I’ve got two polls here for you today.
First of all…..
The other day I was driving along and in the lane next to me, and about two cars ahead, was a black Saab 9-3. It was a 2008 model and for the very first time, I looked at the tail lamps and my initial thought was something other than instant love. It didn’t make me cringe or anything like that, but there was a hesitation there. A pause whilst I wondered to myself if they really did look OK.
When I first saw these tail lamps on the 9-3, I really did love them. And I thought they looked especially good on black cars, but the other day I was left feeling a little bit at sea about them.
Looking at them here on the snow silver model, I still really like them, but I can’t shake that feeling I had the other day.
The older tail lamps look a bit more generic, but generic isn’t necessarily bad. And I’ve never had to do a double-take when I see them.
So, your first poll today is on Saab 9-3 tail lamps. Old vs New. Have your say.
n
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The second poll today is actually about this website.
The current site template has been in use for a few months now and I set it up this way because I wanted something a bit more professional looking, a more interesting and engaging layout. I think the new template does provide that, but it’s not without some penalty.
There are some bugs in the system, like when the site will close for some IE users if there’s a Youtube video in the post. And the way the letter “n” appears around the poll. I have no idea about that one.
I like the thought of having the feature article at the top, but the reality of having to find a feature article every week or so (on top of all the other posts) is getting quite tiring.
And then there’s the question, plain and simple, as to whether people like it or not. I like the front page with it’s article excerpts and the drop-down menus, but I know some people liked the old front page where you could see a number of articles in full straight away.
Here’s the old one. You can have a fuller look at the wayback machine.
And here’s the current front page:
So have you’re say. Just dig your past the buggy “n” there and vote away.
n
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#1: Sorry, but I’ve never liked the new lights.
#2: Your current site looks very professional.
There’s a continuing trend to do away with coloured plastic on tail lights (and front indicators). First we lost amber and now we’ve lost red, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. Often tail lights just end up looking like a big set of reversing lights.
Love the new taillights…gives it a classy, modern look, without being ostentatious. I like the new layout of the site, although I didn’t at first, I’ve grown accustomed to it. The important thing is that we get our information!
Rock on, Swade!
1. The new tail lamps, they stand out.
2. Frankly, do it all from scratch.
I like the white colour of the new lights, but the black “stripes” inside have something Japanese in my eyes. Looks more like Mazda 6 than Saab 9-3 for me, but just the Sedan, the Combi is individual. I think they could have done more with those lights…
When I first saw the new tail lights on pics I thought they looked cool. But as soon as I started to see them in the wild last autumn on cars with different color, in different daylight, and so on… Then no, it’s not working at all. There are new 9-3s at the parking lots at my work every day and I often think that they actually looks like a cheap third-party mods. Other brands (Honda and/or Nissan I think?) also have models with clear tail lights, and they look much better. I don’t know if it is because the Saab ones are of a less clear glass. Or maybe it’s because of the thick black borders… I also find it somewhat amusing that of the two Saab models available in most part of the world, one has all red tail lights and the other all white tail lights. Talk about common design language and brand recognition…
About the site… I have gotten used to the new layout. It sure has the more professional look that I know you were after. But the old one was more true “Trollhattan Saab” to me. More true “blog” and down to earth. I also miss the sidebar with the recent postings in order. Often when I check the site in the morning, there could be a few new posts. I then read the new ones in order, beginning with the oldest in case a newer post builds on an older one. In the current layout, I then have to go back to them main page after every post to find the next in order or open every post in a new tab. That’s because the sidebar no longer has “the list” of most recent postings, but rather two list of “More from this category” and “More from this author”. I would love to have just a list of the most recent postings instead.
The new lights looks okay, but I can not say that I like the black stripe… Make them something like the 9-3 combi, I like the frost white look of them
About the website. It looks ok, simple design. However there is some “bugs”, the n-bug is there (running safari), and on short articles the comments starts after the ads on the right is over, so some unnecessary scrolling occur. But it is the content that matters
Kroum, because I have a rough idea of what you do for a living, you’re breaking my heart here.
