I don’t know if they were running this, but here’s a 9-5 SportWagon in the SPT kit…
The SPT cars smokin it up….
Enough SPT, just imagine if you were driving around and saw this! I know I’d be doing whatever I could to get them to pull over….
Monthly Archives: September 2006
All about Sydney
I’m so mad right now…….damn teenagers!!
Anyway, today was our national football code’s Grand Final. Same teams as last year, the West Coast Eagles and the Sydney Swans. As I live with three Sydney supporters, you can guess who I had to support.
Last year we were rejoicing as the Swans hung on for a sensational victory. This year it was tears all round as the Eagles hung on in the last quarter to win the premiership by 1 point (85-84).
So that’s Sydney part1.
———
“Sydney part 2″ is just a quick note to let any readers of this site in Sydney know that I’ll be coming up your way late October for the Australian International Motor Show at Darling Harbour.
If anyone wants to hook up for a feed on Friday night, Oct 27th, drop me an email and we’ll see what can be organised.
———
Damn teenagers!
Original Saab 9-5 ad
Another one from the Google Video cache of Saabvideos.com. I hope the next generation inspires something just as beautiful.
Grumpy Old Man
Kirk Kerkorian has his own man, his No.1 guy,on the board of GM.
He’s forced GM into exploring an alliance with Renault-Nissan, a scheme that he had his #1 guy discuss with Carlos Bonaparte before he brought it up with the board of GM (which brings up issues of it’s own in terms of Jerry York’s fiduciary responsibilities).
Now that this alliance is being explored and not being seen favourably by GM, he’s threatening to kick and stamp his feet some more.
Yesterday he threatened to buy a whole bunch more shares so he can be an even bigger pain in the ass.
Today he’s screaming that he wants an independant thrid party to explore the merits of the alliance. Via email from Automotive News:
General Motors shareholder Kirk Kerkorian, frustrated with CEO Rick Wagoner’s lack of enthusiasm for an alliance with Nissan-Renault, will ask the board of directors to hire an independent committee to study the deal, says a source familiar with the situation.
GM’s board will meet Tuesday, Oct. 3. At that time, Kerkorian’s representative, Jerry York, is expected to push for third parties not connected to GM to study the benefits of the alliance. Other board members are expected to support the request, but it’s not clear how many favor an independent committee, the source says.
Kerkorian, who owns a 9.9 percent stake in GM, this week said he may buy more shares. He proposed an alliance between GM and Nissan-Renault in July. GM agreed to enter exploratory talks with Nissan-Renault for 90 days. Those talks are being led by management of all three companies.
Wagoner has repeatedly said that GM’s first priority is focusing on its turnaround plan, not an alliance. GM lost $10.6 billion last year.
The source says that the board could vote to hire the independent committee or give management more time to study the alliance.
The source says that board members favoring an independent committee will likely argue it is needed, in part, to protect GM from potential shareholder lawsuits for ignoring their fiduciary responsibility.
I think he needs an enema.
US 9-2x clearout
As a service to those that might be interested, I spotted this on a forum called Slickdeals. This guy’s just snatched a 9-2x Linear 2.5 automatic for what seems to be a pretty sweet price. The word is that dealers are shifting heaven and earth to get them out the doors to make way for MY2007 vehicles – not 9-2x’s obviously.
Just picked up the Saab 9-2xi for $17,500 + tax, tag, and title. It’s an automatic with options (power sunroof & cold weather package). MSRP was $26,790. They’re clearing these cars out like hotcakes…..Since this car is no longer in production (only a limited number were produced in 2005 & 2006 only) and 2007 cars are starting to arrive on the lots, they need to get rid of these fast, so they dropped the price. Since GM is offering a $5000 rebate through 10/2, it gets another price drop. The one I purchased stickered for $26,790 then reduced to $24,990, then $19,990 after rebate. This is before I showed up and haggled.
There’s no Aeros left, but if you’re after a smallish reliable AWD wagon with a substandard interior (OK, I’m kidding – sort of) then this is your bargain opportunity.
More consumer opinion stuff….
Earlier today I covered an article by a website called ConsumerAffairs.com. The article was totally critical of Saab’s quality and service, and this criticism was based solely on their collection of just fourteen (14) complaint letters received over a period of six years.
Yes, Saab do have some quality issues and their US dealer service network does need to improve, but this was a total beatup based on a rediculously small sample, some of which included driver/owner error. It’s fair to say that ConsumerAffairs.com’s story represents a very small sample of the North American experience.
To bring an alternative point of view, Olav has emailed me some charts from “The Loyalty Group”, who conduct customer satisfaction surveys with the co-operation of groups from Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The following charts are from 2003-2006 and measure satisfaction with the vehicles and the service received.
Original entries are in strange foreign languages that I can’t translate (and Olav didn’t have time to translate as he’s a hard working man), but you’ll get the picture. The line that they’re either above or below in the first three graphs is the average, as is the dotted line in the fourth one.
2003:
2004:
2005:
2006:
Friday Snippets
The other day I mentioned that Autoblog Green was doing an overview piece on “green” fuels. At that time they covered E85 (and the Saab Biopower, specifically) as well as Compressed Natural Gas.
Today they take on Biodiesel, Straight Vegetable Oil and Electricity.
They rate electricity as their #1 choice, which should be no surprise as it’s a car blog with an environmental perspective.
Me? I’d probably go for E85, though not for the promote-Saab reasons you’re thinking.
I love driving, I’m less of an environmentalist than most ABG readers and I’m fortunate enough to not have to worry too much about the fuel economy of a thirsty Saab (a thirsty V8 SUV would be another matter all together). I love acceleration and I love the sound of a car. The feel. They may build an electric car one day with heaps of torque and a decent range, but what are they going to do to recreate the sound and feel that a passionate motorist is used to?
For me then, it’s about performance. Out of these “green” fuels, E85 gives the best performance because of the high octane rating and Saab’s turbocharging and engine tuning.
Call me selfish.
———
ConsumerAffairs.com deals with, surprise surprise, consumer affairs.
It’s not a website I’m familiar with and I’m not sure of it’s reputation. But I don’t like what I see so far.
This story is a narration of complaints they’ve received from Saab owners. The story weaves it’s way around seven different people and their complaints about their cars and the service they say they’ve received from their local dealers. They have another section that reproduces those seven letters as well as seven others: click here.
We all know that Saab have had some quality problems and haven’t rated well in recent surveys (mostly pointed at MY2003 vehicles). I don’t want to minimise that issue as it’s an ongoing issue that they genuinely need to address in order to be competitive.
What concerns me though, is that this may be considered a reputable consumer website and actually influence people’s purchasing decisions.
1) They must have been bored at the office. They’ve based this entire damning tome about Saab’s quality on fourteen complaint letters they received over a period of six years!!!!
2) Two of these fourteen letters give very strong indications of driver error and in another a woman is complaining that she paid for a $700 repair that started as a $150 repair but got more expensive as more potential problems were found. The increased cost, from her own writing, seemed to be an exercise in preventative maintenance.
3) There’s no attempt from Consumer Affairs dot com to seek an answer from Saab
4) There’s no indication of these complainants service records
Like I said, I don’t want to minimise the need for better quality control at Saab. A good dose of customer service wouldn’t go astray either.
But this is shoddy journalism at it’s finest. I hope this isn’t a widely read site.
Svenska Köttbullar
A little something from the Trollhattan Saab kitchen.
Also, a gentle reminder to those hardworking Saab designers, Anthony Lo, Alex Daniel and others, working their butts off in *ahem* Russelsheim that good, honest Saab design has always included some ‘balls’.
Enjoy!
