Finally, we got a Saab! This is a ...sports...car? Not really, it's a car with a handbrake that goes to the front wheels because Europe or some such reason. And, what's up with the electrical tape over the headlights?
Unpopular opinion: I love this car. It's a perfect presentation of the owner and not everyone can say that. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but the chalkboard is a awesome feature and the rally lights are cool too.
Never before have I ever seen a Saab as cool as this one. The blackboard bonnet makes it customizable but still looks really nice. It's like non rice sticker bombing
I've been waiting for Mr. Regular's take on the Classic 900 for a while. However, it was really disappointing to see him talk ad nauseam about all the stupid things the owner did to this car and the e-brake setup prior to 1988. There's some incredibly unique engineering under the hood of this vehicle that he never touched upon: (A reversed slant 4 in a FWD config sitting on top of the gearbox, top of the gearbox is the oil sump, how the boost controller for the turbo is basically an analog computer, etc.)
John Rausch I agree, this review left A LOT to be desired. I have an '85 Turbo and it is a great and unique car. Reviewer decided to spend most of the video critiquing the owners extremely poor taste with how he decorated it.
I'm sitting in a hospital and it's quarter to five in the morning and I haven't slept in a very long time and this is the only thing letting me calm down thank you so much normally I have grammar and punctuation but a guy that looks like Eric Clapton is staring at me every time I click the keys on the keyboard.
When we were young, a friend used his stepmom's SAAB to drive us around. It had this terrific "night mode" that turned off all the lights-- fumble on your own to find the auto window winder. The only lights on the car were the very tip of the speedometer and the few MPH increments in between to tell speed. You don't need your fuel dial screaming at you at night that you have a filled tank. You don't need your oil light blinding you that your oil pressure and temps are nominal. I think this is a really missed out feature, especially now that everyone has television screens in their car pointed right at your face yelling, "Yo, check out all this regulatory information you can't ignore, and even if you do, I'mma illuminate a crapload of buttons even after you want me out of your life!"
Rev. Nathan I love the Nightpanel as it's called. I always used to push that button when riding in my parents many Saabs when growing up (we have had 9 since I was born!!), and I still do in my 9-5 Aero.
Rev. Nathan They said it was initially to help keep your night vision, but as soon as a car drives towards you with their lights on, it's effect would be minimal. They did keep it due to fan power though.
Rev. Nathan Yep. Even though the last of them (or rather the next to last of them) were basically the only way Americans got to experience a Vectra, I love that at least inside the car, you got a unique "Saab" experience.
As a Saab owner, I am so happy that you got an owner who really captured what it's like to own one - you spend 95% of the experience explaining how to drive it, why it's different from other cars, and generally making it a point to tell you that it's as delicate and finicky as a cat with abandonment issues. While I agree that there isn't a violently fervent Saab owner collective, I would argue that as far as loyalty goes, Saab owners are the worst. Saab owners usually own several of them. They get their families Saabs. They spend insane money locating price-gouged parts from overseas locations to fix that one little thing that doesn't exist on any other car. They're hyper-aware of their car, and can explain every little noise and nuance of it. To drive and own a Saab is to be aware of a vehicle like few will ever know. All that being said, they're absolute disasterpieces and I would never wish one on my worst enemy.
Weird, I always thought they were really reliable cars. I'm thinking of getting one but would it really go pop if you drove it/shifted it hard? What about an N/A 900? Are they a bit tougher?
There's this guy in my home town who has like 15 Saab 900s. Idk how he's getting away with it but he's basically an entire block's worth of street parking. Almost all of them are gutted so idk if he's using them for parts. But the strangest part is that it's in the DC suburban area where all these obnoxious, whinny, upper middle class, people live. They're the type of upper middle class where they try to act down to earth while being scared by anything remotely abnormal. So I'm surprised this guy hasn't been told to move them. But either way I'm here for it.
Evan Walters I know what JDM means. I am making fun of people who use the term JDM to describe everything, even pot noodles with Chinese writing on them.
Bought a Saab 900T in 1982 at height of its popularity--picked up duty free in Sweden--James Bond car, review called it 'a Mercedes on an acid trip' and it was a great car passed on to my son who drove it until 1995. Black with red mouse fur upholstery, turned heads. These guys don't give the brand the respect it deserves. BTW Saab was a great rally car.
Known in Scandinavia as the car of an architect and a head master of an elementary school. One head master I had, had two of these in succession in the 1990s so it was not far off in my world.
This was by far my favorite car. The turbo is fun and sounds cool. No, it's not very fast, but the way the power comes on makes it fun to drive. It has a ton of storage, way more than it looks like. I could fit my snowboard in the hatch without folding the seat down. The heater is amazing (important in MN), and it goes through the snow better than anything I've ever driven, including trucks and suvs. And if driven reasonably it got surprisingly good mileage too, close to 40 highway. I will always miss my old 86 900 Turbo.
