I’m on vacation until the 11th, so things will be quieter around here this week. Here are a few quick links of things you should see around the web.
I’ll be back in full swing on the 12th. Enjoy your Saabing until then!
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Some TV4 video showing a report on last weekend’s Octoberfest happenings in Trollhattan. It’s mostly in Swedish, but it was great to see my friend North Toronto Punter getting a few words in English.
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This looks like fun, for little kids and big kids alike!
Last week I finally took a long-overdue opportunity to drive the latest iteration of the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, the 9-3 Griffin.
The 9-3 SS is a car that’s being regarded by some as a tag-along car in Saab’s range. The rest of the product offering from Saab is quite new, whereas the 9-3 was originally introduced as a 2003 model year car. There’s a temptation (that many succumb to) to write the 9-3 off as being ‘old’ before one even jumps into it. Don’t do it.
The Saab 9-3 Griffin shares little but the bare bones from that original car.
The design, as is usually the case with Saab, still looks fresh and contemporary even after all these years. Some might consider that it’s all just details, but it’s the details that finish the car and the work done on the Griffin sedan makes the whole package look quite distinctive.
The grille, headlamps, foglamps, bumpers, air intakes, badging and wheels have all been changed and all to great effect. A rear spoiler is standard on all sedan models and you get twin exhausts poking out the back, too.
On the inside, there’s new seat trim with leather/textile seats and contrasting stitching (super smart looking and super comfy), new dash panelling, a new graphite effect dash surround to replace the silver strip. There are new treatments on the doors, gearshift and glove compartment, too.
As with the exterior, each of these enhancements is a small modification when taken on its own, but it’s the details that make the whole package that much more impressive.
The exterior and interior enhancements make the car look and feel better as you approach the car, but it’s the drive that really had me looking forward to experiencing this car.
The 9-3 Griffin has a new petrol engine under the hood. It’s the same 2.0T inline four cylinder engine that’s found in the new Saab 9-5, with a tin scroll turbo, variable valve timing and direct injection. The engine’s available with either 163hp or 220hp, the second being the one that I drove last week.
I was really looking forward to this drive. I’ve driven the 9-5 with this engine in it and it was my favourite version of the 9-5 in terms of being a driver’s car. It’s much lighter than the V6 and makes the car feel much more nimble IMHO. Plus, the engine seems to be incredibly elastic, pulling well from low revs and in a really smooth manner.
Transplant those characteristics into the smaller Saab 9-3 and you get an engine that offers a much more satisfying drive than its predecessor. It’s only 10hp more than the old 9-3 four-banger, but it’s all in the way it delivers that extra power and torque. It’s so smooth, quite eager to please, and so easy to keep in the power band.
The car I drove was also equipped with Saab’s XWD system. The Haldex system made its worldwide debut in 2008 on the Saab Turbo-X and is still the most advanced all-wheel-drive system there is. Buyers of the more regular 9-3 petrol-driven models now have access to the XWD system and you should definitely give it some consideration.
For those who are unfamiliar, the XWD system is an all-wheel-drive system that uses an electronic limited slip differential to distribute power not only between front and rear wheels, but also between the left and right rear wheels. It uses sensors on all four wheels to detect slip thousands of times per second and distributes power where its needed to get the optimum grip, balance and stability.
Mate this XWD system to this new 2.0T engine and you really have the best driving Saab 9-3 we’ve ever offered and my quick drive last week backed up all the anticipation I felt prior to driving this car. It’s smooth, it’s quick, it’s very comfortable and it just can’t be moved from where you point it.
If you’re thinking of a new Saab, maybe your first new Saab, check out the 9-3 Griffin 2.0T. You won’t be disappointed. The Griffin is the best Saab 9-3 we’ve ever offered in terms of a standard product and it offers the absolute latest in terms of powertrain technology and driver comfort.
On Saturday, October 1st, I attended the inaugural Octoberfest organised by Saab enthusiast website, Saabs United. The event was based at ANA, the Saab dealership here in Trollhattan.
Scheduled events in the daytime programme included a Saab 9-4x vehicle demonstration, a Saab 9-3 ePower demonstration, a spare parts sale for older Saabs, as well as presentations by Saab authorised tuners Hirsch Performance, and Saab aftermarket tuners, Maptun.
The Hirsch Saab 9-5, driven up especially for the event from Switzerland:
And the Maptun collection……
Peter Dörrich from Saab demonstrates the Saab 9-4x……
Personally speaking, it was wonderful to see something so vibrant happening at ANA. The health of our distribution network is something very prominent on our minds at Saab, and whilst this was an independent event, it was great to see so many people at a Saab dealership with smiles on their faces.
The happiest man in the room was Joachim Lind, the chief at ANA, who was also pleased to see so many people there:
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A few personal reflections:
It was a strange feeling for me, attending this event as somewhat of an outsider. As many of you will know, I started writing about Saab nearly 7 years ago now and Saabs United was the site I founded back when GM were selling Saab. I sold Saabs United to the current owner earlier this year, prior to joining Saab Automobile to do the job I’m doing now.
