File this one under “late notice”, but if you’re in the area and want to check out the Saab Club of Canada, then there’s a meeting happening Wednesday night – tonight by the time most of you read this.
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Our November Monthly meeting will be held at the Queensway Saab dealership – Wednesday, November 16th.
We will be able to meet there as early as 5:30pm and we will be wrapping up by 8:30pm.
The Saab Club will be ordering in pizza and drinks for the event.
While there is nothing special planned for this evening, it will give us the chance to see some of the new Saabs, most notably the new 9-5. If you have any questions regarding the new Saabs or pricing/financing options, please bring those with you.
Also of note is the recent news that Hirsch has finally come to Canada. For those who don’t know, Hirsch is the Saab factory authorized (and warranty approved) tuner for our cars. And they do much more than just tuning. They have many interior and exterior pieces to enhance and customize your Saab.
Further, we will have a Turbo-X on hand with some of those Hirsch goodies already installed … and perhaps a second Turbo-X (stock) as comparison.
Looking forward to seeing everyone for the last club meeting of 2011!
The Saab Club of Austria is celebrating its 25th birthday this year!
They have invited the Saab Club of Slovakia along for the celebrations and together, they will take in what sounds like a fantastic meet-n-drive event in the region. The event is taking place on September 10th.
From Alexander K:
We’ll meet at the Marchegg Castle close to the Austrian – Slovakian Border, later cross the border using a small ferry-boat and then have lunch together in the city of Bratislava. Later on we’ll head back to Austria and have a small Rallye (driving using a road-book at a certain av. speed). Afterwards we’ll celebrate together at a tavern.
Photos are expected, Alex 😉
If you’re in the region and want to join in, you can touch base at the Saab Club of Austria’s website. You’ll get appropriate contact details for this event at that link.
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…..
This is one that I won’t be bale to attend myself as I’ll be back in Australia, but it’s one that I definitely wish I could.
It’s being hosted by the Saab Club of Italy and the theme is “Flying Saab”
The event will be held on September 10th and 11th at the Boscomantico Airport in Verona.
Being held at an airport is significant. Not only will there be a large variety of old and new Saabs for attendees to try out, there will also be helicopter, glider and light aircraft flights available, as well as tandem parachuting!!!
The cars on offer will date back to the Saab 96 and there will be a full range of vehicles for inspection and driving, right up to the new Saab 9-5.
The event is being organised by the Saab Club of Italy in conjunction with the City of Verona and one of the local Aeroclubs. A true partnership effort that’ll offer some great experiences for those who can make it.
Both sites offer the opportunity to download a PDF leaflet for the event, as well as registration information. You don’t need to be a member of Saab Club Italy to attend – all are welcome.
IntSaab is the annual International Saab Clubs meet, which is hosted in a different country each year. Although it mentions Saab Clubs in the official title, you do not need to be a member of a Saab Club to attend. IntSaab is open to all.
Well, almost. IntSaab 2011 is fully booked, such is the popularity of the event. For those who are interested in attending an IntSaab meeting in future years, however, here’s a run-down of what will be happening this year……
IntSaab 2011 is being hosted by the Saab Club of Finland. The main center of events will be at the Hotel Ellivuori, in Sastamala. The official IntSaab program runs from August 5-8, 2011.
The program for this year’s event also includes a pre-tour from August 3 to 5, which will start at Espoo Car Museum near Helsinki and finish in Uusikaupunki with a visit to the SAAB Museum. Participants will then head for Ellivuori in time for the official IntSaab proceedings.
The official IntSaab program for 2011 is as follows…..
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Friday, Aug. 5 2011
Afternoon:
Arrival formalities and registration.
Arrival of the pre tour participants.
Evening:
Presentation: Hannu Berger, “History Of The Uusikaupunki Car Factory”
Presentation: Simo Lampinen, “Flying Finn”
Get together around the BBQ.
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Saturday, Aug. 6 2011
Morning:
Breakfast served at the hotel for all participants.
Registration continues.
An 80km long Saab pick nick tour with quizzes and tasks.
The picknick tour includes a pause at the Nokian Tyres warehouse, where a soup lunch and a factory tour will be availlable, as well as a show by Saab Performance Team.
