I’ve got a swag of photos from the Midnight Sun Rally, held around Västerås last weekend. I don’t have any of the cars on the dirt, though. I only shot video there, which I’ll post very soon. These stills were taken at Rally HQ in Västerås, where the cars would assemble at the end of each day.
I’m not sure if I got everyone, but I got a lot of them! Here’s a selective collection of larger images, with a more complete gallery below. Click to enlarge.
——
This blue 99Turbo is the latest car built by the Saabs United Historic Rally Team. It’s a replica of Stig Blomqvist’s 1981 car from the Swedish Rally.
Many of you heard that would-be Saab investor Vladimir Antonov was entered for the race, which would have been the second year in a row for him. This is the team he would have driven in.
The three cars were prepared by Historic Rally Racing Service in a record time of just three months. All three cars feature sports suspension but are running non-turbo, single-carb engines. There’s scope for more performance in them, but for this build (in this timeframe), reliability was the goal. Also, competing in regularity, reliability is more crucial than performance.
The insides of one the cars, complete with chequered flag trim 🙂
Mr Antonov’s place was taken by a friend, Alex Fogilev and the Saab Museum’s Peter Backstrom was drafted in as co-driver.
This Sonett II certainly looked (and sounded) the part. I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more of these in historic rallying, but I guess their relative rarity and fibreglass bodies might have something to do with it. Should still be good for regularity class, though.
Lasse and Sibylla have competed in the last four Midnight Sun rallies. They always compete in period costume. The regularity class is at relatively slow speeds and there is no requirement for racing suits or excessive safety modifications (which is why they can carry suitcases on the roofracks and dolls as passengers in the back seat!). This is the first Midnight Sun they haven’t finished, suffering with a broken driveshaft on the final day.
This early Saab 96 was one of the most immaculate racing vehicles I’ve ever seen. You could eat your dinner off any surface you looked at. Incredible.
—
Below is a larger gallery, featuring all the photos above and a bunch more (a few non-Saabs, too. How often do you get to see not one, but two Lancia Stratos?)
Click to enlarge.
Coming soon we will have some video of the Saabs in regularity class, plus all the other vehicles (and a few Saabs too) in the full-tilt historic class.
Last night was a marvelous night for a… pic of my 900.
——
Unfortunately, the reason for my car’s blissful isolation was only revealed by the parking ticket on my windshield at 0715 this morning. No parking between 0400 and 0900 to allow for street cleaning.
We’ve been following Ryan and Caroline F across the United States for the last week. They made a dream purchase last weekend in California – a 1994 Saab 900 Convertible, the last of the line. The purchase presented a small challenge in that they live in Boston, in the north-east, whereas the car was down in the south-west.
They’re home in Boston now, and this is the final instalment from their trip. Thanks Ryan!
——
Hi Swade,
What a trip…this has been something that we’ve only dreamed of in the past and it’s been an amazing adventure to say the least.
After the last national park stop, we began the drive through Kansas. The route turned from winding scenic mountain roads to the straight and flat variety. Here, there was less of the spectacular scenery (when compared to the first half of the trip, at least) and the star of the journey was the car. With the speed limit recently bumped up to 75 mph on Interstate 70 in Kansas, we got a chance to really open it up. Even with all the gear on board, the car seemed to love the open highway cruising speeds. Here, it was more about the journey than the destinations.
The stops in Great Bend, Kansas, St. Louis, Columbus, and Niagara Falls were all in hotels rather than camping (it was time for hot showers and real beds). In St. Louis, we learned that not all valet parking attendants know how to drive a stick, as we were picking up the car and the attendant’s way of parking it in front of us was by letting it stall out in first gear.
The highlight of this segment of the trip was a stop for lunch with fellow Saabers outside of Cleveland. We met up with Bam, who has a Turbo X and a modified Viggen (who thinks she also needs a SPG next?!) and were also joined by Ted Y. (Saabyurk from the comments section), who has a 9-3ss and four 96s at home.
