146 replies to this topic

[zencat]

This thread also has me very nostalgic....I remember anxiously waiting for each new Gardner novel to come out!

And back then sometimes you wouldn't even know exactly when it was coming out or what the title was. You would just walk in a bookstore and, bang!, there it was! A new Bond book.

I remember this last happened to me the day I sold my first screenplay. Right after I got the call from my agent I went into the bookstore on the Universal lot (I was working my day job as a print inspector) and, bang, there was Cold Fall! I didn't even know there was going to be a book that year. Needles to say, that was a great day.

[Mister Asterix]

I was the same way with the Gardner books. It was actually

[marktmurphy]

Great article Zencat. More please- perhaps a summary of Bond's other book cars or a closer look at the Jag (although not as interesting as the Saab, I'm sure there's something in there!).
I'd love to see that Saab, and am definitely looking into buying one now- just missed out on a great one on ebay...
And I'd agree with Jim and yourself that the TLD Audis were the closest MovieBond got to this Gardner-style realism. I'm actually a big fan of Bond's Audi 200 and think it suits him rather well, it even has the same class-less-ness of the Saab if you know what I mean.

Incidentally, reading the bit about the For Special Services race reminds me of when I got that book out from the library and a previous reader had scribbled in the margin next to where Gardner says something like "Bond planted his foot to the flor, the air conditioning on full blast" to point out that Bond shouldn't have the air con on in a race situation as it saps engine power! He was right of course, but I'm not sure I'd have been quite so indignant!

And yes Jim, I remember 'Crash!'....ah my little 48k...I still have her somewhere- my 'Black Beast'...

[Qwerty]

I finally picked up a copy of Licence Renewed so I could start from the beginning and I was told it was the first book with the Saab.

Exactly the way I started, I had no idea what this car was at first, but grew to like it in every next novel it was in.

I was lucky to be able to read all of the Gardner's in order my first time reading them.

For Special Services is the true highlight of the Saab.

[Mister Asterix]

For Special Services is the true highlight of the Saab.

I always liked the Saab

[zencat]

Great article Zencat. More please- perhaps a summary of Bond's other book cars or a closer look at the Jag (although not as interesting as the Saab, I'm sure there's something in there!).

There you are marktmurphy! I was wondering when I was going to hear from you on this (seeing as you helped inspire me). Yes, I would love to see more on the book cars, but I'll hand this off to other Team members. Or, if you'd like to take a whack at it, I bet you'd do a great job! You seem to really know your cars. And we'll post it all up for you nice and pretty.

[zencat]

[quote name='zencat' date='8 March 2004 - 11:32'] One thing that

[Blofeld's Cat]

WOW! Amazing poster, zen.

"Bond" looks a bit like Hugh Hefner.

[Qwerty]

My Zencat, you're full of these excellent pictures for the Saab. I quite like this one, and I think you are undoubtedly it's biggest fan for sure now, other than Gardner.

[Genrewriter]

Very cool, zencat.

[Mister Asterix]

I love that the poster shows the airplane landing light behind the licence plate.

[zencat]

I love that the poster shows the airplane landing light behind the licence plate.

Yes, I like that too. Btw, the back of this flyer is that Bond's Saab spec detail that we used in the article (the click to enlarge pic).

[DLibrasnow]

Very cool poster Zencat - thanks!

[Blofeld's Cat]

I love that the poster shows the airplane landing light behind the licence plate.

So that's what it is!

I really should find time to read a couple of Gardners.

[Agent 76]

I took this photo today , to a Saab I found in the street!

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Edited by Agent76, 18 March 2004 - 02:47 PM.

[Agent 76]

and another one...

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[DLibrasnow]

Cool.....man, I need to get my early Gardners sent by my family back home so I can take a trip down memory lane!

[zencat]

Thanks for the pic, Agent76. Of course, that's a four door version, not the hatchback like the Beast. I've been noticing Saabs lately myself.

Glad to see my article seems to have fired up a bit of interest in the Gardner books. I didn't expect that to happen.

[DLibrasnow]

Always a good thing!

