This Saab story is one in a million

[bullet]

Traveling salesman from Glendale rides trusty vehicle to extraordinary milestone
By RICK BARRETT
rbarrett@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 4, 2006

Not long after his divorce, Peter Gilbert treated himself to a new sports car - a Saab 900 SPG, which stands for Special Performance Group.
Seventeen years and more than 1 million miles later, Gilbert donated his car to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum. The car survived eight deer collisions, including one that punched a hole in the radiator, before it was parked for safekeeping at the museum in Hartford.
"I couldn't kill that many deer with a gun," said Gilbert, a financial services salesman from Glendale.
Saab, the Swedish car-maker that's a division of General Motors, verified the high mileage on Gilbert's car last summer. Almost everything on the vehicle was original equipment, except for the front hoods and other parts that were replaced after the car-deer collisions.
Gilbert was meticulous about vehicle maintenance, including regular oil changes with premium, synthetic oil. He replaced the car's transmission at about 200,000 miles, but beyond that the engine was hardly touched.

"I knew someone who put 2.5 million miles on a Volvo, but the engine was rebuilt several times," Gilbert said.

Originally from Britain, Gilbert fell in love with Saabs when the cars were winning European road rallies in the 1960s. His trusty 900 SPG was no slouch, either, having once clocked 135 mph at the Road America race track in Elkhart Lake.
"I was taking the lead in a race for a while," Gilbert recalled.
A long journey
That was the same car he drove seven days a week, 365 days a year, racking up extreme mileage in his business travel across rural Wisconsin.

"When I hit 600,000 miles, the car still wasn't burning oil. That's when I thought it could go a million miles," Gilbert said.

But Wisconsin winters, and road salt, took their toll on the sporty little car. While its exterior still looked pretty good, the frame had rusted to the point where it might not have been safe in a serious collision.

"There was no point in driving the car any longer, even though it might have gone another million miles," Gilbert said.
With some sadness, he donated the car to the museum, which has some rare vehicles such as the "Kissel," manufactured in Hartford from 1906 to 1931, and a Nash built in Kenosha in 1916.
For Gilbert, turning over the car's keys to the museum was like putting an elderly family member in a nursing home.

"But I know where the car is, and I can visit," he said. "And before I took her to the museum, I had a full detail job done. She was like a bride getting ready for her wedding. It was the first time that her carpets were thoroughly cleaned in 17 years."

Saab showed some interest in the car and videotaped it when the odometer rolled over the 1-million-mile mark, at a Saab owners' convention in Lake George, N.Y., in August.

Saab executives rode in the car and discussed putting it in their museum in Sweden. Gilbert hoped they would give him a new car, as a replacement, but he didn't get so much as a T-shirt from Saab.

"I am a little disappointed in them," he said.
Maintenance pays off

Putting a million miles on a car, while unusual, is possible with stellar maintenance and a little luck.

"People who get tremendous longevity from a vehicle almost always have taken great care of it," said Joe Wiesenfelder, senior producer for Cars.com, a Web page for car enthusiasts.

To extend the life of his Saab, Gilbert said, he always used premium, synthetic motor oil.

Not everyone agrees that synthetic oil helps. Regular motor oil, changed at 3,000-mile intervals, could be just as good, according to some mechanics.

Most of the things that will make a car last longer aren't very expensive, said Kathleen Schmatz, president of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, a trade group.

"The problem is that some people take better care of their sweaters than their cars," she said.

Certain brands of cars, such as Lexus and Acura, are known for reliability. But that's not the same as longevity.

Driving habits are important if you want a car to last for hundreds of thousands of miles.

"I think the single most important thing is not to drive the car hard," Wiesenfelder said. "Anyone who is gradual on the gas pedal and easy on the brakes is limiting friction, shock and other things that cause wear."

Today's cars are built better than ever, and many of them could last for decades.

"A big part of this is a willingness to keep putting money into a vehicle," Wiesenfelder said.

Gilbert paid $29,000 for his Saab, which he bought on Nov. 30, 1989. He replaced it with another one that has far fewer miles.

