Monthly Archives: January 2007

So many Saab Clubs!

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After adding a few more Saab Clubs to the list last week I received a bunch more emails from Saabers around the world who wanted to add their Saab club as well.

There’s Saab Clubs everywhere! It’s a wonder I’m not tripping over one every morning as I walk to work.

The new additions for this week:

Saab Turbo Club of Norway

Saab 96 Club (Netherlands)

Finnish Saab Club

Hungarian Saab 900 Club

Hungarian 9-3 and 9-5 Club

Welcome to the list. If you’re club’s not listed, then please feel free to drop me a line and let me know about it.

Some more NG900 lovin’

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It’s been freaking busy around these parts with all the 2008 stuff going on. I haven’t had the time to post some more 900/9-3 love photos, which is going to change right now.

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This is Erek’s NG900 and of it, he writes the following:


These pictures are not of the quality suitable for publishing on your website…..

Are you kidding, that’s a great shot! I left two others out as they’re reasonably similar, but that’s one great looking NG900 if you ask me.


They were taken late summer 2006 in my parents back yard after I washed the car. As you can see, there is debris and what not laying around, but the car just looked so good that I couldn’t resist. I would prefer to own a viggen, but this car was as close to that that this college student could afford. You know, some day…

The vehicle is stock (except for the wheels, I guess, but they were the ones on it when I purchased the car) and it is probably the nicest one in the entire world. It is far from flawless at 116K miles, with a few small rust spots beginning to appear as well as about a million paint chips in the hood, but 9 out of 10 people think the car is brand new. There is definitely something about these saab models. They are pretty much timeless.

It’s certainly a shape that I’ve come to appreciate more and more in the last 18 months. I’ve seen some plain looking NG900s in my time, but in three-door style and with some nice rims, they really do look great.

Thanks Erek for sending in the shots and spreading some NG900 love.

The Top 9 – First Edition

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OK, this is a new element here at Trollhattan. Let’s run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes.

It’s an idea sent in by new dad, NG900 owner and all round top bloke, PT.

Anyone seen the Late Show with David Letterman? (that’s a rhetorical question for US readers) On that show, Letterman has a Top 10 list every night, which is usually quite funny.

Daily status isn’t something I think we could ever aspire to here, but funny in a Saab kind of way is a distinct possibility, regardless of how often they get produced.

So, in that spirit, here’s the first Trollhattan Saab Top 9.

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Top 9 reasons to still drive a C900 turbo hatch.

9. It’s beyond fashion.
8. You can put a motorcycle in it.
7. It’s officially a classic car.
6. Your accountant will respect you
5. It will cost less than a watch advertised in any of the weekend newspaper magazines.
4. After 250,000 kms it’s only just starting to feel run-in
3. You can still get the parts
2. It makes BMWs from the era look frumpy
1. It’ll cost you around 1.5% of a Porsche GT3.

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Love it.

Thanks to PT for the idea, and for the first Top 9.

If you’ve got a Top 9 topic to suggest, or even a Top 9 list to submit, then feel free to shoot me an email.

Just quietly….

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Observant visitors to this site may have noted that a comment was removed this morning.

I did this after consultation with Saab as the comment contained internal information that was intended for the recipients’ eyes only. Whilst I love receiving such stuff via email as it gives me a sound basis for writing articles for this site, I do try and treat such information with the required sensitivity (believe it or not).

I won’t repeat the content of that comment explicitly, but given that some people did get to read it and that it will quite possibly pop up in other forums soon, what I can do is encourage all visitors and readers of this site to keep your eye on the 9-3 SS MY2008 category.

It tells the truth.

Hirsch News

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Hirsch Performance AG, the Saab-approved performance parts suppliers and tuners, have announced some new products for 2007.

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Some diesel vehicles may need to be checked for particulate filter problems. There is a known issue where the self-cleaning particulate filter may not self-clean properly if only driven for short distances. The filter may become clogged and less effective.