My dad had a Saab 900 Turbo with that dark red colour that seemingly every late 80s Saab 900 had. It will always have a special place in my heart, since it's the first I car I have memories of.
while I agree that the stylistic cues are a bit odd, and they might not mesh well together. The owner injected his own personality into his build. He must love his car since he's treating it like an extension of himself. individuality keeps things refreshing. There is no definition of what a car has to be.
I think this SAAB one of the coolest car RCR has ever reviewed, if not the coolest. It don't takes itself too seriously and this fine blend of swedish retro magnificence with moe and JDM aesthetics is absolutely awesome. Kudos to the owner, I love your car.
Akorus I can appreciate it on an intellectual level. The deliberate, wilful even, juxtaposition of two things that don't seem to go together, like a country cover of a metal song. And it's done consistently and with dedication: Sticker-fest, drift charm, marker on the steering wheel, it's all there. But at the same time... uurghhh. That poor Saab. A funny idea but not funny enough to actually sacrifice a nice car to.
catfish552 Its true, I do appreciate these old saab when they are completly stock and clean BUT lot of thoses olds Saabs often ends up in the scrapward, so I prefer to see people like this guy getting hold of theses. Let's be honest unless they end in the hands of enthusiasts and collectionneurs who appreciate them, it is very likely for these car to be scrapped. People who do project like this do not take the cleanest cars available so it's not like they really did something wrong. (plus it is not like they were super rare.)
Saab, the car for nice people. Love Eighties/Seventies Saabs. I'd love a 99 Turbo or a 96 or even a 95 Two-stroke. I like the 900 flat nose on here but I'm not fond of the chalkboard paint though that's just personal preference. The idea with a flat black bonnet is another rally idea. In the sixties, teams would paint the bonnets in matt black so in safari rallies, the sun light wouldn't glare & blind the driver. It became a fashion thing later on, like you could order a Mk1 Ford Capri with a satin black bonnet from the factory because rallyisms
My first car was a 1987 Saab 900S, bought direct from the factory in Sweden. Currently in the hands of an automotive collector. Damn, I miss that car. Followed it up with a 2003 9-3, and they just weren't the same after GM got their mitts on them...RIP Saab-Scania.
You should have gotten a 900 turbo from 1987-1993 because those had handbrake on the back wheels and this guy has just ruined the looks of this car. SAAB is not meant to be riced it's a gentleman's ride.
Anders Lorentzon That's the dumbest thing I've read this week. But you also have a video with a Volvo A-traktor, so you can't be taken seriously. Jävla epapojke.
Glad you finally reviewed a SAAB... Eventually I'll get the rust on my '97 900S fixed, so you can see the difference a decade makes. For better or worse.
I like the 9-5. I like the 9-3. I like the 900.... But I don't like THIS 900. Don't get me wrong, saabs are really quite cool and I came close to buying one but what this guy did to his... Well, I can't bash his opinion of the car. However, I personally dislike it. That is all
What an awesome car. These things only turn up in junkyards with high 200k to 300k+ miles on them. Quality car, built like tanks and are quite fun to drive. Sad to see it in this condition, but at least it's still around and not at a local junkyard. (*I love those red seats*)
I remember how popular this car was in its early, fresher years with-up and-coming young urban professionals, just the way the presenter mentioned. The 9-5 could never quite capture that level of love and enthusiasm, which is strange, because on paper it was a significant improvement on the 900. There was a 'bit of magic about this car in the eighties, which has completely evaporated by the new millenium. Talk about faded glories of the past.
More importantly, you should have capitalized on the yellow inner lights and why some of us do that. Other than that, I like the 900t. He took a humble car and made it stand out. Fuck people saying he ruined it. It's all just aesthetic. It's still the same underpowered front wheel drive dentistmobile that some of us love.
That Really Got Dangits My Bobbies crine u mad as shyt. "oh, but it's supposed to be tasteful..." No, it looks like ass and I will roast you for it. It's embarrassing.
mynintendo How is it embarrassing to you, exactly? It's not you driving it. It's /his/ car. /He/ can do whatever /he/ wants to it. Sure, it's not tasteful by purist standards, but the owner's obvs not a purist. He's a modder and likes to fuck around with his car. More power to him.
Oh man, my parents had one of these when they got married. Exact same model, engine, model year, interior, and manual transmission, except theirs was white. They got it because they were stationed in Germany for my dad's job and needed something reliable. They still talk about how much they love it, they spent a long time driving it across Europe. They got it going pretty fast in the Autobahn and had 4 people and a dog sitting in it comfortably. Some of it might be nostalgia, but these are very reliable cars. My dad's boss at the time is the one who recommended they buy a Saab. He owned one and told them this story that when he was driving through the snow, he spun out and rolled it. But Saabs are built incredibly sturdy, they practically have a rollcage built into the body frame. It landed on its wheels and the engine was still running, so he just put it back into 1st gear and headed off to the nearest service station. If he were in any other car he might have died.
