I quickly peeled of a couple of shots of this 900 because–sad to say—they are getting noticeably sparser on the ground, especially the older ones. But when I looked at this picture at home, I thought: look at how small and delicate it looks compared to the big butt of that great big CUV…whatever it is. But then I looked at the other shot, which shows that great big CUV for what it is…
I hadn’t really look at it properly…just another Traverse or such. No; that’s a Chevy Equinox (these are not exactly common around here). Isn’t the Equinox a “compact” CUV? Ok, this tiny old car vs. great big new car thing has become a meme, and a bit well worn. Yes, cars are indeed getting bigger. Meanwhile, let’s just savor this mixed-wheel 900 before it shrinks away to nothing.
Yup. My brother had a 4 door 900 turbo. Fun car to drive, but far from reliable; he blew up the trubo and said goodbye to SAAB.
dunno. my father had a stripper 900 5spd. without the turbo. stone cold reliable and the roll cage construction saved him from serious injury in the end.
Make mine a black, two-door turbo please. The check is in the mail.
Saw one just like that yesterday it wasnt parked near a fat ugly SUV so no real size comparism, they are getting rarer though
The 900 might be the best example ever of evolutionary exterior design. The original 99 is present in its lines, and even though the various changes and additions and enlargements resulted in proportions that a designer would never have aimed for at the outset, it all holds together. Beautiful and idiosyncratic in the best way.
BTW, why is the front end sitting so high in the air?
You cannot see it clearly, but the Saab is being towed by the SUV following open heart surgery. Added to the fact that the wheels don’t match, a sure sign of a donor body off to a better home.
Cool find. That was THE car to have in my high school.
That angle makes the Chevy (and Honda vs Chevy) in the background look huge.
The Chevy is only 3″ longer, 6″ wider and 10″ taller…all in all not a huge difference all things considered.
As long as these cars aren’t rusty, they can conceivably be restored at some point, and nothing rusts in Oregon…. RIGHT???
I owned and enjoyed a 1988 900 S sedan, with 5-speed and 16 valve head. It was quite a car, with extra tall gearing, a short engine stroke and soft seats, it was extremely relaxing to drive. I even liked the shift linkage-very solid-but it was the gearbox itself which was balky, and only when downshifting.
Hi Paul,
Autocar are trailing the Jaguar SUV on-line…..apparently the base version will be RWD only……I think I’ll take the 900 or better still a 99 Turbo in black
These are pretty well extinct here in the midwest. I do have shots of one in the can, waiting for inspiration.
I actually just saw a bright red 900 the other day. First one in a long time, with the exception of a gray one someone I work with owns. It was a later model than this with composite headlights. Growing up, my neighbors who lived across the street owned a black one just like this. I have fond memories of that quirky little car!
It’s amazing how much the small “cars” of today are huge compared to some of the “boats” of the ’80s. An ’85 Caprice might beat the Equinox a bit on width and length, but would look a bit delicate and shorter in height. The Equinox would blow away just about any FWD ’80s mobile for size and heft.
I would assume a lot of modern heft is due to the expectation of content – where to put all the airbags, etc., as well as the need to avoid poor crash test ratings.
Ugh…combovers. Me not like. Those Equinoxes are all over the place here in the QC. Bland, boring and totally uninspired. They make a Camry look exciting and sporty and…dare I say it…vivacious.
Nice Saab though!
*Insert remark about how huge and boring today’s cars are compared to the awesome cars of my youth here*
Am I doing it right?
I’ve never thought of the Equinox as a compact CUV. The original model was 16 inches longer and had a 4-inch longer wheelbase than my compact Tribute; the newer model (this one) is the same length but pushed the rear wheels back 5 inches.
And I don’t think Chevy has ever marketed any of their crossovers as exciting or inspired. Any model that sells its majority in silver (a.k.a. gray) is generally not such a vehicle. Also any vehicle that my grandparents buy.
Nice Saab – The front wheel (named Inka) is one of the most distinctive ever and a close second to Saab’s SPG 3-spoke on my list of favorite Saab wheels.
Haha when I saw the pic I was wondering the name of that Saab front wheel and made a bet to myself that someone would name it in the comments section. Thanks Jim!
I have a ’93 as my daily driver. last year of production before GMized. Great handling car. I heard it described as a BMW e30 sifted through lingonberries. I live in the north of Michigan where is snows around 200″/year and this car is often seen passing Audis and Jeeps. Longitudinal FWD is interesting.
I got stuck with a Equinox rental a while back and it didn’t drive too badly but whoa Nellie, was the interior in that car cheapened out. Really hideous and obviously supposed to send you to the Buick store.
There was a 1978 900 five door floating around the beater universe for a couple of years. We kept selling it and then getting it back. Owners would get terrified something would break on it. We loved the car when we had it since it had a huge cargo area and drove really well. These were very well built cars. I drove it quite a lot and even put a love-seat sized hide-a-bed in the back of it, and closed the hatch. The 2.0 litre with automatic was not powerful but it went just fine for the era. I loved it since it was so cool and unique. The only problem it ever had was when I ran it out of gas and toasted the fuel pump. In the used car game, you always try to drive something with gas in it or get somebody else to pay. Cut it too close that time!
No comment on the snowflake rims in front, followed by DaDa ism inspired back rims? Only Sweden, home of the Euro-progressive, could manufacture a snowflake rim inspired by Old Man Winter painting outside windows with the sharp angles of frozen water molecules. What unique rims came out of sun drenched areas? How come Japan was not inspired with nautical or fish tail rims?
Look 4 replies back… 🙂
That first photo of the butt of the CUV compared to the Saab really does illustrate where car design has gone over the past twenty years. The Saab here (and pretty much any other car of that vintage) looks absolutely lean, purposeful, and yes, more attractive to me. Cars today are just so bloated and so “neutral” looking. Blah.
Interestingly, I was recently looking at photos of the old liner SS United States (which is currently sitting rusting away at a pier in Philadelphia) and had the same reaction comparing how that vessel looks versus the current “cruise ships” which have evolved to look like floating apartment blocks. They really don’t even look like ships anymore.
Like older cars, older ships like the United States looked lean and purposeful. Nothing that didn’t need to be there was there….not an ounce of fat. It is nothing less than depressing to see where current car (and ship) design is…
I’ve had 3 of them and they were all reliable. I just have a habit of wanting what I don’t have and trading the 4 door for a convertible then a hatch back. I sold the last one with 275,000 miles and still see it driving around sometimes. I was definitely able to fit more into the trunk of my 1992 Saab 900 then my friends 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (both with back seats folded) when he helped me move.
I consider the Saab to be one of the ugliest cars ever. In fact it couldn’t be any uglier if the designer was told to design the ugliest thing possible. It even makes George bushes DTS limo fugly mobile look attaractive in comparison.