Regular visitors here would know that if there’s a forced choice between introducing either Biopower or diesel in the US market, I’d opt for diesel. I’ve been on the diesel bandwagon for over a year now and for all that time I’ve been saying that if Saab don’t prepare for the new US regulations on diesel and get these highly successful and well regarded cars to the US market – then they’ve got rocks in their heads.

It’s nothing against the Biopower setup, but diesel just seems way more marketable at the moment and the distribution system is already established. E85 has some work to do in both areas: marketability and distribution. If you’re looking to ramp up sales with something new, diesel’s got a lot to offer.

GM and Saab USA have previously stated that whilst they’re keeping their options open and watching developments, their plans for Saab are leaning more towards the Biopower revolution. That’s one bit of bad news for those who want access to the oilburners that have been doing so well in Europe. Maybe this is some more bad news, but maybe not….

One of the developments that Saab’s been watching is the decision by Volkswagen to drop most of its diesel range for the 2007 model year. VW will remove the diesel option for the Golf, Beetle and Jetta, but will retain a diesel for the Touareg.

Whilst new fuel regulations will bring low-sulfur fuel into play and make many more Euro-diesels a potentially viable proposition in the US, tightening emissions standards mean that many of these Euro-deisels may not make it to market as they don’t meet the new regulations for 2007 onwards.

VW will bring a new diesel engine to market in 2008 that meets the emissions regs, but they will lose close to 20% of their current sales due to the loss of the diesel. They’re trying to compansate by producing more 2006-plated stock that they can sell into 2007.

Reading between the lines here, I’d venture a guess and say that maybe Saab’s 1.9TiD diesel that sells so well in the UK and other markets doesn’t meet these new emissions standards either, hence the lack of a push in the diesel direction.

If the 1.9 TiD does meet the new emissions standards however, then this news is just another reason why Saab should get the diesels into the marketplace – their main competitor just pulled out. That’s one BIG barrier to entry removed.

Bottom line: If it’s possible, I’d still love them to develop and exploit the diesel market in the US. Hopefully there’s a bunch of people in lab coats right now figuring out whether the Saab diesel can be made to comply and if so, perhaps there’s some hope in this area.

If not then I’d love to see some concrete action on bringing the Biopower engine to the US. If you’re gonna do it, then do it!! And about that hybrid concept – as mentioned in comments, wouldn’t they sell a squillion hybrid convertibles in California alone??

Saab USA seems to be on the verge of so much possibility for change, yet they’re actually implementing very little of it at the moment (pls forgive my impatience, Jay). I’m quite confident that that will change though. Here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later.

That’s right, folks. It’s approaching that time where we crunch the numbers and oooh, ahhh and uurgh over sales data from the various markets around the world in order to assess the performance of the Saab brand through the year.

Commentators are expecting a pretty gloomy May in the US. Here’s hoping for a positive year-on-year performance there. I’d say anything in the black will do. I haven’t heard any expectations for Sweden, Britain or the rest of Europe, so it’ll be a matter of wait-n-see.

Jay Spenchian’s certainly talking up Saab’s expectations for the next few years though. US sales doubled by 2011. I haven’t found a link for it, but this was sent via email (thanks JV) and was reported by Bloomberg:

General Motors Corp.’s Saab will double U.S. sales by as early as 2010 as the European unit moves ahead with its plan to end losses, its U.S. sales chief said.

Jerome York, an aide to GM investor Kirk Kerkorian, said in January that GM should sell or close Saab and Hummer and focus on its larger brands, after GM’s $10.6 billion loss last year. York joined the Detroit-based company’s board in February.

“He wants what all of us want, sales and profit growth,” said Jay Spenchian, Saab’s U.S. general manager, in an interview today in Southfield, Michigan. “He wants us to put our money where our mouth is and just try and deliver.”

Saab and Hummer have been GM’s fastest-growing brands in the U.S. this year, helped by new models such as the Saab 9-7X and Hummer H-3 sport-utility vehicles. Sales through April rose 8.1 percent at Saab and almost tripled at Hummer, as GM’s total fell 6.7 percent. New models are part of GM’s plan to stabilize a U.S. market share that has fallen to 24 percent this year from 51 percent in 1962.

“If Saab is profitable or break-even and they can attract buyers you wouldn’t normally get in GM, it’s a positive,” said Southfield-based AutoPacific auto analyst Jim Hall. “Saab can be made profitable. The question is, how broad does Saab need to be to get there?”

Saab will double annual U.S. sales to about 80,000 by 2010 or 2011, Spenchian said. In the next few years, Saab plans to replace the 9-7X with a smaller SUV model shared with a Cadillac design and introduce new versions of the 9-5 and 9-3 sedans, he said. The Sweden-based unit is also studying at least one other undisclosed vehicle, Spenchian said.

