Tuesday Night Snippets

November 11th, 2008 · 13 Comments

All you Los Angelinos will probably know already that the LA Auto Show is only 10 days away. It runs from November 21 to November 30.

The Saab 9-X Air will be in attendance, and therefore, so should you.

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Many of you helped out one of our Aussie Saab nuts last weekend. PT was trying to decide between a sweet 2003 Saab 9-5 wagon and a 2006 Saab 9-3 SportCombi.

In case you missed it, the news is IN:

And the winner is……….the 9-3. I found out that it still has 18 months of SAAB warranty and that was the clincher for us. Newer, safer car with warranty beats older, safe car with minimal warranty cover.

Thanks to everyone for their advice - we have read it and discussed deeply - and especially to Ferd, Turbin, Swade & Lance here at T-Saab. Special mention to Peter at Heartland Saab Parramatta. Even though this car wasn’t his sale, nor was I really a contender for a new car, it was an ex-demonstrator from their fleet and he was happy to provide information and background about it. Appreciated and maybe next time it’ll be a new one.

Now, where’s the phone number for BSR…………..

PT, allow me. I’m pretty sure one of these will do your car nicely.

Congratulations, mate!

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And speaking of Elkparts, they’re doing another 2-for-1 deal.

Buy a Nallis Bear from Elkparts and being the compassionate souls they are, they’ll send along a travelling companion so that your Nallis doesn’t get lonely during the trip to your home. That’s right: two Nallis bears for the price of one.

You’ll never be lonely again.

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Another way to look at XWD:

It’s a more pleasurable way to integrate the safety benefits of electronic stability controls into the sporting driving experience. And it works well, without the sudden “hand-of-God” approach of earlier systems from a number of manufacturers, revealing no bad habits.

That’s from European Car’s all-to-brief look at the Turbo X.

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And from the there but for a whole lotta under-investment and boneheadedness go Saab files:

Audi sales are well in reach of the targeted one million vehicles the brand aims to sell globally this year.

Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that Audi almost pulled out of the US market due to sales nearly dipping below 10,000 per year.

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As mentioned in post #5,000, I’m currently in the northwest of the state for work. It was too nice a day to let it pass without getting out the camera and tempting you to come down to Tasmania for your next holiday. Click to enlarge.

The view from Table Cape looking east across Tasmania’s northern coast line

And from down on that coastline, looking back at Table Cape:

The Table Cape tulip farm. Unfortunately it’s not in full bloom. Note the light house to the right.

This is the view less than 10 meters from the seat I’m sitting in as I write this:

Sorry. No Saab to photograph. You’ll have to make do with this Toyota Aurion.

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Tags: Troll stuff

13 responses so far ↓

1 eggsngrits // Nov 11, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Ewww, Toyota. Nice views.

Remember, it took Audi almost 20 years to come back from their nadir. We have to be patient.
2 gordon // Nov 11, 2008 at 11:59 pm

So what is it with Audi?
In the US it’s front wheel drive, almost exclusively v6’s. abysmal reliability, dull styling and Mercedes-Benz prices. They are almost all grey or silver. They must somehow be amazingly impressive new in the showroom to someone, because those I know who have them mostly mention the frequent repairs.

Why can’t SAAB be that way in the showroom?
3 Rogan // Nov 12, 2008 at 12:21 am

Almost all front wheel drive? Most of the Audi’s I see are quattro…

Why else would you buy an Audi? Great interior build quality and design, newer ones aren’t is unreliable as you might think, it was mainly just that old 1.8T that was an issue. Performance is very good across the line. Safety is also excellent, the new A4 just got full 5 stars across the board. Value, we all know they aren’t is good as Saab, but still much better than BMW. The badge is also just right for some people, not quite as snobby as BMW, but a little more prestige than Saab.

Honestly, they’re really good cars. If I didn’t have a Saab, I’d probably have an Audi. I’m not saying people should go buy an Audi, but don’t just call their success these days all luck. They’ve done some very hard work and now make some truly excellent cars. They’re a good example for Saab to follow.
4 Kroum // Nov 12, 2008 at 1:30 am

I’m with Rogan, nothing wrong with Audi. I like their design, too - the S5 is art on wheels, beautiful lines.

If Saab disappeared as an option tomorrow, I’d quite likely consider Audi. Their terrible dealers are the only drawback.
5 francoism // Nov 12, 2008 at 4:20 am

I just spent too much money at Elkparts. I’m looking forward to the winter wear I bought. It’s oh so cold here in Canada. I went to get my winter wheels installed yesterday but the nuts that came with the mags didn’t work on my Saab. The bolts used on Saabs are different from any other car manufacturers so I had to spend an additional $70 to get Saab nuts and that made me sad. Boo. Still, looking forward to the winter tires as we’ve been getting icy rain here in Saskatchewan and no amount of XWD will help on pure ice, you need winter tires.
6 chaaalie // Nov 12, 2008 at 4:34 am

Why can’t Saab be impressive in the dealerships? That’s the question of the hour for me. I think it boils down to a lack of effort.

I live in the Tampa/St. Pete area of Florida. We are blessed/cursed with 2 dealerships (there are a few more just down the road in various directions, but I only know the two closest.)

Dimmitt (Clearwater) is a Caddy/Saab dealer … but the last time I visited (weeks ago) there were a grand total of 4 Saabs on the lot (one new 9-3 Aero Convertible, one used, and one each of the 9-3 sports sedan flavors.) No 9-5s, no SportCombis, No TrollBlazers. It’s sad when the local Saab dealer has more Bentleys and Lotus on the lot than Saabs.