"There's nothing more to prove," he said about reaching a million miles on one car.

Peter Gilbert's car

A 1989 Saab 900 SPG with 1,001,385 miles.

In 17 years the car used more than 600 quarts of synthetic Mobil-1 motor oil, which can travel significantly more miles between oil changes than regular oil.

In its time, the car burned two tanker-truck-loads of premium gasoline and averaged about 28 mpg.

It went through about 22 sets of tires, changed every 45,000 miles.

The transmission was replaced at about 200,000 miles, but the engine was largely untouched.

The engine head gasket was replaced three times because constant warming and cooling stretched it.

[Edy]

Very nice and true story; now let's hear another similar story from Merc or Bmw...anyone?

[bullet]

Sunt, dar nu postez

[tony]

imi aduc aminte ca am mai citit pe undeva povestea asta. parca
ce mi-a atras atentia atunci era ca nu a fost inlocuita turbina.
la un asemenea kilometraj e de notat performanta. daca e aceiasi poveste.
salutari

[ciprian swe]

Well....Volvo se poate lauda si el cu povesti de genul asta!Insa remarcabil e ca Saab e un producator mic cu putine modele in portofoliu,pe cand Volvo are o multime.Atentie ma refer la modelele vechi Volvo!Cele noi...mai bine nu mai zic nimic;)))

[Edy]

Nu stiu cine a scos-o p-asta, dar e adevarat ca suedezii au zis (intre ei) "daca vrei sa fii in rand cu lumea ia-ti un volvo; daca vrei sa fii deosebit ia-ti SAAB..." ? ? ?

[gergosaab]

Este adevarat,sunt si poze cu Peter Gilbert si SAABul sau 900 SPG.

peter_gilbert_wisconin_auto_museum.jpg (69.29 KiB) Viewed 2998 times

peter_gilbert_new_9_5_aero_sc.jpg (56.25 KiB) Viewed 2998 times

Ce ziceti SAABul 9-5 o sa faca macar 1milion de km???

[bullet]

Saab executives rode in the car and discussed putting it in their museum in Sweden. Gilbert hoped they would give him a new car, as a replacement, but he didn't get so much as a T-shirt from Saab.

"I am a little disappointed in them," he said.

Deci nu a primit nici macar un tricou

[ciprian swe]

Nu stiu cine a scos-o p-asta, dar e adevarat ca suedezii au zis (intre ei) "daca vrei sa fii in rand cu lumea ia-ti un volvo; daca vrei sa fii deosebit ia-ti SAAB..." ? ? ?

Da e adevarat.Mie mi-a spus prietenul meu cel mai bun..ca suedezii au o vorba.Si el este fan Volvo si are doar Volvo.L-am invitat sa conduca Saab-ul meu insa nu vrea si pace.Eu am pe langa Saab si un Volvo 940 Gl turbo.Are acum 380.000 de km si e sprinten ca un tinerel.E drept ca nu o conduc asa mult.Ma simt batran in ea.In schimb in Saab,nu!
Soar acestui prieten lucreaza la Volvo.Intodeauna cand ma vede are aceeasi intrebare:INteleg,dar chiar Saab??Si rade cu pofta.Nu am inteles de ce si nu cred ca o sa inteleg de ce suedezii considera Saab-ul o masina inferioara.Majoritatea,nu toti desigur.Nu este cu nimic mai prejos decat Volvo ,dimpotriva este peste!
Volvo ,cu noile modele care au motor de Renault,au cazut ff tare.Cel putin in Suedia nu mai vor sa cumpere Volvo de cat cele cu motor facut in Suedia:S80,XC90,XC60.Restul...renault.
In concluzie:Acest om a mers o viata cu o singura masina,insa cu o masina veche ,care se facea cu simt de raspundere.Oricat mi-as dori,noile masini nu au cum sa mai faca asta in vecii vecilor.Nici Volvo si nici Saab.
De ce? ..nu stiu...eu ma ocup de partea aerodinamica:))Poate este vreun inginer printre noi care sa ne lumineze cat de cat cu privire la asta.E calitatea materialelor?E politica firmelor?Ce se intampla?