Man, when I was a teen in the mid-90's, I picked one of these up for only a couple hundred dollars, basically because I just needed a car. Living in New England, I loved the handling and the heated seats during the cold months, I couldn't even tell you how many times I drove past a higher performance car that was stuck in the snow, while I was driving one of these, the balancing and traction was great! This thing, even though well over 10 years old at the time, gave me no problems whatsoever. It was rock solid, with just the typical 3 month maintenance. I was pretty saddened when this woman last minute pulled out in front of me at an intersection and totalled it, drove right into my way like I wasn't even there. Well, I liked it while I had it.
I totally understand why some people think these cars are ugly, perfectly acceptable. Other thinks its a thing of beauty. All of this means this car is either a love or hate object, which adds to the Saab 900 uniqueness :) - Best regards a Saab 900 owner
This basic design dated back to 1967 with the Saab 99... yet it still somehow managed to look fresh throughout the 80s. Maybe it was still too 'ahead of its time' for Ms. "it's ugly as sin".
I owned both an "84 900 4 dr and a '86 2dr hatch, Both were great cars. Living in NY they took me through the worst winters. I had my '86 with me in collage and when it came time to take the 6 hr ride home for holiday breaks there was never a shortage of people who wanted to ride home with me in the Saab. It was smooth, comfortable, and easily held everyone and their luggage. Good times in a great car that never let me down.
When stationed in Germany I bought a 1983 Saab turbo 4-door with amaranth color. Drove that car all over Europe and the U.S. putting 298,000 miles on it in 17 years. I gave the car away to a Catholic charity-my wife cried when they took it. That was her car, she loved it! Lost my wife two years later. Sure regret giving up the Saab.
These cars were awesome. The design allowed so much interior space yet they were not "huge" outside. I always loved the different look of Saabs personally. To bad they are gone..sigh.
@@andrewcolsen Why should he forgive someone who took 50 billion USD and got away with it? Especially when GM was dying because of their own failures! Why the hell is it the taxpayers fault that GM put some of the worst gaskets ever built on their V6 engines? Why is it the taxpayer's fault that nobody liked the Aztek prototype, but GM decided to build them anyway?
I know it goes against conventional wisdom, but I really don't think the Edsel is any uglier than some of its contemporaries. Certainly not the best looking car of its time, but not the worst either. Even staying with Ford products, the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is much worse.
I know the PBS channel on Roku has a lot of Motorweek episodes, but nothing nearly this old. Is there any place to watch full episodes of the 80's shows? I love these retro reviews, I cannot get enough.
I had an 86 900 sedan . I was broke and needed wheels , it had over 200k on it when I got it ( for 1200.00 ) . Thought it was a penalty box but grew to love it more every time I drove it . Had it for years and it never let me down . A move forced it's sale ( got 1800.00 for it ).
I wish that when GM had owned SAAB, that they realized that they should have been a niche brand with low volume targets; as such insulated from "mainstreaming" like that god-awful 9-7X. The 900 (and later, the 9000) is what SAAB is all about. I would love to see a modern version of this vehicle again.
GM has no sensibility for anything, they were the worst possible company who could have acquired Saab. They're basically a meat grinder for brands and businesses.
I worked in a Saab dealership in the late 80s just so I could drive them all whenever I wanted. Nothing beat the SPG. What I wouldn’t give to own one now in Edwardian Grey...
Once in a while, a car comes along that just does not seem to ever age. The older it gets, the more you want one. The Saab 900 is just such a car. As small & easy to drive/handle/maneuver as a Civic or Corolla, yet is built like a Sherman tank & has more versatility than some station wagons. Oh, & in John's stand-up introduction & at 1:58, I noticed a red Ford Ranger on the test track. Did MW test another one aside from the brown one that you already shared?!!!
***** While I was never a saab fanboy I can appreciate the car and see why it is a timeless design. The 70's and 80's were such a cool time for cars, sure they weren't fast, safe, reliable, ect but they were all different and manufactures tried new things. Cars today for the most part all seem to be cut from the same mold with some (few) exceptions.
+landyachtfan79 I owned two. They were not versitile or easy to drive/handle/maneuver as a Civic or Corolla (I had no power steering). The other things are on the spot in your comment. I remember a 1000 mile trip from Stockholm to Amsterdam in my 99 GL. I did that trip in several cars. But the Saab was the only one that did not make me tired (and it only had a 4 speed manual!). Biggest drawbacik for me was the huge cost of ownership. Every time a service was needed, you could predict that the bill would be very high. Also, after 150000 miles they really are worn and need complete body off restauration, engine and gearbox replacement. I find that unacceptable for such a premium brand.
Still love Saab if you have one it's a keeper lol this vintage over thirty plus years this show is still on the good old days when real cars were made 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
what i love about saab is that they didnt care about style at this time . the design was perfection & these were very solid cars to drive in good & bad weather
Always fun to watch at the car wash when the kid doing drive-off jumped in one of these, only to hunt around for the ignition switch/keys as another washed car is slowly approached from behind. (Ignition switch was mounted in the floor between the 2 front seats, supposedly to eliminate the rattle of keys banging against the steering column.)
Wasn't for stopping your knee hitting the keys in a crash - it was so the key could lock the transmission when removed, to stop theft. Far better theft prevention than locking the steering column!