I’ll be keeping a keen eye out for all the usual sales data, but I’m sure some of you Europeans will get it while I’m sleeping.

It’s a treat to bring you this SOTW combination. It’s not often I’ll publish more than one pic at a time, but I love both pictures, I think the car is going to be thought of one day as a classic Saab and the location is kind of special for me as well.

This is Eric T’s Saab 9-3 SportCombi, as photographed at the Columbia River gorge in Washington in the northwest United States.

I’ve only spent around 36 hours in total in the US, but about 20 of those were right here at The Gorge, seeing the Dave Matthews Band back in 2004. What a magnificent setting, and what a magnificent car.

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If you want to view all of the Saab O The Week pictures, click here. All these cars are owned and photographed by regular Saab owners, just like you. If you’d like your car featured as a SOTW entry, then take a great photo (not just a regular photo of a great car) and email me – there’s a link in the left sidebar.

I haven’t seen it hanging around the usual GM sites yet, but Auto Spectator are running what looks very much like a GM press release on the oft-rumoured-and-now-seemingly-imminent 2.3 litre Biopower engine.

The new look Saab 9-5 Sedan and SportCombi range is further enhanced for Model Year 2007 by the introduction of a more powerful BioPower engine…..

…..The addition of a 210 bhp BioPower variant, delivering 14 per cent more maximum power and 11 per cent more torque when running on E85 bioethanol fuel, will extend Saab’s leadership of the premium ‘flex-fuel’ segment.

The new Saab 9-5 2.3t BioPower model goes on sale in Nordic markets, UK and Ireland later this year, with other European countries to follow. Available in a choice of Sedan and SportCombi bodystyles with manual or automatic transmission, it is being offered in addition to the current 2.0t BioPower model, which is already established as Sweden’s the best selling ‘environmentally-friendly’ vehicle…..

…..Running on E85, the new Saab 9-5 2.3t BioPower engine delivers maximum power of 210 bhp and 310 Nm of torque, compared to 185 bhp and 280 Nm when using gasoline. As an example of the increased performance, the Sedan with manual transmission accelerates from zero to 100 kph in 7.9 secs and 80-120 kph in fifth gear in 11.0 secs, compared to 8.5 and 12.6 secs when running only on gasoline…..

…..”The launch of a 2.3 turbo model is a logical next step in the roll-out of our successful BioPower concept,” says Jan-Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile’s Managing Director. “It is being offered in response to customer demand for an eco-friendly vehicle that delivers even more performance and is the first in a number of future BioPower initiatives that we have under development.”

Externally, the Model Year 2007 range is distinguished by the addition of a dark, ‘Titan’, gray metallic paint finish.

They’ve accompanied the story with the picture below. Saab press releases typically come with a picture accompaniment, so what we might be looking at below is the new Titan Grey, as specifically mentioned in the release and as mentioned by a few folks in comments and on iSaab.

We’ve already had the 2007 9-3 interior photo, comments, SaabCentral comments and my thoughts.

Now, via ctm and mecachrome (in comments) there’s also the following MY2007 info, gathered from a Swedish news article and the Swedish Saab forum, iSaab.

saab 9-3:
acc standard on all models
interior as the leaked pictures
almost same price (maybe only in sweden?)
bose-stereo optional

saab 9-5:
new engine 2.3t biopower 210bhp
2.3t and 2.3T no longer available

both models:
steel grey and arbor green no longer available. new color is titan grey

I’d venture a guess and say that the 2.3 options will still be available in markets outside Sweden, although the Biopower engine can run on full gasoline, so I suppose a switch to all Biopower wouldn’t be out of the question, depending on cost.

ctm also bring the news, with a link (in Swedish), that the 9-3 will get Biopower as well, though no time frame is mentioned. This has been mentioned before, but it’s good to see it popping up in the press.

I’ve never been asked by Saab to do any advertising before. I’d love to help out as a) I love the cars, and b) I could use the extra revenue, but they obviously don’t think it’s worthwhile. I guess it’s a little like preaching to the converted, though every sale helps and my rates would be a helluva lot cheaper than national news websites. Anyway….

So I did a Tom Cruise – “sometimes you’ve just gotta say “What the &#^!”

I’ve copied one of their ads for the Saab Australia Midsommar Sale. The ad is in the right sidebar. I mentioned it yesterday and in addition to the extras I mentioned in yesterday’s article (free alloys and leather on base model 9-3 and free auto for all others), they’re also doing a no-onroad-costs bonus this weekend.

It’ll be interesting to see if Saab Oz get any hits from here (even though they’ll probably show as hits from Fairfax Press due to the referrer link).