1. love the clear lenses – just can’t get used to the mascara
2. love the new website, but hate that I can’t move from one post to the next without going back to Home – I know, ‘quit your whining….’
The current clear lights look very “rice rocket” to me. Teenagers swapped out their Honda & Toyota lights when Lexus put them on the RX300 (?) crossover. I think SAAB designers should not take their cue from teenage boys or gettoized cars. I would go so far as to say I would not replace my 2007 SAAB SportCombi Aero if the 2010 SAAB 9-5 goes to the clear lense. SAABs are suppose to be unique and if nothing else, these lights are so ’90s.
The old taillights, while a bit generic worked really well with the gray rub strips and gave the back end of the car a really dignified European look, especially on the Aero’s. The new taillights on the other hand look needlessly flashy and downright ricey sometimes. It would be one thing if they were all clear because they were modern LED taillights like some of the Japanese cars today, but they’re basically the same old moulding that the old ones were, just in a flashier color.
I also wish they’d kept the gray moulding on the 08′s, they really look downright naked and almost japanese in alot of the lighter colors. Say what you will about the boring front end on the old SS, but at least the car looked totally european.
As to the site, I like the current layout more, but I preferred the look and graphics of the old site, so keep the format, tweak the graphics a bit.
I voted for the new lights and the old site.
I seem to be outgunned on both points :p
Go your own road Jeff! Except it’s the same as mine in this case.
Im still on the fence about the lights.. I am debating if I should buy the ’08 lights to replace mine with.. I have a red Aero like in the pic…so if anything the black strips on the car will complement the “eyeshadow” of the new tail lights…
Indifferent about the design of the TS… Its only the content I worry about !!! Thanks for the hard work Swade!
I don’t like the most recent 9-3 re-style AT ALL. I think the car looks MORE generic than the older version, and the design less confident. The front end treatment gives the car a more pronounced beak and is just trying too hard to be trendy. I like certain aspects of it, but the design as a whole is just too busy. The return of the wrap around cornering lights was great, but overall I don’t think the restyling was a success. From the side, the car looks more generic than before and even less like a Saab, and the new hood design only serves to add more visual clutter to the profile. As for the tail lights…..they look like they’ve been masked off with black electrical tape. Sometimes change just for the sake of it is not a good thing!
I agree that the black lines are the problem for the new lights. It makes the lights look smaller.
I say make red an option. Porsche actually has ALL red as an option as opposed to red with the clear accents. The clear looks better on black I think, but it is definitely subjective. Red looks good on red. And any other colors, I guess it depends on the mood I;m in, the scenery, and the trim on the car.
I’m not liking the black lines. I wasn’t sure why until I saw a Chevy Tahoe with them which instantly made them seem tacky and cheap.
I like the new site, but in all honesty I come in exclusively through RSS, so I never ever see the front page. Others may report similar sentiments.
Red lights as an option… Now that is a great idea! How expensive would that be GM? Options are a good thing. I would love to see a new 9-3 with red tail lights!
I prefer the old lights, they look less cluttered. Speaking of which, I like a website that is easy to navigate, and to hell with the fancy stuff. A simple index down the side suits me better than being confronted by a busy page with no seeming logical order to it. I appreciate the work you do here, so please take this as constructive input to your request for opinions. When in doubt, keep it simple.
Having owned a Turbo X for the last 6 months, I like the new style. But thats because the
thick trim around the lights blends in with the body color. If I could have gotten the TX in
red, I might have had reservations. The black on black shrinks the assembly size look which
I like.
So for me it depends on color.
Barry
I like the new lights but to be honest tailights are probably the very last thing i’d even think about if at all when buying a car.