My grandma hated these things when they came out LOL she always said....I would saab if i had to drive one of those !!! Now they are very sought after !
I rode in one of these, about the same year and model, on a road trip to, appropriately, a cross-country skiing mini-vacation. Amazing amount of space for people and their gear. Great road car on dry pavement as well as the miles of snow-packed twisty roads we drove. Why on earth could she, did she, hate these?
I bought a used '83 or '84 four door with trunk instead of the hatch and it was a disaster to own. Constantly blowing fuses, failing to start, and just not so comical events like trying to fish out the broken plastic tab from the roof that had the sunroof stuck between open and closed when my knees went though the seat bottom, which turned out to be held up by burlap between springs. It was slow and felt like it was ready to take flight at over 80 mph. However, I thought it was gorgeous inside and out, just utter garbage mechanically. Of course I bought it used, so perhaps a previous owner was very rough on it.
I owned the cheapest 99GL and the 900S (with double carburettors). The 99GL was completely worn at 250.000 km. All of it. The 900S was hit by a truck after only three weeks of ownership and totalled. In that three weeks three different mechanics made six attempts to synchronize the carbs. No luck. Friends of mine owned two 900 turbos. They labeled it afterward as "the most unreliable car ever made". They got from SAAB under warranty three turbos and two engines before they bought another car. So, the 900 is a good car (it is, after all a stretched 99) but only with the cheapest single carburettor non-turbo engine.
+Ronald de Rooij My daily is a '92 Saab 900i 16 Valve and the engine is spotless. Some of the drive train is starting to show it's age, though. CV boots are all due a replacement.
Would love to see a retro review on an fc rx7 vert. You compared it to the mustang 5.0 vert, but a standalone review would be cool to see. That and a l98 vette review, saw the comparison between the z51 and base, but a normal review would be appreciated.
nothing like the smile a saab 900 gives you when you go up a hill with no problem, after seeing a bmw driver at the bottom getting the shovel out the boot
this was my first car in 1999, I beat the piss out of that car, and it was a blast to drive. it heald up pretty well, but I did finally kill the engine. My family went on to buy 4 more Saabs, each one worse than the last for reliability, like they say... Saab now, cry later.
My first car bought in 1999 for $800 was an '84 900s Sedan 5-speed. I loved that weird looking car and even though I was relatively poor at a rich suburban high school where most kids had newer cars, allot of my classmates loved my car because it was so unique. Transmission finally went out in college. I was probably pretty rough on it. But the engine was always sound and always started up.
After owning a 92 VW Golf 5spd and moving over to a 84 SAAB 900 16v 5 spd it was night and day for many a reason. The build quality, heaviness, safety was leagues above VW not to mention it was a hell of a beast on snow laden turf something the Golf was incapable of handling unless you had snow tires. The 8v 900 was a dog so slow a Chevette could out run me HOWEVER it was still one of the safest cars air bag or not on the road, reliable and had loads of room to put furniture (it was a hatch version). Miss these cars alot!!
I have always admired these cars, especially the turbo car that preceeded the 900 model line. Saab and Volvo were great manufacturers until they were swallowed up by corporate America and left for dead. The same thing happened to Chrysler, only in reverse. I'd rather see Saab endure over Chrysler any day of the week.
Curses to GM for killing this brand. Yes, it would be owned by another company but to me that doesn't matter. Now there is only Volvo left and they're not as quirky. Maybe Polestar will be. Still, this is a big loss. Very, interesting car and car company.
+Adam Baldwin Bypass the CIS injection fuel flow valve, Bosch CIS will operate with no electrics...once the fuel pressure regulator warms-up from the block heat(along with cold start valve which creates a vacuum bypass at idle)......it will stay at desired idle. CIS is actually very reliable/durable.........with regular fuel-filter changes........and the vacuum hoses(fuel injector to manifold seals) and electrical connections are kept spotless . I took over a orphan 1987 Peugeot 505 wagon with 2.0 and CIS............no problems whatsoever after nearly 400,000 miles on the clock....but then again I keep the engine compartment spotless.
D McNamara CIS will fail only if you leave it standing for many years. I bought a 1978 Volvo 244DL that was standing for 12 years and had to change all the Bosch CIS components (fuel distributor, injectors, pressure regulator, and air intake plate/diafraghm, as well as both fuel pumps) in order to start the engine again, and even so, had to renew some vacuum hoses to let the engine idle at lower RPMs. Other than that, CIS works perfectly well in a daily driving car like mine.
Viktor Jakobsson try look up the 80s Macau Grand prix, and you will know why, if you don't know the racing history between Saab and Volvo, then keep your mouth shut
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau_Grand_Prix Thats all I found. Could you please post some links? I genuinly cannot find anything related to Saab and Volvo and Macau Grand Prix. P.S no need to be a internet tough guy ;-)
These cars just keep getting uglier. Park/e-brake is on the front wheels, what a PITA. The brakes are especially weird and take up a ridiculous amount of space
+Martin Espinoza In 88 park/e-brake was changed so it was affecting real wheels. And so what? E-brake on front wheels is actually safer. That's why it was there in the beginning.
Didn't these have dual DIAGONAL brake circuits? Unlike most cars, which (mandated by US federal law starting ~1967 or so), had dual master cylinders, but split front/rear.
