Well hello. It’s been a minute, no?
I had real thoughts of not renewing my web hosting service a few months ago. The site’s theme was no longer supported. I’d had break-ins. Hosting keeps getting more and more expensive. And we’ve been so busy that I just don’t get time to write here (I still do some writing. See below), let alone re-design the website on a clean, secure platform (which I had to do this morning).
And then there’s the question of whether or not I should write about the worst president in all history, and the way he makes one of the best countries in the world look like a barrel of monkeys. The burnout on that one is very real. He’s your problem to fix, but you should know that from the outside, he and his cronies are making you look like a fucking joke. And I never rarely swear here.
But I did renew the site. I wanted to renew. Swadeology has always been important to me, both as a way to get my thoughts out there, and as a way to keep in touch with some people in far away places.
So here we are. I guess a minor update is in order….
Where Are We?
Caro and I left Sweden in September 2024, which is both good and not-so-good. I’m happy that we’re home in Australia because this is where we want to be in the long run. But I’m also a little sad because Sweden is like a second home to me, and I miss it a lot. I was back at Koenigsegg when we left, too, and that place is always, always hard to leave.
So we’re back in Brisbane. We got lucky finding a lovely new apartment building in an inner-west suburb called Indooroopilly. The Swedish market was dead flat for the 2 years we were there, while the Australian market went up by around 25%. We lost a fair bit of our purchasing power in those two years. But we convinced a bank to give us a mortgage and got back into the Australian property market, which we’re extremely thankful for.
It’s great to back in Brisvegas – home of the 2032 Olympic Games. We’re not legally obliged to say that every time we refer to Brisbane, but it won’t be long before we are. Three of the four seasons here are great (summer is too humid for human habitation). The city’s looking beautiful and growing at a rate of knots. It’s actually out-pricing Melbourne right now. Ouch.
What Are We Doing?
Our main reason for returning what so that Caro could resume her old job. She was in a position where she either had to return to Australia and resume her duties, or resign her job completely. Returning made the most sense.
It also means that I’m 80% unemployed. I’m still doing some writing work for Koenigsegg but that’s mostly around the annual magazine, which doesn’t occupy that much of my year. So 80% of my time now involves me growing my own small business.
First I worked with numbers. Then I worked with words. Now I’m working with pictures.
I’ve spent far too much money on camera gear over the last 10 years, so I decided to put my camera to use. I’m doing photo work centered around architects, builders, interior designers, etc, which I absolutely love. I’ve long had an interest in the built environment, so it was an easy fit.
The difference between a good amateur and a professional is speed and repeatability. I’m still developing both. I’m yet to master the finer points of finishing an image, and I’m a looooong way off having enough clients to replace a salary. But I’m getting there.
We’re also parenting a cat. This is Freddie – a superb new addition to the Wahoo clan.
What Am I Driving?
Now that’s an interesting question. I’m going to take some photos and do a write-up soon.
It’s French. I got fascinated by them while in Sweden, so when one came up for sale just after we’d landed in Brisbane, I couldn’t help myself. We’ve had it for just over a year and spent far too much money catching up on foregone maintenance (I can hear Mats laughing from here). I think it’ll be leaving soon.
After a slight hiatus over the last few years, I’m getting more and more interested in what I drive again. The need for character and intention is returning, and lots of thoughts are forming as to how I can fulfil those needs. I still have a LOT of cars on the bucket list.
I’m also interested in what you’re driving, especially as we’re now 14 years on from The Bankruptcy.
——
I can’t believe I’m saying this as I was in my mid-30s when I started blogging….. but we’re commencing a 5-year countdown to retirement! My goodness, how did I/you ever get that old?
We know where we want to live, and how. We just have to make it happen.
I like to think this website will still be kicking along when that happens. As I said, this outlet’s always been very important to me as a two-way communication tool. I’ll just have to make sure the content is more interesting than this, which I will.
For now, I just wanted to say Hi, check in, and re-familiarise myself with this place.
I hope you’re all doing wonderfully well. And I hope you have a cracking 2026 to come!
All the best for 2026 Swade
And to you and yours, Tim.
Welcome (back), faced a similar choice when Typepad—home of my blog since 2004—closed down in September. Have moved it to Ghost (hosted) and happy with that so far. Is a bit limited, in terms of design and layout, but means you just write and most of the content has migrated intact, which is really all I need. I’m just fixing the odd broken reference as I find/need rather than worry about it.
As for driving, still have the 2001 Fiat Bravo HGT (287,000km and still going fine) and currently driving it full time while wait for a part (engine mount) for the Abarth 500 Esseesse. I got it because (ironic) the Bravo was getting old, and rare, and probably hard to get parts for…
Ordered ex Italy early November it is here now, meaning somewhere in NZ, but not yet at the garage. Stellantis parts logistic timelines are far from next day…
Makes you wonder when I ordered some French cycle gear (similar value and package size) on Friday evening, in early December, and it arrived at my NZ door the following Tuesday.
