Saab Archives - Page 6 of 12

2013 Saab Festival celebrates Saab Sport and Rally

There’s a Saab Festival again this year!!! Wish I could go, but we have some other family priorities this year that preclude halfway-round-the-world travel.

For those who CAN be there, prepare yourselves for a celebration of Saab’s sporting heritage. The theme for this year’s festival was announced by Saab Museum director and festival co-ordinator, Peter Backstrom, earlier this week:

The work with the Saabfestival 2013 is progressing and we are happy to communicate that the theme will be Saab Sport & Rally!

Remember the orange tuning manual from the 1970’s for your Saab V4? Whether you raced or rallied your Saab or just simply improved it to be a lookalike of the cars that Stig Blomqvist, Per Eklund or Simo Lampinen drove, the Saab Sport & Rally assortment was available through your local Saab dealer.

This theme will suit the old school tuners (camshafts, carburettors, machining of cylinder heads…) as well as the new generation with their 9-3 and 9-5’s (turbochargers, software changes, 3 inch exhaust systems…….)!

How did you improve your Saab?

Show us at The Saab Festival 2013!

The Saab Festival always has its fair share of tuners present but hopefully this deliberate choice of celebrating Saab tuning will bring out even more of them.

For the youngsters with their Maptuned 9-3’s it’ll be a chance to see some of the older V4s and two strokes both on display and in action. Hopefully there will be a track day at Kinnekulle so that owners can really throw those old cars around. There’s nothing quite like a screaming Saab 96 going sideways through a bend.

And for those old-timers, hopefully they’ll gain an appreciation for some of the work done on more modern Saabs, too.

This is my favourite little video from Kinnekulle – an exquisite and quite modified early Saab 99. I know this is neither and old V4 or a new power-chipped modern Saab. The 99 lies squarely in between those two but it IS a point of focus in the Saab Sport and Rally catalog. In fact, this 99, with it’s 16V Turbo engine, doesn’t take second place to anybody, as you’ll see.

Note – This video was shot in 2007 and I didn’t know who owned the car back then. I do now. He’s the brother of the owner of Speedparts and it turns out both brothers have 16V 99s 🙂

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The Saab Festival will be held in Trollhattan, from May 31st to June 2nd.

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Exhibit: Saab Spirit Lives On

The Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, will host a special Saab exhibition from February 23rd to March 17th entitled The Saab Spirit Lives On.

The vehicles on display are all owned by Bill Jacobson, owner of Sports Car Service in Wilmington, Delaware. I don’t know Bill but his name’s been on my radar for some time, now. Bill’s long been a prominent figure on the vintage Saab scene and he purchased a number of vehicles from the Heritage Collection when it went up for sale following the bankruptcy.

His collection includes one very special Saab – Sonett #6. Actually, the collection is one that could almost rival the Saab Museum itself. Not in number, of course, but in quality and the way it represents such a nice walk through Saab’s history.

The Sonett will be on display at Simeone, along with the following vehicles:

1959 Saab 750 GT (Red) – Featured in Autoweek magazine article “50 years of Saab & Ferrari” also appears in Michael Furman’s Automobiles of the Chrome Age
1964 Saab Quantum Formula “S” (blue with yellow nose) – Sold in “kit” form through Saab US dealers only. Raced in the mid 1960’s with S.C.C.A.
1964 Saab Bullnose Wagon (Tan) – Acquired from the GM/Saab Heritage Collection
1965 Saab Longnose Wagon (Red) – All original, only 75,000 KM
1967 Saab Sonett II 2-stroke (Silver) – One of only 258 produced, most of them were sold here in the US.
1970 Saab 99 (Tan) – Acquired from the GM/Saab Heritage Collection
1978 Saab 99 Turbo (Burgundy) – Acquired from the GM/Saab Heritage Collection, the first of the turbo charged cars that started the “Turbo” powered era.
1980 Saab 900 5 door (Black) – Acquired from the GM/Saab Heritage Collection
1986 Saab 900 T Convertible (Red) – Saab press car for the release of the Saab convertible. Was always owned by Saab and the only red 1986 produced.
1990 Barber Saab Pro Series Formula Car (Red) – Series featuring open-wheeled, Saab-powered formula cars ran from 1986 – 1991 giving many race car drivers their start, such as: Robbie Buhl, Bryan Herta and Juan Pablo Montoya
1991 Saab 900 SPG Convertible (White) – Custom ordered and made for the former Saab president Jim Crumlish
1993 Saab 9000 Cut away (Yellow) – Acquired from the GM/Saab Heritage Collection, shows the steel reinforcements made on a Saab giving them their high standards in crash safety records
1993 900T Limited Edition (Black) – #139 of 325 produced. The last year of the “classic 900” 3 door body style
1996 900 Turbo SE Talladega Challenge (Silver) – The 1996 event Oct 16 – 24th, the Saabs in the challenge bettered 18 of their own records and set 22 more. On the last day the fastest 900 averaged 143 MPH for 12 hours
1998 Saab 9000 CSET Aspen Police (Silver) – Former Aspen Colorado Police car for the first 19,000 miles and then sold back to Saab Cars USA for resale in 1999.
2000 Saab 9-3 Viggen Convertible (Lighting Blue) – 1 of 41 produced in this color in the production year 2000
2011 Saab 9-5 Aero (Silver) – One of the last Saabs to be produced, ending an era in the Saab world.

