On a SAAB again... tomorrow!!!
The day has finally come, and tomorrow I pick up my SAAB. When I moved to Germany I shipped my SAAB 900, and on December 16 I dropped it at the shippers in Atlanta, GA. Last week I was informed the car had arrived in Schweinfurt, a 1-1/2 hour north of here, but due to work I couldn't make it there until tomorrow.
So I got busy with the things I needed to do to get Snabb on the road: got insurance (expensive!), got a temporary registration and red plates, got my fleet fuel card so I can pay US gas prices, and bought a reflective safety triangle and first aid kit (mandatory in Germany). I got home and started sorting through all my stuff to get all my SAAB items: keys, cell phone charger, GPS, spare DIC, etc. I thought I was all ready for the pick up tomorrow.
Then I remembered the tires! My SAAB is currently wearing summer tires, not even all seasons! Outside it's snowy and icy, and next week we're supposed to get to -15 Centigrade. Sure I have winter tires on steelies, but they are studded, and studded tires are illegal in Germany!
So I take a look at my studded tires and what does it say on the side? Not STUDDED but STUDDABLE!! That means they are optional, not mandatory! So I have spent the last two hours like a mad man in a freezing garage, pulling studs off 18 year old Swedish snow tires. Yep, the tires are as old as the car and still have thread left! Have you ever pulled out studs with a needle nose plier? It sucks, and my right hand is in pain and deeply callused, but you know what? I am ready. Bring on the SAAB!
I am ready and excited, I have been a month and a half away from my road companion, and have spent the last month driving lesser cars like a Honda CR-Z and a 2006 VW Golf with an anemic 1.6 engine. I am ready for creamy leather for my butt, seat heaters, Trionic 5, the Trollhättan Griffin staring at me from the steering wheel, and the intoxicatin rush of turbo boost!
So tomorrow I pick up my car and will have some me time driving south on the A7 and east on the A6. On the Autobahn. No speed limits! (well, 130 km/h is recommended...) Too bad I'll be on 18-year old, Q-rated, de-studded Gislaved tires... but I'll be in my SAAB, which is what matters.
(oh, and I am ordering new snow tires soon)