HARRISBURG -- Since Saab USA adopted "Welcome to the State of Independence" as the company's advertising slogan in April, sales of its cars have shot up by 27 percent.

Gov. Ed Rendell would like to see a similar increase in visitors to Pennsylvania's historic sites, parks and lakes if "The State of Independence" becomes the new slogan for the state, as now seems likely.

Rendell isn't yet confirming that "Independence" won the online state slogan contest vote, beating out four other finalists.

But he said this week that the winning entry had a "patent problem" and the state needed permission from a "private entity" that it wouldn't object to Pennsylvania's using the "Independence" slogan.

"We're trying to resolve the problem and get their OK to use it," Rendell said then.

Rendell had scheduled a news conference in Philadelphia three weeks ago to announce the new slogan, but canceled it at the last minute, claiming a "scheduling conflict."

Colin Price, a Saab USA spokesman, said yesterday that company lawyers have now cleared the way for the Keystone state to use the slogan, which was proposed by a Philadelphian named Tristan Mabry.

"Pennsylvania officials contacted us and asked if we would object to their using a similar slogan to ours," he said. "We said we wouldn't. We're in the business of selling cars. They're in the business of marketing the state of Pennsylvania. It's flattering they would consider using something similar to ours."

If another profit-making corporate entity, especially another car company, wanted to use the slogan, it might be a case of trademark infringement and "we would ask them to stop," Price said. "But the state of Pennsylvania clearly doesn't compete with Saab cars."

He said that Saab debuted the slogan in April in its print, television, online and radio advertising and sales are up 27 percent since then.

"It was a good year and we certainly think the tagline played a role in it," he said.

The "Independence" phrase wasn't the only one of the five finalists that had raised ownership problems. "Discover Our Good Nature," proposed by Laura Lind of Pittsburgh, has been used by the Mad River Valley in Vermont and the Juniata River Valley in Pennsylvania.

While Pennsylvania Tourism Office members haven't released the final results of the voting , "Good Nature" had been running second to "Independence" for much of the two-month campaign, which ended last month.

The other finalists were "Pursue Happiness," suggested by James Currier, of Mt. Lebanon; "Liberty Loves Company," proposed by Deborah Kay, of Bethlehem; and "Liberty's Landscape" by Michele Pasquarello, of suburban Philadelphia.

Rendell is expected to make the formal announcement of the new slogan within a few days.

The state Tourism Office received a total of 22,000 entries in the "Penn a Phrase for Pennsylvania" contest. The new slogan will replace "Pennsylvania Memories Last a Lifetime," which Rendell considered too generic.

First Published: March 5, 2004, 5:00 a.m.