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Gallery: Saab PhoeniX Concept pictures

Mrs Swade and I are playing tourguide this week to some friendly Canadians so new postings here will be sporadic at best. I thought a little visual fun might be in order.

I’ve dug out these images from Geneva 2011, the first appearance of Jason Castriota’s Saab PhoeniX Concept Car. It caused quite a split of opinion at the time but most people I know came around and gave it varying degrees of warmth – from lukewarm to love.

I ended up loving it, but then I had the good fortune to see it in person, sit in it and see it on the street. You have to see these cars in person and seeing out of an auto show environment is even better.

I’ve included some darker images here on purpose. The special liquid metal paint finish really shows up its contours in the darker shots.

Click to enlarge and enjoy. Thought in comments, of course. It’s great to see the young lady at her absolute best once again (as opposed to her damaged state some months later).

Saab PhoeniX Concept

The Geneva crowd greets PhoeniX

Saab PhoeniX Concept

The nose…..

Saab PhoeniX Concept

Under the covers…..

Saab PhoeniX Concept

Under the covers….

Saab PhoeniX Concept

Rear lights….

Saab PhoeniX Concept

3 years on – Saab Support Convoys

It’s January 17, 2013, here in Australia and three years ago, on January 17, 2010, Saab’s fate was hanging in the balance. General Motors seemed determined to close Saab down and Spyker were equally as determined to buy the company. As a community, we were determined to send GM a message – Saab was a company worth saving.

The first Saab Support Convoy was actually held in Detroit on January 5th, just before a GM board meeting. It was based on an idea that started in Holland – a gathering to celebrate Saab, no matter what the company’s fate would be. Of course, the nature of these events expanded as time went on.

Saab’s fate was expected to be decided at that Detroit GM board meeting but still hung in the balance several weeks later. The Detroit gathering gained some press coverage, which lent no small amount of determination to others to get together and make a difference.

The Saab Support Convoys began on the weekend of the 17th January and over the next few weekends, it’s estimated that around 10,000 people gathered in 6,000 Saabs (and others!) in 60 cities around the world.

It was an absolutely amazing time. Saab was saved (for the moment) and we felt like we were a part of the company. It was a wonderful time to be a Saab fan. Congratulations once again to all who were involved. I don’t think there’s ever been such a display of support for a car company, before or since.

There are 75 photos in the gallery below. Apologies if I missed anyone, but all the Saab Support Convoys are listed here.

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Saab’s Gordian Knot

At some risk of getting my head chopped off (again)…..

I’m still reading conversations between Saab fans occasionally that make me scratch my head a little. People seem quite adept at either changing history or altering the basics of economics with the belief that if they talk about it enough, their suggestions might become truth.

The legend of the Gordian knot (the simple version) saw a cart dedicated to Zeus and tied to a temple using a highly intricate knot. It was said that whoever could untie the knot would rule over all of Asia. When Alexander the Great arrived in Gordion, he got a bit tired of trying so he took out his sword and just cut the darn thing off.

