Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) announce that Saab Great Britain Ltd (Saab GB) filed for administration with the High Court in London today.
The board of Saab GB is of the opinion that administration gives the company and creditors the necessary legal protection until the required funding for the company has been secured. The appointment of the administrator is effected by the directors of Saab GB. Once appointed, the administrator will take on the management powers of the directors.
Swan received a conditional funding commitment from Youngman for the payment of the wages of the employees of Saab Automobile and for the continuation of the activities of Saab GB. Saab Automobile and Saab GB have not yet received this funding.
The NEC Classic Car Show is the biggest of its kind in the UK and last weekend, 1,400 cars and many, many more people packed into the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham to take in the automotive sights.
The Saab Owners Club GB were there with a wonderful display of classic Saab vehicles. I’m reliably told that a lot of the leg work was done by Ellie W, who is like a force of nature when it comes to organising and promoting these types of activities (my first time meeting Ellie was when he sold me a Saab Owners Club T-shirt!).
There’s always a team involved, though, and a number of members presented their vehicles at the show and manned the stand over the course of the weekend.
Congratulations to all involved (and I still loooove that Sonett!)
Ramon Cano and his co-driver, a local journalist from magazine Autofacil, employed some efficient driving techniques and guided their Saab 9-5 to a 17% improvement over the official fuel economy figures for the car.
That was in a Saab 9-5 TiD with an automatic gearbox. Ramon really wanted a petrol/manual version of the car to show the percentage reductions that were really possible, but it wasn’t to be. A similar challenge has just taken place in the UK and this time, the drivers got the car they wanted.
Once again the 9-5 has impressed with a huge 27% improvement over published fuel economy figures. The release from Saab Great Britain:
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Saab’s commitment to delivering a more fuel efficient drive for its customers was demonstrated amply, when it entered a 2.0-litre petrol turbo 9-5 Saloon Aero in the 2011 ALD Automotive /Shell Fuel Save MPG Marathon; an annual fuel economy driving challenge held over two days and covering a challenging 370-miles designed to replicate a typical motorist’s driving route.
Saab’s 9-5 2.0-litre petrol turbo, driven by motoring journalist Iain Robertson, one of the UK’s top eco drivers, accompanied by his experienced navigator, Robert Marshall, returned an impressive 43.81 mpg, a 27.35% improvement over its official combined fuel figure of 34.4 mpg and a victorious place on the podium.
Iain Robertson commented, “We employed neither ‘tricks’ nor ‘cheats’ to prove the immense potential of the car’s engine. In other words, we relied on the Saab’s engine technology to cut fuel usage and its superior amount of torque, at remarkably low engine speeds, to achieve the improved figure.
“It is only by adopting a series of carefully applied driving techniques that we know the savings were possible. Yet, they are techniques that can be applied by any careful driver.”
It has long been expected that drivers seeking greater fuel economy would creep along main roads and cause other road-users some inconvenience. The Saab entry in the MPG Marathon has disproved that contention.
“The key to obtaining a good fuel return,” continued Iain, “lies in reaching a sensible and legal cruising speed and maintaining it with little more than a whisker of throttle depression. Planning as far ahead as possible, to avoid unnecessary fuel-sapping stops, and accelerating progressively, to pass slower vehicles, are by far the most effective means to driving economically.”
With a company history based on producing vehicles possessing an engineering conscience, Saab endeavours to ensure that even its highly-powered petrol turbo models can return extraordinarily good fuel figures.
Charles Toosey, Managing Director of Saab GB, said, “Excellent on-road performance can still work hand-in-hand with respectable fuel consumption. Even though Saab produces a number of high-performance petrol cars, developing well in excess of 220 hp, allied to exceptional pulling potency of 350 Nm, high fuel costs need not be a consideration, as long as the car is driven in a judicious manner.”
Avoiding harsh acceleration is key but, reaching the required cruising speed, without indulging in the car’s cruise control technology, is also crucial. In fact, maintaining momentum is every bit as important and this is where the ability to plan and look beyond the normal driver’s range of sight is imperative. Block gear shifting (such as going directly from second to fifth gears) and avoiding harsh braking are additional techniques that can be applied.
Naturally, traffic snarl-ups that occur for commuters on today’s roads are known to increase fuel consumption. Yet, Iain Robertson offers an antidote to that situation.
“If a driver is caught up in traffic,” he proposed, “losing one’s cool is an unfortunate by-product. By concentrating, avoiding stop-start scenarios and even seeking alternative routes or departure times, to miss out the traffic build-up, a car’s fuel economy will benefit to new and measurable peaks.”
