Many of us baby boomers are fast approaching that time in our lives in which we enter our second childhood. When I walked into Saab Cars USA in Norcross to inspect its entry for this year's One Lap of America competition, there was little doubt that whoever conceived this project was already well-seated in the lap of childhood.

Saab commissioned Atlanta artist Curt Wilson to adapt a Saab 9000 Aero sedan to reflect the automaker's ad campaign, "Find Your Own Road." Wilson, a native of Bristol, Tenn., had painted race cars before, but they were always more conventional cars that compete on the stock car circuits. He had never taken on a project like the landscape Saab wanted to wrap around the entire car.

Wilson was given permission by French artist Jeanne-Phillippe Delhomme to reproduce the style he had used in the ad campaign. Wilson describes it as "loose and childlike."

Childlike was exactly what came to my mind when I saw the car. It looked as if it were painted by a very artistic 6-year-old. Wilson succeeded in creating the look Saab wanted.

It was not an easy task. Wilson, who possesses an extensive fine arts background, creates props and backdrops at Atlanta Stage Works for theatrical productions. He also does conventional sign work.

He said the Saab was the most complex surface he had worked on. It took lots of paint, close to four gallons. He chose the paint that sign painters use because it is a very dense, very high-pigment paint. In spite of its density, it took three coats in most places to build up enough paint to ensure the project's durability, Wilson said. He applied it by brush, using everything from pinpoint stripping brushes to the four- inch house-painting brush.

Saab wanted to stand out in the One Lap of America event sponsored by Car & Driver magazine and Bridgestone tires to benefit Ronald McDonald Children's Charities.

Starting in Dearborn, Mich., on Sunday, One Lap will cover more than 4,000 miles. The course, sometimes covering more than 700 miles a day, will incorporate speed events at 11 race courses. But the public highway stints with checkpoints make it an endurance contest, not a speed event. The lap will pass through Atlanta on Wednesday and conclude where it started on June 17.

Atlantans handling the driving of the Saab entry will be Saab Cars USA Chief Executive Officer Jim Crumlish; John Jacobs, Saab's manager of dealer information; and Bill Buckley of the Saab warranty team. They said they chose the 9000 because of its 225-horsepower turbo engine and performance handling.

The fold-down back seat also could have had something to do with it. One Lap rules allow for only one overnight layover. The team plans to rotate driving chores, so all three drivers can check out the 9000's sleeping quarters.

John Kramer, vice president of Saab marketing, says, "Unconventionality and individuality are core values that have attracted our buyers since Saab's inception in 1947." A CEO in a $42,000 car that looks like it was painted by a 6-year-old is surely unconventional. But they are helping a clown raise money for kids.

Linda Sharp is a training consultant to auto manufacturers. Her column is written exclusively for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Linda Sharp, Special Saab a reminder of childhood., The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 06-09-1995