Not just a van man anymore
August 26th, 2007 5:34:38 pm pst by Sterling CamdenFor the last eight years, we’ve been a one-car family. With all of the extra-curricular activities planned for our children’s upcoming school year, we had to change that. So why not do it with a little style?
Enter 1991 Saab 900 Turbo convertible, black and tan. It has almost 154,000 miles on it. Lots of little things wrong with it, the worst of which is no radio. The engine runs fine, though, and it accelerates and handles well. It’s only intended for on-island trips anyway, so it will always be within walking distance of home.
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Very nice. Congratulations, Chip!
Btw, you’ve been tagged.
It looks good, but those 154,000 miles should have tipped you off. Turns out there’s a fundamental flaw to the convertible design that puts undue stress on the engine. For some unknown reason, every trip from home to the closest groceries store takes 40 minutes longer than it should and crosses two state lines. It seems to be affected by exposure to sun and ambient temperatures.
Ahh a man of discerning taste and style – beats the easy/mindless option of a BMW anyday!
@Tish: Thanks! Tagged again?! Well, this one looks easy enough. I’ll get something published today.
@Assaf: I should have remembered — I’ve owned convertibles twice before, and both of them suffered from the same defect.
@Pisces: Thanks for the comment. I don’t like to overthink my image, but “Beemer-driver” is one identity I’ve shunned. “Love the car, hate the driver,” as my wife says. She also says that BMW stands for Break My Window.
1991! ACK! this thing is 16 years old..
I have to admit it has style, but I would be afraid of it breaking at any time.
Heh, Kiltak. Yes, my daughter said “it’s almost as old as our babysitter, and she’s old.”
The age and mileage really helped to bring the price down, and we didn’t want to get into another car payment. It’s just for on-island trips, anyway.
Besides, these Saabs are known for their longevity. The engine sounds better than the one in our almost-new van.
Speaking of van, look at what we just bought :
http://autos.yahoo.com/ford_freestyle/
They call it a “CrossOver”.. not quite a Van, Not quite a SUV..With 2 kids, and maybe a third in a year or two, we didn’t have much choice.
Just thinking of how much I have to pay for 4 winter tires is driving me crazy.. around 1500, rims included.
Looks nice. Yep, kids are the reason why we have a VW Eurovan. With the second row of removable seats facing the rear bench, we can place them out of arms reach of each other.
Before that, we had a Lincoln Town Car — which believe it or not was too small inside.