(I will eventually write these vehicles up as their own COAL entries. For now, a comparison)
My daily drivers are about as Yin and Yang as one can get for 1980’s iron.
The Wagoneer is American and masculine. It is the canine of automobiles. Like a dog, it is dumb, slobbery, and loyal. It pushes through the pavement like a well cushioned and leathery punching glove.
The SAAB, like a cat, is feminine, functional, feline, and a bit exotic. Like my cat, it is loving, playful, adventurous, temperamental, and a whole lot goofy.
Like dogs and cats, they are also just as alike as different. Both machines require grooming and veterinary care. The SAAB needs a trip to the vet for a new steering rack; it has morning sickness. Hopefully it isn’t pregnant; I can’t afford another SAAB.
The Jeep just received a new radiator; it was severly dehydrated. Like my beagle, it recently had an emergency hernia operation. The u-joint on the front of the rear driveshaft decided it didn’t like to support its organ anymore, so the driveshaft took a violent exit toward the pavement.
Dogs and cats both belong to the order carnivora; the SAAB and Jeep also share evolutionary traits. They even share an order: oldvehicia. Both are rooted in 1960’s design. Dogs and cats are considered relatives mainly because they both have long sharp teeth. My vehicles were also pretty long in the tooth by time they were produced. The SAAB is a bit of a snob. It considers itself a purebreed, being the last car designed alone by SAAB. The Wagoneer is unabashedly a mutt. It is a Kaiser design, but the seatbelts and keys have AMC logos, and it was euthanized by Chrysler.
I am attracted to both vehicles because of their design, anachronistic idiosyncrasies, and peculiar ways. Like a dumb dog, the Jeep makes you learn how to lead it. I grew up in the age of fuel injection. To start the Jeep I have to follow a procedure. Turn the ignition to run, mash the gas once, and crank it ‘til fuel reaches the carb. To get my dog to relieve himself in the morning, I have to first give him a handful of food. Both Jeep and dog need to be primed.
The SAAB is proud if its logical design. The door sills are practically non-existent. I have never gotten my pant legs muddy while entering the SAAB. The dashboard controls are logical and ergonomic. My cat is also logical. He likes his morning meal, but fussing with the mashing of a gas pedal is not necessary. He prides himself on his intellect.
My vet and mechanic both have low rates, and are experienced with and willing to perform surgery on my dog and cat, Jeep and SAAB friends. Each pet, and each car, has its quirks, and I am happy to have them all in my company. Life would be too boring with only a dog or cat, Jeep or SAAB.
Like your taste in CC’s and this was a fun read–looking forward to your COAL on these and others!
I enjoyed your article and your take on dog-cat-Jeep-Saab personalities.
Thank you, this was a great read and very easy to identify with!
Such different animals, I mean cars. American and Swedish. I say Swedish because European is way to broad to hint on the characters of cars from that continent.
One thing is true for both: made for snow. Yet with a fundamentally different approach. You must be rolling the dice every morning to decide which one to take.
That’s one steep hill in the 5th picture. Does the SAAB make it uphill too?
Wolfgang, I have composed a QOTD regarding these cars and snow. I will say now, the SAAB is absolutely unstoppable in snow.
Excellent comparison. As someone who once owned a Saab 900, I can definitely relate.
There are so many thoughtful idiosyncrasies in the 900 that switching to any other car is always a matter of giving things up. Details like the sill-less door openings are subtle, but a driver really misses those touches when they’re gone.
Great photography too — I look forward to the full COAL entries for these cars.
i love both of these cars but until now i never thought about their differences. i remember the first time i drove my father’s manual transmission 1984 saab 900. it was a revelation about how well a front wheel drive car could handle. it was a thousand times better than a first generation vw rabbit. btw, to this day i still have to resist the urge to prime the gas pedal before turning the key in my fuel injected van.
Reminds me of my dad. He hasn’t had a car with a carburetor since probably 1985, but I still see him hit pump the gas one time before starting his car to this day!
I love both of your 80s icons! There used to be a lot of Saab 900s in Ithaca growing up, and a local shop that had a “guru” that worked on almost nothing but the quirky Swedes (a different shop downtown handled all of the 200/700/900 Volvos).
