My Saab wish list

Posted on October 15, 2008 by swade

So, I now have 22 minutes, my dodo email access is down so I can’t bring you Djup Strupe story and I’m using a demented keyboard.

Let’s see how many wishes I can crank out (and how accurate I can be, in typing terms)

——

I wish Saab USA would cut their prices by around 10%

I wish the TTiD was available with XWD in Europe.

I wish you could get Hirsch products in the US and in Australia (add your own non-Hirsch market here)

I wish they never had to do the 9-7x

I wish they’d hurry up and announce the 9-1 as a confirmed model

I wish Cadillac wasn’t pushed in Europe

I wish Saab was promoted more everywhere.

I wish GM realised the absolute gem they had in Saab, and that the Saab philosophy for designing cars is the philosophy of the future

I wish I worked for them. In Sweden. But only during summer. Only kidding. About the summer bit. I still wish I worked for them.

I wish I had a Sonett. And a Convertible.

I wish I could recommend a second hand Saab 9-5 to a friend with absolutely no reservations.

I wish I could get another Viggen. I can, but not for a few years.

I wish the rest of the world knew what most of us knew about owning a Saab car.

I wish they’d keep the window switches in the center console where they belong.

I wish they’d keep heated seats as standard in all markets, as they should be in a Saab.

I wish they’d offer the Hirsch leather dash as an option in all markets. It lifts the character of the car so much.

I wish I’d shaved and looked more presentable when TTELA took that photo. I’m not vain, but that’s a real shocker!

I wish I’d learn to get along with other Saab websites better. But some are run by asses. Including this one sometimes.

I wish there was more of a motorsport presence with Saab.

I wish Saab 900 gearboxes were cheaper and more available here in Oz, so you feel confident in running one in a competitive car club.

I wish I could get to a Saab owner’s gathering in every country. Every month.

I wish I could drive a Sonett. One of the original ones.

I wish I could do this for a living. When it’s good, this blogging thing is very, very good.

I wish I had my time over again and could start this blog knowing what I know now.

I wish I could start a Saab museum here in Tasmania.

I wish I could work on my own cars and know what I was doing.

I wish you’d add things to this in comments as my time is now up. Oh, and I wish I had better access at my hotel so I didn’t have to do this stuff with hour limits.

Over to you.

41 thoughts on “My Saab wish list”

Bruce on October 15, 2008 at 3:21 pm said:

I wish GM good luck in this tough time and especially with SAAB! No GM, no SAAB; like it or not.

I wish for a gotta-have-it gorgeous new 9-5 to regenerate interest in the brand overall and, for the heck of it, drive up the resale value of my Dame Edna.

I wish Swade good fun with TS!

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WillyD on October 15, 2008 at 3:27 pm said:

I wish the TurboX was wide enough to fit 3 kids in car seats in the rear. I’d buy one SportCombi, 3 little racing helmets, and a nice gift for the Mrs to (eventually) get out of the doghouse…

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jeff k on October 15, 2008 at 3:50 pm said:

All of Swade’s, plus:

I wish the TTiD was available in the USA.

I wish my 9-3 cost the same as my sister’s Honda to repair.

I wish the interiors of Saabs had less squeaks and rattles.

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MarkoA on October 15, 2008 at 3:54 pm said:

Swade,

Simply I wish your wishes would became true.

-TTiD XWD 9-3X… Doh!!

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Tobais on October 15, 2008 at 4:26 pm said:

I wish:

that production cars of the new 9-5 and 9-4 would come spring next year

that the new 9-1 or 9-3 will be ready for sale in 2 years (when it is time to change my present 9-3 ttid)

I wish Saab would stop chasing BMW, Merc and Audi and be independent. It is good to be between premium and the other cheaper cars, with the right pricing.

I wish the Aero-X and 9-X Air would make to a production cars

I wish that the coming models all have hybrid with E85m, diesel or gas

I wish that the SVC-engine still was under development

I wish that Saab did more of the really cool ads, not the one about fighter jets…

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David Henderson on October 15, 2008 at 4:57 pm said:

As much as I like my 9-7X, I do wish it was fully designed by SAAB and made in Sweden.

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ctm on October 15, 2008 at 5:07 pm said:

I wish Saab sale weren’t down 32% in Europe during September…

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Rune on October 15, 2008 at 6:41 pm said:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13199

I wish they have some bigger BioPower engines ready soon… They might come in handy!

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Rune on October 15, 2008 at 6:48 pm said:

WillyD: Surely you have one or two favorites of the three? Put the least favorite one on the floor and use some duct tape to keep him strapped safely to something. Once he gets old enough to drive, he will understand.

