The road was shockingly free of Swedish Cars on the drive south to Swedish Car Day on Sunday. I started wondering if maybe it was actually the following weekend when suddenly I spotted in the distance an unmistakable profile of a 1960’s Saab 96. In a sea of minivans and hybrids, it shined like breaching whale on a glass-smooth ocean. I got a strong wave from the driver and made a note to catch up with him at the show. My GPS took me right through Boston, and I tailed a young daredevil in a BMW as he threaded through traffic on Storrow Drive. At one point, it seemed that he spotted me in his rearview and tried to lose me, but my 1980 Saab 900 turbo must have surprised him as he was unable to shake me.

The Larz Anderson Auto Museum appeared out of nowhere and I was directed to the show area. The jovial registration volunteers were overjoyed to see my Saab and even allowed me to pick my spot next to a friend’s former factory show car 1985 Saab 900 turbo. As the cars poured in, I was shocked at how many Saabs and Volvos could be made to fit that small lawn. The cars just kept coming until they lined even the steep inclines around the show area, presumably reserved only for cars with reliably-working emergency brakes (mine would not qualify).

While the recent Saab Owners Convention apparently struggled to draw classic Saab 900s, Swedish Car Day succeeded triumphantly – possibly the best showing in years, while the classic Volvo crew was well represented as well. Even the Swedish Chamber of Commerce had a tent set up to try and draw more Swedish people to the show, although the eEuroparts tent drew the largest crowd as they gave away $15 store credit to each person who came by. Norma, the orange eEuro track car was there as were a myriad of other eEuro-sponsored racers.

As owners and enthusiasts compared upgrades and swapped parts, the raffle got under way. Swedish Car Day is famous for its raffle. At one point it seemed as though everyone who remembered to turn in their raffle ticket got something. I walked away with a new car cover, but my jaw dropped as someone walked off with a full eEuroparts detailing kit – apparently I didn’t notice that as an option or I would have snagged it for myself. The crowd really gathered as they announced the “People’s Choice” awards. It was great to see shocked looks on the faces of those who had never won anything before, typically because their car is not a museum piece. A Lightning-Blue Saab 9-3 Viggen towing a trailer with a picnic table took a prize, well done!

Once the awards were handed out, a friend suggested I stick around and watch as the mass-exodus ensued. One after another, the cars lined up to exit, each leaving a strip of burned rubber and an engine roar to wake the neighborhood as they departed. With the crowd dispersed, there was plenty of space for the stragglers to rearrange their cars and snap pictures with the castle in the background. I headed north in tandem with another early Saab 900 turbo, drawing a lot of double takes as we weaved our way back to the interstate and headed north. Overall, it was a wonderful Swedish-filled day.