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?
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…..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
OK, so this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage is basically a 24-minute advertorial for the Porsche 918 Spyder, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching. In fact, it’s probably the most entertaining way to learn how the technology works and see it in action.
You won’t see the car’s full capability, but you’ll get a good appreciation of just how far Porsche have taken the automobile with this car. The Porsche 918 Spyder, of course, is Porsche’s first hybrid and it really puts the “super” into supercar.
The Porsche 918 Spyder is a rolling contradiction. It essentially has three motors, one of which is the most powerful NA V8 that Porsche have ever made. The power plants put out a combined 887hp and the car achieved a sub-7-minute time at the Nurgurgring. And yet it gets more than 70 miles to the gallon in the US scale. Amazing.
It don’t look half bad, either.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the video. You probably won’t ever be able to afford one, but maybe the tech that makes this so good will make future hybrid cars a little more interesting.
And while you’re in a video mood, here’s the preview video for the Nurburgring lap.
