Features Archives - Page 21 of 25

Manager of the Year award given to Saab’s Peter Dörrich

I’ve mentioned a few times here at Inside Saab that we have a number of good reasons to expect to hang around here for some time. Specifically, they are:

Product
Plant
People
Brand, and
Heritage

Yesterday we had a wonderful example of one of our people being rewarded for his efforts. Even in these difficult times – perhaps especially in these difficult times – Saab people shine through.

If you read a review of the Saab 9-4x, especially a review sourced from North America, you’ll likely read the reviewer say that the vehicle is a Saab version of the Cadillac SRX. Don’t believe it for a second. Both vehicles were developed with distinct identities and that whole project was led by a Saab guy – Peter Dörrich.

Yesterday, Peter received the Manager of the Year award. The award is voted for by members of Unionen, a national body.

Following is a translation of a Saab internal article about Peter and the award.

Peter is a wonderful guy whom I first met a year ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where his baby – the Saab 9-4x – finally made its production debut. There wasn’t a bigger smile in the room than the one on Peter’s face that day and I’m ecstatic to see his work as a leader at Saab recognised in this way.

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A popular executive who sees the big picture: Peter Dörrich is Manager of the Year

– I want to know how my employees feel and how they are doing at home. The job and life at home are not two separate phenomena. They are different parts of a whole. If one does not work, the other will not work properly either.

This from Peter Dörrich, who today was named Manager of the Year, as nominated by Unionen colleagues in the Technical Development Center.

Right: Peter Dörrich and Unionen representative, Annette Hellgren

– Peter is a good manager who will see that staff grow in their roles. He encourages and pushes us and gives us belief in our decisions. He is a great sounding board when you need to discuss possible solutions and problems and always takes time to listen and guide people to a good solution, says Mona Säverhag, who has worked with Peter at different times – about three years combined.

She also highlights Peter’s extensive knowledge of both the vehicle development and production processes.

– He cares about the team, but he is still demands our best.

Continue reading Manager of the Year award given to Saab’s Peter Dörrich

How did you end up buying your first Saab, Sapan?

Another first Saab purchase story, sent in by Sapan, a Saab owner from the US…..

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I want to start out my story with the following:

I have been thinking about the word passion. Automotive passion that is; how so many people do not go after their passion on a daily basis? I am not sure if there is someone out there who feels the same way I do when I look at my car every morning as I am about to leave for work. It makes me smile, it physically makes me happy every time I hit the gas pedal, every time I downshift and hear my exhaust note echo off other cars that I am passing. Do you feel the same way when you are driving your car? Does it make you smile? If you are a true car buff then it should do all of the above and more. You should feel the same exact way you felt when you got the car on Day 1 of your ownership. If you do not, then maybe your path should lead to another vehicle or maybe you are not a car buff and cannot share this experience.

So here is my story it’s a pretty simple one but it is my story to tell. In 2009 I had my Scion tC that I used as my track car as well as daily driver (This is pretty much impossible!). Over time the abuse and wear and tear of the track took its toll on my Scion and it was time for me to get rid of the car. My main issue was, I like to work on cars when I can and I always have a itch for modifying a car no matter how it looks the first day I get my hands on it.

So when it came time to look for a new car I decided I didn’t want to mod the car and said I will get a car that has very little aftermarket support. A good friend suggested a TurboX due to its rareness and its specs which met my requirements (Manual with AWD). So I began shopping around and in Feb 09 I finally settled on the TurboX on my birthday (Best gift ever). I thought to myself, this car is great it’s a Saab so no one will have aftermarket parts for it and it looks spectacular! This will be my daily driver even though I commute thru downtown DC on a daily basis, I’ll drive a real manual until my knee won’t take it.

Fast forward three months I am enjoying my car driving it to my hearts content and then a raccoon decides it wants to inspect my FMIC.

So while in the shop being repaired, I decided I wanted the parts to be that Satin Black color like the GTR, I thought that it looked great and that’s where it all began. After that I looked into some other parts such as brake lines and getting Bluetooth working on the car etc. During this time also got to know International Saab my local dealership (www.imsaab.com)who hooked me up with a Hirsch Dash before Hirsch was even available in the US!

