Comments

• Golfhunter said:
  

  Dear Swade , you do a lot . Think to yourself .
  Anyway , have a nice trip overthere , have fun and don’t forget that you’re lucky in a certain way to have the possibility to be in Detroit for us .
  Courage my friend !

  -January 7th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
• eggsngrits (Author) said:
  

  Golf is right — take some care.

  I will, unfortunately, be unlikely to attend. I’ll be in Dallas late this week, and I’ll board another plane to Kansas City on Sunday night for a three-day stay.

  I’m looking into flights for Saturday, but the show has sucked up most of them.

  There will be other times, I’m sure…

  -January 7th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
• eggsngrits (Author) said:
  

  When I say “attend”, I meant visit with Swade, not the show! I’m not in the inner circle like he is!

  -January 7th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
• Tom said:
  

  Please tell the SAAB executives that their customer loyalty is wearing thin.
  The next 9-5 needs to be fed to us ASAP or we will wander over to other products.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 12:38 am
• RPG said:
  

  Swade,

  See if you can rip a definitive XWD arrival date for the US out of the suits while your in Detroit! All indications point to Spring, which is an awesome time of year to launch an AWD platform (I kid!). With all the snow we have been getting in the Mid-West and Northeast portions of America, a more timely arrival of XWD would have provided an nice boost in sales!

  -January 8th, 2008 at 2:12 am
• SaabKen said:
  

  All the best with the trip and show, Swade.

  BTW, cure for jet lag …… lots of water and a couple of melatonin tablets (3mg).

  -January 8th, 2008 at 2:19 am
• robin m said:
  

  I saw a brand new Cadillac BLS in Yeovil today, not sure if it was local or just passing through but it was in a supermarket carpark.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 2:56 am
• Bernard said:
  

  Swade,

  Make sure you have a chance to take a good look at GM’s other products while you are in Detroit.

  The company’s got a lot of interesting things on the go. Some of it is good, some not so much.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 3:39 am
• John in Bismarck said:
  

  Swade, I wish I could join you in my hometown, but I can’t. I hope you have a great trip.

  A good place for lunch or dinner is the New Hellas Cafe, on the corner of Monroe and St. Antoine in Greektown (just a few blocks from the GM headquarters). I remember eating there as a kid, and try to stop back whenever I’m in Detroit.

  Detroit can be cold, damp and dreary in January, so dress appropriately!

  -January 8th, 2008 at 4:25 am
• Talonderiel said:
  

  I think the Saturn dinner would be interesting, especially if you can talk to the GM. Since both Caddy and Saturn have seen the strongest, and most resurgent, of the “revitalizations” from GM, I think picking the brain of the GM might provide some insight into what might be happening at Saab? could just be me dreaming again.

  – I apologize for the Dickens’ style grammar there… convoluted sentences are a curse. –

  Swade, enjoy the trip, and maybe another short vacation from the blog… You more than deserve it: Where else is there this much information and passion for the marque??!!!

  -January 8th, 2008 at 4:47 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  I typed everything below before I read the part where you state that you probably will only attend the Saab event, but I’m just so darned witty (and a legend in my own mind) that I couldn’t resist posting it anyway…

  I’m sure at the OnStar breakfast you’re going to be tempted to ask about OnStar compatibility with Saab Bluetooth and NAV systems, but I’d be really more interested in knowing why despite these limitations Saabs seem to be equipped with “OnStar Lite”. That is to say that much of the OnStar functionality available on other GM models isn’t offered on Saabs. Or you can just go and enjoy breakfast like a normal person would.

  Don’t tell anyone as this is a Djup Strupe tip-off: the Saab and Hummer press conference is being scheduled because of the announcement Saab is merging with Hummer.

  At the Saturn dinner try and see if you can peel off the Saturn stickers over the Opel logos on any of the literature they give you!

  At the Cadillac press conference, ask them when Saab will get the engines Cadillac has an exclusive on currently and when we can expect to buy a BLS here in the States.