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wilfried on October 15, 2008 at 7:03 pm said:

I wish you keep on blogging, because you’re doing it in a brilliant way.

And stop smoking Swade. Invest your monthly cigarette budget in your Saab or future Saabs.

Wilfried, that line was quoted and adapted for this post from the Blues Brothers, one of the top 10 movies in cinema history. Full quote….. Elwood: “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses”. Jake: “Hit it”

Watch it on Youtube

(By the way, quitting smoking is the only way to be hired by Saab.
I’m sure in Swedish summer you’re not allowed to smoke in a Saab, in a Saab factory or anything Saab-related.
General Swedish Health & Environmental policies. No kidding.
In winter you’re time restricted allowed in order to heating things up.)

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Markac on October 15, 2008 at 7:12 pm said:

I wish Saab Good Luck. (GM? I think I’ve had my fill of them.)

I wish Saab never had to put their name on the 9-2x and the 9-7x and I wish
Saab didn’t think it had to make a 9-4x, especially now.

I wish that the 9-1 actually happens.

I wish the new 9-5 is an astounding success and surprises us with a hatchback version

I wish the next 9-3 doesn’t take forever to be released and I wish it’s a car that reminds us
all why we bought Saabs in the first place and it too has a hatch!

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wilfried on October 15, 2008 at 7:15 pm said:

I wish Saab co-operates with the Finnish guys from Raceabout and brings out a small uncompromised sportscar. (And yes, there is a market, look at Caterham, Lotus, KTM, and the many small ones in the Brit sportscar industry …). Would make a nice halo-car, cheaper to produce than a small Aero-X serie and broadening the interest in the Saab brand.

http://www.raceabout.fi/index2.php

http://www.raceabout.fi/index_3.html

http://www.raceabout.fi/era/

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Joe Lobo on October 15, 2008 at 7:22 pm said:

I wish Saab never dropped the ball on advertising thier strengths and go back to the Ambassador program.
I wish Saab release new models faster than to date and add another 2 full tiers
I wish the XWD full Haladex option was available accross the whole existing range
I wish their dealer network as independent outlets was fully resurected
I wish GM let Saab be what Ford has allowed Volvo to be. No comparison
I wish Saab was made the real premium brand and that GM abandonded all these other premium push in particular the Hummer. Ths thing belongs in the army not near any Saab !!!
I wish I had 2 TurboXs, my sedan and a Combi !!!!

I can’t think of anything else.

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Jeff on October 15, 2008 at 8:30 pm said:

I wish I had a Saab again.

I wish I saw Saab advertising outside of the internet, and I wish I saw internet Saab ads that were supposed to be there instead of ads that were targeted at me, because that doesn’t help much.

I wish I could convince my dad to come back to Saab from Acura.

I wish Cadillac would pull out of Europe…

…And use the money to push the Australian effort, just for the irony.

Champagne comedy there!! – SW

I wish the Turbo X wasn’t a limited model so it would be more along the lines of M’s and AMG’s, only driven by cooler people.

I wish people would stop looking at Volvo for safety and start looking at Saab.

I wish Swade had another Viggen.

I wish the automotive press would stop having such a hardon for BMW and start giving Saab a fair shake.

I wish the TTiD was available in the US.

I wish Saab would offer twin turbo systems as an option.

I wish Saab would offer a damn coupe.

I REALLY wish I had a Saab again.

I wish that Barack Obama would trade in that stupid Ford Escape Hybrid for a Saab. On a side note, he had a 300 Hemi before the Escape.

I wish Saab would rework the cupholder design and add more of them. Yes, it needs to be done, as stupid as it is.

I wish I knew how to fix cars, because I’d constantly be acquiring old ones to repair and resell so there can be more of them on the road.

I wish Saab would rework their options packages so they don’t jack up the prices of the cars.

I wish wish wish that the Chevy Cruze is a HUGE HUGE HUGE hit so GM can have a nice influx of cash.

I wish the 9-1 was coming faster.

I wish the new 9-5 was coming faster.

I wish Hirsch was available here.

I wish I had a Saab again.

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eggsngrits on October 15, 2008 at 9:20 pm said:

Good ones, all!

I wish that I could take my 900 ‘vert to the guys at my Saab shop and say, “give it back to me when it’s perfect” and walk away without a care about what it would cost.

I wish that the next Saab 9-5 would make 300 bhp with the turbo 6.

I wish that Swade could spend a little more time watching iconic American comedies and quote them more often in his blog.

