Saab History

Photo Credit: Saab History

Today marks the Saab Sighting of the week taken at the modern art section of the National Gallery of Art here in Washington, D.C. I think this photo in addition to the previous photo of the laser red Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan at the original wing of the NGA are great additions to this ongoing series of Saab sightings.

The 1990 Saab 900 Turbo in this sighting appears to have been repainted as of late, but as you can see, both inside and out, this “black turbo” is in super condition and the mileage is just a tad over 110,000.

Film Credit: Channel 9 News

Actor Russell Crowe’s Saab 900 3-door in malachite green has been caught on film by channel 9 news here in Washington, D.C. The car appears to be located as earlier mentioned, directly on Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Streets, N.W. in front of the Wilson Building.

This debaged car has to be a 1990 model from what I can make out and it certainly is not a 1997 model as the aforementioned script detailed, it looks like the GW Students writing for that paper were pretty close on the year, but far off on the color. I am glad that I finally got to the bottom of this mystery before the actual film was produced and hit the big screen!

Maybe we’ll also get to see some footage of him actually behind the wheel actually driving it instead of carting it around on that car carrier.

I also wonder how the production crew got the car and where? I also wonder why the car is completely debadged, because we all know what a Saab looks like, even non Saab owners and enthusiasts.

Location: 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.

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A few weeks ago, I met up with a number of former Saab-Scania of America employees in Connecticut following the New York Auto Show.

During our Saab reminiscing, I was provided with a number of older Saab videocasettes that we have yet to see here on Saab History.

The first film shown above is titled “Saab goes to Hollywood” which is an appropriate title given the content as of late. This film showcases a number of films up until 1990 that featured various Saab models over the years from a Classic Saab 900 “Black Turbo” with Richard Pryor, Dana Carvey & Randy Quaid in ‘Moving” to a vintage SAAB 96 with Danny Devito as co-pilot in “Throw Momma From the Train“.

As part of ongoing filming in the Washington, D.C. area whereby a great deal of which took place while I was out of town, includes some recent sightings of actor, Russell Crowe spotted driving a classic Saab 900 in light blue on Pennsylvania Avenue not too far from the White House.

The filming involving Russell Crowe is part of the movie “State of Play” to be released in 2009.

Here is a quote from the George Washington hatchet student run newspaper:

Crowe sat in a light blue 1980’s Saab for much of the shoot as the scene involved him driving down Pennsylvania Avenue. As part of the scene, Crowe’s car stops running in the middle of the street. About 20 other vehicles, including a bus, were driven simultaneously, on cue, to allow Crowe’s car to blend into the scene.

However, one of the scriptwriters indicates the contrary when it comes to the year of the Saab.

The only info the script gives about the car is when Cal (Russell’s character) describes it as a:

“1997 Saab with velour seats”.

All other mentions of the car just describe it as “Cal’s SAAB” or “the SAAB” - but no other details are mentioned unfortunately.

Update: I have just received the actual script, all 126 pages of this film and see the references to where the Saabs are as of now besides Pennsylvania avenue.

I hope that during the remaining 5 days of filming in the district, someone can get some photographs of this Saab if it’s still being filmed, or at least some photography from the prior scenes when it was filmed on Pennsylvania avenue here in Washington, D.C. to bring clarity to this subject.

For more information on this film, I suggest you check out both Wikipedia as well as IMDB.

Photo Credit: Arild

There has been a lot of news lately over the past few weeks during my trip up to the North East region of the United States. I want to begin with some local coverage that continues the thread I started a few years ago called the “Saab Sighting of the Week” where I have taken photos of Saabs in and around the Washington, D.C. area.

This sighting was none other than a Saab 9-3 Sports Sedan actually “inside” of the White House grounds unlike the Saab 9-3 SportCombi spotted on Pennsylvania avenue, which has been closed to public traffic for a number of years.

Photo Credit: Saab History

This Tuesday, marks the first installment for the 2008 season continuing the Saab Sighting series.

This week, I spotted a beautiful green NG Saab 900 4-door coupe in the Dupont Circle area neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Of course I dropped a nice note underneath the windshield wiper in hopes that the owner would be inspired enough to visit the site and see their car prominently displayed. Here’s hoping, enjoy!

Photo Credit: Saab History

Two weekends ago, I noticed a beautiful 2007 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan in laser red perfectly parked in front of the National Gallery of Art alongside the national mall here in Washington, D.C.

After reviewing the photo it was abundantly clear that this photo would be a great candidate for the Saab Sighting of the week. What do you think?

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab Sighting this week is a perfect addition to the recent sighting at the Embassy of Mexico last week. The photo this week took place over this past weekend where I noticed a silver Saab 9-3 convertible which has been frequently parking within the confines of the Embassy of Argentina here in Washington, D.C.

I think this Saab owner and possibly enthusiast would be delighted to know that they would have an easy in for being a member at two Saab clubs, both the Saab Club of Argentina (the only known Saab Club in South America) as well as the Washington, D.C. Saab Club.

