Jalopnik: Saab 900

Trio Of New Hampshire Survivors Spans Seven Decades, Three Continents Of Car History

Murilee Martin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than Island That Rust Forgot. FuzzyPlushroom has sent us photos of a sort of Detroit-Trollhättan-Tokyo combo platter that he captured in his home state of New Hampshire. Jump, you, to see the entire gallery and read Fuzzy P's description.

Ford Model T: Parked on Main Street, Jaffrey, NH. It seems to live in that parking spot, though it's only appeared earlier this summer, and is driven regularly. I'm not dedicated enough to identify it down to the year, but it appears to be an earlier model - pre-1920s.

Honda Accord: A first-generation Accord hatchback with some, ahem, modifications. Happily, it's not "riced", just flamed, pinstriped, and given ugly seatcovers that I didn't bother photographing. I got a quick shot of the dashboard, but didn't get any real detail shots, as it was parked in its usual location, and the door to the house was open. Also - yes, that's my bicycle in the background there... I yelled "Nice Accord!" to the Honda's owner later on; got the hook-'em heavy-metal horns in return, so I think he was pleased that I actually identified it.

Saab 900 sedan DOTS (Jaffrey, NH). '83-'86, as best I can tell. It's a close relative to the Alameda Saab you posted in December, in navy instead of white. These are relatively common here, though I never seem to have my camera when they park on the roadside... The turbo convertibles hide in Peterborough, which I don't visit often, but I'll keep you updated if I manage to shoot one. The rear window shot, while likely too fuzzy to post, shows why there's no interior shot! Don't mess with an ex-seaman.

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Saabophiles' Delight: Vintage Turbos

Mark Arnold — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:20:00 EDT

When we showed you the 2008 Saab Turbo X the other day, we found out that more than a few of you are closet Saabophiles. And while we certainly respect the new Turbo X, there's just something about older Saabs that can't be replicated by a contemporary car. So for all you Swede fiends out there, here's a second look at that pretty little perfectly-restored 900 Turbo that the GM Heritage Collection brought along to the 9-3 Turbo X comparo test. And since we're at it, we've included a gallery of of various vintage Saab Turbos for your viewing pleasure.

The Saab Camper Is The Ultimate Trollhättan Touristmobile

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:15:00 EST

There was a time when we thought the Honda Element Camper was the ultimate post-Westfalia portable camper. Then we saw the appropriately named Toppola camper shell made for a number of Saab hatchbacks. Starting with the Saab 99 combi coupe, the conversion was quick and involved mostly removing the hatch and dropping in the camper shell. Made by SCANDO, the Toppola was also fitted to later Saabs including the Saab 900, 9000 and 9-3, which looks exceptionally fetching in red with the camper top.

Sadly, the business ended in 2006 and the company is looking for someone else to to take over production. There's one major obstacle to producing new Saab campers going forward: Saab sedans no longer feature hatches. We say transfer the thing over to the new Skoda Superb. (h/t to SLRSpeedShop) [Toppola Official Website]