Saab’s Tour de France ended earlier this week and I’ve just received some very nice images from the final stop in Bayonne.
Let me ask the question before you do – What’s that silver/grey convertible?????
I’ve made enquiries and will let you know what I hear. It looks like on of Leif Mellberg’s custom creations to me. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.
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This is not the first time this guide has been published. Perhaps we need to update it?
It’s still good advice and good reading, though, for those settling into the northern winter. Make sure that both you and your Saab are ready to take on what Mother Nature throws at you. Your Saab is designed for these conditions and should handle them well, but you still need to pay attention to its condition and make your preparations.
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Winter Driving – an A to Z Guide from Saab
For drivers and their vehicles alike, winter is the most testing time of the year. Difficult driving conditions greatly increase the risk of an accident and even routine journeys can become hazardous experiences. As a result, it seems imperative to drive carefully during the winter. The fact remains that accidents can still occur due to the negligence or irresponsibility of other drivers. When in such a situation, it is recommended that you contact an auto accident lawyer Las Vegas (or wherever you live) so that you can file a lawsuit against the driver and receive compensation.
Scandinavian winters are among the most severe in Europe and place extreme demands on the abilities of cars and their drivers to perform reliably and safely at all times. For those who wish to escape the winter chills and would rather go dune-riding (those interested may click to see sandrail for sale), safety tips must still be followed! Remember though, safe driving for desert and summer roads is different from those for winter roads. Saab Automobile of Sweden is used to designing and building cars for extreme winter conditions and here Chief Test Engineer Torbjörn Christensson gives a seasonal A to Z guide of simple “do’s” and “don’ts” that will be useful to all car drivers.
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A
Anti-freeze is the engine’s first line of defence against sub-zero conditions. But how often do you check it? For it to remain effective, the recommended strength must be at least 50%. Topping up your coolant with water only, for example, will gradually dilute the mixture. To be sure of maximum protection, do ensure the anti-freeze is checked each year, regardless of mileage, as part of the car’s service.
B
Black ice. Whilst ice and snow are obvious hazards, black ice is an almost invisible threat, especially during the onset of freezing temperatures. Beware when driving round sheltered bends or corners which are shaded from the sun, because this is where black ice is most likely to catch out the unsuspecting. A tell-tale clue you are on black ice is when all goes quiet in the car and you cannot hear any tire noise. Do not brake or make any sudden steering inputs but do ease off the accelerator and proceed slowly and smoothly.
C
Car batteries are put to a severe test in winter due to the extra demands of running heating fans and lights. Most are now maintenance-free but do have the voltage checked, especially if the car is repeatedly used for short journeys. Consider charging the battery overnight or try to plan a longer run occasionally.
There were several articles online a few weeks ago about the Swedish police placing an order for 50 Volkswagens to be used as police cars. Several of them emphasised the fact that the police had not bought Saabs and used this as a judgement against Saab, as if the police didn’t find a current Saab suitable.
That’s some considerable distance from being accurate. The sad fact is that we weren’t able to fill an order for the Swedish police due to our production halt. We could not assure them of delivery by their required date and sadly, they had to shop elsewhere. It had nothing to do with any opinion they held about the car. In fact, they were very keen on the Saab 9-5, as you can see below.
The Swedish police evaluated the Saab 9-5 V6 for operational purposes in September 2010 and I’ve received the OK to share their findings here on Inside Saab. This is a public document and as such, can’t be altered from the original Swedish, but I have been allowed to provide a translation in text.
This is somewhat different to a regular road test. There’s no comments on who the car’s vehicular relatives might be, no whipcrack remarks about re-sale, interior materials or competitive placement. It’s all purely and simply about how the vehicle performs relative to the needs of the police force. The police have to be able to drive the pants off this car if necessary, and still feel confident that the car will be stable and dependable.
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Page 1 provides some details as to the test itself: location, who was present and the type of vehicle tested.