SAAB 900 vs. Volvo 240 would be an epic compare and contrast. Reminds me of the film “A Man Called Ove”.
It’s really neat that one country brought us two such great and different and charismatic vehicles during the same time period (if you can call Volvo’s staid and solid approach charismatic, I sure do).
Beautiful cars, and a great read. Can’t say I’m not jealous!
You have a wicked sense of humour. I am looking forward to more!
A very well used ’86 900S sparked a 10 year, 4 car Saab obsession for me. It’s true that there really isn’t another car quite like it. I still miss that car. But yes, its quirky feline personality was both endearing and frustrating. Yours looks like it’s in amazing shape. I’d love to find one like it, but there were never a whole lot of them in Florida even back in the day, so it’s not likely.
Love the Wagoneer. I had one years ago and liked it. I recently looked for another and found their prices had climbed well beyond what I could justify for an impulse purchase. Terrific vehicles.
I happened upon the Jeep while browsing craigslist. The seller must have not been aware, regarding the prices of Wagoneers having skyrocketed, because I got an insane bargain. I will discuss in more detail for the COAL post.
Well, I’m a fan of this pairing and definitely looking forward to you popping the hoods and getting into the nitty gritty with some COALs…This was a great appetizer!
Interesting pair for sure. The Jeep definitely calls out to me, although I can’t deny that Saab is cool. Kinda hard to say no to anything with 2 doors and a manual. Then again, in pet terms I’m FIRMLY in the ‘dog person’ camp so there’s that…
The Jeep definitely has had an altitude adjustment…looks to me about 2-3” higher than stock. The increased ride height and proper RWL’s instead of the dopey whitewalls are an infinity billion percent improvement, IMHO.
One thing that strikes me is how you apparently live where you get snow yet I can’t find any evidence of the tinworm whatsoever. I don’t know about saabs but if you so much as bring home a jar of olives in an FSJ you’re gonna see the pavement through the floorboards. So good on you for keeping a very cool rig so pristine!!
I just composed a QOTD regarding these cars, snow, salt, and rust. So, I can’t say too much now. I love the olives metaphor! I was searching my brain for a similar metaphor and I could come up with was eating french fries inside it, haha.
Regarding the lift, it may be lifted. The prior owner did a ton of work on it and the suspension was completely refreshed. The only issue is, the gas tank is on the driver side, and its weight has caused the jeep to lean to that side over the years.
I almost forgot…if the waggy is one that you plan to keep a long time (you’re crazy NOT to!) it’s worth it to look into a retrofit EFI kit. The 80’s combo of a dinky 2bbl computer feedback carb and a rats nest of wonky rube-goldberg smog contraptions make for a finicky driver. And while the AMC 360 is capable of making some serious power, these were choked down to about 144 hp. Torque was good at 280 lb-ft but that hp number is atrocious for an engine this size. A good EFI setup will wake it up and improve drivability.
I will invest in a Howell TBI setup when I have the funds. Though, for someone having grown up in the fuel injection eara, having a carb is kindof a fun throwback. But, I also use a typewriter at every opportunity, even though Microsoft Word is so much more efficient.
Right on, I totally get the idea of keeping the carb setup going for the novelty of it. That said, if it was my truck and keeping a carb was how I wanted to go, I would look into Edelbrock’s Performer series. I’ve owned a couple of ‘80’s CJs and while in its day the Carter BBD was a decent enough stock unit, by the early ‘90’s it was a nightmare scrounging the salvage yards for long out of production small parts. Those being 258’s I should have just bit the bullet and went for a Weber or Holley economizer.
My dad scrapped the stock carb on his ‘84 Power Ram (318) and hasn’t looked back. He can get parts thru Edelbrock no problem. Since TN has no smog testing, all that garbage is LONG gone. Only drivability issues are related to the 10% ethanol causing vapor lock but he’s about to upgrade to an electric fuel pump which should eliminate that issue.
