On Saturday, May 19th, 2007 I managed to visit the Saabs @ Carlisle 2007 event in beautiful Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the “State of Independence”. I arrived at the event in the morning and was immediately impressed by the picturesque day that I was presented with. This event was absolutely incredible with the bright blue skies and plenty of sun throughout the day that lent itself to a beautiful presentation of well over two hundred Saab models exhibited by the Saab owners and enthusiasts from all over the North East and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

This event was centered around the incredible Saab Automobile USA Heritage collection that was in full display that consisted of the 1952 92, 1960 93F GT750, 1956 Sonett I 94, 1960 96 RAC Rally car, 1966 96 Monte Carlo 850, 1966 Quantum IV, 1967 Sonett II, 1970 Sonett III, 1970 99, 1978 99, 1986 900 Convertible, 1987 9000 “Talladega”, 1987-1991 Skip Barber Race Car, 1990 900 SPG, 1995 900 “Pikes Peak”, 1997 900 “Talladega”, 2005 9-2X Aero and the 2006 9-3 Aero Convertible.

This event is the premiere event for the Central Pennsylvania Saab Club that annually manages “Saabs @ Carlisle” and I must say it was well organized, with particular acknowledgement of the prerequisite for the lunch engagement whereby all registered entrants were required to vote for the best Saab in each of the categories shown in the photography below. As the winners were announced as everyone gathered inside of the Saab USA Heritage Collection tent, there was a tremendous amount of applause given to not only those that brought their car in for judging, but for the team at GM Heritage Center that kindly spent their time in transporting as well as fully restoring and/or preserving each and every SAAB in the collection. I understand that there will be some additions to this collection that will be showing up in the next year, so keep your eye out for them.

Circumnavigating the Highways, Streets, Roads and other appropriately titled venues in the Saab section at Carlisle proved to be an exhiliarating adventure for an enthusiastic photographer as I hope you can see in the photos I have provided below. It is clear that the the “SAAB” presence far outweighed all other marques on the lawn that day the sheer square footage that was designated for Saabs @ Carlisle.

The last area that I visited at Carlisle before my visit came to an end were the vendor spaces that included those specifically selling a plethora of SAAB parts, accessories, product literature & toys. There were some wonderful finds at each of these vendor spots that I be providing more information on in the near future.

Throughout the event, the photography, voting, and all other activities were great, however the memorable dialog I had the opportunity to have with friends and colleagues was probably the highlight of the event.

I hope that this summary captures some of the major Saab highlights as well as the other key aspects of the Saabs @ Carlisle event this past Saturday, May 19th, 2007.

This event was my first that I have made it to which certainly won’t be my last. Enjoy the photography.

The General Motors - SAAB Heritage Collection

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab 9-3 Viggens

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab 9000

Photo Credit: Saab History

Saab 900 Convertibles

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab SPG

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab 95 & 96

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Classic Saab 900 (1979-1993)

Photo Credit: Saab History

The New Generation 900 (1994-1998)

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab Aero Models

Photo Credit: Saab History

The SAAB 99

Photo Credit: Saab History

Vendors selling a plethora of SAAB parts, accessories, product literature & toys.

Photo Credit: Saab History

Central Pennsylvania Saab Club Tent

Photo Credit: Saab History