The car is a Saab 9-5 V6 and is noted as being a prototype (i.e. pre-production) vehicle with a chassis setup specifically for the police. The weather was 11 degrees C, with dry and sunny conditions. It also states in summary the tests performed and a pass or fail grade: Brakes, Konbana (slalom), Evasive Actions, Brakes with Evasive Actions, Emergency Driving on Public Roads.
At the bottom, you can see some green text with a check mark, stating that the vehicle is considered suitable as a police car.
Page 2 is concerned with the braking test, checking brake temperatures and braking distances over a session of 10 braking runs.
The tester notes the following:
The vehicle in question had an incorrect type of vacuum pump which affected the braking distance slightly. Overall, there was nothing to complain about, with no fading at all.
Page 3 – ‘Konbana’ is a slalom course (the fun stuff!). Note that the test course was driven without stability control up to 75km/h without incident or difficulty.
The drivers remarks translate as follows:
Fantastic handling, excellent response throughout the manoeuvre. The chassis is impressive. Even without the electronic stability control system there is no problem to run the course.
Page 4
Minimal notes on page 4.
Page 5 – This test was concerned with braking and evasive manoeuvres, conducted at increasing speeds.
The drivers notes from this test:
An extremely stable and flexible chassis. The car does exactly as the driver wants (with) a huge steering response. A really great car, very easy to drive with either under- or oversteer. It lets nothing on the outer wheel, the fact that you can travel at nearly 2.5 tonnes will not even notice. Power steering is very precise and easy to handle.
The chassis is so well prepared and adapted to the weight, to manoeuvre clear without a hitch. Even without a ESP system switched on, no problem taking the car through the course at 105 km/h – which must be considered a new record!
And the final page:
Final remarks:
There is nothing negative to say at all, a fantastic chassis.
Lateral movements at high speeds (~ 220 km / h) are very stable and safe.
Altogether it is estimated that this chassis is the best thing that has ever been tested and therefore awarded the highest rating class: full marks
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So there you see the results for yourself.
These vehicles would have been supplied in the Swedish market and I spoke briefly with Saab’s Director for the Nordic region, Magnus Hansson.
We received great feedback from the Swedish Police, who are as heartbroken as we are that we weren’t able to deliver cars to them this year. Based on their tests, the looks of the car, and word of mouth amongst the Swedish police etc, they would really love to get into our new 9-5s. We can’t wait to renew our relationship with them in the near future.
It’s to our detriment that we weren’t able to fill the order, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be doing our utmost to do so in the future. We’re very proud of our history in terms of supplying quality vehicles for emergency services in Sweden.
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We’ve all been hanging on the ‘what?’ for so long. We’re all fatigued due to the lack of visible, tangible progress in the potential sale of Saab Automobile.
I’d like to take a moment and think again about the ‘why?’
Why should the sale of Saab be allowed to proceed? Why doesn’t the company, like so many analysts out there, acknowledge that the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train coming at 200mph? Why do we want to live, rather than pack our collective bags and move on?
Because we have a valid place in this industry, that’s why. Because we care about what we do and the way we do it, and we believe that enough people care about the same philosophy to ensure us a future in the marketplace. Because we believe 200% that we can make this work.
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We have a great range of cars that are just one decision away from being produced. Not planned, but produced.
They’re the best cars we’ve ever built. They have better emissions than other full size, full power competitors. They have better design characteristics. They have fantastic build quality and the best thing about our vehicle range is that it’s only getting better.
The Saab 9-3 Griffin is the best 9-3 we’ve ever made – inside, outside and under the hood. It has a new full-power, full size diesel variant that will attract tax benefits in certain key markets due to it’s outstanding emissions figures. All that, with no sacrifice in cargo space or performance. No compromises.
The Saab 9-5 SportCombi is ready to complement the 9-5 Sedan as our flagship vehicle and the combi body is a welcome addition, especially in key European markets.
The Saab 9-4x is just plain outstanding. It’s been getting great reviews and we would love to be able to push this vehicle to its limits.
Read more about our vehicles here: In Saab’s Corner – Our vehicles.