We were moved by the fact that after reading about the trip on Inside Saab, Ted came out of his way to meet up with us, if only for 10 minutes, to say hello, wish us well on our journey, and to give us a present for the new-to-us car: a set of Saab Valve Stem Caps! This was an incredibly kind gesture and we thank him for that – the caps are on the car and look great! We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing his 96s in the future.
We got home yesterday and unloaded the car, and fully realized just how much gear we had accumulated in there. Full suitcases with clothes. Sleeping bags and tent/camping gear. Food, water, spare fluids for the car. Tools. A tonneau cover sitting on the back seat. Backpacks, camera gear, and more.
After unpacking, we took some time to relax and then met up with some friends for an informal welcome back/Saab meetup across the street from Charles River Saab. Here, we met up with Coggs in his Sonett, Luke D. Lewis in his OG 9-3, Abigail and Peter Coyle in one of their 9000 Aeros, Seth Wonkka (from CRS) and his girlfriend Karen in Seth’s new to him 900s (can’t wait to see what he does with this one…), Michi + Jaime Oe-Medieros, with daughter Sofia in their 9-3ss. And sure enough, another Saaber, Charlie B., saw the Saabs gathered together and decided to come say “hi” and join us for a bit. It was a warm welcome home, and we had a great time chatting about past trips, the open road, and in general, poking fun of Luke as he proceeded to jack up his car in the parking lot to ensure that his muffler wasn’t falling off again.
Aside from the passenger side window switch going out (which we attribute to me poking around at the switches, as it worked at the beginning of the trip) we didn’t have a single mechanical issue. No dead batteries, no overheating, no transmission issues, no fuel pumps dying….nothing. While I wouldn’t say that I was expecting anything to happen, when driving an old car, you absolutely have to be prepared for different scenarios of what could go wrong (it doesn’t hurt to lower expectations and over-deliver).
But when you go through 3,600 miles across the US, through some of the hottest temperatures this summer, with lots of steep elevation changes, and a few of the roughest roads out there…you can’t help but say “what a car!” You look back at the photos of the car in front of the Grand Canyon, Great Sand Dunes and the other amazing backdrops …. and you realize, this car took us there. And ALL of our gear. In comfort, with AC, stereo…… oh and it’s a convertible!?
The icing on the cake was that after crunching the numbers and pricing out how much it would have been to rent a convertible on a one way trip across the country, it was cheaper to buy the c900 – and at the end of the trip, you get to keep the car!
These pictures speak a thousand words. Here is a car, manufactured by Saab 17 years ago, from a 25+ year old design put in production and first sold in the year I was born. The conclusion of my trip today is a testament to the brand and the factory workers, and it goes without saying that we look forward to seeing what comes next from Trollhattan.
It’s been a once in a lifetime experience…thanks for coming along with us on this trip! We looking forward to continuing to meet other Saabers and we hope that others make use of the opportunities to get out and find their own road.
And some more pics……
Saab 900 Convertible stopping for a refreshment break in Kansas:
At lunch with some Cleveland Saabers:
Ryan and Ted Y:
Which one’s more spectacular? The Convertible or Niagara Falls? Fair question….
All the gear carried across the country, in a convertible, with no problems. Outstanding!
Another shot of the welcome party…..
And a special bonus, for those who think there are no Saab 9-5’s out in the wild. Spotted and photographed by Caroline.
Back in 1996, I was a student at the University of Tasmania. One particular Sunday I was down at the University campus, completing an assignment in the computer lab. About 90 minutes drive away from where I was sitting, a nutter named Martin Bryant took a car load of guns to a tourist spot called Port Arthur and shot 35 people, both tourists and locals.
No-one can understand senseless violence like that. It’s both impersonal and extremely personal at the same time.
Yesterday, both in the city and just outside of Oslo, Norway, there was more senseless violence. Just like Port Arthur, the toll has risen as news has developed, and its rise has shocked and horrified everyone.
