 |
|
|
[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Well another SOG has come and gone and I'm sad to see it go. It was another great weekend of SAAB fun and good times, and the weather cooperated with us (Mostly). Many friends new and old showed up for a weekend of SAAB-ing and as usual we had a fair turnout of vintage cars. The vintage turnout ended up being about dozen cars, and all were beautiful examples. However since we were celebrating the 25th anniversary of the C900 thats what we expected to see the most of. With about 25 C900's we had a total of about 50 cars show up for some fun in the sun and mountain air.
The weekend started with some rain showers and a BBQ that was to be held outside, but unfortunately we had to move inside. However the skies cleared in time for us to hang out in the parking lot to talk cars and drink victuals. John Moss had shown up with a 9-2X Linnear for all to see, however I don't know how many people even looked at it. (although I was a little busy) James Fox rolled in after dinner and unfortunately he wasn't towing either rally car. Personally I was hoping that he would pick up his new one from Canada. Seeing the carnage that was the old car was a true testament to the strength and integrity of the C900.
Saturday morning dawned with a mix of sun and clouds but it looked like it would be a great day. People started to line up around 8:00 am, however Jon Williams was their about an hour earlier after following me to the car wash at 6:00 am. We had a great location looking up the mountain and took advantage of the great view and nice backdrop. The concours saw many nice examples of antique SAAB's as well newer versions. At the tail end of the concours we had our annual raffle, and many people walked away with some great prizes. A big thanks goes out to everyone who donated items to the raffle especially Marc Fails, Swedish Automotive Service, Rhich Barth, Paul Dolmetsch, Central Penn, and SCNA.
Following the concours we brought all the cars together for our group photo. Fortunately with about 50 cars its pretty easy to get everyone in line pretty quickly. Once we were done with the picture the Strokers went on a drive for ice-cream, while about 20 cars got ready to go on the scenic drive through the Vermont countryside. Thanks to Dirk and Ashli we had one heck of a drive. With the roller-coaster like roads that were mostly deserted we were able to have a blast. With mostly turbos in the group the run was a blast. However a couple of Sonnetts decided to join in on the fun with us. For those of us running sweep at the back we had a pretty good view of everyone having a good time. With all the hills their was a fair amount of burning brakes, but we encountered no serious problems. We all made it back to Mount Snow after about a 2 hour 95 mile drive in time to have a cold one before heading in for the banquet.
After having a lovely dinner we were entertained by our guest speakers. John Moss gave us a little history on the C900 model and its life span. We also learned why a 4 door may not have the best fit and finish on the passenger side back door. ( But thats between us ). As usual John was able to tell us some interesting little known facts that only someone with over 30 years of experience would know. Following John, James Fox got up and gave us a little background into his love of the SAAB marque and how he started Rallying them. His 1985 8 valve notchback was well on its way to become a highly competitive Group 5 entry when it met an untimely demise in the woods during his last rally. James also showed some great in car footage from his car during the Maine Forest Rally, as he answered many questions while the video was running. Afterwards we all retired back out to the parking lots for a little more tire kicking before the end of the night.
All in all SOG 2004 was another success for us at NESA and we are glad to have been able to put it on for all that attended. We are already working on SOG 05 and we hope to see you their. Also don't forget their are still some events coming up over the next few months. So watch your e-mail and check out our website from time to time to keep informed on whats going on in the New England area.
John delRosario
Technical Director
New England Saab Association
as a side note, the results of the concours will be posted shortly.
-Dirk Feather
Secretary, NESA
posted by 63.162.2...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
