1965 Saab 96

Seems like a good time to write my first ever post on Saab, as Saab was in the news recently (although not in a good way).

Made for two decades, the Saab 96 is a curious vehicle with a two-stroke engine, front-wheel drive, column-shifting transmission and a 'freewheel' overrunning clutch, allowing the engine when coasting to reduce its speed to idling, thus requiring only the small lubrication available from the closed, coasting, throttle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So where did the company go? In 1989, (from The Guardian), General Motors, "panic-bought Saab... ­after losing out in bids to acquire Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar." GM had actually bought 50% of the company at that time, and purchased the remaining 50% in 2000. That year, Saab sold a record 133,000 cars worldwide. Following GM's bankruptcy, it sold Saab to Swedish sports car maker Spyker. That tiny company's attempt to keep Saab going was a failure from day one; and because GM wouldn't allow Spyker to include the GM technology in Saab cars as part of any sale of the company, Saab filed for bankruptcy. 

Saab's assets were then purchased by a Chinese company who announced the brand name National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). That company's plan was to restart production of the Saab 9-3, first as a gasoline powered car, then switching to electric. Long story short, after producing a handful of electric cars, the NEVS project is over and the company is trying to sell its Saab assets. While in theory the Saab brand could rise from the ashes yet again, it seems unlikely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The logo above represents that Saabs are the cars "born from jets". The car company was started in excess factory space by Saab Aviation.

 

 

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1946 Dodge WF32 1.5 Ton Dump Truck

The 1939-47 Dodge is absolutely my favorite truck. Observations:
* This truck is parked in the same spot I saw an unrestored 1937 Plymouth a while back. This owner must have some interesting stories.
* Also sold as the Fargo in Canada. You may remember the Fargo from Mad Max: Fury Road.
* Trucks sure had tiny cabs back in the day.
* Just open the bottom of the windshield for free air conditioning.

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1995 Jaguar XJ-S convertible. The V-12 Supercar You Can Afford (To Let Sit In Your Garage).

The XJ-S convertible with V-12 engine had an MSRP of $82,550 in 1995; that's just about $150,000 in 2021 dollars. Yet it's no big deal to pick one of these up in good condition for about $15,000. How can that be? Well, Jaguar made some of the most beautiful cars of all time. But they don't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to long-term reliability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From carbuzz.com: "Even though these cars are cheap to buy, they are notoriously expensive to own. Even the youngest XJS is now a 22-year old car, and parts are going to need to be replaced. If you fancy the idea of owning a gorgeous grand touring car with a V12 engine, here are some issues you should watch out for. Fuel hoses in the engine are known to deteriorate over time, causing engine fires. The upper shock bushing are prone to failure resulting in a rattling noise over bumps. If you do decide to own one of these cars, you'd better be very handy and resourceful or know a very good mechanic. The good news is, the XJS is so plentiful, it isn't too difficult to buy a spare one to use as a parts car."

Uh sure, just buy two of 'em and keep the second one for parts.

From driving.ca: "Where do we even begin with this one? The Jaguar XJ-S and XJ-12 might be the most affordable V12 cars you can buy, but that affordability comes at the expense of reliability. The Jaguar XJ-12 has two radiators fed by two coolant tanks, with two fuel tanks, two fuel pumps and a battery that has its own thermostatically controlled cooling fan. If that isn’t enough to terrify you, these cars are filled with a mind-boggling maze of infamous Lucas wiring, with fuse boxes at seemingly random intervals along the fenders inside the engine bay. And when things do break, engine access is worse than anything except a twin-turbo 300ZX (look it up, it’s spooky!). Opening the hood on a V12 Ferrari reveals gleaming cam covers and polished intake manifolds, whereas the underhood view of a V12 Jaguar is dominated by a mess of vacuum lines and wiring that resembles the Windows “pipes” screensaver. This is not a car for the faint of heart or slim of pocketbook."

 

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