This is for vehicles both with and without a Hirsch Performance upgrade.

Hirsch-quipped vehicle owners can get a software tweak for this that should address the problem. Owners should get in touch with their Hirsch contacts to get the fix.

I’d imagine non-Hirsch owners of affected vehilces should contact their dealers.

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Hirsch have released a software upgrade for owners of 8v diesel Saabs.

The upgrade will improve the performance of the 8v diesel to 140hp and 310Nm, up 12% from the old measures (120hp and 280Nm).

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The 16v TiD engine changed late in 2006 and Hirsch have programmed a software tweak for this engine too.

Maximum figures rise 12% to 175hp and 370Nm and the 0-100 sprint is now 2.2 seconds quicker at 8.8 seconds.

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MY07 upgrades for both the Saab 9-5 (2.3T) and Saab 9-3 (2.0T) have now been confirmed and are available with the same final figures as the MY06 upgrades.

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For more details, visit the Hirsch Performance AG website.

AM&S – where’s the love?

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There was a time not so long ago (up to an hour or so ago, in fact) where the normal course of events would be that I’d hear about an article in Auto Motor and Sport, scramble to get a translation, either via software or a gracious Swede willing to help, and then report their article on this website.

Now, it seems the reverse is happening and they’re getting their Saab articles from Trollhattan Saab.

The article reproduced below (AMS original found here) is a Swedish version of the MY2008 9-3 mumblings article I published earlier today.

The only problem is, when I quote from AMS I give them a link in order to properly attribute the source. I don’t see no reciprocal linkage here. As Kramer once said so eloquently – “manners are the glue of good society”.

And ctm, who provide the initial translation for me, should be sending them an invoice at whatever the going rate is per word for articles in the Swedish press.

So good morning to AMS, good morning to Jay, Jonathon and maybe even Jan-Ake.

And of course, good morning to you!

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Saab getting great coverage in Oz

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Here’s a photo of

a) some floorboards

b) a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

c) the motoring guide

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I guess the correct answer will depend on your priorities.

The important bit for this website is the newspaper. What you’re looking at there is the front page of ‘Carsguide’, the motoring section of the Murdoch Press here in Australia. And right there in full color is the Saab BioPower 9-5.

Saab held their press launches for the BioPower and Diesel ranges in Brisbane two weeks ago. I’ve done a number of videos from the event, with one still to go.

The good news is that Saab have been well-covered in the news services here, and it’s not just comprehensive coverage, it’s good quality, positive coverage.

Ethanol is a pretty much a totally new concept here in Australia and there’s been a number of scare stories passed around about it. The great thing that Saab have done with this media campaign is de-mistify E85 for Australian journalists.

Those of you that know about BioPower and E85 in general should count yourselves a step ahead of the mainstream. I was present at one of the BioPower media days in Brisbane and witnessed the motoring press getting schooled as to how the whole system worked, what the benefits of ethanol were in terms of performance and emissions. The sum total of E85 knowledge amongst the media present in the room was really quite rudimentary.

So this is leadership. Seeing the gap. Seeing the chance to advance the market and taking the lead.

So far, I’ve heard Saab say that they’ll gauge reactions and consider the introduction of BioPower from later this year. Some of these sites are claiing that Australian customers can order BioPower right now. That’s something I’ll need to check out. There will be a premium on the vehicle in the order of $1,000 to $1,500.

I’m still hoping that the minimal cost of conversion to BioPower could be absorbed by Saab Oz and they take the next step to make all 9-5s sold in Australia E85 compatible. It’d be a fitting extension to the commitments made by Saab’s already in 2007, having brought the diesel lineup and made the decision to provide a carbon offset for every car sold in 2007.

The CarsGuide story on BioPower is located here.

In addition, there’s this coverage at Carpoint, another major online source here in Australia.

And finally GoAuto provide some pretty good Diesel coverage as well as another comprehensive intro to BioPower.