Ahhh, Typepad!! I reckon that might be where we first met, Robin.
I loved Movable Type, which I’m pretty sure was related. I should have stayed on it until I understood how to shift platforms. The move from Movable Type to WordPress killed my first website and saw me have to start again with SU.
Great to hear about the Fiat. Underestimated.
Mistaken political views aside, I doff my hat at the happy prospect of your ‘return’.
Great to have you back!
Welcome “home” Swade – shame in a way that you’ve left Sweden but family needs come first. Love your new cat – blues are probably my favourite. Car-wise I still have a couple of Saabs – a ’62 96 Sport imported from Belgium in ’22 & under restoration, as well as my lovely ’93 c900 Aero cabriolet (restored a few years ago & driven from the UK to Stockholm & Trollhattan in ’22). The 96 Sport was delivered new to Saab Finland &, I’m told, driven by Simo Lampinen, & ended up in Belgiumwith a Saab enthusiast. I have some paperwork but not enough to decisively verify that it was rallied by Simo. Lots of new parts bought, engine rebuilt at quite a cost, getting there – plan is to drive it to Trollhattan for the 80th in June 2027. Anyway, welcome back with your blog & all the best for 2026
Great surprise to hear from you. Always enjoy finding out what you are up to. Hope all goes well back in Oz and that your next news drop isn’t too far away.
All the best for 2026 from Scotland.
Good to hear from you Swade I was wondering just the other week what you’re up to. 20 odd years post 9-3 I’m driving a Cupra Terramar and enjoying it. The doors wrap under the sills and that’s as close as I can get to Saab…
When you started blogging I was a young man with a very young family and now they’re off to Uni or just finishing Uni and life is very different, I also spent a brief interlude in the car industry but that’s another story. Retail wasn’t for me.
I tip my hat to your ability to reinvent yourself. At 55 and after a significant illness that’s in the rear view for now, I have another change coming on. Just need to work out what that is…
Reinventing…… necessity is the mother of invention.
Glad to hear you’re well, Jon. We 55 year olds are too young for significant illnesses.
Thanks Swade. Enjoy the cat, intrigued to see what you bought. I was a serial French car buyer in my younger days. A new R5 might be the retirement car…
Welcome back mate.
Good to see you back.
My 20 year old Saab 9-5 is still going strong with over 185,000 miles (approx 300,000 km) on the clock.
Welcome back! It’s been a long time since my inbox was graced with a new Swadeology post.
I was never a frequent commenter and you wouldn’t recognize my name, but I’ve been a loyal reader since *before* you were Swadeology (what was the precursor…Saabs United?).
I’m still living on the east coast of the United States. Still driving a 2007 Saab 9-3 2.0T (Anniversary Edition) as my daily driver. My 16 year old daughter is about to be licensed to drive in a few weeks and if I can manage to release the key from my grip she will likely begin to use it more than I do. But lucky for me I added a (relatively) low-mileage 2004 Saab 9-3 convertible to my garage a few years ago at a very low price. So I’ll be OK.
And finally, while words like these don’t do much good in practicality, please know that there are millions of us here in America that are horrified, embarrassed and ashamed at the current administration and cannot wait for another three years to pass. The damage is likely irreparable — at least in my lifetime — but at least we can perhaps begin to turn things around somehow.
Good luck and I look forward to future posts.
Good have you back Swade always loved your writing.
My 9-5 wagon is getting really close to 500 thousand kms and it’s needing some overhaul… Working in Texas now but not having Saab with me yet.
Take care and hope to see ya again someday.
Welcome back to this blogosphere, Swade!
Always great to hear from you Swade.
I am basically in the same situation as you, except that photography is my retirement project instead of my day job. I am a few short years from the point where I could quit my day job and live on savings, or so my advisor tells me. I’ve been shooting/printing a lot of film lately, which is where it all started for me back in uni.
Car wise, I’m on my second Volvo and I’ve gone electric. I know that Volvo is a bit of heresy in Saab circles, but it’s the best option available in Canada. Older cars are more of a hobby than a reasonable transportation choice here because of winters and rust. I do keep a hand in the Saab world with a friend who runs a 9-3 hatch for a few months a year. As you may remember, I had an Abarth for a few years, but it had to go because of the terrible support provided by Chrysler (now Stellantis). It’s harder to get parts from them than it is to get parts for a Saab. The last straw was a 6-month wait for rotors on a car that was still being sold new. The logistics of keeping two cars are not practical for me, so my one car has to be well-supported.
Glad you’ve made this decision. You have great photographic skills, and I envy you’re abilities. Freddie looks like he’s found a great home and I’m happy about that. Cheers!
