I’m not allowed to write about the Alfa here, so I won’t tell you about the new exhaust, or the new induction kit, or the chip that’s arrived but isn’t fitted yet, or the fact that it’s been a blast so far and hasn’t broken down once!
If you’d like to see some Alfa’s having a blast and having the occasional problem, then I can highly recommend Top Gear’s Alfa Romeo Challenge on YouTube (watch it before it gets pulled!!)
Thanks Robin C.
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You might remember the problems that Saab had in the North American market with some Turbo X’s arriving without the factory installed SatNav. There were a number of disappointed customers and the treatment they received, initially, was less than ideal.
I’m pleased to say that Saab have offered them a $500 rebate through their dealers on the purchase of an aftermarket unit. You buy the unit, take the receipt to your dealer and you can collect up to $500 to cover the purchase price.
I heard all this from David M, who’s X now has around 1200 miles on it an is getting between 20 and 25 mpg. He’s absolutely loving it and will hopefully send in some photos soon. He’s got another very nice Saab in the family and the family portrait should be quite a sight 
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Another Turbo X owner has had his purchase story documented in his local newspaper:
Jacoby ordered the car in December 2007. In May 2008, he walked into Saab of Baltimore to take delivery.
“I couldn’t keep my composure. I had a grin on my face. Just a grin,” said Jacoby upon seeing the vehicle.
Awesome. I’d really love to buy a new car one day. Especially a first release like this. What an opportunity.
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GM Europe have written a little piece in their social media newsroom about the 2009 Saab 9-3, confirming the spread of XWD and the widening of the Aero specification as well.
Check it out, baby!
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Rick Wagoner denies speculation about bankruptcy or brand closures.
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Here’s a great chart clearing up any confusion about the price of fuel. It’s from the LA Times and was sent through by our own Los Guardian Angelis, 1985Gripen.
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Wow. I’m glad we “officially” have the highest fuel-prices in the world! Actually kind of strange seeing how cheap fuel is in many other countries, but in all fairness, I guess we have a slightly higher average income, so it evens out a bit…
I just wish Saabs of today were more fuel efficient, I can’t get below 1.1 l/100km on regular (short-distance) driving the way I drive, wheter it’s the 9000 2.0i, or the 2,0t automatic.
Sweden is not in the chart, but it´s about the same as in Ireland. Norway has a higher price/litre than Sweden but at the same time the NOK is stronger than the SEK and they make a wogonload more bucks/month.. BUT.. At the same time roadtax etc is much higher than in Sweden.. So it evens out i guess.
The chart is fantastic.. Now hopefully american consumers can be a bit more humble to us europeans?? Don´t get me wrong. I LOVE the US and the american way, but sometimes the fence seems to be a bit high to look over..
Would be interesting to see the same chart converted into what a 9-3SC Aero XWD cost around the world… Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands would be the most expensive countries, but thats due to an enormous VAT in those fine countries.
Cheers/Tompa
Interesting that Norway, an oil-rich country, still has very high gasoline prices.
I’ll say it again: A part of this oil pricing issue is exchange rate mathematics. Once the credit issues subside in the US, this chart will be different. Said in a different way, if you did this chart in Euros rather than dollars, it would look a little different.
Venezuela. What a stinkin’ banana republic. $0.12 per gallon. Because Chavez stole a couple of refineries. Oy.
eggs,
Norway is a very rich country and a modern society were the wealth is spread among the population, and as such they need to tax thing highly to avoid a crazy inflation in the economy.
Maybe I missed something, but isn’t the Nav system like a $1000 option? So they’re getting half of that back?
Or is the nav system bundled with a bunch of other ‘extras’ that still made it into the car?
ctm: I assumed that it had something to do with centralized control, thanks for the info.
$500 is no where near enough of a ‘rebate’ for customers buying Saab’s top model. I would be demanding a lot more than that . Just another example of why Saab isnt doing so well.
$500 bucks sounds pretty good to me if they are installing the original unit in the car and it looks just like it came as original equipment. The Nav unit is really nice – one of the best I’ve used.
With about 4500 miles on my Turbo-X I’m just as happy as the day I picked it up.
eggs,
It’s a weird situation. They have so much money but they can’t just spend it. I guess our Norwegian regulars here at TS can confirm that. You can also look at some measurements on their economy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita
On the gasprices: it would be interesting to see a chart where the gasprices would be shown as the number of seconds joe sixpack has to work for a liter/gallon of gas.
watch the video on Alfas at 1:36. Oh, THAT must be why its on this Saab forum!!! haha
ctm: I was aware of their wealth in Norway through various things I’d heard, I just wouldn’t have guessed gasoline would be the highest. Odd.
Also, I would have guessed Norway to be number one on the list, but it appears that Luxembourg outstrips them a little. Having visited Luxembourg, I wouldn’t have guessed it to be in that position — their relative standard of living is much like the remainder of Europe or even the US. Again, currencies are alway changing in value and that doesn’t always translate into different living conditions in the country.