The Saab 9-5 all turbo powertrain line-up starts at 1.6-litres and carries forward Saab’s rightsizing engine strategy, which focuses on responsible performance through the development of highly efficient and smaller capacity four cylinder turbo engines. Both petrol and diesel engines are offered, with diesel CO2 emissions as low as 125g/km. Prices start from £26,995. For more details on the Saab 9-5 range, visit www.saab.co.uk.
How do you make a cinema pop up in the middle of…… anywhere?
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This is the Nomad. A roaming cinema, the first of its type in Great Britain and it’s playing at locations around London and the South East. Thanks to Saab Great Britain, you can enjoy a 2-for-1 ticket offer for selected screenings.
The Nomad driven by Saab is screening a host of guilty pleasure films and cinema classics, all of which can be enjoyed at some unique and unexpected open air settings.
Watch films picked from an eclectic selection, against a backdrop of some of the UK’s well loved landmarks and buildings- from beautiful Royal Parks to dramatic castles.
Saab Great Britain partnered with the Nomad some time ago and some Saab owners and fans have already had the chance to enjoy a movie under the stars. We thought the whole concept of seeing a classic film in a unique environment suited the Saab ‘independent thinking’ ethos perfectly and it seems many who’ve had the Nomad experience feel the same:
Watching a film about King George VI at the beautiful Hampton Court Palace, couldn’t think of a more appropriate location to view the film – Tim D.
My boyfriend and I had a fantastic time, it’s the first time I’ve been to an outdoor cinema and the weather and hospitality element made it all the more special. Hope it was a big success for you guys! Thanks, Georgina
If you haven’t enjoyed the Nomad for yourself yet, there’s no need to feel left out. There are still plenty of opportunities left to have the Nomad cinema experience.
The Nomad schedule for September is packed with screenings in beautiful locations around London and Kent. A different film will be shown at each screening.
Films include Amelie, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Back To The Future, Mamma Mia, Gosford Park, The Shawshank Redemption and many, many more. The locations include London’s Bushy Park, Queens Park and Fulham Palace and Scotney Castle in Kent. There’s even a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth at Brompton Cemetery – a truly novel place to enjoy a movie with your friends.
You can access all the venue/movie information for the 2-for-1 ticket offers here.
Today, we’re looking at the 1980’s and onwards. The cars of this generation are those that will likely be more familiar to the modern Saab enthusiast and the vehicles on show were just as beautifully maintained and presented as the older cars.
The Young’uns
Click any photo to enlarge.
Let’s kick things off with the (second) youngest vehicle at the show, Mike’s 2010 Saab 9-5 in Glacier Silver. I saw four new Saab 9-5s on the roads that day, and all of them were this colour. Obviously, all of them were owners with impeccable taste.
There was another Saab 9-5 at the show, a 2011 model, which was brought along by Graeme Lambert of Auto Express magazine. The vehicle is their long-term tester. And yes, it was also in Glacier Silver 🙂
There were plenty of Saab 900 Convertibles on show and it was the perfect day for some topless exhibitionism…..
I have to draw some special attention to this next one. It was a limited run of convertibles specially made by Saab City, the Saab GB owned dealership in central London. The paint and interior combination was specific to these model and the car was badged as the Diamond Edition. It’s unknown to me how many of these were made or how many still exist, but I sure hope the owner understands and appreciates the rare gem he has there.
And some more modern convertibles……
This one stunned me when I first saw it. Try as I might, I can rarely remember seeing one of these in red (a red Viggen convertible in Minnesota comes to mind, but not much else). I don’t know why there aren’t many of them as this looks sensational.
…..And a beautiful blue Anniversary convertible, or “Cerulean Edition” as it was known in England.
There was only one Saab 9-3 Viggen at the show, in the perfect combination of Lightning Blue paint and 3-door body.
To my discredit, I didn’t get an exterior photo of this Saab 9-5. I can assure you that it was as black as the darkest night, totally spotless, as is the engine bay and interior you can see below.
The ‘Best prepared current production vehicle’ award was one by a Saab 9-3 that was truly magnificent in its presentation. The detail in the engine bay and body kit (carbon fibre) was amazing.
This Saab 9-5 had a very unusual set of almost-Saaby wheels…..
And another very nicely turned out engine bay as well….
