Older Cars

Why is it that I so want the 1985 SAAB APC for sale down the street and harbor near disdain for the newer and perhaps more reliable 1989 Acura Legend Coupe available just a bit further to the south. I have driven both cars in a quest for a fun, interesting ride to add to my stable of older cars. The Acura is quite nice, comfortable, fast, and rattle free. It has all of the bells and whistles that (mostly) still work and the owner has all of the paperwork since new. The SAAB on the other hand runs rough, smells funny inside, and hasn't been worked on in a proper import shop for years according to a few peeling stickers under the hood. The APC's turbo makes all kind of noise (almost like a Tatra 813 under load) and there is a fine mist of wasted hydrocarbons spewing from the rather rusty tail pipe. The price difference is marginal, and for all of the problems with the SAAB, one might think the Acura is the natural choice. For me, this just isn't the case.

I want that darn SAAB! There is something strangely appealing about the notion of owning a car that requires the driver start the engine from in-between the seats, opening a hood that clamshells gracefully over the front clip, and demands the operator to watch out for distorted objects on apexes in the windscreen due to the severe concavity of said chunk of glass. The Acura just does not possess the same level of quirkiness as the SAAB, as fine of an automobile as it is. The Legend starts and runs as it did in 1991 while still on a note, yet I still want nothing to do with it. I suppose if I were purchasing a car for my son, the Legend would be a smarter choice, but at the time of this writing, he's three so I'm leaning towards the APC.

Now, why is this? Why do I want the potential headache (heartache?) of the APC over the almost certain long-term civility of the Acura? I think it comes down to a response from the form each car takes. The SAAB was built as a pinnacle of Swedish engineering- the last of a long line of odd yet mighty efforts from the small, independent auto company in Trollhattan. I can almost sense Evert and Jens placing the inner door panels on the door frames or Arvid and Rakel talking about crash structure details during an safely engineering meeting. The generational integrity of the 96 and 99 is not lost in the '85 900. The Acura follows a different logic completely. It was surgically prepared for a marketplace full of high end European coupes with near laser beam precision. The details scream "more content for less". The cabin is airy and welcoming, yet the car doesn't feel like a glorified Accord. Honda sold piles of Legends and SAAB sold itself to GM. Much more analysis was utilized to bring the Legend to market, and I think that's the reason why I don't want anything to do with it- it feels contrived whereas the SAAB feels real. (It’s funny that the comparable Sterling (Rover) sedan didn’t work in the states, as the Legend pair did. I suppose that a contrived English car from a contrived Japanese car was not the best of ideas at time! Time will tell how Indian English cars do here...)

It's not to say I have something against Japanese automotive products. This just isn't the case. My wife has owned a long line of Mazda offerings and the present 6 Wagon is a fabulous car, at least for the price point (yes, I know it’s built in the US, but so are Camrys). Secondly, there are a few Japanese cars I long to own. The Subaru SVX is one of them. This car was Subaru's response (in a way) to the Mitsubishi 3000 and never quite took off- too odd, too expensive, and too Subaru. In my opinion, Subaru has lost their way with the range current offerings. Although the Tribeca was "Subaruy", it was plan ugly. Now, the entire Subaru line-up is much too Toyota for me. It's hard to believe that Toyota’s 20% ownership has influenced 95% of the design. Even the WRX just doesn’t quite work as it once did. I'd also love to own a '95 RX7. That was certainly a pinnacle machine for the folks from Hiroshima. Forget about the oil consumption issues, that car could perform with the best of world at the time. It's not to say the RX8 is not a nice mode of transport, it just needs to have a turbo and look a bit more aggressive to make it completely desirable. Finally, the original Toyota FJ40 interests me a great deal. The glorified 4-Runner of today just doesn't compare to the Jeep clone that was the first FJ.

From what I can garner, when the Japanese auto manufactures rid themselves of the Japanese-ness of their cars and began utilizing market analysis to bring vehicles to market, something was lost. The quirky Corona became the Corolla and the soul was lost in translation and the “auto-appliance” was born. Although Toyota now dominates the field, and many people purchase their cars, I really have no desire to own any their vehicles. I'd consider a diesel Prius (mostly for the hyper trip computer that is very fun to play with), if it existed and the Camry, with it's crooked model badge on the rear deck, is out of the question! Otherwise, focus group autos do nothing for me, regardless of country of origin (I’ll ramble on the Jetta/Passat at some point in the future...). The tarted up Opels of today with SAAB name tags do nothing for me either. The modern 9-3 is a far better machine than a '95 900, but it's still a SAAB in name only. Evert and Jens are certainly pensioners by now.

So, here I am, about to make a decision. The Legend or the APC. Of course, there is another option. I could hunt for the red Alfa 164S I’ve always wanted or search for the 1983 Peugeot 505 Wagon that still looks good today, even if parts exist in theory only. Of course, there’s my neighbor who owns a really nice VW Beetle that he’s been trying to sell to me for years- I could go there too. The APC can wait (it wouldn’t be my first SAAB) and the Legend can go to a deserving first year driver. I think I can wait a bit longer to fill the hole in my garage. I saw an SVX in the paper last week- maybe I’ll give them a call.