Its been a while since I last made a posting here. So much has kept my attention elsewhere. Everything from living situations to dogs, you name it. Most importantly my career has been the biggest concern. For those who don’t remember or know, I’m a Saab employee. As you can probably imagine its been a year-long roller coaster with more ups and downs than most actually know about. Thankfully in the end, Saab was spared from the destructive intentions of GM by a conglomerate headed by dutch Spyker. Although the official switchover wont be for a couple weeks, I’m fairly certain that Spyker wont back out like Penske did with Saturn. Especially since the Swedish government guaranteed a loan (given the promise Saab works to build more efficient/ev friendlier cars, mostly in Sweden). I’m sure you know I’m relieved. One thing that struck me during the throws of fate was that I really under appreciated the brand and ideology. There were many who talked down about Saab and expressed thoughts that it should be killed off, but there were also people who owned these cars and loved them. Even while the cars broke and left them stranded. Truth be told, I’ve had a love hate relationship with many of the cars. When it boils down though, they’re very comfy, relatively easy to repair, and (though less nowadays) different. After owning one for a while, it fits you like an old shoe.

Rewind two weeks… We’ve had this blue 4 door 2000 9-3 SE (with only 75k miles!) sitting in our service lot for 6 months. A bad sensor made the car run so poorly, it melted 2 pistons. The car had been derelict since being towed in and having the engine half-disassembled. The owner, becoming more frustrated after a prior deal had fallen through, was about to donate the car for scrap. With my new mentality though, I thought why not offer her $500 and repair the car to get another Saab back on the road. I liked the idea of a hatchback for hauling around my dog too.

Fast forward to today. I’ve already dropped the rest of the engine and removed the pistons. a set of 2 piece BBS RK’s were sent out for refurbishing, timing and balance chains are on the way (from Europe, GM discontinued the kit here), pistons and rings will be here tomorrow, honing and valve inspection will take place in the morning, suspension and various trim pieces will be coming soon. I will be investing a lot of time in this car over the course of a month. I don’t really have many other important things to do I suppose.

Some odd things will stay though. The mis-matched and faded center caps, the small area where paint has been nicked-off, all the small nicks and scratches, The car will get one of those special tags with an SR-71 blackbird. Why? Character. What these cars are best known for and what many others lack. Many people would mind their commute less or take better care of their car if it made them feel like it had something to it short of, almost a personality. With what I’ve been though this last year and what I now think of the Saab brand, its very fitting. The car has been weathered, taken apart, and left for dead. With some initial spending, I’m putting it back to work. Adding a little bit of sportiness, while keeping some small things that make it what it is. Guess I’m not so different from Spyker. I’m sure both Spyker and myself will have some teething issues but in the end, the shoe will fit.

I’ll keep people updated on the project as time goes by.

-Sean

Everyone who has a car is looking for an inexpensive yet effective way to get it repaired or tweaked. Lets face it. Labor has become more expensive (my employer’s has gone up 31$ in 4 years!). On top of this, parts are more expensive, shipping is more expensive, and just plain doing anything besides breathing costs more. Now more than ever people are looking for ways to save. They have the choice of doing things cheap or not doing things at all. That’s where I usually come in.

I have time after work or on the weekends that I usually am available to do certain work on cars. I have an “agent” of sorts (ha ha) who usually brings me work, or sometimes I bring it in myself. Two minds are better than one for offering services. As a fellow car enthusiast, I know that modifying or even just maintaining cars can be steep now days. I like to be able to offer my work and expertise at a heavily discounted rate. I like being able to work on a variety of cars. I like being able to help people. Yes. Its that plain and simple. You’d think then that I get treated like a prince or that its all gravy. Well you’re wrong. Here’s my list of gripes.

People who have disgusting cars… Could you make it any more unpleasurable of an experience? I have to dig through your garbage to get to certain bolts or screws. A good example is when I have to remove rear seats to do rear suspension work. I find child seats on top of grimy cereal and gummy bears. These child seats are of course strapped in so tight that not even the mightiest of men could remove them. Then I have other items like soiled panties, cereal bowls, condoms, hair gels, and yes, even tampons. If I’m going to save you lots of money at least have the courtesy to clean your shit out. Also, please kindly remove child seats if you even think I’ll be working back there. You wouldn’t like working with that. Would you?

Head games… Now I’m a single guy and I’m always looking for a good date. I appreciate flirting and good company (even while at work). If you are a good looking girl with a great personality, please don’t get me all worked up and excited about a date for free work only to ditch me. Its wrong, so very very wrong.

Nit-picking… I like to make sure my work is good and I usually pay attention to details the best I can. I get a little mad though when somebody starts criticising certain things. Most cases, the parts are aftermarket and/or certain pieces are missing. Sometimes the cars are old and bushings or fittings come apart while work is being done. Shit happens on occasion. Then there’s the people who bicker about a car being 2mm lower on one side than the other, or alignments being a hair off after a drop. (I don’t have an alignment rack where I work, I do my best to get it dead-on, but its up to you to have it 100% aligned). You usually save at least $200 when I drop your car and my work is just as good as anyone else’s.

