Timothy Colbeck Archives

Saab 9-4x deliveries beginning in the United States

I thought it might be good to bring back some Saab 9-4x review summaries on the front page of this website.

The reason for this is a quote from Tim Colbeck, COO of Saab Cars North America, who appeared on Autoline After Hours last week. He stated the following during the interview:

“Around 5:30 today, the first 9-4x’s were shipped from the factory at Ramos, where they’re produced. So they’ll hit dealerships by the end of the month.”

That means there are some very exciting times ahead for Saab and a for a number of future Saab 9-4x owners. Your vehicles are on their way!

This has become one of the most anticipated model launches in modern times for Saab, both for the additional segment the vehicle will bring to Saab’s range, and also because the Saab 9-4x has been so well received by the motoring press in reviews so far.

If you haven’t checked them out already, here are the the early reports on the Saab 9-4x…..

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Autoblog: “From its cantilevered roof to its sweeping “hockey stick” greenhouse, ice-block blue headlamps and full-width LED taillamp band that echoes that of the 9-5 sedan, Saab has done a remarkable job imbuing brand hallmarks old and new into this simple two-box form…..

…..the 9-4X clearly skews toward the sportier end of the luxury crossover arena, eschewing leather-lined kinschleppers like the Lexus RX and Volvo XC60 in favor of chasing sportier entries like the Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK, and BMW X3.”

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AutoGuide: “Saab hasn’t been cruising on easy street, but the 9-4X could be the x-factor that changes negatives into positives.”

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Car and Driver: C&D took a comparative approach, looking at the 9-4x in comparison with it’s sister vehicle at Cadillac, noting that Saab engineer Peter Dörrich was the chief architect behind both vehicles. You can see Peter’s view on the “Saabness” of this vehicle in this video, shot in Los Angeles last year.

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LeftLane News: “Unlike the SRX, the 9-4X’s steering felt linear and direct, if a little light on feel. Reactions were quick at any speed, with positive turn-in and good straight line stability. Despite the Aero’s big 20-inch wheels wrapped in performance-oriented tires, the 9-4X was nearly silent on the highway. That bling hardly disturbed ride quality, either, which was several notches above the SRX. Where the Cadillac is wooden and confused over undulating surfaces, the 9-4X happily took anything in stride. Body lean is modest, as it should be in a soft-riding crossover.”

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Motor Authority: “Cargo-wise, there’s lots to love here. Although the floor is a bit taller than you might expect, there’s a ‘hidden’ compartment under a large portion of it; rear seatbacks also fold flat, and they can be adjusted for rake to three different positions. The cargo management system is very useful, with a bar that can be configured to split part of the space off—to keep grocery bags from tipping, or suitcases from sliding around the space.”

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Winding Road: “The controls enhance this feeling of refined responsiveness. The steering has a well-chosen ratio with decent on-center operation. The brakes are firm, with a pedal feel that should be studied by some sports car makers. Best of all, the automatic transmission, especially in sport mode, anticipates the downshift you will need so that you seem to be in the right gear for acceleration much of the time.”

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Saab’s US chief Tim Colbeck appears on Autoline After Hours

UPDATE:

The show is now finished. You can view a replay below or at Autoline’s site. You can also check the Inside Saab twitter feed to read the live coverage.

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Autoline is a motoring news service headed up by John McElroy out of Detroit, Michigan.

Autoline After Hours is the Autoline equivalent to MTV Unplugged, with a more casual atmosphere and a focus on detailed questions to the special guest. The show also takes in questions from viewers and right now, AAH has opened the door for Saab fans to ask questions of Saab’s new US chief, Tim Colbeck.

Tim will be appearing on tonight’s show, which will stream live at 7pm ET in the US. From the Autoline Twitter feed……

Send us questions for tonight’s #AAH guest, Saab COO Tim Colbeck, or phone them in at 1-620-288-6546 (1-620-AUTOLIN)

I believe the correct link for the broadcast is here, though there’s nothing about tonight’s show there yet. It will appear just before the scheduled broadcast time.

You can send your questions directly to viewermail@autolinedetroit.tv and include “AAH Question” in the subject line. If you’re a Twitter user, you can also send your question to Autoline’s Twitter account.

It should be interesting to hear what TIm has to say now that he’s had a few weeks behind the wheel. And don’t worry if you miss the live broadcast because all of Autoline’s After Hours shows are archived at that link as well.

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Tim Colbeck appears at around the 29 minute mark of the broadcast (you can click the timebar to get straight to that point if you don’t want to watch the preliminaries).

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Saabosphere – links we enjoyed this week

Let’s be honest. It’s a tough week to be writing about enjoyable links. But there are some good stories out there, so let’s take a look at them before I head off to the airport to return back to Saab HQ in Trollhattan.

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Mille Miglia is on right now and there are three Saab 93A’s entered in the event. You can view photos and commentary about the restoration of one of those cars right here at Inside Saab.

We’ll have a full review of the event when it’s over and done, but if you want some real-time updates on what’s happening there, the best place to go is SofieFromSaab’s Twitter page.

Sofie works for Saab in Belgium and she’s there covering the Mille car that’s been prepared and entered in the event by Behermans, the Belgian Saab importer.

From Sofie’s account, here’s Saab’s Technical Director, Mats Fagerhag, taking the Saab 93A prepared by the Saab Museum in Trollhattan (see link above) back to the Mille Miglia museum as part of the event.

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Saab appointed a new President and COO for Saab Cars North America, a guy formerly from Subaru, named Tim Colbeck.

Tim’s first day on the job took him to the Saab 9-4x press drive in Washington DC and while he was there, Autoblog conducted a brief interview with him for an article that now appears on their website.

It makes for some good, insightful reading and I’m very encouraged by Mr Colbeck’s background and knowledge not only of Saab, but of Saab’s market as well.

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A few articles from today’s issue of Saabs United:

I really enjoyed this opinion piece written by Lars Carlstrom, originally published in Swedish newspaper SvD and translated at SU. Carlstrom is the Swedish representative for Vladimir Antonov, who seeks to invest in Saab Automobile.
There’s also a six-part interview (around one hour) with Magnus Hansson, Saab’s chief in the Nordic markets.

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I look forward to getting back Trollywood. See you all there soon.

Press: Saab Cars North America Appoints New President and Chief Operating Officer

Trollhättan, Sweden: Saab Cars North America today announced the appointment of a new president and chief operating officer, Mr. Timothy Colbeck. The announcement comes as Saab is embarked on its biggest-ever product offensive with four all-new products since 2010 – the all-new Saab 9-5 Sedan, Saab’s first crossover, the 9-4X, the 9-5 SportCombi and the 9-3 Griffin range.

Effective Monday, May 9, Mr. Colbeck will oversee Saab’s largest market, North America. He will report directly to Saab Automobile Vice President and Head of Global Sales & Aftersales, Matthias Seidl and the Saab Cars North America Board of Directors.

Mr. Colbeck joins SCNA with 25 years of automobile industry experience in the United States with Subaru of America. Most recently he was the senior vice president sales. Under Tim’s direction, Subaru of America achieved record sales and market share in the last two years and was the only brand to achieve sales increases in each of the last three years. During his career at Subaru, Tim has been in various executive roles, with experience in sales, e-business, finance and fixed operations.

“Tim’s impressive accomplishments during his automotive career in rebuilding the Subaru brand are invaluable to the Saab team and represent his ability to further Saab’s vision for success,” said Matthias Seidl, Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Aftersales. “We are pleased to have Tim join our North American team during such an exciting time for Saab Cars North America and we are confident Tim will help increase our brand image and sales.”