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In the Snippets entry back on May 20, I covered an article from Auto123, a Canadian website. They published a survey of 18-24 year olds that had a greater percentage of respondents desiring Saabs rather than BMW or Mercedes.

Autoblog has just got hold of the story too and it’s interesting to read the comments section there as they have a wide variety of readers and being Americans, they’re trained to speak their mind so there’s lots of comments to peruse:

I’m 23 & drive an 03 Saab 93 Arc. I love it…..

I’m Gen Y and came from a ‘88 MBZ 300CE to a Saab 9-5. Did I do it because Saabs are cool? Hahaha! No. I bought the Saab because it wasn’t a Bimmer and it wasn’t a Benz…..

I’m 18, and I was just looking around for an affordable Saab 9000 (like a ‘92). The new Saabs I think look really nice, and the brand has really improved styling in my opinion…..

This is just a few. I’ve gotta say, the general consensus there does bring out the results of the survey.

Am I surprised? A little.

The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades….

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I wish I could tell you about the goodies I received this morning, but I cant.

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The Viggen problem turned out to be a stuffed bottom radiator hose, which is a big relief. Some of you may be wondering why a) I could diagnose this myself, and b) why I chose to get the vehicle towed.

a) In addition to being totally mechanically incompetent, there’s very little room at our place to allow one to crawl under the car. The problem couldn’t be seen from above.

b) I had a free tow available from a 24hour roadside assist program. I don’t take chances with the Viggen, so this was the best option.

Am very relieved that it wasn’t the radiator itself that went bung, and pleased there wasn’t any secondary damage from overheating.

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We’re having a Saab Car Club meeting tonight to put together events for the rest of this year. Any suggestions welcome in comments (and thx Greg for you previous thoughts – noted).

Thanks to Nutcase at SaabCentral, news that the on-again-off-again “barn sale” is…………on again. This a very extensive collection of old Saabs that were stored in a barn in the UK and are now going up for sale. Some are parts only, some are restorers. From two-stroke to turbo and there’s even a ‘vert in there too.

There are some quite rare cars for sale here – Sonetts Mk II & III for example. They’d do me quite nicely. And the 99 turbos. What the heck, throw a 96 in as well.

The link from Ebay is here, but please note – the cars are not for sale on Ebay itself. The seller is merely using Ebay to publicise the sale, which will be via sealed auction at an undisclosed address from the 21st – 23rd July 2006. You can email the seller via the Ebay link to get the address for the sale.

The cars for sale are as follows:

900 GLE 5 DOOR 1980, BLUE.
900 EMS 3 DOOR 1979, RED.
900 CD 4 DOOR 1983, SILVER.
99 EMS 2 DOOR 1974, SILVER.
900 TBO 3 DOOR 1983, SILVER.
99 TBO 2 DOOR 1980, BLACK.
99 TBO 3 DOOR 1979, BLACK.
99 GL 2 DOOR 1973, INDIAN YELLOW.

99 4 DOOR 1971, GREEN.
99 TBO 3 DOOR 1979, MARBLE WHITE. (LHD)
900 TBO 3 DOOR 1984, BLACK. (16S)
99 TBO 2 DOOR 1981, RED. (5 SPEED)
96 T/S 2 DOOR 1965, BLUE.
95 T/S 3 DOOR 1966, GREY.
900 TBO 3 DOOR 1989, GREEN.
900 INJ 3 DOOR 1993, BLACK. (WITH S BODY KIT)
9000I 5 DOOR 1990, WHITE. (LOW MILEAGE)
99 TBO 5 DOOR 1979, RED.
96 T/S 2 DOOR 1966, BLUE.
900 TBO 3 DOOR 1989, BLACK. (LE 8 V)
900 TBO 2 DOOR 1989, WHITE. (CONVERTIBLE)
900 TBO 3 DOOR 1986, SILVER. (16S)
SONETT 3 2 DOOR 1971, GREEN.
SONETT 2 2 DOOR 1968, BLUE.

Photo below and more after the jump….

[Read the rest of this entry →]

I was having a surf on the News Ltd website (I do actually work occasionally) and noticed a link to this: Saab’s Midsommar Sale.

A little while ago Saab Oz decided to strip down the MY06 Linear 9-3 SS and offer it for $39,900. This was a pretty decent price breakthrough here in Oz. The Midsommar offer makes it even better value as it keeps the sub-$40,000 price but re-fits the alloy wheels and leather interior that were lost when the price was lowered.

Pretty decent value, actually. The cheapest 3-series Bimmer you can buy here starts at $50,600.

The rest of the Saab range here in Australia gets a no-extra-cost automatic transmission during the Midsommar sales event.

The link above will give you the terms and conditions. With that new interior due in MY07, I think MY06 is going to sell quite well.