Saab 9000s were a little under-represented in terms of numbers (as they often are) but this Aero was a treat….
And this Saab 900 was just plain good fun…… more pics of this one in our final post, coming very soon.
Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending the annual meetup of the Saab Owners Club of Great Britain. Th event was held at Haydock Park Racecourse at Merseyside and it was great to see so many beautiful Saabs in one place.
I’ve been the SOCGB national once before, in 2010. There were a few of the same cars as last year, but it was good to see quite a few different cars as well.
The oldies – click the image to enlarge.
Most of us in the enthusiast crowd are appreciators of the older Saab fleet and the English do attention-to-detail as well as anyone else out there in Saabland.
This Saab 95 was so clean – everywhere – that you could have eaten your dinner from any surface you liked (if the owner let you, which he wouldn’t).
Even the springs and hinges are painted and cleaned!
This is about as old-timer as it got last weekend – a Saab 92B. Like nearly every car at the show, it was pristine.
This early Saab 96 stroker caught a lot of attention with its bright red paint in the sunshine.
And I had to do a double-take at the interior. You’d think a guy who grew in Australia would be accustomed to right-hand-drive but I’m so used to seeing 96s in Sweden now that I had to look twice and figure it all out in my own head.
An image that harks back to a day when car companies sold cars with a range of real colors…..
….of course, if people bought cars in great numbers that were painted in something other than silver/black today then companies would produce more colors, but neither party seems willing to do so.
That first car in the row is a Saab 96 Souvenir edition, a limited model of just 150 units, sold in the UK in the late 1970s.
Some more fantastic Saab old-timers…… I love the minilite wheels on a Saab 96.
And this bright blue V4 was an eye-catcher not only for it’s paint….
An early Saab Sport……
And a 96 that’s done the rounds….. I guess it’s one of the blessings of being in a big club with proximity to the continent. Great people to see and great events in the warmer months.
This year’s Top Saab 99, a beautiful 1984 model, which I got to drive home!
This one had some very nice twin pipes at the back and sounded fantastic!
And finally – I got Sonett fever once again. Every time I’m close to these babies I just lose it. I spent a lot of time on the green one, chatting with the owner, etc. Absolutely beautiful and officially on my automotive bucket list.
I want to be in this picture one day…… it looks so “must drive”
One of only 258 ever made……. and gorgeous!
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I’ll have more from the Saab Owners Club GB annual event coming soon…..
It’s a little late for posting to the events page, but later today I’ll be jumping on a plane to head off to England.
Part of my weekend visit will include a couple of days at the Saab Owners Club GB annual gathering, being held this year at Haydock Park. All the info is available at the club website. If you’re in the area then I’m sure they’d love for you to drop by, say hello and maybe have a cup of tea!
There will be all the cars, of course, but there will also be parts sales, show-n-shine and all the other usual events that accompany a big nationwide event. Personally speaking, I’ll be spending a lot of my weekend trying to steal either Peter’s Sonett II or Chris’ 99Turbo and then heading for the chunnel.
“The rise in forecast values for the Saab 9-3 over the last ten months has been driven by an increased confidence in the brand; allied to an improved product content creating a better future used car,”
We were all pretty pleased to see that quote in a report in the motoring press today, commenting about the fact that Saab’s residuals have improved by around £1,000 in the British market place. (The report is based on a Saab GB press release, which you can view here for the full facts).
The improvement is said to be based on several factors. The first is some renewed interest and increased confidence in the Saab brand since it became an independent brand under the ownership of Spyker Cars.
More specifically, there is also the desirability of the new Saab 9-3 TTiD range, which offers a full-sized, powerful Saloon or SportWagon with the benefits of emissions under 120g/km. Low emissions means big taxation benefits for customers and Saab’s corporate customers are taking notice.
How much notice? Saab’s sales in Great Britain were up 73.1% in the first quarter of this year and Saab GB have had to increase the size of their corporate sales team to deal with the increased demand.
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A few days ago, in a post called Relief and Determination, I wrote about my belief in the future of Saab Automobile, based on the fact that there was just too much good stuff going on at this company, and too many people interested in it, for it to shut down.
You can call the type of innovation and success reflected in this story “Exhibit A”. Saab are making great products for markets around the world. I really believe that the Saab 9-4x is going to have a similar effect on Saab dealers in the US has what the sub-120g 9-3 range has had for British dealers.
Bottom line: there’s a lot of incredible stuff happening at Saab. We just need to tell people about it more and show them the product. It’s all about the product.