So now we are at different trim paint, stainless steel brake lines, and a Hirsch Dash. So much for finding a car that didn’t have any parts I could modify! After that I thought I needed to tinker with the exhaust to make it a bit louder so I decided to have a 3″ turbo back made at my local tuning shop. The result did yield a significant gain and the sound of the exhaust was a bit loud but superb. This past winter after a heavy snowstorm in the D.C. area I decided I want a dedicated winter set of wheels (TurboX wheels) and a dedicated high performance summer set (Something lightweight, but still stylish and could take a beating on the streets of D.C. as well as the occasional Autocross) so I went with some Forgestar F14 wheels after seeing them around on the internet.

While waiting for my wheels to be made I had gotten rear ended and decided it was time for some more upgrades. Tried to go the Hirsch route but unfortunately they were not available in the states yet so I went the MapTun route. Contacted Fredrik and ordered my carbon fiber diffuser as well as the front splitter/grille combo to replace my torn off one from the winter snow storm. Coupled with the wheels, my StopTech brake setup (Slotted 345mm) and 255/35/19 BFGoodrich KDW2’s my car is now ready again to have some fun over the summer!

I also did forget to mention that while I was shopping around for my TurboX in early 2009 I had a few other choices as well:

BMW M3 (E92)
Audi RS4
Mercedes C63 AMG

The issues with those were as listed below:

I wanted a proper gearbox (quoting Mr. Clarkson); some of the cars didn’t have them available at the time (or in general in the Mercedes case).
Did not want to take out 2 Jobs just to pay for the car.
Decided I wanted more All Wheel Drive instead of RWD.
Lastly, the most important factor: I have seen at least 5 of each car on a daily basis when you go to the posh parts of the D.C Area.

I love the Saab because it does represent individuality and stepping away from the norm. On a weekly basis I have about 5 people asking me about or just staring at my car to see if it’s still available for sale. I would love to say that I am a driving billboard because sooner or later the people who ask me about my car will work their way over to a dealership and go the Saab route.

This was my first Saab but certainly won’t be my last Saab (hopefully). Looking forward to meeting everyone in the community at one event or another!

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The Saab Smell. A personal tale of odour by Lance Cole

This is an article that was originally published back in 2007 on my old website, Trollhattan Saab. The archives to this site were lost for some time and I’ve only recently got access to a backup. This is one of the most popular articles written on TS and I’ve always wanted to share it again with a new audience here at Inside Saab.

The author is Lance Cole. Lance is an automotive and aviation writer based in the UK and would be known by Saab enthusiasts in particular for his book, Saab 99 and 900: The Complete Story. The book is an essential read for the 99 and 900 enthusiast and that link will take you to Amazon, where it is still available for sale and available on upload for Kindle.

Lance is also working on a new book, which will be called “Saab Cars – The Complete Story” with 300 colour photos and previously unpublished design notes from the history of Saab. The book is due out in 2012 from Crowood Press.

My enduring thanks to Lance for his OK to re-publish this here at Inside Saab. Enjoy.

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Old aeroplanes smell, every classic aviation enthusiast knows that. Sit in a Spitfire or a Messerchmitt 109 and the patina of leather, aluminium, bakelite plastic, oil, grease, and canvas, lends a tangible reek, an actual smell.

The same whiff pervades the interiors of Catalina flying boats, Lancasters, Douglas DC 3s and just about any old aeroplane. Even old, first generation jetliners have a smell – think Boeing 707 or Comet or Caravelle or VC10.

When it comes to cars however, the smell thing seems less defined.

Yes, classic 1930s race cars reek, so too do 1960s Alfas, Lancias and Morris Minors. But some cars have no smell at all – not even old ones; when did you last scratch and sniff a 1980s Honda or a plastic lined Ford hatchback – you didn’t because they don’t pong.

All of which begs the questions – why do old Saabs have that unique, special, Saab-only smell – and what is it? And is it something to do with aviation?

To answer the questions, I took my mind way back to days of yore, When Saabs were Saabs and Abba were gold.

My first car was bought in 1981 and was a 1968 early model steel bumpered, Saab 99 two door (well it would be for 1968). It had that lovely cockpit style fascia with a top roll coaming that arced back into the door side panels. The clock was off a 96 and there was chrome detailing on the seatbelt buckles and some very fungal vinyl in the cabin.

Above all, there was the smell: The car had this really strong pong – and it smelt just like my grandad’s Auster light aircraft – a sort of vintage eau d’ armpit mixed with stale canvas, cigar, oak, horsehair, alloy and an air of classic French polished woodwork.