Saab of Tampa is considerably better stocked, but even they seem to be lacking a bit of variety … but after visiting Dimmitt, it’s hard to criticize them.

The ultimate irony is that the “Tampa International Auto Show” (a MotorTrend show) just left town, and the Saab area — while small as always — had an interesting mix of cars. And I was surprised by one of them — both by the fact it was featured, and by what I saw when I got up close to it. Nestled behind the 9-3 Aero CV and the pair of sport sedans (one Aero, one 2.0) was a Trollblazer and a 9-5 Aero SportCombi.

I checked them all out, was a bit put out that there was not a 9-3 Combi, but the one that really caught my attention was the 9-5. In metallic black with silver roof rails (painted) she looked the part of the stately, established up-model that she is (I’ve never been a big fan of the current nose job, but in black it minimizes the protuberance!)

I was so impressed by the 9-5 Combi, that I went home and checked the availability … Ironically, it was the first 9-5 Combi I had ever had the opportunity to really examine up close (I see them on the road at times, but never had the chance to touch one.) GM seems to think that there are several in Naples and West Palm Beach (Both more than 100 miles away) but the dealerships’ sites don’t back that up. Cars.com tells me the closest are in Ashville NC (538 miles) for the 2.3, and Winston Salem NC (590 miles) if I want an Aero … both are 2008s.

So, why would Saab/GM feature a car that you can’t obtain locally?
7 saabseller // Nov 12, 2008 at 6:23 am

Audi has a great heritage, funky cars and cool colours. Remember the TT cab with baseball glove seat stitching - didn’t last but looked great. Young funky people like funky cars and Audi does it well. I’ve often told the Saab flunkies to make the cars trendy, change trim colours, change the colour palate, sling on some cool wheels maybe with some chrome mirrors and chrome trims around the windows instead of the bland hard to keep neat rubber frames. Then, colour up the showrooms, websites and adverts. Make them desirable to buyers. Easy. Those of you in LA would remember the neat website and press ads of the Santa Monica SAAB of old. Cold sterile white corporate image is not what people want, despite what Saab says, dentists don’t seem to buy too many Saabs.

If I didn’t work with Saab, I would flip over the the four circles in a heartbeat. BMW is way down on the list.
8 Joe Lobo // Nov 12, 2008 at 6:37 am

Amazing what true and well planned marketing can do. As for showrooms Gordon, I don’t know where you live but around my neck of the woods there are no true showrooms for Saabs. These are rather parked next to Holden Utes in full blown Holden (GM) showrooms. Hence the poor sales in OZ that was recently published. I was away and could not comment on this but I can now. Unless GM or whoever makes the decisions on dealer management forces whoever is as dealer to have fully dedicated and separate showrooms for Saab with whatever products that can be sold, the carnage will continue. We have in Sydney a number of A dealers even sharing the branding and yards of Ford outlets but never under the same roof let alone and A parked next to a utilities Ford. This is criminal !!! So, let’s be all real and honest as this situation alone has brought the poor sales for 08 from a very good 07. Saab and GM should really stop looking for silver bullets and go and rectify this whole fallacy of dealers taking on Saab on in “as is” and hoping to make a buck on the side. It’s not working for them, for the public, for us the true followers and for the brand. I am going to have a rather bad day in frustration after all these thoughts !!!
9 Lance Cole (Author) // Nov 12, 2008 at 9:13 am

Audi may make good cars- indeed I like the A5 and its svelte interior - but ‘heritage’ - maybe , maybe not.

Let’s remember that Audi did not exist as brand before the late 1960s. Auto Union and Horch were its antecedents. The name was tiny- the demise of car maker NSU (and their wonderful RO80) allied to things that went on at VW -let to VWs appearing with Audi badges right through the 1970s. The VW Passat appeared in the UK as an upmarket version- branded Audi.

It was only in the late 1970s that Audi created its own car bodies through its first ‘100′ model - and then the 80.

so Audi ‘heritage’ is a marketing man’s short term dream.
10 Jeff // Nov 12, 2008 at 9:19 am

Audis are balls hard to work on for mechanics, or so I’ve heard. Plus, their ride is pretty uncomfortable.

Speaking of Audi, the A5 won the Design of the Year award from Automobile magazine. I don’t understand it. That car has to be one of the ugliest things on the road in America (and one of the ugliest things on the road in Europe, right after the Pagani Zonda and Fiat Multipla). Of course, that magazine gave COTY to the GT-R over the ZR1, so I don’t care about its opinions anyway.
11 Lance Cole (Author) // Nov 12, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Jeff- beauty is in the eye of the beholder- there are many of us who find the lines of the A5 pleasing.

I can understand that your opinion is different- but ‘one of the ugliest things on the road” - surely not.. i mean park an A5 next to a Hummer and my point will be proven
12 saabseller // Nov 12, 2008 at 3:58 pm

Er, Lance, I may sell Saab, but my memory on Audi does tell me that Audi first appeared in 1909, registered on the trade register in 1910 (Latin for Horch) and continued on their own until becoming part of Auto-Union in 1932.
13 Lance Cole (Author) // Nov 13, 2008 at 12:56 pm

Saabseller

You are correct- but as I said Audi’s antecedents were Horch and Auto union.

The name disappeared and came back out in the late 1960s as a marketing tool.

hope that clarifies things.