Monthly Archives: July 2006

Monday Snippets

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That Saab Road Tests site I told you about the other day, it’s changing.

Well, it’s staying pretty much the same, but the address is changing. it was going to be an offshoot from this site, but I figured that things would go better in the future if it started with its own domain.

No content up yet, but if you’re interested: http://www.saabroadtests.com is the place to bookmark.

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Germany is joining the UK and the US and perhaps even Sweden in pushing the Pilots Wanted marketing campaign.

As part of the drive, they’ll be holding special driving events in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne/Duesseldorf and Munich. There will be a whole bunch of promotional advertising and mailouts as well.

Germany’s a huge potential growth market for Saab, so here’s hoping the campaign captured the imagination.

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If Saab ever needed to hotfoot the arrival of the AWD-capable Epsilon II, it’s now. This is the moment I’ve been dreading – the time when BMW rediscovered turbocharging.


The 335i goes into the world with not one but two compact turbines. The low-inertia turbos work in parallel, each supplying compressed air to three cylinders, and are designed to eliminate turbo lag. In conjunction with gasoline direct injection, the net result is 300 hp at a relatively low 5800 rpm, accompanied by 300 lb-ft of torque all the way from 1400 to 5000 rpm.

On the move, the flat torque plateau quickly proves itself the 335i’s defining characteristic. It does not feel particularly quick off the mark, but the engine’s smooth manners shine through as it gathers momentum. Turn up the pace, and the engine responds in good humor, feeling more than capable of matching or beating BMW’s official 0-to-60-mph time of 5.3 seconds with a manual, or 5.5 seconds with the smooth six-speed Steptronic auto (that’s not much off the 4.8-second 0-to-62-mph time of the Euro-spec M3). The 335i enjoys more mid-range torque than its M-badged sister, and on the tight roads of the Austrian test route it proved phenomenal at passing slower traffic.

Saab needs to get that AWD thing happening so that it can take the reins off and take these bastards on.

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It’s 22 minutes from being the 1st of August as I write this.

That means July sales figures should start coming through in the next few days. US numbers will be lower in % terms once again, due to the Employee Discount program last year, but other regions will (hopefully) continue to improve.

Speaking of the US, I’m still mired in confusion over what their current summer sales event means in real terms. I’ve emailed Saab USA but still haven’t heard back yet, which is understandable as they’re preparing displays for the SOC and the Pebble Beach Concours (the Aero-X will be making an appearance).

UPDATE: The “current offers” page of the SaabUSA website highlights some 0% financing deals for certain 2006 models, but details are best cleared with your local dealer.

SaabAudiBMW pics

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I was busy over the weekend driving some German competition, albeit in a retro sense. I have a couple of good mates here in Hobart who, like me, made very deliberate car choices when they purchased. Colin bought a 1995 BMW 325 Convertible and Rob grabbed a 1993 Audi S4. Along with my 1999 Viggen, we took off for a cruise with a difference – we drove each other’s car rather than our own.

The video from the weekend is a few weeks away. We have about 2.5 hours to edit down to 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, here’s some photos from the weekend, expertly shot by Mr Ben W (whose car will be the next SOTW calendar, incidentally). There’s six shots posted here at Trollhattan. The full gallery (12 photos) is here.

SaabAudiBMW1.jpg

SaabAudiBMW6.jpg
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9-3 Ad from YouTube

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UPDATE:

Ryan’s brought this new one to my attention, which I thought I’d post here due to the discussion about ads that was held here last week. This one’s from somewhere in Europe (I’m sure someone will let us know in comments) and features the 9-3 sedan and SportCombi. It’s aircraft themed and eyecatching. As mentioned last week, I’m not sure how much life “Born From Jets” has as an ongoing campaign, but this one uses the aircraft imagery well.

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Here’s one we never saw here in Australia.

Great stuff.

Sunday Night Snippets

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We’ve just got back from a day with a video camera, an Audi S4, a BMW 325ci and my Viggen. What a great day. Yes, I found a new respect for both these carmakers, but I think the Viggen also won a few people over as well.

We have over 3 hours of video to whittle down into something slightly coherent, then it’ll get posted here.

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The Saab 9-3 SportCombi has been included in a Business Week article naming the Best Wagons in various categories.

The Combi was named as the safest wagon. The other noted vehicles were as follows:

Fastest Domestic: Dodge Magnum SRT8
Fastest Import: Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Wagon
Most Fuel-Efficient: Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix
Best Cargo Room: Volvo V70
Most Expensive: Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Wagon
Best Resale Value (Luxury): BMW 3 Series 325xi
Lowest Total Cost of Ownership: Chevrolet HHR
Best Off-Road: Subaru Outback
Safest: Saab 9-3 SportCombi
Best Overall: Subaru Legacy

The story is here, or you can just skip straight to the slideshow – here.

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Finally, for Tasmania’s own Drew B, here’s some older Saabs that have popped up on Flickr recently.

