Monthly Archives: April 2008

GM posts huge loss in Q1 2008

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Don’t point your browser towards The Truth About Cars today as it’s likely that Robert Farago’s saliva will end up dripping out of your monitor and all over your desk. It’s just my opinion, but I’m pretty sure the recession in the US is like a godsend to him.

General Motors just posted a huge loss for the first quarter in 2008. In typical GM fashion, the press release accentuated the positive:

    * First quarter revenue of $42.7 billion
    * Positive adjusted automotive earnings before tax, with improvement of over $160 million
    * Positive reported automotive earnings before tax, down by $118 million
    * Adjusted net loss of $350 million, reported net loss of $3.3 billion
    * Continued strong results in emerging markets
    * Liquidity position of $23.9 billion

Don’t you love the way they slot that 3.3 billion dollar loss in the middle of all that positivity? The elephant in the corner of the room.

Automotive News tell it a little straighter:

General Motors said today it posted a net loss of $3.25 billion during the first quarter — the bulk of the red ink coming from one-time charges for its troubled GMAC investment and for continuing problems at supplier Delphi Corp.

GM also said it lost about $800 million in the quarter because of costs stemming from the UAW’s two-month-long strike at supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc…..

….GM said during the quarter it took a $1.45 billion impairment charge for its 49 percent stake in troubled financier GMAC. It also took a $731 million non-cash charge for estimated costs of supporting Delphi’s ongoing bankruptcy restructuring.

GMAC was once the unstoppable cash cow for GM but in a climate where there’s recession looming and a global credit squeeze, financiers are finding things a lot tougher.

GM say they’re still in good financial shape with decent liquidity and strong performances in places not named the United States. Many of the costs were related to things outside the core business of making cars and should be able to be resolved.

They ought to get things resolved pretty darn quickly, though, as the core business in the US is heading downhill fast and may soon join the non-core business in providing some real trouble for GM. Fuel prices are only going up and GM’s big margin vehicles, the SUV fleet, are about as popular as the guy who did a smelly in the elevator.

The time for big displacement is over. The time for smart engineering is now.

Let Saab run.

More custom badges!

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Ivan’s still working hard on the custom badges I mentioned on the site yesterday.

The latest piece of handiwork is a griffin prototype, though he and I both agree that the tongue needs to be metallised rather than black as it’ll get lost on a darker colored car.

Remember, if you’ve got any ideas for customised badges, and the sky really is the limit here, then email Ivan at saabdesignshop@gmail.com to discuss your design.

Badges of this size (see the elk below with hand for reference) will most likely work out to be only around 5 or 6 Euro each plus shipping, which is quite inexpensive.

A little more Saab-Mavic

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It’s not the first time we’ve seen these vehicles, but I thought these new shots were worth a look given they’re so nice and clear.

They were sent in by John C, who spotted the Mavic Saabs recently at the Tour de Georgia in the United States. These cars are cerntainly eye catching and the SportCombi profile combned with the 2008 front end make for a very noticeable vehicle.

Mavic Saab

As I understand it, these vehicles aren’t ties to a particular racing team. The Mavic vehicles are support vehicles for all teams, providing technical assistance as required. Mavic have been doing this in various places around the world since the early 1970′s, though the company dates back to the late 1800′s.

The technicians in the yellow cars are there to aid all the competitors in a road race, regardless of bicycle brand being used, their nationality or position in the race. They intervene directly and quickly with the champions in the event of a flat or mechanical problem in order to get them back in the race again as rapidly as possible.

Mavic Saab

You might be wondering where the Saab connection comes in. Are we looking at these vehicles purely because the Saabs were the cheapest ones for them to lease? Well, not quite.

Mavic are based in France and today the company is owned by Salomon, with whom Saab has a long-standing relationship. There’s a range of Saab Salomon stuff, as well as a Saab-Salomon adventure race team, ski sposorshops and all sorts of stuff.

Now you can add the Mavic support vehicles to that list!

Click here to visit the Saab Salomon website. It’s worth it just for the start video!

Owning a Saab Turbo X – part 1

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My appeal for some Turbo X ownership stories last night resulted in a couple of responses, which I’ll share with you over the next few days.

The first response came in from David R. We followed his purchase and delivery story here and now it’s time for the initial thoughts after a few weeks with it in the driveway. David purchased a Turbo X SportCombi, which is somewhere north of being his 20th new Saab over the years.

David probably won’t like me mentioning this, but he took time out on his birthday to write it – so thanks very much, and Happy Birthday!!!

:-)

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I think we Saab owners have something in common with motorcyclists, in that we are always looking at the dampness of the road, manhole covers, white lines, etc before we think of applying all that power.

I once had a test drive in a four wheel drive Audi S6 (if memory serves me correct) and it was truly an eye opener when I realised I could just floor the accelerator from a standing start, and not bother too much about whether the road was damp, or if there were leaves/mud/whatever on the road – all the things that subconsciously went through my mind as the driver of a reasonably powerful Saab. To me, all wheel drive definitely made a difference.

Despite this test drive, for whatever reason, my next car was still a Saab (a 9000 Aero) and the next one (another 9000 Aero) was tuned straight from the factory by Abbott’s for a bit of extra beef. Even I’m not immune from the idea of power for power’s sake.

Saab Turbo XWith all that in mind, on to the Turbo X – which has the power and grip to use it.

