Trollhattan Archives

SaabsUnited Octoberfest – Trollhattan

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.

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Grense Rally in Trollhattan

Not so much a Saab event, but a Trollhattan event…..

Last night I popped up to the Saab Museum, which was the start and finish point for the Grense Rallyt, a smaller regularity rally.

There were only 18 vehicles in the field, but it was nice to see them come back to the museum and cross the finish line. I thought I’d share some of the photos from the event with you here.

I have to confess that I don’t know much about this event and where it fits into any larger schedule of historic rallies here in Sweden. It felt like it was part of a larger series, however, given the number of officials and sponsorship that was present.

Regularity rallying is not your full-tilt type of rallying. Regularity involves completing stages as close as possible to a designated average speed. It requires precision calculation and communication between driver and co-driver, rather than flat-out speed and handling. That’s why you’ll see some cars below with minimal modification.

It’s fantastic that a sponsor like Teknikens Varld magazine was able to support the event and I hope there were more people there in the morning to see the vehicles and the level of support provided by Teknikens. Motorsport needs this kind of sponsorship to survive, so it’s great that they were able to help out. The white Porsche is a Cayman R that they’re currently road testing.

Click the pics to enlarge.

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Wednesday Night at the Locks

I hadn’t been down to the locks for around 6 weeks (here’s the report from last time) but my wife and I headed down last night for a slice of life in Trollhattan in summertime – the Wednesday night car show at the locks.

It was a good night to go, too. The weather was great and the cars were 90% different from last time I was there. It always amazes me how many incredible vehicles are located within close driving distance of this place.

If you ever come to Sweden in the summer (and you SHOULD) then make sure you schedule a Wednesday night in Trollhattan. You won’t regret it.

First up, the Saabs…..

OK, so that’s not a Saab, but it’s an interesting way of introducing the first Saab I saw last night. The DeLorean was, of course, clothed in rust-free stainless steel and last night’s example (the first I’d ever seen in person) did look impeccably clean.

The same couldn’t be said of this very curious looking Saab 9000…..

Continue reading Wednesday Night at the Locks

Living in Trollhattan – Wednesday night at the locks

If you’re familiar with summertime in Trollhattan then you’ll already know what this story is all about. If not, then here’s another little snapshot of life in Trollywood.

If you ever come to Trollhattan in the summertime, try to include a Wednesday night in your stay here. Why?

I’m not sure exactly who organises it, but vintage and veteran vehicle owners from the Trestad area (i.e. three cities – Trollhattan, Vanersborg, Uddevalla) hold an informal car show at the locks in Trollhattan on Wednesday nights. Today was the first day of June, the first day of summer, and a Wednesday, so the lads and ladies had their cars ready to show.

I’ll start this entry with what was the end of the car show for me – the more Continental section of the show, where the Saabs were loosely congregated amongst other European makes. Here’s a fine Saab Sonett II to start with (there were no Sonett III’s at the show, nor any original Sonetts, which have actually been there in the past, both a genuine Saab 94 and a very good copy)

This was the third time I’d seen this 99 today in Trollhattan……

There are heaps more photos after the jump…….

Continue reading Living in Trollhattan – Wednesday night at the locks