Dear Car Talk/NPR,
Thank you for accepting our donation. We know that our car will likely go to the dismantler, but we appreciate your request for us to tell you it’s story as part of your donation process. This sentimental gesture has given me closure that has made parting with our beloved car feel a little bit better.
A Eulogy To The SAAB
When I was a little girl, my dad had a black SAAB 900 turbo. It was fast, sleek and loud in the best way possible. We could hear the distinct low growl of him coming home from blocks away. I grew up loving the feeling of the car’s sporty acceleration, shifting and cornering while I rode in the passenger seat. We called it ‘The Batmobile’. He eventually got rid of it and upgraded to a newer car, but when I turned 16 I knew just what kind of car I wanted.
My dad found a 1991 SAAB 900 for me, and it was love at first sight. The same responsive, energetic engine and low growly sound -except I was at the wheel now. It was my pride and joy, while my classmates and friends had shiny, new cars from the 2000s. I loved it with such confidence and unabashed enthusiasm that my friends had no choice but to appreciate it. My then boyfriend/now husband found his own SAAB 900 and for years we had matching cars. He eventually gave his to a friend of ours who fixes up old SAABs, and he upgraded to a newer car. The separation of our SAABs included no less than tears and a photo shoot. My SAAB was passed on to my younger brother and sister, and they loved it with as much certainty and vigor as I did.
The summer my husband and I got married, my sister got rear ended in our SAAB. We contacted our friend, and used parts (including the hatch door) from my husband’s old SAAB to repair ours- Despite his car being white and ours beige. It felt oddly symbolic that at the time that Blake was marrying me, a piece of his old SAAB was getting welded onto our family’s SAAB. (However, the hatch was never quite the same and would sometimes fly open if we drove over train tracks too fast.)
The SAAB saw all three of us siblings through our high school and college days, and was often the reliable back up car when our newer cars were in the shop. Driving the SAAB has always felt like coming home -with its gassy/oily smell, loud purring engine, and responsive turbo. I know that none of us will ever have a car quite like it again.
As the years have worn on, the SAAB has been showing its age and is no longer being driven, but it is still oddly comforting and sentimental even just to sit in it while parked in my driveway. It is with heavy hearts that we have all reluctantly agreed that the time has come to say goodbye to our beloved, trusty SAAB. It has run a good life and will be forever cherished by us all. We ask that the dismantler show grace and respect as the SAAB moves on from this life.
Love,
The McCarthy Family
Kevin donated a 1991 SAAB 900 to Northwest Public Radio through the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program.
Thank you, Kevin!
Filed under: SAAB, Northwest Public Radio