Good to see you back in the saddle and understand the conflicting emotions re:Sweden vs Oz. Both are great and your points about the problem we brought upon ourselves make both far more compelling options if the logistics and legalities weren’t conspiring against such a move.
It’ll be fun to hear what sort of French mischief you’ve been driving. We don’t get any French cars here, so they hold a bit of extra mystique for those of us into quirky rides. Having gone electric a few years ago, I decided the wackiest EV I could daily drive was a Hummer EV, so I pulled the trigger on that earlier this year. It is not nearly as impractical as it might appear, with insane acceleration, a comfortable ride, decent off highway prowess, and four wheel steering that makes city driving curiously easy.
Happy new year to you and the other old timers poking their heads in.
Hey there, Swade, I’m SO glad you re-upped!
I, too, will be dipping into the semi-blogging waters soon. I’ve been kicking this idea around for almost 3+ months (years?). I’m trying to commit to going live within the first couple-ish weeks of next year. I’ll be starting on the Substack platform to see how it goes. My frequency of posting will be MUCH less than the days of Racing Ready. I still keep paying for the hosting of that blog, but have not been active at all there. Much of its content is broken, but I can’t face deep-sixing it.
As to our country’s political circus antics, I don’t disagree with your points, although I’m more on the conservative spectrum than you. Enough said on that topic.
Retirement for me should be happening by the middle of next year. Much change is in store for us. That’s all I can say for now.
Again, I’m happy to hear about your publishing continuation.
Have a wonderful and Happy New Year!
I’ve just been following the current Sydney Hobart race… and because of Hobart, the thought crossed my mind that it had been crickets for a while on the Swadeology front. So it was timely, and nice to get an update!
Being now 14 years on from Saabs demise, its now noticeable about how few you see on the roads (here in the US) I don’t have any US statistics, but I occasionally look at http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk , and the UK went from a peak of 230K registrations in 2009 to now 41 000 registered, and a further 27000 “SORN” – meaning off the road, but still in existence.
What am i driving? 2018 X5 diesel. last year of the Diesels in the states.
I wouldn’t rule out a mini countryman, a 2018 (which is what I drive) as so far it’s been shockingly reliable for a mini, partly as it has more BMW bits in it than you would think, and it’s still practical, but fun.
Still miss my Saab but that a different story. Welcome back.
Always great to hear about what you and your bride are up to. Yet another year I was not on a boat racing to Hobart this week but the fact you would not have been there to meet me at the dock took some of the sting out of it. Probably a little late for me to qualify for some 2032 Olympic team – although Rachael Gunn, your female break dancer gave us all hope.
I’ve always tried to console myself with the belief that you’re never too old to shoot things. Clay pigeons, arrows, etc. Though even that’s got its limits, I guess.
Raygun lives in us all.
Good day Steven,
A very pleasant surprise to find this latest post in my inbox. Congratulations on the latest major move. Not sure if you remember me from your Saab days. We met when you visited the US headquarters. I hung in all the way through the Spyker ownership and briefly worked for the small service and parts support operation here after the final bankruptcy. I had started with Saab in 1987, so with 25 years invested, the brand is still quite dear to me. And having lived in Trollhattan for 2.5 years, well you clearly understand the appeal of living and working there. No Saab in the garage at the moment, unfortunately. But there’s always tomorrow!
Quite refreshing to read your perspective on our leader. And quite true I think.
I look forward to reading more of your writing.
All the best.
John Libbos
Do I remember you, John? Do I remember you?
Let me state clearly, for the record…..
You and Jan-Willem are bonafide Saab legends in my mind. You were some of the first people I came accross when accessing the Saab organisation in America and your dedication to the brand was both obvious and invaluable. And added to that, you were just a solid gold gentleman, to boot. I remember our times together with a big broad smile.
So yes, you’re well remembered and it’s great to hear from you.
One regret that I’ll carry the rest of my days is that I didn’t get to have a conciliatary conversation with Jan-Willem before he passed. I’d said some unkind things about the US organisation in the later days that I think rubbed him the wrong way, personally, and we didn’t speak again when things moved on. I wrote to him when I heard that he was sick, and I’ve heard that the note got through, but I wish we’d reconciled properly before then.
A lesson learned the hard way.
I can’t recall the unkind words you refer to, but I can assure you that Jan-Willem held you in the highest regard. Please feel free to contact me anytime at my email address if you’d like.
Great to hear from you, Swade.
All the best for 2026.
I moved on to Toyota after 12 Saabs. Current ride is the 2020 Corolla Estate 2.0L hybrid. It’s a really nice car, comfortable, economical and easy to drive. But it’s not a Saab 🙁 — I particularly miss Saab’s ergonomics and HVAC.