[s-cars] The cars for kids

[Bill Noland]

Saabs....or SOB's, as I like to call 'em. Pre-92 is a wide range. I can 
speak with great authority that my '73 SOB 99, with it's ancient 
Triumph-derived 4-banger, was a real piece of $hit -- though a real beauty, 
when it actually ran. Growing up in snow country and with rear-wheel drive, 
big V8 cars, the SOB was a real Rallye Monte Carlo-bred, Eric "On the Roof" 
Carlsson-driven, euro-pedigree rally beast. Great for snow-covered corn 
field runs. The rest of the time, it was undergoing surgery to keep it 
alive.

My general advice on "kid cars" -- buy them a cheap, bullet-proof tank, then 
let them drive it and crash it (because they will -- insurance company 
actuarial figures don't lie). If they don't like it and want something 
better, cooler, faster, etc -- introduce them to the concept of the J-O-B.

Soud harsh? You bet. I base this basic advice on my own sheet metal-bending, 
adolescent years. Amazing how much car control one can learn, when the 
repairs and maintenance are coming out of one's own meager income.  :-)

Bill Noland
Long, long weaned from parental car support......

> I had 2. What major pieces of $hit.
>
> An '81 900 turbo - major engine problems. I sold the car 6 months after
> buying it.
>
> A '91 9000 sedan - again major problems...various systems wouldn't work -
> door opening mechanisms, sunroof. Occasionally it wouldn't start, just be
> completely dead. No symtoms. Dealer tried to fix it three or four times 
> and
> gave up. So did I. Dumped it for our '90 200T, never looked back.
>
> Beautiful cars to drive, but mechanically they SUCK.
>
> Lee