I attended the event mostly as an enthusiast, but also as an employee of Saab and as a blogger, looking to provide coverage of the event here on Inside Saab. An event of this nature is something I could not have contemplated as the owner of Saabs United, as I lived halfway around the world, in Tasmania, Australia. I’m not sure I would have had the courage to organise it, either, as it can be a logistical nightmare to do this things.
What amazed me most about the day was the number of people who traveled quite long distances to be part of a single-day Saab event. There were several people from the United States and Canada there – that’s an ocean away! I met people from Iceland, Portugal, England, Wales, Holland, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Finland and of course, from all parts of Sweden.
It just goes to show the incredible passion that people have for this car company. I received questions and well-wishes all day from people who were hoping and believing for the best, for Saab. People were very well educated about what’s going on with the company, the situation that we’re in the milestones ahead of us. And people were all wishing for a production re-start, a return to normality, as soon as possible.
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I didn’t just stick my head in as an observer.
I took a 9-4x along for the occasion and spent the entire afternoon taking people for rides in the new Saab crossover. The feedback from the exercise was very affirming indeed. For many attendees, this was their first opportunity to see a 9-4x up close. A number had had a chance to sit in one at other events, but none had taken a ride in one before. It was great to hear their comments as we drove a circuit from ANA down to the Saab factory and then back ‘the long way’. People got a great feel for how stable and comfortable the car is at speed, how well finished and spacious it is on the inside.
I did 15 or so of these drives, introducing around 50 people to the Saab 9-4x from the inside, which was a whole lot of fun.
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The day concluded with a dinner at the Nova restaurant, just next to the Saab Museum. Around 120 or so attended, had some wonderful food and conversation, as well being treated to some great stories from the Saabs United Historic Rally Team and special guests, former Saab rally drivers Simo Lampinen and Ola Strömberg.
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My congratulations have to go to the entire Saabs United crew and their sponsors for a wonderful event. SU owner, Tim Rokka, was the driving force behind the event and the team that he led put on a wonderful gathering that people from all over Europe and beyond enjoyed. It was a true celebration of the Saab Spirit and a wonderful occasion for all who attended.
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The visitors from other continents flew in, of course, but there were a lot who drove well over 1,000kms to attend the event. With several hundred people attending throughout the day, that means a lot of nice Saabs in the parking lot.
Below is a gallery showing just a portion of the Saabs in attendance at the show.
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?
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?
After the success of the Viggen ‘by the numbers’ piece I thought it’d be fun to dig up another model of interest from the database and spill it’s global distribution beans here on the website.
The Saab 900 Convertible is an icon on its own, but the icon-within-the-icon is the Monte Carlo Yellow version of the car. It’s the most fun-looking color in the palette, but it still takes a certain strength of character to buy and own this most attention-grabbing and distinctive color.
So how were they distributed around the world?
The #1 market by volume won’t be a surprise, but the #2 market might be. MCY convertibles were sold in quite a few markets, though many of them had small numbers only.
If you’ve got one of these iconic Saab convertibles, then yours is one of just 893 that were ever made over the life of the model. Look after it.
If you don’t have one of these iconic convertibles but would like one, now you know where most of them were sold – which is a good tip as to where you could look to buy one!
Notes:
MCY = Monte Carlo Yellow
MY(date) = Model Year
Japan had two importers for these cars. I’ve combined the numbers in the table below.
My understanding is that MCY Convertibles were sold with different engine outputs in some markets. Yours could be a LPT or a HOT engine depending on where it was sold. I haven’t delved into those numbers here.
UPDATE: Thanks to all for your questions so far. Please continue to pass the word around so that friends and other Saab contacts can have the opportunity to pose a question. We are chasing and preparing answers for you right now.
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We’d like to open the floor and invite your questions about what’s happening at Saab right now.
You can post your questions in comments here at Inside Saab, or on the Saab Facebook fan page. I’ll do my best to chase up answers and post them here on Inside Saab on Friday.
Be advised that there are some areas that we can’t touch on. We can’t give any hard details about deadlines, for example, because they shift with the circumstances. We can’t give advance information about the Saab 9-3 replacement. And I can’t diagnose your engine problems, either 🙂 .
But I will do whatever I can to get answers to as many realistic questions as possible about what’s happening at Saab, and then post those responses here on the website.
Readers of this website will know that I’ve been talking about why their is so much belief here in what we do. It’s why we continue to fight for this company’s future when the “experts” out there tell us we should give up. But it’s not about tough circumstances, it’s about the product and the future.
It’s not just me talking about it, either. A couple of Saab people from our engineering department have taken it upon themselves to write to the biggest paper in Gothenburg. Their letter has been published and you can read an English translation of it at Life With Saab (enthusiast site).
