Category: Features

War Of The Noses – Conclusion

So the votes are cast, the verdict is in. Sort of.

I hope no-one’s looking for some momentous enlightenment here. I had a theory and wanted to see if other people agreed. That’s all.

My theory was this:

Nasal Theory
In all but a few cases, Saab actually made their cars look less attractive when they updated them.

That’s it.

The theory started as I pondered the Saab 9-5. I’ve long said that we’ll look at getting a Saab 9-5 wagon when our 9000 bites the dust. But which 9-5?

Saab steadily de-contented the cars after a time, either through directly removing some items or through declining material quality. Cars from the early 2000’s seem to be best equipped as standard and with the highest quality finish when new. But you have to balance that equipment level against the age of the car and with the age comes the nose difference.

As I looked at the two noses, I came to the conclusion that I really liked the earlier 9-5 nose a bit more than the later one. There’s something very composed and elegant about that silver grille that looks good to me from all angles. When I see the later nose, with it’s color-integrated grille surround, something fails to click with me.

I think the 9-5 Aero looks good with the later nose, but the lesser models look like they have their chin poking out, like they’ve made a funny face for a photo.

Then I got thinking about other models.

The Saab 96 is an obvious one where the first iteration was the best. This is the only one for which I showed three generations. In fairness, I should have just made it a question between the second and third generation and left the bullnose out. Why? Because the second and third generations shared the V4 engine. The bullnose didn’t. The V4 necessitated a longer nose so if you want a V4, you don’t get a bullnose to choose from.

I think the Saab 99 looks much more elegant in it’s earlier form. I can understand people favouring the later form because that’s where the 99 really made its name. But the earlier form looks so clean.

My ideal Saab 99 would be an early-form body with a turbo engine, just like this one! It’s owned by a friend in Sweden named Anders S (his brother Peter has a red one just as nice! 🙂 )

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When it comes the 900, I’m a little biased. I owned an early version of the Saab 900. It was one of the first 16V cars with the oxblood leather interior and the flat-nose version of the car had me from day 1.

In fairness, though, I also owned a later slant-nosed model in Sweden. I actually had a much better ownership experience with that car, but still prefer the look of the earlier flat-nose versions.

As an aside, I do wonder how much people’s personal ownership experience influenced their vote(s). I also wondered whether people voted just on the nose, and how many on their opinion on the whole vehicle. Did the wheels influence you, for example?

The 9-3 SS and the Saab 9000 are probably the two exceptions to my own theory that I would agree with.

I thought the 9-3 SS vote would be closer but I understand the later nose winning by a large margin. I reckon Dan P summed up the problem with the early 9-3 SS quite well:

I think the original design is great, timeless from many angles and just a beautiful organic shape. What I’ve never liked and puts me off buying one a little is the front lights. They don’t wrap around enough and sit too square on the nose, and it’s out of character compared to the og9-3 and the 9-5.

The overall shape of the 9-3 SS is nice but the front seemed un-finished. The later nose on the 9-3 gave the car more purpose, more aggression IMHO.

Same with the 9000. I like the earlier front but the later nose gave the car a more distinct identity. In comparison, the earlier front looks a little bit generic.

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None of this is to say that people shouldn’t like one version or the other. The Saab 99 is a prime example. If you’re going to buy a Saab 99, buy a 99EMS or Turbo and love what is a magnificent front face. The earlier one looks more elegant to me, but the later cars are still beautiful to look at and a much better mechanical package.

Did my theory match the popular vote? Not really.

Saab 9-5 – I picked the early nose. The vote was close, but the majority picked the later, more integrated nose.

Saab 99 – I picked the early nose. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the later nose by a margin of 2 to 1.

Saab 900 – I picked the earlier nose. A lot of people agreed with me, but the vote was still firmly in favour of the later, more slanted nose.

Saab 96 – We all picked the early nose on that one. Despite there being three entries, the bullnose got 61% of the vote. I’m surprised it didn’t get more, to be honest.

Saab 9000 – I think the later nose was an improvement and the people agreed, but only just. The later design won….. by a nose. 87 votes to 79. There’s a lot of love for the early nose there, which maybe supports my theory, even if I wouldn’t have voted for it.

Saab 9-3 SS – I figured this one would be close, but it was an 83% vote for the later nose.

The bottom line

Saab has always had a strong design ethic and it’s no surprise that both their early designs and their refreshed designs are popular with the Saab faithful.

How to explain the discrepancy in the votes? Well, we’re all individuals. We all think differently. There might be something in the fact that some of the later designs that I dislike involve moulded rubber bumpers (Saab 96 and 99). Maybe I’m just into older cars.

