Sunday Night Snippets and Flickr run

Posted on July 6, 2008 by swade

Apologies for the lack of material in the last 24 hours. The reason why can be summarised with one word: Bravia.

Oh, MAMA!

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A little while ago, I wondered out loud about whether the US market was going to get a low-pressure turbo again – a 2.0t engine. This was due to the engine being mentioned in a press release for the 2009 Saab 9-3.

I’ve received confirmation from SaabUSA that the US market will not be getting this engine. It was just a typo and will be corrected.

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A guy on Autoblog this morning learned the value of 1) driving a car before he disses it, and 2) knowing when to shut your piehole.

Autoblog covered Forbes’ list of top 10 family cars. The Saab 9-3 SportCombi Aero V6 was on that list and our Autoblogger, Chris Tutor, wondered why it was there in place of the VW Jetta. He conceded the power advantage held by the Saab as well as the space advantage, but still wondered why it was there given that it had comparatively poor mileage.

Thankfully, there was a number of commenters at Autoblog who set him straight. The 2.0T still enjoys more power and space than the VW, which much better mileage than the Aero.

It was quite pleasing to read comments about Saab on Autoblog that weren’t snarky or derisive. (update: I first read through the comments some 10 hours ago. They’ve since delved into the usual depths that come with anonymity and a keyboard. It was nice while it lasted)

Thanks Loughlin!

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I know I’m not supposed to mention Alfas much here, but there was a record set recently, with 240 Alfas on a track a one time.

Now that would have been nice. Pictures here.

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Time for some Saab awesomeness from Flickr. Click through on the associated links for bigger versions and folders with more stuff:

From Santinet

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From T.Jashari

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From Mehugtree

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From CarMad Economist

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From Mad T

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A Saab quilt from JunieFlickr

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And finally….. Robin M is still doing his set of Saabs for 2008 – a different Saab each day for a whole year. This is #187.

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Saab (strobist) of the Week

Posted on May 25, 2008 by swade

This is probably a little more about photography than Saabs, but seeing there’s a Saab featured I think I can get away with it.

I’ve been fascinated by this sort of stuff for a while now. A few years ago I actually did a night photography short course to get a taste of it and it’s a lot of fun.

Strobist is probably the website of choice for this sort of thing. The particular art being expressed here is that of lighting an object with multiple flash units positioned away from the camera. This example, found on Flickr, shows a Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan being lit from several angles. The dark surrounds and selective lighting really set off the red lines of the car.

I’d really love to run a photo contest based on this sort of thing. The imagery can be very evocative and with Saab’s distinct lines, I’m sure we’d get some excellent shots. It’s very involved, though, and takes a whole heap of commitment. Especially on a cold night.

This is part of my brief foray into night photography (more here). This one involved a 30 minute exposure on a freezing cold midwinter night, with the building lit up by multiple bursts from a handheld flash.

I’ve got a shot of my old Saab 900 5-door too, though I can’t seem to find that one at the moment.

If you’d like to see more strobist stuff, check out the strobist pool at Flickr. And if you’d like to try some Saab Strobist photography yourself, please make sure you send in the results. I’ll be happy to shot them off.

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I took that shot on a film camera seven years ago. I had no software to play with back then. A quick press of the ‘enhance’ button in iPhoto gets the contrast looking a lot better.

Ah, the wonders of the digital age.

Saab O The Week – 9-3 Monte Carlo

Posted on May 21, 2008 by swade

It’s a Monte-Mega-Entry!!!

This Monte Carlo belongs to regular commenter, Markac, who lives in the occasionally feral state of South Australia (it’s a football thing – I’m a Victorian by birth). Following is not only some info and great images of Mark’s car, but he’s also provided text from the original Monte Carlo press release. Yowsa!

There were only 195 Monte Carlos made and 50 of them came to Australia. This is #18.

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This car was the only one sold in South Australia by the then-Adelaide dealer, Chateau Moteur and has now travelled 87,000 Kms. It’s quite likely the lowest mileage Monte Carlo in Australia.

It is basically stock standard except for the mesh grille kit and some special Brisk spark plugs. I also recently changed the amber indicator repeaters for the smoked grey variety from the later models. It will get some improvements and some “warming up” in the next year or so as it is fairly tame at the moment.

I’ll probably leave the cosmetics alone although I’m tempted to fit a “Viggen style” antenna as I’ve had trouble with electric antennas and I don’t like them. I just can’t bring myself to drill a hole in the roof!