[zencat]

I often see a Saab 900 Turbo outside an indoor market and have been meaning to take photos of it for some time. At least some others have tried it before. I'll have to get a photo of it. You always see them driving around, despite the age of the cars. Built to last!

I remember in Vail, Colorado (ski resort town near Aspen) all the police cars were Saab 900 Turbos -- this was in the '80s.

[stromberg]

Built to last indeed, like all Swedish cars.

Given the Swedish weather conditions, this is a must.

And all the major European car manufacturers go ther to test their new ones. Special treatment, especially the famous "elk-test".

BTW, forgot to mention: truly great article, John. Good reading, very informative. Has refreshed my interest in Gardner and especially made me want to have the untranslated ones in my hands.

[zencat]

Built to last indeed, like all Swedish cars.

Given the Swedish weather conditions, this is a must.

And all the major European car manufacturers go ther to test their new ones. Special treatment, especially the famous "elk-test".

BTW, forgot to mention: truly great article, John. Good reading, very informative. Has refreshed my interest in Gardner and especially made me want to have the untranslated ones in my hands.

Thanks Stromberg.

Yes, reliable and built to withstand road and weather conditions. This is why I love The Silver Beast. It's wasn't the best looking car, but it was a true spy car. Versatile, tough, fast, and relatively innocuous on the road (unlike a Lotus or a Vanquish). And if I was setting off to tangle with a Neo Nazi army in the Arctic Circle, I would much rather be in a big bulletproof Saab than a little convertible BMW Z3. I mean, come on...

[Johnboy007]

Great article!!!

You were right on with the view about Saabs today. I remember someone seeing me read Licence Renewed during an English class, and asking what car Bond was driving. They almost laughed when I said a Saab.

I want one of these now!

[zencat]

I hear ya, Johnboy. Wouldn't it be cool if Saab released a limited edition "Silver Beast" 900 Turbo? It's almost "retro" now.

But there's a new Saab coming out this year that I kind of like. I saw it at the LA car show and it grabbed me in that old way. Maybe this will be the 21st century "Beast."

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[Mister Asterix]

That is a sweet looking Saab, zc. Too bad they seemed to have used left over Ford Mustang headlamps; it makes the car a bit too American.

[zencat]

That is a sweet looking Saab, zc. Too bad they seemed to have used left over Ford Mustang headlamps; it makes the car a bit too American.

Funny you should say that. When I got my Saab in the '80s the headlights were these smaller, uglier style -- not what the rest of the world had (you can see them on the Saab in that first Saab ad in my article). They told me they had to sell the cars with these different headlights in the U.S. (for whatever B.S. reason) but that I could switch them to European headlights as an option (but that I was risking a possible "fix it" ticket.) I did, of course. Never got a ticket. The headlights looked great. I bet that's still an option.

[marktmurphy]

Where has this article gone? I can't find it in the site navigation.

[Athena007]

We've been trying to fix some things with the nav on the main page. But for now... I can link you to the story... SAAB STORY

[zencat]

Where has this article gone? I can't find it in the site navigation.

You can also find it as a feature under the books License Renewed, For Special Services, and Icebreaker. You can also just go to the first post on this thread (this is why I made it a sticky).

I know...we badly need a "MORE" button at the end of our main page so members can access stories that have recently aged off more easily. I hope we can do that soon.

[stromberg]

Funny you should say that. When I got my Saab in the '80s the headlights were these smaller, uglier style -- not what the rest of the world had (you can see them on the Saab in that first Saab ad in my article). They told me they had to sell the cars with these different headlights in the U.S. (for whatever B.S. reason) but that I could switch them to European headlights as an option (but that I was risking a possible "fix it" ticket.) I did, of course. Never got a ticket. The headlights looked great. I bet that's still an option.

Yes, that sometimes happens with European cars in the USA
There are some safety regulations, mostly concerning size and position of headlights, rear lights and bumpers. American versions of European cars sometimes look somewhat strange for that reason.

I think a car like the Citroen 2CV from FYEO is hardly seen in the U.S., because that car is nearly impossible to modify in the appropriate way. Another case was one of the recent Maseratis that had some really beautifully shaped rear lights. They weren't allowed in the USA, and so they dropped them for the next version of the car...