Sometimes, saying that “our thoughts are with you” seems woefully inadequate, but for many of us, that’s all we can do. We can’t wind back the clock, we can’t heal the wounds or soothe the grief. We wish we could.
I don’t know many people from Norway but I’ve met a few in my time as a Saab writer. And of course, I’m now living in a country that shares a border with Norway and I’m sure that the Swedish people are feeling this tragedy very close to their hearts.
Personally speaking, I’m reminded of the support I saw come from Norway when Saab were being sold by General Motors.
There were five separate Saab Support Convoys held in Norway – in Oslo, Sandes, Tolga, Bodoe and Kristiansand. We felt your support and it’s frustrating that there isn’t necessarily a way that I can repay that.
IntSaab 2011 is coming up in just a few weeks and I’m sure we’ll have some of our Norwegian friends in attendance. If good times can help someone feel like time is moving on then I hope to meet a few of you and be a part of that process. In the meantime, as little as it can mean sometimes, our thoughts are indeed with you and we’re already inspired by your determination to not allow this nut to change the way you live your lives.
I just wanted to add this release to finish off our Best of the Road coverage. I really enjoyed the Wynns’ work and am so happy for them taking out this prize. They’re going to love that 9-4x.
——
Rand McNally sponsors — “Best of the Road” — rally to 30 cities, with media partner, USA TODAY
ROYAL OAK, MICH., July 19, 2011 – Saab automobiles traveled across the U.S. in the Rand McNally “Best of the Road” rally presented with media partner, USA TODAY. Five two-person teams spent three weeks experiencing the best small towns in the United States in a mix of Saab vehicles as the final phase of Rand McNally’s search to find “Best of the Road” and the best small towns in the United States along with media partner, USA TODAY. The winning team was awarded a Saab 9-4X crossover at the finale event in California on July 15.
Jason and Nikki Wynn of Dallas, Texas were elated upon being selected to participate as one of five teams in the 30 city tour, but their excitement escalated when hearing they had won the rally and were being awarded a Saab 9-4X crossover. “We have always been longtime fans of Saab and feel honored and fortunate to have been given such a cool award,” said Jason Wynn.
The teams were judged on the number of towns visited along their route, the quality and originality of their journal and the quality of their category descriptions.
“The 9-4X is the perfect vehicle for the Wynns to continue their traveling adventures,” said Tim Colbeck, President and COO, Saab Cars North America. “We know their Saab will continue to provide them the ‘best of the road’ in safety, performance and thoughtful design.”
Driving a unique route from metro New York to Los Angeles in a mix of Saab 9-3s, 9-5s and the new 9-4X crossover, each of the teams visited towns which were selected online in one of the five “best” categories: most fun, most patriotic, most beautiful, friendliest and best for food.
Along the way from coast to coast, each team posted an online travel journal, combining blogs, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, texts and videos, with the best journal earning a grand prize of a new Saab 9-4X crossover and $10,000.
Towns were nominated at the Best of the Road Web site and a panel of travel experts along with public reviews and comments narrowed the selections down to six in each category, including: Baker City, OR; Franklin, TN; Walla Walla, WA; Rapid City, SD; Park City, UT, and Lafayette, LA.
The 10 “rallyists” earned their way into the Saabs by submitting a one-minute video on why they deserved to participate. They teams were judged on the number of towns visited along their route, the quality and originality of their journal and the quality of their category descriptions.
If you’ve read the book “The Spirit of Saab” then you’ve probably read a few of the funny stories about things that happened here in Trollhattan over the years. Those stories are often accompanied by innovative solutions that the Swedes concocted to work around some funny situations they found themselves in.
Yesterday, around a table in the lunchroom here at Saab, one of my colleagues – who shall remain nameless – shared a funny story of his own from his early days working here. No innovative solution here, just a decent laugh that I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing here.
