the Visa points, the Buick GS (fast - exceptional sound system) the dated Pontiac Grand Prix which runs like a buckboard, the Impala 2000 with the cheap interior finishes and terrible seats, and the Saab were finalists. I looked up all the Saab reliability charts I could get ahold of and they showed remarkable progression from '96 on. No contest.
Also, I am not unaware that you are seen more in your car than you are in your clothing, so what you wear for a car says a lot about you. More than your clothing. I have the comfort of knowing, however, that the Saab is primarily a car we bought through careful analysis. That said, I'd have a hard time buying a Subaru. They are simply not as nice-looking.
posted by 207.181....
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