I like the hood. Owner doesn't give a fuck and neither should you. If I had it I would attach a box of chalk to the sidewalk-facing front quarter panel and write "PLEASE DRAW ON ME" just to see what happens when I park around town.
My dad has an '82 900 turbo sitting in his back yard collecting rust because it was rear ended pretty bad a couple of years back. By far one of the coolest cars I have had the pleasure to ride in. I hope to fix it up myself one day but Saab parts are a pita to find these days.
+RegularCars the Saab 900 Turbo Spg or Vigen are the real stars. The 900 was a daily commuter for the upper middle class working family in the suburbs of a flourishing Silicon Valley. The 900 convertible was the San Francisco hipster vehicle. Elsewhere in Europe. The 900 Spg was used by the mafia and run in the highlands of England on dirt tracks.
I own a 1993 Saab 900 turbo Convertible, and i keeps it clean and running well. I am a bit of a Saab Snob, but I think this video is Brilliant! Almost a masterpiece. It showed me the opposite side of Saab ownership. And while I don't ever want mine to look like that, it's still a SAAB to me. LOVE IT!
I love how my '85 Saab's turbo erupts with NVH when pushed hard. You really get to experience the acceleration rather than most cars' isolation. "Oh look, my modern car's speedometer is climbing rapidly - I hardly noticed over the whispering coming from NPR." The Saab OTOH is all about anticipation and riding the car hard like a slow horse faster than it wants to go. That's excitement.
Also, no mention of the engine sitting 'backwards' or the trans supplanting the oil pan, or the propensity to munch headgaskets, or the well known 'redbox' mod, or APC retrofitting? You have failed us all. (former 1988 900SPG owner).
I'm not sure that 99s or 900s '93 or older ate head gaskets more than the average car. Though my SAAB expertise lies mainly with 96s and 95 V4s and 2-strokes. But yeah, this guy never ever goes into any useful details. Mainly he likes to hear himself say strange "clever" comments.
My mothers friend gave me a saab 900 as I have a small collection of euro cars. I didn't like the 900 until I drove around a corner much too fast in one to find it lift off oversteer super hard, and point perfectly to my will. It doesn't handle like any other front wheel drive car; saab was able to fit double wishbone front suspension with the longitudinal engine layout. I get a lovely road feel in my hands which is the reason I like my old 635csi so much. The 900 is more economical and chuckable though and its becoming my favourite.
It's an American live action TV show that only had like 3 episodes in 2013 so whoever made the bumper sticker is misleading you into thinking it's an anime.
reverse drifting. all kidding aside, I myself am not sure why that's the case either. afaik, a lot of 90s and older cars are set up that way (remember the handbrakes that were next to the driver's knee that you had to pull and turn to release? yeaaaaah.) maybe it was just the way the car was designed?
thetableflip It's an anti-theft mechanism. Removing the key from ignition locks the shifter in reverse, so to make nicking them wheels a bit more difficult.
TheS2Guy No idea why they did it but if you think about it most of the weight of a car moves to the front when braking, if the regular brakes would fail it would be more effective to brake on the front rather then on the rear. It would also help against theft since it blocks the driving wheels.
I miss SAAB cars. The death of the company really had extra bad timing. The new 9-5 had just been launched with the station wagon just ready but not really out yet. The 9-4X would have been an important model for SAAB but it just came out when the company went under.
GM did not know what they were buying when they bought SAAB. If they knew they bought the largest prototype workshop in the world, they would have been successful, but they thought they just bought a label to slap on their other bland cars. That is why SAAB failed.
In 1998, I bought a 88' SPG from a saab mechanic that had rebuilt the entire car ( New HG, Every bushing in the front end replaced with poly, and he tuned the APC aka chip) I put the 9000 Super Aero rims with 215-40-16 nitto's on it and had it painted top to bottom in 85' Mazda crimson metallic... The car was the nicest car in southern Vermont... Would pin the speedo needle past the 145mph mark onto the odo reset button 5 people deep and with every window+sunroof open. The day after I got it painted, I parked it right in front of my highschool that morning and by the end of the day, I was a celeb... even the armpit hair laden French teacher came out to tell me it was the nicest car she had ever seen ( she drove a mk2 GTI, lived in Europe and knew cars). I drove it 8 years and 120k until VT winters killed it at 260k. By far the best 4k investment I could have ever made. Panty's hit the floor on the daily. On vacation in Myrtle beach and cruising the "strip", I had some mustang driver ask me what a Porsche Saab was? ( Dude thought it was a Porsche!!) The SPG version of the 900 came with a body kit, lowered/stiffer springs, oversized sway bars and pushed more boost to 185hp ( mine was somewhere around 215-225 ). Do not let this pig sway your view on the 900.. any post 88' 900 had all the ugly things fixed and had potential to cheaply be made into a neck braking ride.. Google Image a SPG after 88'... Rust free, they are $8k cars now. Ahhh.... memories