This fellow had just got his first drive in a company vehicle and decided that the car needed a wash. It was a Saab 900, though I’m unsure of the exact year model. Anyway, Mr Newbie brings the car along to an automated car wash (automatic car wash stories never turn out well, do they?). He enters the washing tunnel and the machine proceeded to do its thing with the big brushes whirling around the car at high speed.
Whilst the big brushes did their thing, Mr Newbie decided to listen to the radio. Of course, Saab 900s of that era had an automatic antenna that would be raised by an electric motor whenever the radio was switched on.
I think you can imagine the rest.
Some horrible noises were heard as the brushes dislocated the antenna and then tried to relocate it several times in various places around the car’s bodywork, leaving a number of scratches as a reminder. To add insult to injury, a reasonable quantity of water proceeded to make its way into the hole when the antenna had previously been located.
The conversation didn’t get as far as covering whether he invented a suitably creative explanation. We were too busy laughing 🙂
——
So….. what about you? Any silly or embarrassing stories to tell about (mis)adventures you’ve had in your Saabs?
UPDATE:An additional release from Swedish Automobile NV:
Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 22 July 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. confirms that Saab Automobile Tools AB reached agreement on payment terms with the supplier that filed for bankruptcy, thereby resolving the issue.
The original release is below…..
——
Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 22 July 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. confirms that one of the suppliers of Saab Automobile Tools AB (Saab Tools) filed for bankruptcy of Saab Tools, a subsidiary of Saab Automobile AB. The District Court has received the filing, but has not yet rendered a judgement which is expected in a few weeks. Saab Tools is currently assessing the issue and aims to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
And whilst you’re in the mood, check out the Saab 9-4x comparison table, which puts the 9-4x up against the BMW X3, the Audi Q5 and the Volvo CX60
——
Driving (briefly) the 3.0 Premium model
I took the Saab 9-4x Aero for my 1,100+ km journey over a weekend. On the Monday morning following that weekend, I met up with a colleague from Saab to do a quick switcheroo. Fredrik had taken a Saab 9-4x Premium 3.0 non-turbo model for the weekend and we thought it’d be a good idea to swap cars for a brief period. I hadn’t driven the 3.0 Premium before and it was also Fredrik’s first run in the Aero.
That’s the Premium on the left and the Aero on the right.
The Premium model doesn’t come with everything that’s on the Aero, but it is still a very well equipped package. Smart shoppers can get the best of the options list and still spec up a very good vehicle for less than US$40K (disclosure: personally speaking, I’m not a big fan of sunroofs – they heat up my head too much – hence that’s not included in my calculation).
The 3.0 non-turbo engine still delivers a healthy 265hp but suffers from comparatively low torque. The end result is very decent power but a slower track to using it.
The other thing this 3.0 engine has – and something that made a huge impression on me – is an absolutely fantastic engine sound. It’s a really throaty V6 warble that animates the driving experience in a way that I didn’t expect. I’m a big fan of engine noises, which is one of the reasons I love the old 16v Saab 900 engine and many boxer engines from other manufacturers. It’s an emotional response point for me. I can’t tell you how pleased I was to hear the note on the 9-4x Premium.
The 9-4x Premium can be ordered with or without XWD. You’ll potentially take a grip penalty with FWD-only whilst gaining a fuel consumption bonus. If you don’t experience slippery conditions that much where you live, it’s not a bad way to configure it. If you want the best grip you can get, XWD is the only way to go as the system is second to none.
This particular 9-4x Premium had FWD, the darker interior with wood-effect trim and it was specced up with the navigation/infotainment system. It was pretty much exactly how I’d order a Premium edition for my own personal use.
The drive was only a 20-minute affair before we headed to work, but it gave me a good feel for the car and I liked it a lot. Price-sensitive shoppers who can’t stretch to an Aero should feel very comfortable indeed about looking at the Premium edition. Shoppers who would rather use this vehicle for comfort, who don’t require the flat-out power of the Aero, should also feel quite good.
This car is definitely worth your consideration.
