I remember the folks in Finland back in 1986 being very proud of the products made at the Saab factory in the eastern part of their country. - Larry

My old Saab 900S served me well over the course of many New England winters. Even today, you'll see many of these babies on the roads of Vermont.

<...many of these babies on the roads of Vermont...>

Rusty, abandoned wrecks, or roadworthy and running?

Roadworthy and running, I'm pleased to report! Granted, there aren't as many of the 900s around as during the 1990s, but it's a point of pride among some Saab owners to have a vehicle with 200,000 or even 300,000 miles.

Yeah, Saabs seem better than average in regards to rust. Overall great cars that will outlast anything else when taken care of. The pre GM car's only flaw was an ignition system that sometimes didn't like getting drowned (in deep puddles.) I agree with this Jalopnik article as to why Saab failed. http://jalopnik.com/5429758/the-seven-cars-that-killed-saab/gallery/ IMHO, the 100% GM owned Saab tried too hard to compete with luxury brands but failed by not staying competitive in regards to performance. Where BMW and MB keep updating/tweaking their powertrains nearly every year, Saab is unchanged since 2003. Of course Saab should never have alienated it core consumers. The 50% GM owned Saab maintained quality features like full leather interiors, real glass headlight enclosures, and real wood in the dash/door trim. When GM took full ownership, major cost cutting measure came into play. (...and where's the hatchback?) If Saab stuck to their roots with classy, middle of the road, practical, and efficient cars, they'd still be OK. I realize that part of the problem was, production had to move out of Sweden due to the poor exchange rates. However, by trying to build what GM execs view as "the car people what" they shot themselves in the foot. Hence the point made in the link.

Had a SAAB 9000 for 5 years during the '90s. A bit sedate, but what an absolute pleasure to own and drive. Cruising along the Autobahns at 200 km/hr you felt absolutely safe and in control (and the best seat warmers of any car that I know kept the wife from complaining about the cold).

I had some three cylinder 2 cycle Saab with a hydraulic clutch. Was driving home one night with 86 cents and told the girl we needed some oil.

She wanted a loaf of bread and out screamed me, so the next day the engine seized.

Not fully out a design flaw as far as the car was concerned.

Thing I disliked most was that if the battery was low, I couldn't jump start it, like a normal car.

After riding the bus for three months or so, hour and a half both ways to work, got the money to buy a Ford Falcon.

It was a little better, though one day the drivers side window just cracked into pieces for no particular reason, and another day I was driving and the hood latch let go and causing me to have to drive for awhile with my head out the window.

Between a sheet of plexiglas and duct tape and some wire, we got around.

Not too fond of Fords or Saabs myself.

Liked my Pontiacs and appreciated Chevys.

Didn't think much of Olds really, since typically they mated strong engines to weak transmissions.

Got a Toyota and a Honda in the yard.

Subaru is my dream car.

Good luck GM, we'll need it.

Really can't think of a worse place to spend the money, other than maybe some Trabant Russian place, or maybe on Fiat.