Sorry to be the bearer of sad news for local Saab fans, but I’ve just had confirmed to me today that Saab Cars Australia – my former employer and the distribution channel for Saab Parts after Saab Automobile’s bankruptcy – has just entered voluntary administration and is likely to be wound up in the very near future.
A local GM dealership that was handling Saab parts here in Hobart recently advised a friend of mine that they weren’t even able to look up the Saab parts database at the present time. This is what sparked my enquiry.
I’ve not received a return mail from Saab Parts in Sweden yet, however I have been told that the Saab parts distribution business is to be taken over by a company related to Mildrens, in Sydney. That’s not likely to happen until February 1st, however.
My commiserations to former colleagues at Saab Cars Australia, all of whom are now looking for new jobs and many of them after several decades of excellent service to Saab and its customers.
And those customers who might still be reading here….. I’ll provide any further advice as received from Saab Parts in Sweden when it comes to hand. Parts might be difficult to obtain from official sources in the next few weeks/months but the new business should come online from February 1st, if all goes well. There are still a number of fantastic Saab parts recyclers out there.
The Inside Saab concept was on the right track, wasn’t it? 🙂
A nine-part series called Inside Koenigsegg will commence on Youtube’s DRIVE channel starting on January 8. Here’s the announcement from Koenigsegg on Facebook earlier today:
DRIVE, the leading automotive channel on YouTube, today announced a partnership with Swedish hypercar manufacturer Koenigsegg Automotive AB to produce an online video series exploring the outer limits of innovation in the automotive industry.
The series, Inside Koenigsegg, debuts January 8, 2013 on YouTube.com/DRIVE. It will provide, for the first time, a look behind the scenes at Koenigsegg and examine how innovation within the highest echelon of sports car manufacturers will affect the broader automotive world. Company founder and principal, Christian Von Koenigsegg, hosts this nine-partseries, which was produced at Koenigsegg headquarters in Angelholm, Sweden.
Inside Koenigsegg will feature Koenigsegg’s latest hypercar, the Agera R, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest two-seat production vehicle from 0-300-0 kilometers per hour — an extreme test of a sports car’s acceleration, chassis, and braking capability — a feat the Agera R accomplished in 21.19 seconds. This is Koenigsegg’s fourth Guinness World RecordTM since 2003.
Here’s the sneak preview:
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I first met Christian von Koenigsegg back in 2009 when he was leading a consortium to buy Saab from General Motors. I’ve met him a few times since, toured the Koenigsegg facility several times with him and I even got to ride in a CCX (I got to drive it, too, but there’s no video of that).
I can promise you that everything Christian says in that teaser is true.
The thing that blew me away about Koenigsegg is the level of creativity and innovation that goes into the cars. For example, they don’t buy off-the-shelf engines from other manufacturers like other hypercar companies do. They design and build their own, which is an enormous task when you only build 15-20 cars a year, but it’s the reason they get power that’s more than comparable to a W16 Bugatti, but with only half the cylinders and 100% reliability.
Their commitment is to build the absolute best vehicle they can. They way they do this is to design and commission everything themselves. The level of detail is mind-boggling, and hopefully you’ll get to see and appreciate their obsession and commitment in this series.
When I first visited Koenigsegg’s production line I came away thinking that this was carmaking on a completely different level, and not just from Saab or other mass producers. I was thinking about Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. Those high-end sports cars are superb, amazing and beautiful, but they don’t even come close to the technical excellence and innovation of a Koenigsegg.
Subscribe to Youtube’s DRIVE channel and enjoy the series.