——
Conclusions
I was really excited to finally get some seat time in a Saab 9-4x Aero and the experience exceeded my expectations. It’s perfectly proportioned, the interior is great, the seats are fantastic, it’s very well equipped, the power was brilliant, and it is without doubt the best looking crossover vehicle in its class. The drive is crisp, the car is very responsive and of course, the Saab 9-4x has stuck with the Saab tradition of safety in scoring a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS.
Are there some improvements that could be made? Quite possibly. If the car could shed around 10% of its weight to match the competition at just over 4,200lbs then it’d be even more impressive in terms of performance and economy. Some of the Aero’s weight comes from its generous equipment levels which would see competitors gain weight before they get delivered. But it’d still be good if it could be done.
Some say that Saab got into the SUV/crossover market too late, and that fuel prices will shut this market down. Sales in the US market indicate otherwise. The SUV market is still a hot one and the crossover segment within that market is gaining steam as more car-like vehicles take over from the small trucks of yesteryear.
Saab have got in as quickly as they could, and the best part of it all is that they’ve got into the market with one heck of a good vehicle that they’ve wisely chosen to equip and price very well.
I suspect that we’re going to have a lot of very happy customers over the coming years, thanks to this car. I find myself looking forward to work each morning just so I can see one in the carpark. Coming from me, a small-car traditionalist, that’s high praise indeed.
Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 21 July 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) continues discussions with its supplier base on material supply and delivery terms in order to be able to resume production at its Trollhättan plant. Swan and Saab Automobile continue their discussions with parties to obtain further short-term funding to be able to restart and sustain production. As delivery of all parts needed to secure a production start is not yet agreed production will not resume on August 9 as intended and will be postponed until a full commitment on delivery plans can be secured.
Gunnar Brunius, Vice President of Production and Purchasing said:
“I am positive about the progress we made on the payment terms with our suppliers and it is good to see that we all want to make it work. What we need now is a full commitment on supply of parts into our factory to be able to restart production and secure a stable manufacturing operation. We are now working hard with our suppliers to nail down these plans, commit to a delivery schedule and start building the close to 11,000 cars that we currently have in our order books. The industry-wide summer break at our suppliers caused certain key suppliers not to be able to supply us in time. Saab Automobile hopes to restart production earliest in week 35 provided that it is able to commit to a delivery schedule with its suppliers.”
I thought I’d put this together as a supplement to the writeup I’ve been doing on my time with the Saab 9-4x. One of the things that impressed me about the 9-4x was that it had a very high level of equipment. As I started writing up my report, I had the SaabUSA web page open to look up various bits of equipment to see if they were standard or optional. I was amazed to see that just about everything on the car was standard.
In fact, on the 2011 Saab 9-4x Aero there are only three options:
Think of everything on this car – the powered tailgate, the XWD system, the satnav, HDD music system with iPod connectivity, Drivesense …… you name it and it’s standard equipment on the 9-4 Aero (and much of it is standard on the 3.0 Premium, too).
I thought it would be a good exercise to put together a comparative table, showing the 9-4x and how it weighs up against three of its European competitors: The BMW X3, the Audi Q5 and the Volvo XC60.
I’ve used the USA webpages from those manufacturers to specify similar levels of equipment to that which is standard on the 9-4x. In some instances, there are packages where you get more than the needed item, including some things that the Saab doesn’t have available (hello, thermal cup holders).
I think the exercise is a worthwhile one, showing just how good the spec level is on the Saab 9-4x Aero. We hold very little back and when you build up some competitors models to a similar level, the pricing is interesting to say the least.
Note: This is not a full spec sheet of features on the 9-4x or the other vehicles. Go to Saab’s US 9-4x website for that. This is just a list of some of the more interesting options and the contrasts between the four vehicles. There are common features amongst all of them that I’ve left off – e.g. electrically adjustable passenger seats – simply to save some time (it’s been a very time consuming exercise).
—
Component
Price
Motor (Netgain Warp 9)
$2,395
Batteries (Thunder Sky LFP160AHA) - 45 in series as per recommendation
