Florida man and his Saab Sonett prove car culture is alive and well

As car cultures go, it's hard to argue that America in the 1960s wasn't the pinnacle. Glorious V-8 muscle sold for blue-collar prices, and if you ask anyone who lived during that decade, they'll tell you that true car culture died in the 1970s, when insurance rates caught up with the fun and fuel prices shut it down.

And while stories of tire-churning GTOs are always compelling, perhaps the most refreshing tales derive from those that went against the grain – like the Roberts family. Having grown up in Australia and spent time living in Hong Kong, the eclectic Roberts brought their passion for oddball cars to America in the 1950s, and in 1967 special-ordered a silver Saab Sonett II. By 1980, at the age of 18, Glenn Roberts bought the car off his parents for $300 — and has driven it ever since.

Choosing a two-stroke Swedish sports car with just 70 hp over Detroit's finest muscle was hardly common for a young male growing up in the '80s, but to Roberts, the Sonett is a family heirloom; a machine with personality and a soul. Boasting a fiberglass body, a bubble rear windscreen and a curb weight of just 1,500 lbs., Roberts' Swedish ride remains a gem only true car guys can appreciate.

As the video from Petrolicious documents, American car culture is alive and well. You just have to know where to find it.