  At the online media interview with the President of GM North America ask him if he supports Brian Nesbitt’s comments that all Saab owners are Commie Pinko liberal intellectuals. Then ask him which of GM’s brands is the “green” one, Chevy or Saturn? If ethanol is good enough for Chevy why the heck isn’t Saab BioPower sold in N.A.?

  Tell Rick Wagoner I don’t like his decisions. Then ask him why GM refuses to develop a diesel car engine for sale in the U.S. (or bring over the excellent TTiD). Don’t let him cop-out and tell you about truck and SUV engines.

  Does Cadillac have so much to announce that they need TWO press conferences in the same day? I’d like to see ONE Saab press conference they don’t have to hold in conjunction with their drunken cousin… That’s going to go well: we here at Saab try to “rightsize” our engines for economy. HUMMER sells big-ass vehicles that offset that Saab economy…

  Wait a minute: is there going to be a NHL league-leading Detroit Red Wings rep from the Joe Lewis Arena (”Hockeytown”) at this thing? “the Dead Things SUCK!” Taunt the guy with the #1 overall draft pick my L.A. Kings are going to get this year for being the worst team in the league. That’ll show him.

  Oh, wow. They’re going to have a GM Quality person there? I’ll just leave that one alone.

  Swade: they call that “stalking”. I sure hope you take off the kid gloves with Jan-Ake Jonsson for us Saab fans. Someone has to be held responsible and I can’t think of a better person than him for Saab’s slow to non-existent development of late.

  Seriously, avoid the burn-out. I think all of us would rather see only one or two posts a day at TS than to lose the site altogether. Take it down a notch for a while after Detroit.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 4:59 am
• Tobias said:
  

  Total salesdata:
  Saab Automobile had its second worst year since 2000. Global sales were 125 015 a decrease of 7 percent comparde to 2006.

  Dvindiling sales from Germany, Belgium, Canada, Great Britian and USA. Sa´les in Sweden picked up after the introduction of 9-3 and is down 3 percent. Sweden is once again Saab second biggest market.

  Sales were up in France, Spain and Italy.
  Jan Åke Jonsson optimistic

  “We are on pare with what we set out to achieve, we knew we would get last years record result. Orders is locking good for the upcoming year. We hope that 2008 at least will be in the same region as 2007″

  Ethanol sales is increasing in Europe and Saab is the biggest brand (!?) fot ethanol.

  Jonsson wont tell us how the state of econmy and he also claiming that there well be no change in the number of manufactored cars in Trollhättan. Not in short term.

  Sorry for bad grammar and spelling.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:07 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  Tobias: thanks for the info.

  Saab seriously needs to re-evaluate strategically where they stand (and I might advocate “shaking up” the staff). If sales were simply down in the U.S. we could point to the car industry as a whole and blame the economy. However, sales are pretty much down worldwide (sorry I’m not counting Spain, France, and Italy because I’m only looking at Saab’s biggest markets) except in Sweden, which benefits from the BioPower 9-3 sales (due to incentives gov’t gives people to use ethanol).

  I hope Jan-Ake is just feigning being optimistic, because I don’t see any “killer product” on the horizon that will bring up Saab sales substantially. Do they have bigger hopes for the 9⁴X sales than we know? Just from anecdotal evidence I only see a very small portion of current Saab owners interested in that vehicle. Hopefully it scores a lot of “conquest” sales.

  I just don’t see Saab doing much of anything sales-wise until 2010. I mean, sure there are a number of current Saab owners waiting for XWD (this Spring, four months into the sales year at least), but I can’t believe there are a whole lot of conquest sales there. XWD has been touted as being better than other AWD systems, but will that sway customers who are looking at an Audi w/ Quattro or BMW w/ AWD? Is it THAT much noticeably better to the average driver?

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:20 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  Is the domain SaabDeathWatch.com taken yet?

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:26 am
• sam said:
  

  Swade, Trollhatten Saab is my go-to place for Saab info, so my vote is for you to not burn out. If my opinion matters any . . .