The road holding of the new car is phenomenal. I have not yet reached the limits of adhesion and whilst it is tempting (a bit too tempting sometimes) to try and find out what those limits really are, I hope I never will. There is talk of a track day (for UK owners at least) taking place in Spain very soon. Perhaps that’s where we’ll all find those elusive limits, though I’d prefer if the car I am in is being driven by someone with more skill than me.

The power is fantastic, even more so in view of the above. It might ‘only’ have 280 BHP, and not 300, 350 or whatever, but at least, for probably the first time recently in a new Saab, you can use all that power.

The sound it makes also is similarly impressive. Part of the ‘joy of ownership’ of a 900 turbo used to be in the pleasure of listening to the exhaust note. Whilst a completely different sound, it brings back memories of how a car should sound. Saab seems to have been particularly poor in this regard recently. Something that other car manufacturers, notably Japanese, have not ignored.

Downsides: my previous car was a 9-5 and I do find the ride of this 9-3 inferior. Whether the ride is inferior because it is a 9-3, whether it is because of the 19” wheels, or for whatever reason I do not know. Unfortunately, having never previously owned a 9-3, I am not really qualified to judge. But the 9-5 does seem to take some beating in this department.

No real complaints there, though. I didn’t buy the Turbo X for its ride quality :-)

There seems to have been some criticism of the quality of the interior of 9-3s in general. In my case, this has been hopefully overcome by the addition of all the available Hirsch trim parts- door handles, handbrake cover, pedals and ‘carbon fibre’ leather dash. An expensive solution but in my eyes worth it. Gives a ‘special’ look to the interior of a ‘special’ car.

In short, it’s a great car.

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Again, my thanks to David for sharing his initial thoughts about his new Turbo X.

I’m sure we’ll hear a little more in due course, though hopefully there’s no immediate news about the limits of adhesion!

That would be David’s TX SportCombi on the right. Great plates!

Black Turbos

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Car Design News cover the Saab 9-X BioHybrid

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I’ve been waiting for this one for almost 2 months now! It seems CDN take their time when they cover a new concept.

Car Design News is one of the leading meeting places for car designers. They get some big opinion makers in there and consequently, it’s always interesting to see what they’ve got to say.

Unfortunately the review is for subscribers only and I’m not one of them. But I know a couple of people who are and I’m sure someone will pass the story on in due course.

The byline is encouraging – meet Aero-X’s little brother – and given that the car won the same Best in Show award as it’s big brother it will be quite interesting to read the thoughts of the CDN reviewer.

Stay tuned.

Wednesday Snippets

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It seems the first Turbo X delivery for the German market has take place, with the owner picking up and driving the car from Trollhattan in order to get it straight away.

Of course, it’s not the first Turbo X to make the trip from Trollhattan to Germany. The first car to do so was a US spec Turbo X that we covered here a few weeks ago.

But it’s good to see Saab Germany giving some prominence to the Turbo X’s arrival. It’s a sign of the belief that they have in XWD being a real difference maker for Saab.

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Can I suggest that anyone in the US who attended the Springtime in Sweden car show in memory of the Crisman brothers visit this blog and leave a comment as to how much you enjoyed the show this year.

I have a feeling that you’ll make the bloggers day, quite possibly her month. It’s Mrs Crisman.

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Saab GB have released a new microsite for the Saab 9-3 BioPower Convertible.

After the convertible scoots down the snowy slope it’s the usual set of facts and figures presented in the usual classy manner.

Worth a look for you convertible afficionados.

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My wife had a minor accident in our Saab 9000 last week. A little bit of front end damage was done.

I’ve just received the quote for the repairs to the car and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re hunting for a replacement car soon. The quote came in at an unexpectedly high $3,300 and I’m pretty sure the market value would only be around $4,000. Ay Carumba!!

Maybe a 9000 Aero to replace it?

Saab Australia – pricing of Turbo X is now officially official

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We got word about this a few weeks ago (thanks Djup Strupe!) but it’s always nice to have it confirmed.

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Limited Edition Saab Turbo X Ready For Take Off

Saab Australia has announced pricing for the eagerly awaited all-wheel-drive limited edition performance Saab Turbo X.

Only 30 Turbo X vehicles will be released to customers in Australia and New Zealand, with 25 Sport Sedan and five SportCombi models arriving between June and September this year.

Turbo X is the first vehicle to offer the state of the art all-wheel-drive system, XWD (cross wheel drive), and is mated to Saab’s award winning 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 engine.

Pricing

The ultimate Saab performance machine, Turbo X is now on sale in Australia, prices listed below are recommended retail price excluding dealer delivery and government charges:

Sport Sedan 2.8TV6
206kW/400Nm
Manual – $88,800
Automatic – $91,300

SportCombi 2.8TV6
206kW/400Nm
Manual – $91,300
Automatic – $93,800

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Orders are being taken now. A class of 30 for Australia and NZ isn’t too bad, really, given the limited nature of the model.

I know of two people who are keen and another two who I’m sure will be interested.

If they’re being delivered in June then there must be a local drive event coming up soon. Must try and book myself a spot on that one…….

Yet another pink Saab

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I think it’s a little more than coincidental that many of the pink Saabs we’re seeing are convertibles. The ladies like their drop-tops.

This one was spotted by Dan S recently. It’s a better job than most, though it’s still pink.

Click here, here and here for just a few of the previous pink editions.

Pink Saab

Pink Saab

There’s got to be a rule somewhere against this, hasn’t there?