Posted on 12/19/2011 10:49:22 AM PST by Lockbar
Car maker Saab ran out of time Monday when its Dutch owner filed for bankruptcy, calling time on a nine-month battle to rescue the struggling Swedish marque.....
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
another swedish success?
I own a 1994 Toyota pickup that has 63,000 original miles on it. Nothing fancy...a motor, steering wheel, shifter, radio and air conditioner. It’s my favorite little truck and it is still in fine condition.
However, it came from Toyota when they were at the top of their game.
Toyota has had some rough going. But most Taco/Tundra drivers seem to like their trucks. Same with Frontys/Titan.
You will be driving your ‘94 Toyota until odometer turns 200K. Most do, unless they trade in for fancy new truck.
Or you can replace the Bosch parts at $500 a pop.
That's okay - they have Subaru ready to step in to fill the void. Have you seen Subaru's touchy-feely commercials lately? Enough to make you lose your lunch!
Seems to me, the only car commercials that are aimed at middle America anymore, are those for full size trucks. The rest all seem to be pandering to the hip, young, urban, liberal set.
With the rear seat folded down, I once carried a full-sized Sears Kenmore washing machine in the back of my 1985 SPG... ...with the hatch closed.
I think that is the new middle America.
I carried a Kawasaki jet ski 550 in my SPG
I've known LOTS of Deadheads and tech-geeks who own(ed) Saabs, and even a marijuana grower or two, but not very many yuppies...
The original-edition 900 Turbo (1980 to 1993, and particularly the 16V from 1985 on) was a spectacularly good car. They handled like 4-seater Porsches and had gobs of acceleration. They were extremely easy to maintain and repair in your own garage and they were just weird-looking enough to keep ‘posers’ from becoming interested in them.
I gotta admit, that's true for my house. We haven't owned a passenger car for over a decade now.
I once flipped a 1984 Saab 900 end-over-end at well over 100 mph (the State Police investigator was unable to determine exactly how many times the car flipped, but he estimated it at between 5 and 7).
The car was totalled (of course), but I walked away with a small cut on my left ear from flying glass. I should probably also note that I WAS wearing a seatbelt.
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