A special kinship among SAAB owners started early in the US.

My father bought our first SAAB in the mid 1960’s. Being in the Sand & Gravel business permitted us to take long winter vacations when the ground froze. We would climb into our 95 and leave the NE Ohio winter, usually (but not always) for warmer parts of the country. This includes trips to Florida, and as far as California. SAABs were a rare sight on US roads. Drivers would ALWAYS flash their lights and wave when passing another SAAB. On occasion another SAAB would be seen in a rest area or roadside restaurant, and drivers would pull in and actively seek the other driver to exchange stories of their vehicles. At the same time we were seeing SAAB in the news setting the pace in road races worldwide. No wonder in 1970 my first car was an old two stroke 96 sunroof ($150). Yes my feet got wet when it rained, but it was the start of a long “relationship” with SAABs.