The separation from GM gave many of us the necessary confidence in the future to complete a number of the future-oriented development projects. Our loyalty can be simply explained by the fact that we want to see the car in which we put so much energy also drive out on the roads. We want the picky consumers to experience the driving characteristics we have developed.
One of our most active enthusiast websites, Saabs United, is hosting a weekend gathering here in Trollhattan, along with companion gatherings in a number of cities around the world.
Informal gatherings will take place on Friday night with the full program of events happening on Saturday, October 1st.
09:00 – Event opens at ANA
09:10 – Welcome speech by Tim Rokka, Joachim Lind, Manfred Lenherr and Fredrik Bengtsson
09:20 – Cars for test-drive arrive
09:30 – Test Drive of original Saab Cars and Hirsch Tuned Saab Cars begins
09:30 – Car Show begins
09:30 – Boot-sale begins
10:00 – Test Drives begins (test-drive hirsch / maptun software in your own car!)
11:00 – Presentation of MapTun Performance by Fredrik Bengtsson
12:00 – Presentation of SAAB 9-3 e-Power
13:00 – Presentation of Hirsch Performance by Manfred Lenherr
15:00 – Test-Track closes
16:00 – ANA Closes
18:00 – Dinner event starts
19:00 – Presentation of SUHRT & Saab History (Jörgen Trued is the host with several interesting guests!)
23:30 – Thank you and good night!
I’ll be there. Ex-Saab Finnish rally champion Simo Lampinen will be there, too, amongst a host of others.
I hope you’ll be there, too.
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And speaking of rally champions, we have the best former Saab works drivers still winning trophies 🙂
It was nice to see a particular Saab Sonett pop up on Flickr today. I’d actually received some photos of the same car via email just a few days before.
It’s owned by a guy I’ve not met in person, but have corresponded with quite a bit over the years. It’s one of the very few Saab Sonetts that have made their way into my native homeland, in Australia.
The car is owned by Stephen B and last weekend he and his wife Wendy broke out some 1970s clothing and took their 1970s Saab to the “Bay to Birdwood Classic”.
The Bay to Birdwood is one of the bigger drive-and-concours events in the world, including over 1,800 vehicles. And Stephen tells me that whilst there were quite a few Volvos in attendance (including a P1800 that finished Top-10 in the concours), there was only one Saab – his.
One thing I know about running a Saab community website is that everyone’s got something to say if you give them the opportunity 🙂
Saab are running an efficiency program at the moment called Project Cheetah. We’re aiming to increase our competitiveness wherever we can inside the company. I thought it might be interesting to get your thoughts on where we could do less, or more importantly, do better.
Remember: Cheetah is about increasing efficiency and reducing cost, it’s not directly related to increasing revenues (though that’s a desired result, too, from doing things better). This is a cost-side program, so no suggestions about sales incentives or model configurations at this time, please.
On the other hand, though, your thoughts about marketing materials, for example, would be suitable. Any suggestions on how you, as a customer, could see us increasing our effectiveness in our relationships with you would be most welcome. How do you want us to communicate with you, for example?
How can we do better with what we’ve got if we give it a tweak and make it more effective?
The Cheetah is the world’s fastest land-based animal and right now, Saab is looking to employ some speed when dealing with reorganising its business. We are aiming to make substantial efficiency gains and cost savings as we become more competitive for the future.
Work began on Project Cheetah on the strategic level even before the reorganisation decision came through. Today, just days after the reorganisation decision, meetings are already taking place around the company with individual sections of the business looking at how they can do things smarter, leaner and meaner.
Saab has a well-ingrained culture of consultation, seeking suggestions from employees as to how their particular work area can operate better. Saab actually won a Swedish lean production award a few years ago for it’s work in developing and implementing this type of system. Cheetah is this process on steroids, with everyone involved.
Cheetah is a cost-structure project. It doesn’t specifically look at how to increase sales and revenue. That’s the other side of our profitability equation that will receive intense attention. Cheetah will play into this, however, because getting ourselves even more competitive, coming through the reorganisation process successfully and getting production up and running again will play a significant part in boosting consumer confidence about the future of Saab.
Cheetah is being overseen by a steering group, under which four functional teams are being used to look at the whole business structure at Saab. The four functional teams are:
Manufacturing and purchasing
Product development, including engineering and powertrain
Sales, Marketing, Aftersales and communication
Administration
There will also be a cross-functional team to handle appropriate areas requiring co-ordination between the four functional teams.
The individual units within these teams will be getting together very quickly, taking suggestions from the troops on the ground as to how their operations can be better and more efficiently structured. Much of our recent past has been involved with the carve-out of business operations from the systems that were in place from the GM days. Cheetah will be an opportunity to create a new ‘Saab way’ of working more efficiently and effectively within our own systems, instead of working in transition as we’ve done in the recent past.
The initial workings of the project are expected to be completed late October. This will be the consultation and planning process. We will seek to implement changes discovered during the consultation and planning process by the end of 2011 in order to have the new, more competitive structure in place for the beginning of 2012.