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We have incredible people. I arrived into a baptism of fire when I started with Saab in April this year. Day three of my employment coincided with a factory stoppage that essentially continues to this day. All this time, Saab people have continued to plan where they can, to develop product where they can. We’ve learned to do things under pressure, without budgets, without contractor support. We’ve done all of this because it’s been necessary to do it. We’ve done this because we want Saab to succeed.
The Saab dealer tours in Germany, Austria and France have reinforced to me what wonderful people we have at Saab. I’ve been so touched by the emails I’ve received from people, customers expressing their gratitude for these tours, expressing their admiration for the new vehicles and dealers expressing the joy that they had in representing the Saab brand to their customers again.
I’ve had other emails, too, from dealers concerned about their futures. I’m concerned for them, too, and I know that our executive team are concerned about them because they’re the backbone of our distribution network. Many of them have been associated with Saab for decades. They’re family, and we’re all doing it tough together.
One word that you could use to describe Saab people (aside from intelligent, talented and a bunch of others) is resilient. We believe in what we do and that belief gives us some strength to keep on working. Our company took on safety before the marketing mavens made it popular, before the lawmakers made it mandatory. Our company took on turbocharging when fuel was less than a fifth of the price that it is today.
We do some things because we have to. We do many things because it’s the right way, the Saab way.
Read more here: In Saab’s Corner – Factory and People
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Saab is still a wonderful brand with a fantastic history and a global presence. We have been kicked around, but never broken. We still have a lot of people in our corner. We enjoy great support from both the enthusiast community and the motoring fraternity. People want to see us succeed.
Saab still has a brilliant engineering crew, innovative design staff and flexible manufacturing capacity.
Saab has fantastic plans in place for future vehicles and progressive technical partners on our side to make those plans a reality.
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Right now our executive team are negotiating with our stakeholders and potential new owners to try and get an outcome that will satisfy everyone.
I sincerely hope that everything that can be done, is being done by all concerned. Saab will be a long-term commitment for whoever takes us on in the future, but we’ve got the tools and the plans in place to hold and build our place in this industry.
It’s easy to say we’re small, therefore we can’t make it. We believe that we can. With the right backing and the right partnerships in place, we can finish remodelling our business, build great Saab cars that find their market and build on that market for the future. We’ve already done a lot of work on those partnerships, all we need is the backing and the cooperation of those concerned to get things moving again.
There’s so much riding on this. The careers of so many good, talented people. The cars that are ready to go to market right now, and the cars that will come in the future.
As I’ve written many times before, I cannot imagine that a company with so much going for it could be left to die. It just doesn’t make any sense. We want to get this moving, and I sincerely hope that we can.
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For those who haven’t seen them, I’d encourage you to read the full series of In Saab’s Corner articles, prepared back in September.
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I received an email this morning from a Saab blogger in France named Remi. He runs a site called Saab Actu and he took part in the Paris leg of the Saab’s Tour de France last weekend.
It’s emails like this that give me such a boost as a Saab person, knowing that grass-roots efforts like the Dealer Tour are reaching people in a very personal way. One-to-one opportunities to see our new vehicles up close are very important at a time when support for our company is so crucial.
I get the chance to attend the event in Paris : it was fantastic! I have made a little video of the event
The video has some images from the Paris event, as well as a quick 9-4x test drive at the hands of a Porsche Cayenne owner, who comes away very impressed with the 9-4x……
Saab Actu, along with Saablog-in, is running a photo competition from the Tour….
I have received great photos from enthusiasts for our Photos Contest – from customers as well as from dealers.
This Tour has given everybody a good smile. The 9-4X seduced most people, even the “900 lovers”. I also had the chance to take a ride and this car is much more than a SUV. It reaches a premium top level on every point, really. And with a Saab design.
The people at Saab France are worth meeting. This tour has been a good outcome from the Saab financial issues. It has made us closer and given us unexpected occasion to meet skilled people who generally work behind the curtains. The Saab Team is like a family of car lovers, of Saab history builders.
Thanks a lot for this Saab Tour and whatever happens (the better way I want to imagine) I hope there is going to be another Saab Tour de France in 2012
And I guess that’s the big payoff here. The sense of camaraderie, the relationships that get built in tough times.