Blue Saab 95 4.jpg . Black Saab 96 1.jpg

Blue Saab 95 1.jpg . Blue Saab 95 2.jpg

Blue Saab 95 3.jpg . Saab Sport.jpg

Bu-sy day, bu-sy day, bu-sy Da-a-ay-o

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Howdy folks,

I’m off to go shoot some video today. It’s the Viggen in the company of a couple of Bavarians, namely an Audi S4 and a BMW convertible, both from the 1990′s.

It’s going to be a hoot, and it’ll be posted here in a few weeks.

Cheers. Have a great day.

Saab Road Tests

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UPDATE: the link has been updated as SRT now has it’s own domain.

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Just to let you know that Trollhattan Saab’s first satellite site, Saab Road Tests, has emerged.

I’ve still got a lot of Road Test posts to dump there, but the beginnings have indeed begun.

It’s a lot simpler than Trollhattan in terms of layout etc, which should make it a breeze to navigate. The intended user is anyone wanting to do some model research on Saab’s current lineup. I’ll be copying all the road test posts from this site, as well as all the official GM model info for each car, even the 9-2x.

Pop over and take a look if you’re so inclined.

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GMRN update

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As you know, I take this whole GM-Renault-Nissan thing quite personally, as it has the potential to significantly impact on Saab’s future.

The pawns on the GMRN chessboard moved quite a bit overnight. I’m not a huge chessplayer, but I know enough of the game to know that subtle moves can alter the playing field significantly.

First of all, we have GM CEO Rick Wagoner taking the unprecedented step of communicating his thoughts on GM’s current turnaround strategy on the Fastlane weblog. Fastlane’s normally reserved for pumping up the products and has been an historical repository for the septegenerian sausage, Bob Lutz. This time, Rick’s taking deliberate steps to ensure that all the GM faithful know that people are working, and working hard, to put things right on GM’s own terms.

For a reputedly quiet guy, Rick’s making all the right noises and the timing isn’t a coincidence.

What’s on the table right now is a compromise of control for GM. A situation where decision making that would be subject to the good graces of several major shareholders, should Renault and Nissan join corporate raider Kirk Kerkorian in holding 10% each in The General.

Obviously the stakes are high and in terms of GM’s ongoing investment in Saab they couldn’t be higher, which is why I’d be quite pleased if Kirk would just do the honorable thing and shuffle off his mortal coil.

On the other side, the latest news reads like Carlos the Jackal is also accepting the fact that perhaps GM isn’t quite as vulnerable as Jerry York and Kirk Kerkorian led him to believe over those fillet mignon lunch meetings.

Carlos has come out and set the bar so high for an alliance to go ahead that it reads like he’s looking for an out before anything is seriously considered.


“I would consider that a deal becomes interesting if the (probable) opportunities are about 10 times the (probable) risks,” Ghosn said.

Ghosn reckons there’s a potential 3 to 5 billion in savings on purchasing if they hook up, but as I mentioned in a previous post on GM purchasing, they’re confident they can achieve that on their own.


“The questions we gave to ask are: will it improve our product offer; will it allow us to be more competitive; will it give us access to new markets; will it reduce our investment costs; and above all, will it be manageable?” Ghosn said.

Carlos, you can be quite sure that GM are asking themselves the same questions. And my guess is they’ll conclude there’s a lot more in this potential deal for Renault and Nissan (and Kirk Kerkorian) than what there is for GM.

I’ll bet my queen on it.

Washington Times: The Saab 9-3 Convertible

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Let’s start at the end for a change:


A fun-in-the-sun car for optimizing weekend cruising, a safe family hauler, a sporty hard charger for blasting through the switchbacks or elegant transportation to that special function, the 9-3 convertible provides it all in one distinctive package

Darn right.

The Saab Convertible has always been regarded as a decent car in Australia, but convertibles are much rarer here than what they might be in other markets. One of the things I’ve learned since I started this blogging thing is that the ‘Vert really has earned its stripes as a torchbearer for the Saab brand.

It’s always been well received as a classically shaped and truly practical convertible.

vertthin.jpg

This review appears in the Washington Times, where the editor should be sacked for letting through such a significant number of typos. I know I let a few sneak through here, but I’m not getting paid for this stuff.

Anyway, if you can get past the composition, the sentiment in the review portays the author’s thoughts: The Saab Convertible’s a bloody good drive.


Acceleration is determined and effortless. Even at speed, it has plenty left in reserve to sprint around slower traffic….

….Saab evidently chained its engineers to their desks in the quest for eliminating torque steer. This is the natural tendency for a front driver to pull in one direction or the other under hard acceleration. Torque steer is nearly a non-issue for the 9-3….

….While the sedan is configured for five, the convertible accommodates four. Legroom in the rear seat is tight. Up front, occupants are treated to well-bolstered seats with plenty of support. Intimate in nature, the 9-3′s cabin is sporty, yet comfortable. Gauges are large and clear….

Long live the ‘vert. I’ve really got to get a drive in that V6 Aero version.