I preferred the very first version of the blog. It worked and looked good to me. Buggered if i can see why you wanted to change in the first place. Change for changes sake has never struck me as worthwhile. Perhaps that’s why i like my 9-5.
Funny you mention this. Over at Next Autos (formerly The Winding Road) they have an article called “Ten Cars That Looked Better Before Their Makeovers”. Sure enough, Saab is listed there. However, it’s not the 9-3, but rather the 9-5. I have to admit, I’m a bit biased as I recently picked-up a CPO 2005 9-5 wagon, which was the last year of the pre-”Dame Edna” 9-5s.
Concerning your web page: I tried to access it with my mobile phone via wireless lan – it took quite a while to start it… which is the fact also when you open it on my laptop. – At least sometimes.
I like clean things… bright white and small letters and less Java/whatever-animated-stuff.
The old page was loading faster, which IMO slowly becomes a point again.
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Concerning the car: As a pre-owned car, I would prefer the old look of the 9-3. And for the 9-5 as well. – But just imagine the Saab dealers had the old ones still as new cars in the showroom/stock… they wouldn’t sell a single unit, which is even less than they sell these days anyway.
Compare the new looks to a BMW: The 5-series was perceived as incredibly ugly when it was first presented. Some years later it’s still a looker and IMHO quite a beautiful thing.
The point with our beloved Saabs is that they have angles from which you can tell by just one look that the last thing GM did to it was just a cheap makeover… A CHEAP. And that’s the whole point.
I like the new tail lights,
but it would be better with frosted glass as Wimpbeef said.
A SAAB must be a little bit strange looking car!
The old lights were so boring, like a 80-90′s shitty japanese…
byez! Z!
Generically boring versus cheap third-party mods. Neither is getting my vote. The only 9-3 design that works is the combi.
About the site: I think it needs a clean up. Too many boxes, too many colours, too many places to look for stuff. To much of too much.
And the site needs a more focused visual identity that is visible all through the site. One logo! One colour! One font!
I feel there is a vision of crispy clean, but it’s not being implemented as well as it could. Some darlings need to be killed.
(And I’m also one of those who sort of do this for a living
)
The new 9-3 lights would be fine if they took the masking tape off
The new 9-3 lights in the rear just don’t do it for me. I do like the front end redesign and front head lights. I like the button dash design in my 04 convertible better than the new design. The new design is a bit cleaner but, has no wow factor or personality.
I like the new web design, very classy. Thanks for this site Swade. it should never be taken for granted.
I like the new page, but it doesn’t load on my Blackberry (newer one coming in a couple of months).
My $.02…
Since I’m going through the same issue, albeit on a much smaller scale with my blog, I can empathyze with your dilema.
I really like the look overall of the new theme, but would still prefer the ability to see the whole list (expanded) of recent posts, like it was in the past (& like I’m currently displaying on my blog). If there was only some way to marry the two. I also agree with the featured article quandry – must be a pain to decide what & if to post something for a few days, like that.
Keep up the good work!
Voted for the cool new lights & the new website lay-out.
It took me some more time to adjust for the new trollhattansaab page. Now I feel fine with it.
But can’t you make it (for both sides of the brain) a front page & an all on display page with the option for the user to switch ? Maybe a silly thought, I don’t know anything about making a webpage and the work going into it … .
Swade, sorry mate, I’m just trying to be honest. There is a rule in the online world that the only thing that really matters is the content – great layouts are very often designed to hide the lack of relevant content.
And you’ve got content most other sites could only dream of. So no reason to be heart-broken. Besides, I can always help with the other studd, as you know.
The new “ice block” rear lights look better, although I would prefer the Aero X style rears on new models.
Now that I’ve owned a car with the new tail lights for several months, I have to say that they are very unique and get a lot of comments. They spark conversations all of the time with people in parking lots, etc. The old tail lights didn’t spark any conversations at all and were certainly not any different than any other marques.
Personally, I prefer the new site.