San Diego SAAB Owners Group (SDSOG) "Find Your Own Road... but bring some friends!"

1^st Annual Summertime in SoCal SAAB Gathering!

Orange County, California USA

On Saturday, June 26 1999, a group of Southern California's most rabid SAAB enthusiasts gathered for a day of SAAB celebration!  The SAAB Club of Southern California, the San Diego SAAB Owner's Group and VSAAB were brought together for the event by John Steiner who did a superb job of planning the day and making all the arrangements for our two ports of call - SAAB of Santa Ana and The Speedway Bar & Grill in Newport Beach.

As is often the case here in sunny SoCal, the event was dominated by some of the nicest vintage SAABs on the planet.   Lots of Sonetts, a pair of 96s, a 95 and the only two SAAB Quantum IIIs in existence!  While there were a few classic 900s, 9000s and even a nice new-gen 900 SE, the focus was clearly on the vintage cars, as the content here reflects.  Below, you'll find photos and video that should give you a feel for the spirit of the event.

SoCal SAABs at the SAAB of Santa Ana dealership

Starting the day at 9:00 AM, many of us gathered at the beautiful SAAB of Santa Ana dealership in... well, Santa Ana.  Surrounded by both new and old SAABs of every size and shape, the excitement was palpable!  The folks at the dealership were exceedingly gracious, providing us with a very nice continental breakfast and allowing everyone to play with the new SAABs -- even the Viggen!  Many, many thanks to SAAB of Santa Ana for their kind and generous hospitality.

Below, you'll find thumbnails of photos taken at the dealership in Santa Ana. 
Click on the thumbnails for a larger version!

	The gorgeous '69 Sonett V4 of Dale Holmes
	"WND NOIZ" Bud Clark's turbocharged '73 Sonett III
	Paul Florance's '72 Sonett III
	We lined-up many of the vintage cars in front of the dealership. Let the swarming begin!
	Another view of the line-up
	Sonetts masquerading as new cars, ready for purchase!
	Eric's 9000T
	The 93 Viggen... oooh, ahhh...
	The 95 Wagon... ahhh, oooh...
	The SAAB that never was.  One of the two remaining Quantum III cars in the world, both of which were in attendance!   This one is owned and cared for by Bud Clark.
	The 2nd Quantum III -- this one is Jay Arruda's
	Jay's Quantum, from the front.
	The two-stroke Sonett II of Bob McNary.
	Video clip:  The world's two remaining SAAB Quantum IIIs arrive! (Click photo to download .AVI video, ~5.5MB)
Audio!	An MP3 audio clip of Jay Arruda parking his Quantum IV!

SoCal SAABs at the Speedway Bar & Grill, Newport Beach California

Once folks starting getting hungry for lunch, John organized a caravan of SAABs to make the 20-minute drive to our next destination, The Speedway Bar & Grill in Newport Beach.  While our typical southern California traffic conspired to turn the caravan into something more like a free-for-all, we all made it!

If you've never been to Speedway, try to picture a modern restaurant and bar with a outside patio and a racing theme throughout.   Monitors and big-screens show continuous racing footage both live and from archives.   Racing cars and motorcycles adorn the place inside, outside... even on the roof!   Once again, we were all treated with exemplary service and everyone had a great time!  Bob McNary even brought his vintage SAAB racing videos which were played on monitors throughout the restaurant while we enjoyed the frosty beverages of our choosing!

Below, you'll find thumbnails of photos taken in the parking lot at Speedway, Newport Beach.
Click on the thumbnails for a larger version!

	SDSOG & VSAAB member Bob Pope's well-preserved 99GL
	Dr. Robinson's yellow '73 and Joe Clift's green '72 Sonett III
	Dale Holmes' blue '69 V4, Dennis Crowley's green '69 V4 and Bob McNary's '67 Sonett II
	Mark Rheude's stupendous '73 95
	Eric McCormick's sweet '72 96
	The engine compartment of Bob Sodeburg's highly-accessorized '68 Sonett V4
	Surely the nicest line-up of Sonetts to be found anywhere in the world!
	Two of the world's rarest SAABs flanking the world's rarest Volvo, a P1900.

All photographs on this page are © 1999 Marlene S. Rogers, or © 1999 Christopher T. Rogers, all rights reserved.

For commercial reprint permission, please click HERE.

All product and trade names mentioned on this site are the trademarks of their respective companies.
The San Diego SAAB Owners Group is not affiliated with SAAB AB, SAAB Cars USA or any other organization. This site is © 1999, San Diego SAAB Owners Group, all rights reserved.
Last modified: September 06, 2007