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So, about the Saab-i newsletter thingy today.

Yes, I did know it was coming. Saab USA’s ad agency, McCann Erikson, got in touch with me around a month ago to seek permission to do it.

I think they’re going to feature a number of Saab enthusiast sites over the coming months.

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Whilst it was pleasing to report on Saab’s international site, and their Canadian site, getting an update recently, it’s been a little disturbing to peruse a few individual dealer sites and seeing 2007 models still featured there.

I’m not sure that individual dealer sites drive a lot of business, but you don’t get a second chance at a first impression, right?

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Speaking of dealers, Gripen recently clued me in on the fact that one of his prominent local dealers in LA – Saab of Sherman Oaks – is down to just one Saab salesperson.

The President of the Saab Dealer’s Council in the US, Howard Drake, is a partner in the group that owns Saab of Sherman Oaks. This was Drake back in February this year:

There’s a pricing issue, which is slowing down the brand. The euro has appreciated 30 percent against the dollar in four years or something; that’s put the business model of making something in Europe and selling it in the U.S. under a lot of pressure.

So much pressure, in fact, that SaabUSA had to raise prices recently. I wonder how secure that single salesman is feeling at the moment. I hope he goes well.

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Whilst new car sales are going slower than a wet week right now, Saab’s Certified Pre-Owned program in the US has been commended by Forbes magazine as one of the best in the industry:

This year’s top five slots for the best certified pre-owned programs are claimed by Volvo (No. 1), Saab (No. 2), Cadillac (No. 3) and Audi (No.4), with Lexus and Jaguar in a tie (No. 5).

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China are getting the Turbo X.

10 units will be sold there at a price of 639,000 yuan (around US$93,000). I hope we get a Chinese Turbo X picture in the mail soon, though traffic from China is kinda slow.

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Cambridge Saab in the UK are selling some brand new wheels on Ebay at what I’m realiably told is a pretty cheap price – around half of the new price or thereabouts.

They’re 18-inch five spokes and are probably best suited to a OG9-3 as shown in the photo. If you’ve got the appropriate model and it needs a spruce-up then this might be a good chance.

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And if you’re feeling melancholy and artistic, there’s been two collections of rusty car photos drawn to my attention recently. Both were shot in Scandinavia and both involve a limited number of Saabs.

The first is at a Norwegian site. The collection is called Langtidsparkering (long-term parking, apparently) and features only one Saab, but it’s a collection of absolutely stunning detail.

The second collection is at Flickr, is called Last Journey and is also well worth a look if you’re into that sort of thing.

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And finally, another piece of Saab art, by Andy Council. Click to enlarge and figure it out.

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