NEVS face an uphill battle with Saab. A massive uphill battle. No matter which string they might pull first there seems to be an opposing force on the other end making their job far from straightforward.

Their recent announcement about building production facilities in China is the first real sign I’ve seen that plans might just be in place to make it work.

(The other recent announcement, to do with the corporate badge is nice, but means diddlysquat in the overall scheme of things.)

Production in China is the only realistic option for a company that bases its business plan on Chinese sales. No long-term Saab fan wants to see production based anywhere but Trollhattan, but the economic reality of a Chinese-focused firm is that they will have to build in China, either as their production base, or with Trollhattan continuing as a complement.

There are so many other problems to solve, however. People like to think they have solved them in theory, but the reality is that Saab’s problems aren’t solved in people’s minds. They remain very real right up to the point where very real solutions are found.

So just in case people are forgetting these Gordian contradictions in their musings, here’s a look at the puzzle that Saab has to solve.

Continue reading Saab’s Gordian Knot

Update on Saab parts for Australia

I first mentioned the pending wind-up of Saab Cars Australia last night. That story, of course, posed some uncertainty for Saab owners as to the availability of parts in the period between now and when the new operator comes online, believed to be on February 1st.

I received some more information from Saab Parts in Sweden overnight, which should help to clarify the situation. The short story – a new parts distributor has already been found, parts continue to flow and the number of service outlets will remain the same.

Read on……

Throughout 2012 we supplied Saab Genuine Parts to Saab Cars Australia Pty Ltd, the former distributor of Saab cars and parts in Australia and New Zealand that is currently owned by the administrators of Saab Automobile AB in bankruptcy. For much of that period we were also in negotiations with the administrators regarding the future of Saab Cars Australia Pty Ltd, as we were for subsidiaries in other markets. Unfortunately in the case of Saab Cars Australia Pty Ltd we were not able to find a mutually acceptable agreement and the company has been put into administration.

This will clearly be cause for concern for Saab owners in Australia. At Saab Automobile Parts AB we want to ensure that Saab owners around the world can obtain Saab Genuine Parts and Service. We have therefore already put plans in place for an alternative distribution channel to continue to supply of all our customers in Australia and New Zealand. We have signed a contract with Brookart Pty Ltd, Artarmon (Sydney), New South Wales, to take over the distribution of Saab Genuine Parts in Australia. We have a long experience of working together with Brookart and they are very familiar with our business. Shipments of parts are already en route to Brookart Pty Ltd.

We would like to reassure Saab owners and repairers by confirming that:

We do not anticipate that there will be a significant gap in parts supply during the few weeks it will take until the new importer is fully up and running. We are not planning any changes to the Authorised Repairer network – we intend to create supply agreements via the new distributor with all the current network and you will be contacted shortly.

We will do everything we can to make sure Saab owners in Australia and New Zealand will have continued good access to replacement parts and other services during the transition period until our new importer, Brookart Pty Ltd, has replenished their stock with Saab Genuine Parts. We are looking forward to working with them and with the existing Authorized Repairer network to develop the Saab Genuine Parts business in Australia and New Zealand.

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My thanks to David at Saab Parts AB in Sweden for the extra information.

As mentioned yesterday, it’s my understanding that Brookart are related to Mildrens, who have had a long relationship with Saab as a dealer in Sydney. They’re definitely familiar with the landscape.

The only hiccup for Saab owners and repairers might be the short time period between now and when Brookart actually come online and incorporate Saab’s ordering system. Indications to me were that that would be February 1st, though that date is not mentioned in the correspondence above. If Feb 1st is indeed the starting date, there might be a short waiting period between now and then where people will have difficulty getting an order into a computerised ordering system.

Bottom line: Some might need to have patience in the immediate short term, but we’ve been assured that a new organisation will be taking over soon and that parts are shipping, even now. That’s good news for Australian Saab owners.

Saab Cars Australia in Administration – parts to move elsewhere

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.

PhoeniX winged

I promised Saab fans one final story for Christmas. Here it is. Don’t ask how it happened because the people who know exactly what happened aren’t saying. But it happened.