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:32 am
• Ubermich said:
  

  Yes Gripen, it IS that noticeable to the average driver. Because of the handling? The power distribution? The cornering? Hell no. It is noticeable because it says on the sticker (or the rear bumper) “AWD”. Subaru (and the rest of the auto manufacturers) have made the “average driver” believe that AWD is the fairy godmother of all safety features. It’s beyond the point of being able to dispute it. Saab already tried that.

  As for you Mr. Swade, take it easy. Better for you to take small breaks (several days, a couple weeks) with no news than to kill the site altogether - or even get to a point where you loathe the site. A great community has developed here, around your work. And you are the news source for all things Saab. Also, if you need assistance, I think there are several of us who would be honored to assist in any way we can.

  As for business. Detroit. Please ask Steve Shannon, or whoever else you can, why dealers don’t have any information on - well - anything. Lines of communication have been completely ignored, and it’s turning customers off. If a salesman doesn’t even have the opportunity to be knowledgable about the car, he doesn’t have an opportunity to sell the car to a Saab customer. “Quirky” or not, Saab customers are different. They are educated, and they need to know they are receiving the most “bang-for-the-buck” in a Saab. Customers are currently waiting for XWD not because dealers are advertising it, but because they researched it on their own. Unfortunately, that means many customers don’t know how long they’re waiting. Why? Because Saab USA won’t say when dealers will start seeing them! Even if they do want to shoot themselves in the foot by releasing XWD in May or June, just in time for them to begin markdowns preparing for ‘09 vehicles, they could at LEAST let customers know what’s going on with the vehicle.
  It seems as if Saab USA thinks they’re selling to Lexus customers. I don’t understand that mentality. Steve Shannon needs to see what dealers see, feel free to suggest that as well.

  Do you remember when Steve took over at Saab USA? Remember the communication? Remember how enthusiastic we all were about Saab, even though we all abhor Buicks? Why? Because it seemed as if Steve was really going to be enthusiastic about keeping information flowing and keeping Saab in the forground. What happened to that?

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:53 am
• Joe Lobo said:
  

  Maybe some of my comments and rhetoric are not helping Swade’s mode too. Clearly the burn out is due to the lack of action and activity by Saab/GM in the horizon backing all the potential and promises. To keep the site moving by creating the motivational topics and other initiatives sourced from Swade’s skills on its own is dam tiring and exhausting. Toning it down will be the way to remove a lot of the stress. Also allow other Saab luminaries to add content is another good option to share the load as the majority rests on Swade’s shoulders. I have been a strong advocate to the work and devotion from Swade as what he’s doing to keep us all glued to the brand is invaluable and amazing. If we loose this forum so will be our motivation and loyalty as this is what keeps a lot of us going. Once this trip is over some in-depth re-evaluation is necessary.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 5:58 am
• detroitsaab93 said:
  

  “Is there a local who knows the Detroit area who could co-ordinate dinner for a few people - perhaps on Friday 11th or Saturday 12th?

  I’ll be there and I believe Greg Abbott will too. Hopefully Tedjs might still be in town and after I finish typing this I’ll email Wulf. Once again, any others are more than welcome, but we need some place to go, too.”

  Swade,
  I sent you an e-mail last week (Derek) and I am a local Detroiter. There are places we can meet at downtown to make it easier for you and the jetlag! What kinda of eatery are you up for? I am available in the evening on the 12th after I attend TigerFest (local baseball team event) with the family.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 6:12 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  Ubermich: I’ve been told that Steve Shannon has been so quiet because he’s been busy traveling around communicating with dealers. I guess he hasn’t made it to your dealer yet. It’s too bad Saab USA don’t have dealer-only teleconferences to keep the network informed.

  I think you misunderstood my question. I queried whether the average potential Saab customer would be able to tell the difference between Audi’s and BMW’s AWD systems and XWD. While I absolutely loved driving the XWD system the chance I got (at the ‘08 9³ debut in Washington, D.C.) I had no point of reference. I’d never driven an AWD car off a road before. Most buyers won’t get to test drive the XWD system in the worst conditions to see if it compares favorably to Quattro or BMW’s AWD (or Acura’s SH-AWD or Subaru’s AWD or…).