Inquiries… Please do not hit me up every hour with a new inquiry for work. Don’t blow up my voicemail or inbox with ridiculous question after question. Get it all together, and ask me once or twice.

Lastly, How you show up. IF you show up… Don’t tell me you’re going to be there and then not show up at all. If you don’t want to come, then at least contact me or my “agent”. I won’t be mad. Also, please do NOT bring your entourage. One person, One car. 

Thats pretty much it. I’m really a forgiving person, but sometimes the annoyances just become frustrating. Most mechanics or techs I talk to say they only do side-work on their mom’s car for many of these reasons. I don’t want it to be like that, I like working on various cars. I don’t ever want to feel differently.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to start off saying, Hello. Secondly I have to admit, something for which I feel strangely guilty. I am a liberal. Yes, I am in fact the son of two hippies, I do enjoy Starbucks, and I do not like President Bush. You’d think then I have a hatred for anything that has a tailpipe, spend my money on hemp everything, and use mass transit. You’d be wrong. I hate, absolutely loathe mass transportation. I don’t want to wear clothes made of grass, and I love the automobile in its many forms (well most). I love driving cars hard and making a carbon footprint the size of Tyrannosaur’s.

Obviously I love speeding. My Corolla is a XRS model with valve lift above six thousand rpm and I just love to get the engine screaming. The Saab has a turbo and though not as invigorating as the Corolla, it gets up to speed in decent time. I also like the feeling of passing on the highway. I do not like to sit and just cruise along. People here often do not check their blind spots and like to hang in yours. It could said that mindset is dangerous and meant for the track. It would be correct. Recently my addiction has caught up to me. While passing a tractor-trailer on I-95, I managed to be caught doing 86 mph (and this is in a 55 zone). Yesterday I plead guilty to reckless driving. I was quite close to license suspension but because I had taken a driver improvement class, had a good letter from my employer, and my record was clean (imagine that!), I was given another chance. Needless to say, I’m driving more slowly now. Can you blame me or anyone else for speeding though?

See. For some time, car companies have been adding power to cars to make them faster (or seemingly). As far as horsepower goes, five hundred is the new three hundred, eight hundred the new five hundred. Companies have also tried to make their cars handle better. Most still tend to under-steer. It could be said that cars have gained weight which is true in most cases. People pay attention to specs and their butt dyno though so they think it is faster. Anyhow that rambling is beside the point. The point is that it seems as if the companies know that speed sells and they encourage the consumer to do it. If you have been anywhere near a television, you’d know the Cadillac ad where the beautiful woman speaks in a sexy tone about being satisfied and then floors it. It encourages people to go out, buy fast, and drive fast. Maybe my car will arouse me on the way to the grocery store if I flog it a little. If I go around this off-ramp fast enough my lebedo will double. All this is well and good for selling but have you noticed that the “driven speed limit” has risen over the years? To keep up with the others on the highway, its not abnormal to be going nearly eighty miles per hour. Ten years ago, it was sixty five. What could possibly slow us down (besides VA’s best)?

Now, with gas prices the way they are and the real estate issues, driving has become what many now call an expense. More cars now days require the use of premium, less cars get as good miles per gallon in real world driving than they used to. There is now an additional marketing strategy where auto makers now tout MPG or hybrid drivetrains. It is nonsense.

Here is a scenario for you. You have a paid off somewhat late model Honda Accord. You decide that you would like a car that gets better mileage or less environmental impact. You take your Accord to the Toyota dealer and trade it in for a new Prius. New with options they can run around 25,000. Trading in the Accord brings it to 19,500. Okay, with Toyotas best percentage rate, your car payment is roughly $360 a month for 5 years. That said say the Accord was a 4 cylinder model. The Prius realistically gets 40 mpg and the Accord in the neighborhood of 25. the Prius has a 12 gallon tank with a range of 480 miles and the Accord a 17 gallon tank with a range of 425 miles. Considering using regular unleaded and driving only a moderate amount a month, after the math, you’re paying $360 to save $60 monthly. Cancelled out, the Prius is costing you $300 a month more to operate (and more because cars with a lean require comprehensive insurance). Will that feeling of doing good for the environment validate that expense? Not in my opinion. Besides, for every gas sipper on the road, there are dirty planes, factories, old cars, chemicals, fumes, people, and cow farts. Don’t forget the exploding economies in Asia. They’re now the ones clubbing seals, sun burning penguins, and drowning polar bears. Hah! What Kyoto treaty!?

Anyhow, what you can do is just drive. Speed if you want to (though I do recommend slowing down, a little). Don’t buy cars on a premise that doing so will make you a Planeteer. The economy and gas prices will always do their own thing for the most part. Did I learn my lesson about speeding? Not really. I still do a little, but who doesn’t. Everyone does. Yes, I would jump off a bridge if everyone else did unless it was in a Prius.

-Sean