Afternoon:
A non-prepaid lunch at Ellivuori will be served.
Parts sales.
Beauty contest.
Normal sauna and traditional Finnish smoke sauna.
Swimming pool and possibility to swim in the lake.
Evening:
Anniversary dinner with program.
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Sunday, Aug. 7 2011
Morning:
Breakfast at the hotel for all participants.
Part sales.
Afternoon:
Lunch with price giving continued from the previous night.
“Goodbye and get safely home!”
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I’m planning on being there in Finland for this years’ event and I can’t wait. It’s been a Saab event I’ve wanted to attend for a long time now.
I’ll be bringing you all the coverage I can. Hopefully it might inspire you to get to an IntSaab event one day, too. Saab gatherings like this one are always heaps of fun, with plenty of great people to meet and a smorgasboard of incredible Swedish (and Finnish!) machinery to drool over.
For those who like to do a lot of forward planning, IntSaab 2012 will be held at Spa, in Belgium.
An addendum to recent stories about the genesis of the Saab Convertible. This came in from Ed Iawanicki, a former employee of Saab in the USA back when the convertible was launched.
….I had to pick the car up from a photography studio in LA and drive it to Carson on a Sunday morning – this car was supposed to be secret and here I am driving down the 5 in a one-of-a-kind 900 convertible in a VERY cool color (that was never used in production) with the top down because at that point it wasn’t too clear if I put the top up that it would go back down. I was 21 years old and never so paranoid about my driving as I was that morning. Steven Rossi used to refer to it as “my girl Pearl”. 26 years later and I remember it like yesterday.
Speaking of Saab wagons, ABC News reports that the Saab 9-3 SportCombi has been noted by the IIHS in the United States as being one of the 15 safest SUV’s on the market there.
Personally speaking, I’m a little surprised by the SUV classification for that car, but we’ll take it.
It’s an early 1970’s Saab 99 fitted with a 16V turbo engine and making somewhere around 300hp.
I was meant to be at Kinnekulle today, too, for a Saab Turbo Club of Sweden event, but a time mixup saw me miss it. The photo was sent to me this morning by Peter S, the owner of Saab tuner Speedparts (his brother owns this 99 and Peter has a matching one in the same spec, but in red).
It’s 900+ kilometers north of where I’m sitting right now, but I’m heading up close to Umeå to help a friend pick up his Saab 9-5 (a long, sad story involving some ice and a telegraph pole).
Back in January 2010 there were a lot of gatherings around the world held in support of Saab as the company was threatened with closure by General Motors. The website that I used to run, Saabs United, was a central gathering point for the exchange of information about those convoys and it was a tremendous success.
I remember sitting at home watching the news flood my inbox as each of the convoys was held. You could almost track the movement of the sun by the email titles. I wasn’t surprised to see a huge gathering in Trollhattan, nor representation in Germany, France, the US and England. These were all markets I knew about.
What did surprise me, however, was the passion exhibited from Saab fans in Asia. The number of people and the incredible quality and condition of the vehicles they owned. I’ve talked to a few Saab tuning companies in my time and more than one has told me that their best and most fanatical customers are in Asia.
So it’s no surprise, then, that the following photo gallery from Hong Kong includes some fantastic Saabs. The event was held last weekend and I received the following review from Kenson Chan, part of the authorised dealer group in Hong Kong.
On June 5 (Sunday), the Saab Club HK gathered around 30 Saabs at a scenic place called Whitehead Club. Whitehead Club is just next to Sai Kung — the “Leisure Garden of Hong Kong” and has long been one of the most beautiful places in Hong Kong.
On that day, we were invited to join the gathering and we brought a new Saab 9-5 Aero and a 9-5 Vector to the venue. All members were happy to see the new Saab 9-5 and we also arranged test-drive session for them.
During the gathering, members showed their 900 Convertible and 9-3 Viggen to the media. Some members even tuned their cars on the day! At the end of the gathering, all members were given Saab Expression souvenir.
Sounds like a great club gathering and from the pictures, I think you’ll agree that Sai Kung is one of the most beautiful places in Hong Kong. What a setting!
My thanks to Kenson for the images and information, and congratulations to the Saab Club of Hong Kong on what looks like a wonderful outing.