Photo Credit: Saab History

This past weekend I was walking by the Embassy of Mexico on Massachusetts Avenue also known as “Embassy Row” here in Washington, D.C., and I spotted a polar white Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan out front. This Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan is actually one of two Saab 9-3 Sport Sedans (of different colors) I have seen approximately 2-years ago at this very spot, which made me wonder if the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan was the “official” car of the Embassy of Mexico.

My curiousity finally got the better of me, so I decided to send an e-mail to the Embassy of Mexico to see what they have to say about it. I look forward to their response and hope to shed some more light on this as soon as I hear back from them.

Photo Credit: Anonymous

A frequent Saab History visitor has just submitted a photo for the Saab Sighting of the week. This photo was taken of their Saab parked next to another Saab in a parking lot somewhere in New England. They thought it was a good photo, but also thought it would open up the dialog to see if others are just as Saab obsessed as they are in having to park next to other Saabs, whenever possible.

The idea of parking next to a Saab is certainly not a new thing when it comes to the Saab community, so I have posted the poll below to ask you if you go out of your way to park next to another Saab if you have the opportunity.

I’m looking forward to your responses!

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Photo Credit: Saab History

It is Tuesday, so it is another installment of the Saab Sighting of the week. This week I am posting a photograph of a beautiful Saab 9-3 Convertible in Lime Yellow parked on adjacent to the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art.

I am getting the feeling that the Saab convertible IS the “Saab of Choice” here in the Washington, D.C. area.

Photo Credit: Saab History

Today is Tuesday and that means another installment of the Saab Sighting of the Week. This past weekend during a bike ride to Alexandria, Virginia, I managed to spot a beautiful new generation Saab 900 convertible prominently displayed at a Marina that runs alongside the Potomac River just south of National Airport. The photo opportunity was just too good to pass up.

If you have any photographs of Saab sightings that you would like to share, please contact me directly and I will gladly post them.

Photo Credit: Saab History

I have not done a Saab sighting of the week in quite some time, until today. Today, I happened to spot a beautiful cirrus white, NG900 passing by the Embassy of Argentina.

I hope to find some more good sightings in the future, but it’s all about timing as you can imagine and by the looks of this photo, I just managed to take the photo while the Saab started to take flight.

Photo Credit: Saab History

It is Tuesday and that means another installation of the “Saab Sighting of the Week”. This week, I am showing you a photo that I had taken back on June 30th, while on vacation up in Northern, New Hampshire. While driving through the very rural town of Warren, New Hampshire, I managed to take a snapshot of a beautiful Saab 9-5 Wagon parked in front of this strange NASA like rocket firmly planted on an intersection in the center of this town. This was certainly a strange sighting but an interesting photo otherwise that I have appropriately titled “Saab 9-5 vs. The Rocket” which relates to the mid-late ninetees Saab Automobile “Saab Versus” advertising campaign.

Photo Credits: Saab History

In 1960’s SAAB had a dealership in Keene, New Hampshire the same city where the New England Saab Association Saab Club also began. SAAB’s first dealership actually began in Keene with Robertson Motor Cars on 124 Main Street, Keene, New Hampshire, then another dealership was added just South of the downtown area on a major route (Rte 12) and ideal for visibility by the name of “Taylor Imports”, selling SAAB 96’s & SAAB 99’s.

This past weekend, I passed through this route, where I spotted a beautiful silver Saab 9-3 SportCombi with Vermont plates. In the photos you see below, this building that is currently occupied by Sam’s Outdoor outfitters was the SAAB dealership “Taylor Imports” in 1975 which was the only dealership in the city at this time as Robertson Motor Cars wrapped up business in 1972 as the former owner has indicated to me most recently in a telephone interview.

The wonderful couple that I met who owned this Saab 9-3 SportCombi had apparently just bought it at P.J.’s Saab in Burlington, Vermont and have recently moved to Keene, New Hampshire. During our discussion, I asked them what they enjoyed most about their Saab and their response was that the “Heated Seats, the Cargo area to take their dog around with them, plus the front wheel drive and safety aspects were the big selling points”. When I indicated to the couple that the parking lot where we were currently standing used to be a SAAB dealership, they said that is interesting and would be really helpful if it was still a dealership today because of their proximity to a Saab dealership for servicing at the present time. Currently, they understood the nearest Saab dealership for them was Pioneer Saab & Volvo in Deerfield, Massachusetts at 34 miles from Keene, New Hampshire. I indicated that there is actually another Saab Dealership by the name of Tracy Banks Saab in the state’s Capital in Concord, New Hampshire that was a bit closer that the former and they were very thankful for the help.

What began as a simple Saab Sighting turned out to be a wonderful experience from the conversation about the overall happiness about this couple’s recent Saab 9-3 SportCombi purchase to the trip down memory lane standing on the original site of the former SAAB dealership in Keene, New Hampshire.

If you have a story that relates to Saab’s history anywhere in the world that would be interesting, be please send your content and photographs to info @ saabhistory.com and I will happily communicate it in the best possible way for our visitors.

It is Tuesday and it’s another installment of the “Saab Sighting of the Week“. This week, I managed to spot a Saab 9-5 SportWagon in brilliant red in the downtown Washington, D.C. area. It looks like a possible enthusiast with what looks to be a fresh wash and clean wheels.

Photo Credit: Saab History