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wilfried on October 15, 2008 at 10:03 pm said:

Reading trollhattansaab.net really widens my cultural horizon, certainly as I watch most movies dubbed in german or to often reading the dutch translations. Hit it.

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detroitsaab93 on October 15, 2008 at 10:37 pm said:

I wish the new 9-5 was coming sooner (and there are production photos available)!

I wish the 9-1 was actually being made.

I wish the TTiD was available in the US.

I wish Hirsch was available in every market!

I wish all of my fellow Sabbers the best of luck in all of their future endeavors…………

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99GL on October 15, 2008 at 11:46 pm said:

I wish when I finally get home and get to test drive a new 9-3 it makes me feel as excited as I did when I was nine years old and my Dad first came home in our new 900.

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Warren on October 16, 2008 at 12:59 am said:

I wish that people would stop raving over the power and smoothness of the VAG 2.0t FSI engine. Saab have had their 2.0T ecotec base biopower engine out since ’03 and it has made more power per liter and offered more efficiency that the VAG FSI since its inception. I would also like to submit that based on experience it is smoother and far better designed (timing chain vs timing belt) than the VAG unit. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the auto journo’s who continue to perpetuate this clear and utter fallacy are ignorant VAGs.

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James on October 16, 2008 at 1:06 am said:

I wish Saab would offer the TTiD with either version of XWD, in America, with a stick shift, in a 9-3 SportCombi.

and Hirsch parts.

and I could go for pricing in line with what Saabs offer. They’re great cars but they’re a bit too expensive for what you get in this country

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Mats on October 16, 2008 at 1:40 am said:

I wish that mosts Saabs are still designed and built in Trollhättan in 15 years.

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Troll96 on October 16, 2008 at 2:15 am said:

I also wish that the TTiD becomes available in the USA and Canada.

I wish Saab’s automatics got the same mileage as their stick shifters.

I wish the back seats in the 9-3 were a bit roomier.

I wish that Saab’s off-warranty service & repairs costs were lower.

I wish that Saab inspired more people to BUY and keep their cars instead of just leasing them for two years.

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Robin M on October 16, 2008 at 2:47 am said:

I wish for a bright white 9-5 estate like the white on the convertile.
I wish for the new 9-5 to come in all three body styles.
I wish Swade worked for Saab in Trollhattan too. (in a house with an annex so we can all visit)

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NJ_Nick on October 16, 2008 at 4:08 am said:

I wish GM would provide SAAB with a generous marketing budget in order to generate meaningful descriptive commercials that would reach potential buyers.

I wish that all NG SAAB -models would come with state-of-the-art transmissions/gearboxes.

Add all turbocharged direct-injection engines to the above as well.

Finally, I wish SAAB would join forces with next door neighbor Koenigsegg and realize the Aero X coupe.

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Alex on October 16, 2008 at 4:44 am said:

I wish that the Turbo X had had the power and performance to live up to it’s marketing hype and bring some desperately needed new blood to the brand

I wish the 9-2X had been a proper platform-sharing job with it’s own body and interior, if that was the case they’d probably still be selling them now.

I wish that Saab had been given the sporty sigma-based SUV while Cadillac was stuck hocking the body-on-frame escalade jr.

I wish that the NG9-5 ends up being everything that we hope it is; stunning looks, BMW handling, 350+ horsepower Aero engine, hatchback availability and all

I wish that the NG9-3 ends up being as iconic of a car as the c900 was, not to mention being available in as many body styles

I wish that Saab gets back into motorsport, a WRC campaign would be a perfect statement about the lighter, smaller NG9-3

I wish that in ~3 years or so my school expenses won’t be enough to keep me from picking up a nice CPO NG9-5 Aero

I wish that GM will let Saab get back to the forefront of turbocharging by letting them build the most powerful turbo 4 on the market, let’s see 20 psi and 150+ hp/liter out of the box

I wish that the top-down replacement of the Saab model range brings with it flex-fuel capability and direct injection as a standard feature on every gas-engined Saab

I wish that diesels come to the US market

I wish that Hirsch is allowed into more markets, and that the cash influx to them allows them to do the kinds of things that Alpina, Brabus, and the other big German tuners do.

I wish that the new Saab models change the press perception of Saab the way the CTS did for Cadillac and the G35 did for Infiniti

I wish that there’s still a market for the 9-4X when it hits dealers

I wish that the new cars are as different and distinctive as the Saabs of the 80′s and 90′s

and finally, I wish that all of these things are complimented by a widespread ad campaign that properly communicates them while properly spreading the Saab brand message to the uninitiated, getting people to step into standalone Saab dealerships who barely knew about the brand before.