The 360 has a Motorcraft 2100 carb, and I am pretty satisfied with its performance. I had a Jeep J10 258 with the Carter BBD feedback carb, and in comparison, it was pretty awful. The Wagoneer drives like an old cabin cruiser, and I am ok with this. I will elaborate in its full COAL post.
The Motorcraft 2100 seems to have a very good rep, as in about the best of any original carb.
Fabulous read! More please.
Your analogy is spot on. There are dog cars and there are cat cars. Despite my brief unrequited love affair with a Saab Turbo about 1984 or 85, I have been a dog-car person. Which makes some sense as in real life I have an allergy to cats. Looking back, I seem to have had an allergy to cat-cars too.
Your picture of the cat, er, Saab on the hill looks like it is in front of an old Carnegie library.
As long as you don’t have an allergy to cat-lovers, we are good!
That library is now the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw. My girlfriend grew up here has fond memories of visiting that library as a child.
Irrational love of finicky trouble prone cars, references to Linnean taxonomic classification, and a 2-door stick shift 900 parked on the beach. Yes, yes all excellent. I like the diversity in your driveway, and the image of that Saab switchgear reminds me of the 1979 900 Turbo my dad drove.
A friend had a similar 900, an 87 I believe. He wasn’t mechanically inclined and it didn’t end well.
Great pairing of cars and their taxonomy.
I’d have to say that my xb belongs to the order of Rodentia (rodents).
Stepahnie’s TSX is a cat, but a rather pudgy one, although it can still move.
My ’66 F100 is a…mule.
And my Promaster van is an….elephant.
Very well done, justaddoil.
I consider my Tahoe a lion…king of the road.
I drove an acquaintance’s 900 non-turbo sometime in the 90s. He was showing it off and wanted me to drive it to validate his opinion that it was the greatest car ever made. Nice car, to be sure, but my overwhelming impression at the time was that it drove just like the ’89 Accord I had owned. I know that it’s probably sacrilege to some that I said that, and the owner was insulted by me saying it then. I meant it as a compliment, and a short drive through town was not enough to expose it’s high speed dynamics and all that. But, it really did feel the same to me. The windshield reminded me of my old ’79 Bronco, too, with the upright, wraparound style. So apparently comparing it to a Japanese car and an old Ford was not a good idea. All my attempts at making up for my blunder came across like damning with faint praise. I told him I liked the ignition between the seats and stuff like that. He yelled that it would do 140 mph (Really? A NON-TURBO?) and the it handled like a race car. Well, so did my Honda I guess, I said since I had never driven a race car, and neither had he. He made an impression on me about Saab guys, an unfair one to be sure. To be honest, my Honda felt better to me, and it had pop up lights too.
One should always have at least one SAAB 900 (it’s an acromym, so it should be capitalized). And Volvos too, it must be said: we bought a ’67 122S in 1970, and several 240s since, and a ’67 SAAB 96 in 1971, a new SAAB 99 in 1974, and owned 8 since then. There’s nothing like a real (pre ’93 except for the ’94 Cabrio) SAAB 900. We still have 2 of them, and ’84 and ’87 we can’t bear to part with, plus a “GM” SportCombi wagon, and the ’99 that we’ve used for daily use as well for some fun on the autocross course:
While we’re on the subject of vehicle-to-animal comparisons:
MY vehicles (past AND current)
’96 Aerostar XLT…anteater (the nose)
2011 Ranger XL…mule (does whatever I throw at it, within reason; willing to work)
’85-’86 Nissan 720 Trailer…miniature horse (may end up lasting longer than anything else I’ve owned/currently own; in a way it already has)
2015 Wells Cargo MW6 Trailer…kinda hard to tell; it just works
Dad’s vehicles (current)
’04 Expedition Eddie Bauer…Clydesdale horse (biggest & the breadwinner of our family outings)
’08 Shelby GT500…cheetah (VERY fast)
’08 Ranger XL (yep, another one)…another mule (daily driver)
’97 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0…another mule (specialty work vehicle)
Mom’s car (current)
’07 Focus SE…house cat (grocery getter)
Brother’s Vehicles (current)
’01 Ranger XLT…a rather quick-footed mule
2016-17 Subaru Forester XT Turbo…another cheetah