The Saab smelled.

Continue reading The Saab Smell. A personal tale of odour by Lance Cole

Bay Horse Saab (GB) giving iPads with Approved Used Saabs

Bay Horse Saab, in north-west England, are having an Autumn Sale during November, where they’re offering Approved Used Saabs at great prices, along with the following:

Two years’ free servicing
A free 16GB iPad (WiFi)

Saab GB’s Approved Used Saab program is available at dealerships all over Great Britain. The program is tailored to make sure you get the best used car experience possible. All vehicles are checked and guaranteed prior to being included in the Approved Used program.

Saab multi-point check including vehicle mileage and history
12-month dealer guarantee, not just a warranty
12-month brake, battery and clutch cover on vehicles under 24 months
MOT Test guarantee*
30-day exchange option
12 months’ Saab AA Assistance

Click through to check out Bay Horse Saab’s used vehicle inventory.

My personal favourite is the 2008 Aero 2.0T for just £10,000 – bargain! That car, the Saab Approved assurance, plus 2 years free service AND the 16GB iPad sounds like a pretty good package.

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11/11/11 – the Saab 9-1 that wasn’t

Saab have certainly had a decent run with concept cars over the years. I’d have to go back and do the math, but the number of new Saab concepts over the last 10 years or so, starting with the original Saab 9x, actually outnumbers the number of new Saab road-going vehicles over several decades. The concept-to-new-car ratio would be a nice one to address, but that’s a post for another time.

One of those Saab concepts was the Saab 9-X BioHybrid from 2008.

The 9-X BioHybrid was first shown at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, where it actually followed in the footsteps of the Saab Aero-X two years earlier by winning the award for the best vehicle at the show.

Lead Designer, Anthony Lo, said at the time…..

The 9-X BioHybrid is a vision of what a future compact car from Saab could look like. It is designed to reflect the priorities of youthful customers who seek progressive looks, responsible performance and high-tech communications, all in a sporty, fun-to-drive package.

I distinctly remember Bob Lutz saying that if Saab were to build this car, it would be called the 9-1. We were all very excited to see the car, but it was the “IF” in Lutz’s statement that had the enthusiast community feeling a little deflated. Saab needed a small car and we all thought this could be it. Of course, as things turned out, Saab was up for sale less than 12 months after this concept was released. I guess Lutz knew that was possible when the car was shown, hence there was no commitment made.

So…. this is the car that could have been a Saab 9-1 if things had worked out differently. The only other Saab with a 1 in the model number was an airplane, so it seems appropriate to mark the 11/11/11 with a tip of our collective hat to this beautiful concept car.

This concept was joined later in the year by a concept called the Saab 9-X Air, a convertible version of the vehicle that looked absolutely amazing with the top down (though not so good with the top up). The Saab 9-X Air name was later dropped in favour of the name Saab 9-X Convertible.

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Saab 9-X BioHybrid:
Boosting Efficiency in Compact Design and Performance

The Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept is a vivid vision of what a future compact car from Saab could look like. It is designed to reflect the priorities of youthful customers who seek progressive looks, responsible performance and high-tech communications, all in a sporty, fun-to-drive package.

Exploring design themes from Saab’s award-winning Aero X and earlier 9X concepts, the 9-X BioHybrid also demonstrates the potential for ultra-efficient power from a 200 hp (147 kW), 1.4-liter BioPower turbo engine backed by GM’s next-generation Hybrid system. Projected combined cycle CO2 emissions of just 105 g/km on E85 fuel are testimony to the promise of this package.

The interior showcases an entirely new expression of Saab’s driver-focused cockpit design, together with innovative, seamless connectivity for personal nomadic devices and a rear cargo deck with a ‘low friction’ loading system.

Continue reading 11/11/11 – the Saab 9-1 that wasn’t

Saab Preliminary Reorganisation Plan

The following plan was submitted to the Vanersborg District Court today as the background material for presentation to the Creditors Meeting.

It makes for some very interesting reading in all respects, both as a brief historical document (as in…. how did Saab get here?) and as a guide for the future. If you’re into following what Saab do, or plan to do, then this is your required reading for the week.

The sections:

You can download your own copy of the document in English, here (pdf) or in Swedish here (pdf). The press release summarising the highlights of this document is available here.

I have reproduced the document in full, below.

