After the washrack guys washed my wife’s SAAB this afternoon, Tommy pulled it up to the front of the dealership. He got out and dried it a little more with a chamois giving me a chance to bend his ear. I walked out and said, “Now this is a nice car!” He just grinned. After washing $100,000 Mercedes-Benzes, I guess our car didn’t generate much of a thrill for him. For me, however, this is a car that I enjoy driving. I drove Jefferson to basketball practice in it this morning and noticed the quick responding steering and suspension. Even with 160k miles on it, it’s still a fun car to drive.
But I’m not the only one who still enjoys the SAAB wagons. I just sold a 2006 SAAB 9-5 SportCombi to a customer who, believe it or not, is trading in a 2005 Volvo V70R AWD with a manual transmission. I was wondering how he would like trading a 300 hp AWD Volvo for a 260 hp FWD SAAB. I found out during a recent test drive. While stopped at a light he said, “Here’s the deal.” I was waiting for an offer but instead, he said, “I’m in love with it.” A few minutes later, he agreed to buy it. It helped that he had owned several SAABs in the past. But I think it’s more than that. The SAAB wagons are a special breed — fun to drive and with plenty of cargo space when you need it.