Whatever the explanation, I’m happy with my theory and happy to know that all of Saab’s front-end designs are appreciated by the fans.

Thanks for playing.

War Of The Noses – Saab 9000

This will be the final War Of The Noses post before I give voice to my own theory and either validate it or disgrace it with the collected poll results.

Our final vehicle is the Saab 9000, which had two basic noses to make it nice and easy for you pollsters.

The early 9000 nose, with the taller ‘face’ and headlamps:

And here’s the later 9000 nose, with it’s narrower headlamps and grille.

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Here’s your poll. Which 9000 nose do you prefer? Early or late?

As always, comments are open…..

[poll id=”20″]

War Of The Noses – Saab 9-3 SS

The War continues……

The Saab 96 vote took a predictable course so we don’t really need to give that one more time. To me, at least, this is more of a 50/50 proposition – the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan.

The 9-3 Sport Sedan came as a crisp looking model in late 2002. It got an exterior facelift in the 2008 model year that saw a much more aggressive face.

Which will you choose?

The early:

Or the late:

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Here’s your poll and as always, have your say in comments…..

[poll id=”19″]

War of the Noses – Saab 96

Previous nose-battles:

It’s now time for the Saab 96, which is as far back as we’ll go in the Saab model catalogue.

I’m going to do things a little different here, too. Because the Saab 96 was available for 20 years and with three distinctly different noses, I’m going to offer an early, middle and late option for you to vote on.

The first Saab 96 was essentially an evolution of the Saab 93 so the looks are quite similar. This is often referred to as the ‘bullnose 96’.

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The ‘middle’ version came in 1965 and featured a slightly longer nose designed to cope with the V4 engine that was planned for the car in the near future. This middle version only lasted a few years but it’s quite desirable and well known thanks to some of the hotter MC850 engines that were put in before the V4 came.

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And finally, the late version, which brought the 96 into the corporate design language being led by the bigger, newer Saab 99. The plasticised grille, bigger indicators and rectangular headlamps being the big changes.

OK, there’s also an earlier version of the late nose. As pointed out by Ian Brade in comments, I’ve featured the latest of the late versions. Here’s an earlier iteration out of fairness to this generation.

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Here’s your poll and comments are open, of course.

[poll id=”18″]

Salacious Saab Sonett Selling (its soul) in Silver

I’ve got to admit I’m quite partial to the original Saab Sonett III colour palette. The bright citrus type colours from the early 1970’s suited the Sonett to a ‘T’ so I always have to have a good hard look when someone does something non-standard.

I didn’t like the black Sonett that got auctioned in Europe a few months ago. But then, Coggs’ metallic red Sonett looks the absolute dog’s bollocks. So if you’re going to go non-standard then make sure you choose wisely because it can make or break the car.

Via Bring a Trailer, we have this 1974 Saab Sonett currently offered for sale on Ebay.

The seller has owned the car for 2 years and it was the owner prior to him/her that did the paint job. The car is finished in a nice BMW silver from the 1980’s and as much as I find most silver cars a tad boring (purely because they’re everywhere) I have to say that the silver sets this Sonett off quite nicely indeed.

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I’m pleased they left the blackout section at the back. Some people paint this instead of leaving black, which is how it should be. My only remaining wish is that they’d blacked-out the engine cover on the hood. It just doesn’t look quite right without it.

Other than that, it’s a job well done.

The seller claims to have re-done the gearbox and clutch, upgraded the ignition, added a new intake and new Weber carb as well as a major refurbishment of the interior.

It looks good and he says it goes good, too.

Sonetts are climbing in price and at the time of writing, bids are at $9,200 with the reserve still waiting to be reached. Bidding closes in just over 4 days from now.

I’d say the price is about fair right now if the condition is as claimed. It’ll be interesting to see what the reserve is set at. With 20 bids already in the can and 4 days left to run, I’m sure we’ll see this one sell.

War Of The Noses – Saab 900 (classic)

Okay. You’ve voted for your preferred Saab 9-5 nose and your preferred Saab 99 nose. What about the most popular Saab ever made – the classic Saab 900?

The classic Saab 900 started with a flattish nose that was an evolution of the late 1970’s Saab 99. In the late-80’s the Saab 900 got a more slanted nose.

Which one do you prefer?

The early, flatter nose:

…..Or the later, slightly more slanted probiscus:

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Here’s your poll:

[poll id=”17″]

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The results of the first two polls have been very interesting. I’m still working on my theory and I think there are various factors in play when it comes to the preferred look of each car.

Thanks for participating!

And of course, comments are open.

Inside Koenigsegg – 1360hp engine in the Koenigsegg One:1

I’ll understand if you feel a little short-changed watching this video. What we want to see is the 1360hp One:1 engine in full flight and that’s not what you get here.