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1. Introduction and Background

On February 20, 2009, while still under ownership of General Motors, SAAB was granted a first order for reorganization. This reorganisation was conducted until 20 August 2009 when the targets were considered fulfilled by the actions taken.

While still under reorganisation, former owner General Motors continued negotiations with potential buyers. An initially negotiated deal with Koenigsegg Group was, however, cancelled on November 24, 2009.

Continue reading Saab Preliminary Reorganisation Plan

We need your Saab images for a Facebook milestone celebration!

UPDATE: We are now over 99,400 fans and growing. The ETA for 100,000 is somewhere early next week.

We’ve already received in excess of 1,000 images for use in the mosaic but we want more!!!

I’m preparing two mosaic base images, one modern and one historic. They’re looking great in the trial runs so far, so get your images in via the channels below and make them even better!

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As I alluded to earlier in the week, we have a milestone of sorts coming up on our Facebook fan page.

To celebrate this milestone, we thought we’d put together all of your cars into a big mosaic image that we could share with you as a gesture of thanks for your continued support of Saab.

Never seen a mosaic image before? Check these out. A mosaic is where you take many smaller pictures and use them to make a larger, single image. The image to the right is a mosaic I made up a few days ago, featuring the Catherina concept made by Sixten Sason at the Saab Museum. We’d like to do something similar to commemorate our 100,000th Facebook fan but we need your images to do it right.

So, how can you submit your images for this fun-tastic project? We have several options.

Facebook: First you’ll need to “Like” our Facebook fan page. Then you can submit an image to the page and include the tag “Saab100K” in the description. You must include the “Saab100K” wording with the photo and in doing so, you’re permitting us to use the image for the purpose of this mosaic, which will be made available for download and/or use via various Saab media channels.

Flickr: If you’ve got an account on Flickr, you can simply tag any photos you want to submit with the “Saab100K” tag and I’ll do a search on that tag in the next week. Please make sure your tagged photos are set up to be downloadable, that they are your own original images and that you’ve set your creative commons permissions appropriately.

Twitter: Attach an image with the hashtag Saab100K visibile in the tweet. You can ping me @inside_saab as well, if you’ve got space.

Email: You can email images directly to insidesaabofficial@gmail.com with the tag “Saab100K” in the email (either the title or the body text). Again, they should be your own original images, and by sending them to us, you are permitting their use as part of this mosaic.

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The image can be anything you like, so long as there’s a visual Saaby connection. It can be your car, or an event you attended, or a photo of you posing with your car. As long as it’s Saaby, we can use it.

The final mosaic will be made available to the public for personal, non-commercial use. Saab may also use the mosaic image for marketing purposes.

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We will be using automated software to create the mosaic so whilst all photos submitted will be in the pool, there is an outside chance that not all photos will be used by the software. We’ll try to set it up so that all of them are, however.

So, remember the tag Saab100K and get your photos ready to go! We will soon be 100,000 strong and we look forward to celebrating this with you.

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New York Times profile Saab Designer, Jason Castriota

We’re yet to see the full depth of Jason Castriota’s design work for Saab Automobile – a fact not lost in this NY Times profile of Saab’s current design chief.

This brief profile ends a little too quickly for my liking, but it’s a nice backgrounder for those who don’t know a lot about Jason’s career so far.

Right: Jason with PhoeniX at Chelsea Piers, in New York

The article traces his beginnings as an art student in the north-eastern US and follows his accelerated rise to prominence after leaving the US for jobs with Pininfarina and Bertone in Italy. There is a quite a lot of Saab-talk in the article, but given that his public work with Saab is confined so far to the PhoeniX concept car, there is more talk about the company than the vehicle, which is a little disappointing.

Like you, I’m very much looking forward to a time when they re-visit articles like this and have a lot more to talk about in terms of vehicles.

For now, though, this is a good article and it’s great for Saab and for Jason to be featured in the NY Times.

Recommended reading: New York Times profile Jason Castriota

Below: Jason working with a journalist at the 2011 New York International Auto Show

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Inside Saab Q&A – The Answers (part 1)

Earlier this week, we invited readers and Facebook fans to submit questions to Saab for responses. We now have responses for most of those questions, provided below.

