Snobbery.

What impresses me about Saab is how they managed to wring the best out of being part of GM. Their idea of a corporate parts bin seems to have included reworking the 9-3 floorpan so that only they could build it (it'd be more accurate to say that the Vectra is a 9-3 without the clever bits) and they only used other parts that were suited to their needs. The 150bhp TiD is a real animal if you give it a chance, and feels a lot more nimble than something that heavy has any right to be.

I just wish they'd done something mad like taking the supercharged V8 from the Holden Monaro and putting it in the 9-3 Aero X. Big V8, 4wd, hello BMW it's your worst nightmare!

Want some business? How much to replace the headlining on a '91 2 door saloon then - can you beat Steve's £275?

My local Saab specialist is a wonderful chap but he's never done a saloon before and he keeps putting off giving me a quote; anyone would think he didn't want the job!

Better than that: clicky

9.8 seconds and he even gives the Supra a head start

No thanks, Hefty. My days 'on the tools' are over, but I'm still a registered MoT Tester. We never did a headlining properly, that's a job for a skilled trimmer. I did stick a few back up with spray adhesive. - You could give that a try, before getting it done properly.

Oh well, you don't know if you don't ask.

Bringing the thread back on-topic for a sec, here's an instance of 'Pentaxian Cameraderie' that maybe sets us apart from others...

Yesterday evening, I was bimbling around by Bath's Pump Rooms, taking some shots of an old Routemaster bus that was parked there. This chap walking by (without any visible camera) says, out of the blue, "Nice Pentax you're shooting with" and smiled. After I'd got over the initial shock, I stopped him and double-checked that he really had said what I thought he'd said!

And yes, of course, he had... turned out he was a Pentaxian too, and used a K20D and K200D in a professional capacity, and was looking to get a K-x too, for the low-light capability.

We somehow got onto the subject of old lenses, and he mentioned he had a Vivitar 28mm lens which he still used, and loved - "so do I", says I. "Is it a Close Focus?" says he? "Dunno," says I "...I think so... I got it in the 1980s, and haven't used it for ages."

Well he gave me a tip to go searching for Vivitar serial numbers online, and explained how Vivitar didn't make lenses, but commissioned them out, and how some are actually rather excellent.

And to cut it short, it turns out that the Vivitar 28mm f2.8 lens that I had - which I was all set to give away to my niece because I figured it was probably junk - is in fact the 'hallowed' K02 Komine Close Focus variant (albeit in Ricoh-mount guise, with the P-pin carefully removed).

Karma? Kamerama? Pentax K-mount Kameraderie? Dunno what you'd call it - but heck, I'm very glad I met that bloke!

Oh Nigel Nigel Nigel - my first was a Ford Prefect ( sit up and beg with running boards - ask yer gramps )followed by a mini and then a Frogeye Sprite ( £185 with Shorrocks blower )another mini and then a Sunbeam Alpine MK V.Part exed for a Sunbeam Tiger 420 ( Alpine with a V8 shoe-horned under the bonnet and dashboard )Traded for a Lotus +2S and followed by a Lotus 7 Mk III.
Later with the baby growing we bought a Triumph Herald Vitesse and then a Cortina Mk III then a Mk IV.Another Alpine IV followed and then an Austin Allegro followed that and then a Triumph Stag Mk II.
Later in the mid 80s we had a Ford Fiesta,then an XRi then a BMW 320i.I restored Emma`s Spitfire MK IV and gave my Eagle kit car jeep to Emma and Jo had a Focus.We now have an Astra Coupe and lots of room.........................Cars - don`t you just love `em ???