What you get, instead, is a verbal run-through of the changes made to the Agera R engine to bring it up to One:1 spec. Koenigsegg is, after all, an evolutionary car maker, a company that constantly improves its technology with every car that it makes. The One:1 continues the evolution.

The video is short. It’s worth watching. Hopefully get we get to see the One:1 in action soon.

War Of The Noses – Saab 99

You’ve voted on the Saab 9-5. Here we go again.

This time I’d like you to select your favourite Saab 99 note from these two prominent contenders. Yes, there were other Saab 99 front-end variations but these two are the most-seen.

Note – both periods had variations with dual headlamps (round) on either side. I had to pick one or the other, so I’ve gone with the rectangular European versions just to be consistent.

Earlier – the late 1960’s style…..

Or……

Later – Mid 1970’s style

Here’s your poll…..

[poll id=”16″]

War Of The Noses – Saab 9-5

Here’s a simple question for you, something that’s been occupying my mind for the last few days (sadly, this is true).

Which nose do you prefer on the Saab 9-5? The 1st series with the silver grille or the color-coded nose that came with the facelift?

Examples, using two Saab 9-5 Aeros. The earlier nose first…..

And the later nose……

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Here’s the poll.

[poll id=”15″]

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I’ll follow up with a few more Saab noses as we go through the week.

Yes, I have a theory.

Feel free to have your say in comments.

Carmelo Anthony is the Cadillac of Basketball Players

There are (at least) four things that are inevitable in life:

  • Death.
  • Taxes.
  • Swade will rag on GM when they give him a reason.
  • GM will always give Swade a reason.

I’m getting over it slowly, but it’s a Saab thing.

Anyway….

Carmelo Anthony is one of those basketball players who has immense talent but nearly zero chance of ever winning a championship. He comes across as a guy who feels entitled, self-centred; the type of player who’ll sulk if he’s not the leader but lacks the personality traits to actually lead.

Carmelo’s reputation was built on his college career, winning the NCAA title with Syracuse in his freshman college year, in 2003. He went straight to the NBA after that and hasn’t won a title more prominent that a divisional flag in his whole pro career. The guy’s obviously got talent, but hasn’t got the leadership qualities or the team around him to succeed.

Despite this, he’s the highest paid player in the highest profile team based in the most glamorous city in the United States. By some measures, he can lay claim to being the man. But those measures won’t be ones devised by people that matter.

And so follows my likening of Carmelo to Cadillac.

Cadillac, like Carmelo, has some talent. I drove a CTS in Canada back in 2008 and it was obviously a well executed car. Reputations take a long time to build in the car business, though, and Cadillac’s done little to deserve a contemporary moniker akin to it’s old ‘Standard Of The World’. In fact, Cadillac still tries to ride that reputation even though the company’s product started to wane in the 1960’s.

To build a reputation based on your current product doesn’t take one big hit, it takes a generation of hits. Cadillac’s philosophy seems to be “fake it til you make it”. Claim greatness where little-to-no greatness actually exists. If you say it enough, then enough people will believe it so you can sell some cars.

Witness the ad for the Cadillac ELR. I find it hard to believe that they found enough focus group participants who thought this was aspirational to approve it. My guess is that the people in the focus group worked for Cadillac itself.

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Have you ever seen a greater display of hubris in all your life? Have you ever wanted to be someone less than you want to be that guy?

And here’s the rub…..

The Chevrolet Volt, on which the Cadillac ELR is based, is reputed to be a very good vehicle. I’m sure that extra luxuries added to the ELR make it an excellent vehicle. But so much of that can be undone by some guy acting like a tool in a video commercial.

Here’s a tip: make something so great that others talk about how good it is.

BMW didn’t have to do an ad like this through the 90’s or the 00’s because every car magazine in the world talked up the quality and driving dynamics of the 3-series.

Can you imagine Cadillac doing something that good?

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This Cadillac ad only came to my attention because of a bunch of articles last week about Ford’s parody of it. I don’t like the Ford ad much, either, because it’s so obviously trying to be contrarian that it comes across as a little bit fake, too. That’s a pity, because from what I read, that lady’s efforts deserve better than scripted opportunism.

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Bottom line: this is what GM do. They claim a reputation bigger than they deserve and just like Carmelo Anthony, I hold no hope for them ever winning a championship.

At least Carmelo will get a chance to do it the Gary Payton way, being a sixth/seventh/eighth man on a championship team when he should rightfully be in retirement.

GM and Cadillac? They’ll have to produce a generation of genuine world-beating product all on their own. Claiming it before then with BS ads like the ELR spot is only going to dig their hole a little bit deeper.

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