NOTES:

A big proportion of Saab’s future is contingent upon an approval process currently underway in China. Our Chinese partners, Pang Da and Youngman, are seeking approval for their proposed investments into Saab Automobile. The process is going very well and we remain very confident of a positive outcome, however the decision is not final until it is made by the NDRC and other agencies involved. This Q&A has been prepared with a positive outcome in mind – i.e. a return to (relatively) normal business conditions.
There are some aspects of our business, e.g. forward product planning, that we cannot comment on in detail. I’ve tried to provide general responses where possible, but details cannot be made available. That’s just the nature of the business.
Time has been my enemy. I wanted to answer all questions by today, but there are some people that I just haven’t been able to get to in order to get responses. I will do that, and compose answers for the remainder of those questions. They will be posted in approximately two weeks from now (I will be away from the office for a week between now and then, hence the delay)

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What will Saab do to protect against the possibility of another bankruptcy down the line?

I’m pretty sure this was asked by a US-based customer, hence the bankruptcy reference. It’s important to note here that Saab has not been through a bankruptcy procedure at all in its history. The process we are undertaking right now, reorganisation, is a process under Swedish law that is quite separate from a bankruptcy under Swedish law. This is not just me being pedantic here. It’s a very important distinction for reasons that will become clearer below.

The basic similarities between a Swedish reorganisation and a Ch11 bankruptcy in the US do not mean that the words are interchangeable. Saab is in reorganisation under Swedish law. Remember that as you read on and please be mindful of the distinction, especially if you are accustomed to using the US terminology.

To the center of the question, then. What are we going to do in order to ensure this doesn’t happen again?

Continue reading Inside Saab Q&A – The Answers (part 1)

Inside Saab Q&A – the questions

My thanks to everyone for sending in your questions for our Q&A offering. It’s been great to see what’s weighing on people’s minds right now and we want to do what we feasibly can to provide answers for you.

I’ve gone through the questions submitted through various channels – here at IS, on Facebook and through one of our enthusiast websites, Saab Actu – and have summarised the questions into the list below. Please understand that in order to get responses in a timely manner, I can’t comment on opinions expressed, nor on questions that were very specific (e.g. questions on individual parts will be answered in the context of all parts) or overly market specific (e.g. when will a particular model begin selling in XXXXXX).

The questions I’ll be seeking answers for in the next 24 hours are:

What will Saab do to protect against the possibility of another bankruptcy down the line?
When will production re-start, both in Trollhattan and in Mexico (Saab 9-4x)?
What happens to my warranty/service contract if Saab goes bankrupt?
What happens to parts availability if Saab goes bankrupt?
Why are some spare parts so difficult to obtain at the moment?
Is Vladimir Antonov still interested in Saab?
Will Saab seek to pay back the EIB loan?
What projects has the lack of EIB finance had an impact on?
Will Saab offer a diesel in the US?
Will Saab offer a diesel of BioPower version of the Saab 9-4x?
Will there be more exotic options offered on the Saab 9-4x?
Why is Saab offering just the 4-cyl version of the Saab 9-5 SportCombi in the US market? Will it get better tuning options, or a V6 version?
Will Saab offer an entry level car?
Will Saab develop a higher performance car or an Aero-X type halo car?
Will Saab seek to authorise Independent outlets to act as service facilities?
Do TimTams still open doors at the Saab Museum 🙂 ?
How will IQon get connected to the internet?
Are 2011 orders cancelled and is that factored into the business plan?
When will the Saab 9-5 SportCombi be launched?
When will the Saab 9-4x be launched in markets outside the USA?
How is the development of the Saab 9-3 replacement progressing?
Will the Saab 9-3 replacement vehicle have a coupe version? Will it have the DNA of the original Saab 900?
Will the Saab 9-3 get a 6-cyl engine again?
Are more upscale interiors being developed?
What are the odds of getting a 9-3 coupe?
Is a joint venture with Volvo possible in the future?
Will Inside Saab survive Cheetah?
Why didn’t Saab use the eco TTiD engines from the 9-3 in the Saab 9-5?
What will Saab do about the dealer network issues it faces, with some dealers closing in various parts of the world?
What assurance can Saab provide about the quality of vehicles built in China?
Will Saab offer factory tours again?
When will Saab begin selling in Mexico?
Are there plans to use the old propeller logo in the future (a-la PhoeniX)?
What are Saab going to do in terms of marketing in the future? How will you develop awareness of the brand again, and build trust?
Will Saab look into customer contributions for ad campaigns?
Will Saab look at doing big test drive events for potential customers?