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seth on October 16, 2008 at 5:13 am said:

I wish I could get a TTiD here in the USA

I wish I could find out why the front turn signal won’t work on my 2004 93 ss. (the bulb is good and it is only the front left, I just don’t get it)

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tksaab on October 16, 2008 at 5:40 am said:

I wish my wife would let me buy a classic Saab 900. I could understand her reluctance though… She’s definitely not a fan of my current ’04 9-3.

I wish Saab (or I guess in this case, GM) was a more dynamic, well-managed company that released new models as quick as the Japanese instead of its usual ‘too-little, too-late’ MO.

Also, can GM’s commercials suck any harder?? I actually enjoy Lexus, Infiniti and BMW commercials. I wish I could say the same about GM/Saab commercials.

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Gunnar on October 16, 2008 at 7:45 am said:

I wish Saab would care more for their german dealers.

I wish Saab would bring out the Saab 9-X Air soon.

I wish that Saab cars will still be developed in Europe (if it is not Sweden).

I wish Saab would offer me a DSG (double clutch gearbox?) in my next car.

I wish that everyone could feel so good like I do when I am in my 9-3 Convertible.

I wish my english would be better right at this very moment…

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mike c on October 16, 2008 at 9:49 am said:

I wish good health and good Saab driving to all.

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eggsngrits on October 16, 2008 at 10:04 am said:

Oh, and I wish that Swade wold quit smoking!

Half a pack of cigarettes…

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Tompa on October 16, 2008 at 6:46 pm said:

I wish Saab would be sold to Fiat. Yes I doo.

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wilfried on October 16, 2008 at 7:50 pm said:

Fiat, isn’t that the brand with the crappy cars & the funny ads (and reasonable diesels recently) ?

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-4789833163002811642&ei=uQz3SN7wGo2uiAKDiJ3vDg&q=fiat+palio

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Tompa on October 16, 2008 at 11:10 pm said:

Fiat is Also the company with diesels like the 1,9TiD- Base for the TTiD.
It´s also the company of Alfa, Maserati etc

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wilfried on October 17, 2008 at 12:22 am said:

I know, but Fiat still has a certain reputation …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRS2xLp_vtU&feature=related

… while the german male convertible driver seems to be a very untactful & impatient idiot.

(looks like a Saab headrest – but with a different mirror ?)

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Jeff on October 17, 2008 at 7:50 am said:

I wish SAAB owner gatherings always worked as planed

I wish SOARNY was back and running

I wish i owned a 2-stroke and a Viggen

I wish my 900 didn’t have so many problems

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Beren Erchamion on October 17, 2008 at 8:48 am said:

I wish Saab could produce a paint touch up kit that worked perfectly

I wish someone made high-quality rubber mats with the Saab logo

I wish Saab would integrate an I-pod connector into the stereo

I wish Saab would add the ability to download and update the Nav maps without having to sell a kidney to pay for it

I wish Saab would get a better sunroof control on MY08+ cars

I wish that Saab never creates another car without a spare tire included

I wish that everyone gets to own the Saab of their dreams

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aeronaut on October 17, 2008 at 10:26 am said:

I wish the Swade would post pictures of the new 9-5. Today would be nice.

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nick x on October 17, 2008 at 6:13 pm said:

I wish Saab had a 3-door coupe-roadstar, which is what most of us enthusiasts learned to love and drive (although I am very happy with my all new 9-3 SC 2.0BP! but a 3-door would just look cooler.)

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conor on October 18, 2008 at 1:22 am said:

I wish SAABUSA would loose the pointless phone controls of the steering wheel, or get bluetooth intergrated ASAP (its rediculous it isnt yet). And no, taping a bluetooth unit to the dash doesnt count.

I also wish that SAAB would release the 9-5 and 9-1 sooner rather than later, by the time they are out Saab sales will be down to nill at this pace.

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Beren Erchamion on October 18, 2008 at 8:59 am said:

Actually I’m glad there is no bluetooth…I spend my whole day on b-berries, IM, forums, etc.. I’m glad I can say to my employer: “Hey no hands free , so no calls during my 50 minutes of bliss”.

At first I thought this was a big issue with Saab, but now I’m not so eager for it.

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Anton on October 19, 2008 at 6:09 am said:

I wish SAAB people to read this blog (at least from time to time)
I wish they keep the window switches in the center console !!! and key or ignition button !
I wish 9-4x to come earlier
I wish all new SAAB models dont have “new model defects” or at least minimum of them.

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Saab Cars – Trollhattan Saab

Saab 9-1, 9-3, 9-4x, 9-5, 9-7x News

My Saab wish list

41 thoughts on “My Saab wish list”

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