September 29, 1999

Car owners from around Michigan share their Saab stories

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       The inaugural northwestern Michigan Saab Convention drew Saab owners from around the region to the parking lot of the New Hope Community Church in Williamsburg Saturday afternoon. Nine Saabs converged for the meeting, with their owners gathering for a social hour, road tour and picnic - and to swap a few Saab stories.
      The routine for attendees was drive up, pop the hood and walk around talking Saab with the other equally enthusiastic participants, all the while peering in, around and underneath everyone else's car. And with a fierce loyalty and loving devotion, these Saab owners did not lack for superlatives to describe their cars: fun, solid, great driving, sleek and luxurious. Throw in adjectives like reliable, safe and low maintenance and you were preaching to the choir.
      "Saabs are just great cars," said Kay VanderRoest, a physician's assistant from Peninsula Township who organized the get together. "I have 188,000 miles on mine and it's still going strong. If you take care of them, they'll take care of you."
      VanderRoest and her family accounted for four of the nine Saabs that showed up for the convention. Her history with Saabs goes back to 1982, when she and her then-husband bought one. But nearly a decade went by without her driving one until 1993 when she bought one for herself, and never looked back. She has since picked up three more, one for each of her sons, the most recent one bought on the spot at a used car lot for what she considers just shy of a steal.
      "They did not know what the car was worth and I just bought it up," said VanderRoest, who now owns two black, one red and one white model 900, three of which are turbo and one a convertible. "I am saving the latest one for my 15-year-old son, who has his permit. They are very, very safe cars, great for teens."
      VanderRoest decided she wanted to meet with other area Saab owners and three weeks ago she initiated a hands-on advertising scheme to publicize her convention. She and her boyfriend, Alan Strange of Kingsley, drove around the area looking for Saabs and stuck flyers announcing the upcoming meeting on their windshields. They kept their eyes peeled for Saabs on the way to work, the grocery store or just driving anywhere.
      "We were always looking for them and when we caught them in parking lots we would give them a flyer and write down their license plate number," said Strange, who has been dating VanderRoest for a year and is now in the market for an Saab, older body style, of course. "We found more than 40 and never had a duplicate plate."
      Even stoplights were fertile hunting ground for the pair. One day while idling at a busy intersection on Garfield, they saw a Saab behind them. Al jumped out and handed the driver, Susan Svensson of Peninsula Township, a flyer inviting her to the gathering.
      "It was obvious to us who was invited, we were just the drivers to bring our car," joked Stefan Svensson, a native of Sweden whose 1991 Saab is the first and only car he has owned.
      The farthest attendee at the convention was Ralph Doeren of Luddington, who brought his 1975 Saab up for the day. Relatively new to Saab ownership, having inherited his car in 1995, he nevertheless is a faithful convert.
      "It is just a fun car, a sports car," said Doeren, who met VanderRoest at a yard sale this summer and agreed to come up for the convention. "It is a good road car and is solid and has the safety features. My car does not have power steering but it is so nice to drive you don't need it."
      The attendees at the convention decided to form a Saab Club and the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 30. All Saab owners are welcome to join in a driving tour of Leelanau County and lunch in Northport. For more information, call Kay VanderRoest at 941-4306.