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Click through for more great images and the press release for the Monte Carlo here in Australia.

Continue reading →

Sunday Saab photos

Posted on May 18, 2008 by swade

It’s spring in the north so the cars are out and getting photographed. I’ve had just too many come in to not post them here.

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Wulf has taken his 9-5 Wagon out for a photo shoot. High quality stuff. There’s a full set of shots here for you to peruse and there’s some wallpaper sized versions of a couple of them here. Magnificent!

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ctm’s also been out communing with nature. Here’s his 9-3 getting all arty with a rapeseed plantation in the background:

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This rather special looking Saab 95 was spotted by the Jalopniks as part of their Down On The Street daily feature.

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Some guys from the Saab Turbo Club of Sweden scored some still shots of the Saab 9-4x concept and the Saab 9-X BioHybrid during their recent outing in Trollhattan. Click here and here to view them.

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And finally, how’s this for a fleet? All Turbo X’s, ready to show off next week at Herb Chambers Saab in Boston.

Old School Flickr Run – Saab of the Week

Posted on May 6, 2008 by eggsngrits

Thanks to regular reader Golfhunter (Bonjour, Jeff!), I’ve become aware of this little beauty, a completely old-school restoration of a 1961 Saab 96 located in Portland, Oregon, United States.

Taisau has dubbed the car “Minesweeper” due to the fact that the entire floorpan had to be replaced and he opted for 3/16″ (5 mm) plate instead of the much thinner guage material that originally served as the car’s underside.

This one is so good and so unique that I’m making it the “Saab of the Week” and I’m not asking anybody for permission.

All of the shots may be found here.

SOTW – Saab Motorsport – bring it back

Posted on April 29, 2008 by swade

You can’t underestimate the contribution that motorsport can make to a car company. Engine development, suspension, fuel, safety – it’s the pinnacle of everything that makes up a car.

Saab had a lot of early success in rallying but eventually motorsport got too expensive for a little company like Saab. They certainly punched above their weight when they were competing, though.

Which is why I still get shivers when I see great shots like this one. It came up on my Flickr feed tonight, taken by Arild (the same one who comments here???).

An inspiring shot. And how good does that 99 look?

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It’s funny. I know how great the 900 is. I own one and I love it. But I’m going to sell it soon and I probably won’t miss it much. I know the role the 900 plays in Saab’s history and how much fun it is to drive, yet for some reason I haven’t had the connection with it that I know some of you have.

The 99 on the other hand…..I could almost buy my 99 Turbo back for the third time! It was the first modern Saab and in my eyes, still one of the best.

Saabs get all photogenic for Richo’s lens

Posted on April 22, 2008 by swade

Mine isn’t the only Viggen that’s getting back on the road. Richo’s had Viggen problems as well and they were fixed with the purchase and installation of a brand new B235 engine last week.

Richo does web stuff for a living. He does it very well. His company is called Digital Wranglers and I’ll be using their new in-house open source content management system, Steer, for my Viggen website, soon. Richo’s current brief is to design a brand new site for SaabTech as part exchange for the work performed on his Viggen.

The camera loves Richo. Not in the same way that cameras love…say….Scarlett Johansson. Cameras love Richo because he makes the camera work when he’s using it.

Last weekend he got together with a few people you might have heard of – Joe Lobo and Hawkeye hang around here often – and they shot a few photos for the new website. Joe Lobo’s car is the silver 9-3 Aero and Hawkeye’s new BioPower featured here last week. There’s also another Viggen there (interesting to see the double-Y rims), a convertible belonging to a friend of Richo’s (G’day Lea) and an unknown but quite sexy Saab 900.

Click on any of the shots to enlarge. A job well done, cobber!

And there’s plenty more where those came from…….

Continue reading →

Walter Wong’s Saab 95 spotted!!

Posted on April 17, 2008 by swade

I met Walter Wong in Los Angeles back January, whilst on my way to Detroit to see the Saab 9-4x. Walter is a Saab mechanic and runs two workshops in Los Angeles.

I’d seen photos of his Saab 95 before, but on the night we met he brought the car along to the restaurant. Being a little dark by the time we met, I didn’t take photos of it as the details wouldn’t have come up, but it’s a great car. It drives pretty darn well, too. I was amazed at the way Walter was flooring it between the restaurant and his workshop.

Someone else on the web has recently spotted Walter’s car and recorded the experience for posterity on Metblogs from Los Angeles.

The full photo set is over at Flickr. Enjoy.

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