Of course, we all want those tough times to end and some good times to begin. We want to start to create some good Saab Family memories based on positive circumstances. Personally speaking, I’d love to do an Inside Saab tour around the world, bringing the cars and some of the stories from inside the gates to dealerships, clubs and fans all over the globe. I’d love to expand the Saab Family across all borders.
We need a few things to go our way before that can happen, but it’s good to see the Dealer Tour concept that started with the guys at Saab Germany catching on and spreading so well.
Congratulations to Saab France and the participating dealers for conducting such a wonderful set of events. And thanks very much to Remi for the feedback.
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BONUS
Some images from recent stops on the Tour de France….. from Limoges and the very picturesque La Rochelle.
Click to enlarge.
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There have been plenty of Saab stories doing the rounds in the last few days and despite the current climate surrounding the company, the overwhelming majority of them have made for some very pleasant reading.
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I’ve got two Must Read stories for you this week.
The first is a quick writeup about Bud Clark on Car and Driver. US Saabers, especially those in California, may be familiar with Bud Clark. Sonett owners and enthusiasts will be familiar with the name, too. If you’re not familiar, consider this your chance to get acquainted.
Bud is one Saab person I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting personally yet. The first time I heard his name was in relation to his turbocharged Saab Sonett. Those last three words should give you an idea of the character and the Car and Driver article comes across wonderfully well.
You can see videos of Bud’s Sonett on Youtube. And if having a turbocharged Sonett isn’t cool enough already, it’s also fitted with Inca wheels, which looks absolutely perfect.
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The second must read article is actually in Swedish, so you might have to get Google Translate working to read it.
This SvD article profiles an American Saab-owing couple, who recently travelled to Trollhattan on holiday and actually attended the Saabs United Octoberfest event on October 1. SvD sent a reporter to their home in New York to see some more of their collection and speak to them about their passion for the brand.
For me, there are two stories here. The first is the couple themselves, whose support for Saab is steadfast (they just bought a 9-4x to support the company and have nine other Saabs between them). The second is SvD sending a reporter to the US to get the story, which is a commendable commitment of funds for a Saab good-news story, from a newspaper that I’ve been fairly angry at from time to time.
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The Local has a post that would make for some interesting debate in the future – What is a Swedish Car, anyway?
There is still a small amount of xenophobia floating around a potential Saab sale. And yet Saab haven’t been Swedish-owned for over 10 years. Volvo are in the same boat. And both are still considered as Swedish companies.
As I said, we’ll save this one for the future, but it’s an interesting thought piece.
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What’s a 1992 Saab worth?
$150 a week to this particular owner, who is renting is Saab out to strangers as part of an experiment in Collaborative Consumption. He’s also renting out his guitar, an air mattress and his dog!
It’s not a Saab based article at all but still makes for some interesting and entertaining reading.
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Spontaneous grass-roots support at it’s best. We’ve been watching this silently for a week now and done nothing to promote it, nor do we intend to, but it’s being talked about publicly now and as a Saab fan and enthusiast, I have to acknowledge it.
We have the best fans in the world. And the best behaved, I’m proud to say. Your support is appreciated, but the way you carry yourselves with dignity and respect is appreciated even more.
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Saabludos!
With dealer tours now successfully completed in Germany, Austria and France (well, almost), it’s time to announce the dates for the Saab Dealer Tour España!
The Saab Dealer Tour of Spain will begin on November 25 and continue through until its conclusion in Madrid on December 17. See dates and locations below.
The tour will criss-cross the country with one group whilst another group will host corporate customers in Madrid and Barcelona. The Saab 9-4x and Saab 9-5 SportCombi will be available for both groups to view at all times, so no-one will miss either car.
The dates and locations are as follows:
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Re-posted
As the day in question is tomorrow and there are still a few headlines going around about this, I thought it wise to bring it back to the top of the page.
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Despite the sound of the headline, this is not a press release.
