1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
...say, a muscle car or classic sports car.
In the same way that you can look at one of the "stars" of Jersey Shore and fairly quickly deduce what they're all about, many classic cars give it all away with their looks.
The thing with the 9000 is that to most eyes, prima facie, it just doesn't communicate a strong identity or purpose... it just looks like a slightly quirky old box.
Even the appeal of the fabulous power plant is not immediately obvious. I remember on many occasions double-declutch downshifting into 1st in my old Aero to go up a hill after a tight bend... it does get a bit old not having any juice down low... I remember trying a 6sp BMW 540i of similar vintage and loving the low end... but on the highway, it just wasn't really all that much faster than the Aero! (E34 M5 a much different story up top but also a bit weak in the low end... whole different scale!) Certainly the North American car buyer was (and still is for the most part, though this is showing some signs of improvement...) is more accustomed to a larger engine, and buying a $40k car with a 4-banger was a tough pill to swallow. A considerable contrast to a place like Italy where owning a car with an engine displacement of > 2 litres means you're probably the kind of guy who gets up in the morning and ponders which of your Patek Philippes you'd like to wear today...
Say you're a pretty good looking guy. If you work hard enough at it, you could have a 10. But she'd be a real handful and very demanding... or you could have a 7 with a heart of gold.
To me, the Saab 9000 is that 7. It takes a bit of relationship building for the car to really get under your skin, but once it's there, it's stuck.
One you're in and have strapped yourself into the driver's seat, got yourself past the raunchy shifter and crawled through town enjoying sub-2000rpm gutlessness, you hit the highway. The turbo girds its loins, and instantly, you're sold... but that's only the start! On a long drive you learn to appreciate the ergonomics. The surprisingly good handling (remember it's a 4-door family hauler...) becomes apparent after showing it a few long sweepers at speed, or simply driving in the snow. Speaking of snow, how about those seat heaters... After several trips to the pump, you learn to appreciate the (relative) fuel economy. The utility takes a bit longer to appreciate. It's only once it's time to pick the in-laws up at the airport (mum's got a lot of baggage...), go camping, go on a long road trip, move house, or just hit Ikea that the penny really drops.
I think once you've experienced all of this, simply looking at the car is a rather different experience than it might be to the average person who's never sat in one. You see character in its engineering depth. You see visual appeal in its cosmetic restraint relative to the available performance. And you see an attractive and engaging body because you know what you can be done with it!
One generally isn't born with the ability to immediately identify the differences between a a fine white Burgundy and a headache-in-a-bottle South African (yes I know there are some good ones...). I think it's the same with a car like this -- it takes a bit of experience to learn to fully appreciate it... but it's worth it!
--jeff
'85 900 SPG
'89 900 SPG
past:
'91 900 n/a 5sp
'93 9000 aero 5sp
'89 E34 M5
'88 Alpina B11 3.5 5sp
'88 900 SPG
'84 900 n/a 5sp
'84 900 n/a auto
'93 9000 CSET auto
posted by 24.84.216...
, Sat, 4 Feb 2012 06:02:47
, Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:03:42
, Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:32:29, Fri, 13 Jul 2012 08:19:39
, Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:41:18, Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:57:33, Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:23:08
, Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:59:07
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