Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I used to work with a guy who was plenty mad about the styling of SAABs after GM got involved.

My brother's boss had one years ago and was not happy about its reliability.

>>"Very expensive" is Bentley.<<

Saturday I emerged from Central Park at 72nd, right at the Dakota. During the weekend, they have the street into the park blocked off, of course, and someone had parked a big old (50s/early 60s?) white Bentley right there.

For a second I expected to see Lennon emerge from it, dressed head to foot in white.

Paul: I bought a '75 Saab 99LE 3-door in '80. My brother bought a new 900T 3-door in '90. Later he sold it to me, and then I sold it to a friend who also has a '63 Saab (3-cylinder 2-stroke).

Paul I had a good friend injured badly on a motorcycle not to far from you on Washington. He got hit by a truck making an illegal left on Van Ness, around California I think. Right at Van Ness and Clay a motorcycle driver was munched by MUNI. Good thinking to avoid motorcycling through the city.

Last Fall a woman was killed by a MUNI bus making a left turn at VN and Jackson. One of my students was hit by a speeding driver at the same intersection, and she was lucky to return to school after only three weeks...

And, of course there was my own incident in February of '05 that cost me several thousand dollars, though I was the one hit...(in my SAAB)

I miss the older quirky styling of SAABs. They still appeal to me visually, though. Thanks for the assessments of them, they were something I was considering when I bought last year, and still on my mind.
Last friday on the 405 north, I passed a run of the mill new 600 S class Benz, the driver looking a bit too snobby, considering there was an Aston Martin in front of her. Then one of those space-ship looking things (Lambro?) passed going the other way. I mean passed at 3 mph. So much power, so little speed. 7 mpg to get to work? OPEC loves 'em!

You'll kill a high performance car driving it like that...they're not built for creeping...

Saabs are great, except for: lots o' vapor lockin' at altitude, unless one does a lot of after-market tinkering, or keeps some wet towels on hand when driving....

And the parts seem a bit pricey, or they did when I attempted for a short time to pose as a Saab owner. Should we be surprised by this in a jet fighter manufacturer? Oh yeah, then there's the 'buy yourself a garage full of Swedish tools' feature...

They will save your life in a wreck, though. Hard to put the right price on that...

Sorry to interrupt the automotive thread for a Rickenbacker inquiry, but how are the nubies going, especially mine?

Correct on all counts, Dane. The vapor lock thing was solved a number of years ago...my '80 did, my '84 did not, nor did my '90 in a few trips to Summit County, CO.

Your nubie is doing fine, Glen, I think...

What's a "nubie"?

Don't know, but I was just out in Long Beach this past week, and saw some 'boutique' on Broadway with a big purple neon sign that said something like 'Lubeorama'...

It wasn't about cars, either...

Oops. I have no idea, unless it's some intentionally misspelled word (in a meant-to be-hip way) on some newfangled product scenarios.

Who's Glen, anyway?

Two "n"s. I get it. Have I always gotten it wrong, or...?

It's tough for us with no 'doubles' in our names, eh Paul?

Actually, I hardly ever notice whether anyone gets it one way or another. So I couldn't tell you.

It's half-strung.

Or is that half-unstrung?

Can't wait to see the latest pix of the newbies. That would be a great name for a band, by the way.