The purpose of this posting is two-fold: to talk of the delay in the submission to creditors that was planned for November 22, and to clarify what was going to happen on that date.
As has been mentioned in the media already, Saab/Swan and Guy Lofalk have taken a decision to delay submitting their composition proposal to creditors. According to the time plan mentioned at the Creditors Meeting on October 31, this proposal was due to be submitted on November 22. As with much of what’s happening as part of this process, however, that date on that October plan was a preliminary date, and subject to change depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Right now, the prevailing circumstances include ongoing negotiations with our partners and stakeholders. We submitted a purchase proposal to General Motors, which they rejected. We are now negotiating a proposal with a view to getting an outcome that will be acceptable to all parties and it was held that the November 22 submission should be delayed in order to facilitate those ongoing negotiations.
There’s been a fair bit of anxiety over the November 22 date and what it might entail for Saab. It has been described in some reports as another Creditors Meeting, which implies a decision point in the process. This is not actually the case.
What was actually due to happen was the submission of what is referred to as a composition proposal. This is a proposal sent to creditors by Saab for their consideration, one that specifies how Saab intends to pay back outstanding debts, as well as a proposal on future payment and delivery terms. Our creditors and suppliers have been notified about this delay by Saab’s purchasing department as part of our ongoing conversation with stakeholders.
There is no replacement date for November 22 at this stage, but obviously everyone concerned would like to get this process moving as soon as possible. We also have to get it right, however, and the first crucial step in getting it done right is to get a purchase proposal together that all parties can approve, which is what we’re working on right now.
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I first met Christian von Koenigsegg in 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. I was invited to the show as a guest of Saab Automobile, the company I covered on my website, Saabs United.
Christian was the face of a group that were negotiating the purchase of Saab from General Motors. The show at Frankfurt was an important one because it saw the launch of the new Saab 9-5, an essential new model that would underpin the brand’s renaissance under its new owner.
Sadly, the Koenigsegg Group pulled out of negotiations because the process was dragging on and their business plan called for a much quicker handover. Their exit was the kick in the pants that some of the parties to the process needed and the subsequent purchase by Spyker was handled much more efficiently.
I got to visit Sweden again in mid-2010, this time with my wife. We planned a driving holiday around the country and in an act of only slight sneakiness, I set one of our overnight stays not far from Ängelholm, where Koenigsegg’s HQ is located.
What followed was an afternoon I’ll never forget. The icing on the cake was a trip down to Keonigsegg’s own airfield for the drive of a lifetime.
The following is a brief excerpt from that session. Unfortunately the camera ran out of tape part-way through and I don’t have any film of my own turn at the wheel. I can say, hand on heart, that it was the most stupendous driving experience I’ve ever had (and I’ve had more than one).
There’s a longer film, featuring a more leisurely drive and conversation, here.
Do I hang my head in shame or simply accept my humble roots? I’ll say it up front: I’ve owned not one, but two Holden Geminis.
My first ever car was a 1977 Holden Gemini in what I’ll call baby blue. I don’t know what the real name for the color was. The 1977 Gemini had the round headlamps on the front, whereas the 1978 model had square headlamps (more about that shortly).
The Gemini was essentially an Opel Kadett with a 1600cc Isuzu engine in the front and a 4-speed manual gearbox. This is an image of an Opel Kadett of the same era that I found on the web. The blue is not quite ‘baby’ enough to be the same as mine, but it’s close.
I bought the car several months before getting my drivers licence. I think I paid $3,000 for it, which is pretty much been indicative of my ceiling for purchasing cars ever since. The money has stayed the same but the cars I can afford for that amount (plus a little more) have improved remarkably.
The day I (finally) got my licence was one to remember. I’d owned the car for a few months and was itching to get on the road. I sat for my driver’s test late in the morning, passed, and my instructor (who has fabulous training skills, perhaps because she pursued Driving Instructor Training Courses newcastle) congratulated me as she dropped me off back at home. I’m sure I was polite enough to reply, but I can’t remember. All I remember is running down the driveway and getting into my car – MY CAR – and hitting the road.