PhoeniX was last used in an international capacity at the New York Motor Show in 2011. It stayed in the US for a little while after, attending some press drives of the 9-4x and was then used for some smaller SCNA and dealer events. Following on from that, it was shipped to the UK and when they opened the shipping container in Blighty, this is what they saw.

Saab PhoeniX Concept

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Saab Festival 2013

A little message that appeared on Facebook overnight on the Saab Car Museum page:

Our small Christmas gift to all Saab-enthusiasts: Saabfestival in Trollhättan, from May 31 to June 2. Mark your calendars! More info will be available on www.saabfestival.se during the winter.

YAY! Great stuff for Saab fans.

If you’ve never visited Trollhattan, the festival is a fantastic time to do so. There are Saabs everywhere, the weather’s usually fantastic, the lasagne at Mamma Mia’s is superb and the sun sets late so you can head down to the canal for a cool tasty beverage.

There’s nothing quite like Sweden in the summer, and Trollhattan during Festival.

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Sort-of Saaby snippets

I’ve been on the road for a week, seeing a bit of northern Tasmania from behind the wheel of a new Subaru Forester. It’s a very fat and floaty car and I wouldn’t recommend one to a driving enthusiast. Families? It’s probably quite good.

Seems I didn’t miss much, but there have been a few good stories and happenings.

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I got an email from the very efficient Swiss people behind the Geneva Motor Show today. I’ve been offered accreditation for the 2013 Geneva Show. Didn’t even have to ask for it. Just fill out a form and I’m in.

If only they’d sent an airfare as well.

Geneva 2013 should be very interesting. Spyker should be there and Koenigsegg might show that One:1 hypercar that’s been doing the news circuit this week.

Another point of interest will be the international debut of Qoros, a Chinese-based venture with plans to launch internationally. The Saaby point of interest is that quite a few members of Saab’s former PR team are now working for Qoros.

Geneva’s very, very tempting…..

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Yes, GM screwed with Saab. It’s not really news and it’s not surprising, but the details of the dates are at the very least, interesting.

Despite that, however, it’s the latest news from Volvo that maybe puts what might have been Saab’s future into some perspective.

I always thought that Saab could have had a wonderful few years with the new 9-5, 9-4x and the 9-3 replacement designed by Jason Castriota. What I worried about, however, was the generation that would have to replace those cars. Having new product for the ‘now’ is a wonderful thing, but you’ve got to have new product for the future, too.

Volvo are about to embark on a US$11billion (with a ‘b’) investment spree to bring their production facilities up to date and develop their next generation of vehicles, the generation that will finally cut the ties with Ford completely.

Now let’s assume that Saab survived 2011 intact. I have a hard time picturing Saab getting even half that sum for investment in a future model range. Development on PhoeniX probably wouldn’t have cost that much, but it still wouldn’t have been cheap. Maybe we could have done it, but at the very least this decision from Volvo shows the sort of commitment and resources an owner needs to have to try and grow a stable, stand-alone car company in the global marketplace.

I still wish we had the chance. Good luck, Volvo. I wish you well.

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I have one BIG Saab story left in me. Might wrap it up, put a bow on it and leave it under the tree.

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I’m currently reading a book called On The Road To Winterhaven. I’m about one-third of the way through and despite it being a more ‘feel-good’ book than I’m used to reading (I’m more of a wintry Swedish crime reader), I’m actually enjoying it, quite a lot. That link, by the way, is to the Amazon download page, where the book is a mere $2.99 in electronic form.

The Saaby connection? On The Road To Winterhaven is the first published work by a guy known in comments as “J Fan”. He’s a long-time Saab guy from Ireland and this is his first book, a fictional piece set in the eastern United States at the end of the 1920’s.

Congratulations, Geoff, on realising a dream. I wish I had the skills, courage and commitment to do the same.

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Congratulations to a mate and long-time reader from New York, Hugh W, who just traded his 9-3 SportCombi in on a ‘new’ Saab 9-3x. It’s a 2011 model but had just 17 miles on the clock when Hugh picked it up last weekend. I got to drive the 9-3x a fair bit in Sweden and it was a very satisfying car. Hugh put 260 miles on his driving it home from New Hampshire and sounds well pleased already, which is fantastic.

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RIP Sami.