  Joe Lobo: you may have noticed that eggsngrits helps Swade out often by adding posts to TS, and Swade has also given me the honor of having the ability to do so. I’m leery about doing it due to my inability to filter what I have to say (as you can tell from my long, rambling comments). I tend to need an editor to cut my posts down to the point. I think the best way to help Swade avoid burn-out is if he makes a conscious effort to cut down to only a post or two a day for a while.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 6:46 am
• ctm said:
  

  Swade,

  Cut down on the blogging. I know you want to cover everything about Saab that’s out there, but that is just impossible. It should be a fun thing - not something that’s a burden. So go easy on yourself. Have a safe trip and enjoy your stay in the US!

  -January 8th, 2008 at 7:08 am
• ubermich said:
  

  Gripen, you’re right, I did misunderstand you. I think there is only one way your “average” driver will notice the difference - when both front wheels and one rear wheel are stuck on ice. Aside from that oddity of a situation, I think only very experienced drivers would notice the difference. I myself look forward to driving a XWD to see if I can notice the difference (on dry pavement, since we don’t get ice here - much less in June).

  As for Steve visiting dealers, I’m going to have to see if I can find more info on that.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 7:29 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  ubermich: I believe the situation you describe could happen with XWD as well unless you have the eLSD, which according to some reports (which could be erroneous) won’t be available on anything except the Turbo-X. I sure hope that isn’t the case.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 7:46 am
• NineTwoX said:
  

  IIRC, the eLSD allows torque to be transferred between the rear wheels through the use of clutches. Where-as most AWD systems depend on the brakes to transfer power.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 8:39 am
• NineTwoX said:
  

  Sorry, I missed the point I was trying to make. Most AWD vehicles with TCS use brakes to transfer power to the wheels with the most traction. So, they would be able to perform in the situation described (front wheels & 1 rear wheel on ice).

  Now, XWD shines in the fact it can set how much torque can go to the rear or front axles(up to 100% I think). For example, Subaru’s set their amount to 50/50 (aside from automatics & the STi). Acura’s SH-AWD only allows up to 70% torque to the rear wheels.

  Overall, the XWD with eLSD has the potential to perform better by getting more torque to the tire with traction.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am
• 1985 Gripen said:
  

  NineTwoX: I don’t doubt that the XWD w/ eLSD is a great AWD system, but what I wonder is if the eLSD will be available on the 9³ Aero w/ XWD. We know it’s standard on the Turbo-X, but some early pricing info we’ve seen for XWD doesn’t include pricing info for the eLSD option, which we have previously been told will be an option on top of XWD, not included.

  -January 8th, 2008 at 9:32 am
• zippy said:
  

  I am waiting for the 2009 XWD with eLSD and 2.0T (or a damned good deal on a 2008 model so-equipped) but I keep reading eLSD is only available on the TurboX. Can someone confirm this? If they wanna play with the big boys they have to include eLSD in the price, IMO!

  SAAB XWD WITH ELSD - A NEW HIGH!

  -January 8th, 2008 at 9:46 am
• Michael Becker said:
  

  Swade-

  Like many others, I go to trollhattansaab.net FIRST for any and all Saab info. I can certainly understand the feeling of getting burnt-out, but alas what will the rest of us do without you?

  Keep up the good work and take some time for yourself!

  Becker

  -January 8th, 2008 at 9:51 am
• NineTwoX said:
  

  Gripen - Have you seen this?

  http://www.haldex-xwd.com/

  If you click the XWD tab, the description reads: “…The torque can on demand be distributed between the rear and front axle as well as between left and right rear wheel.”

  No mention of eLSD in the description though. Perhaps one can be hopeful that eLSD is included with XWD?

  -January 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
• Tobias said:
  

  Couldn´t agree more,

  this site is a hobby don´t work your self tired of it.

  Enjoy your everyday lifa also. I love this site and I prefer less blogging if it lives on longer…

  -January 9th, 2008 at 2:39 am

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