As you can see, we Aussies took the good weather away with us when we left Sweden….

I picked this up on Flickr. There’s not too many places in the world where you could expect to see a one-of-a-kind vehicle on the back of a truck. But if you live in Trollhattan there’s always a possibility it’ll happen.

In this instance, it’s the EV-1 headed off somewhere. I’d love to know where it ended up and more importantly, who got to drive it. A closer encounter with this car is one of my missions for future trips to Trollhattan.

This shot was taken by Rickard, one of my mates in Sweden. Great work.

My apologies for the lack of umlauts in the text above.

Despite the horrid photo, I though I’d better publish this for posterity’s sake if nothing else. This is an article in Saab’s internal newsletter thingy for this week, covering the trip to Sweden for Saab Festival.

Click to enlarge, and if anyone feels like providing a translation in comments then I’ll post it underneath the article later.

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Erik has kindly provided the following translation:

“My Heart Pounds for Saab”

He is Mr. Blogg in the Saab world and is often first with the latest news from magazines and enthusiasts all over the world. The number of visitors is around 7000 per day. Finally, Steven Wade from Australia has had the opportunity to visit Sweden.

His blogg, trollhattansaab.net, has received status and such a serious image that esteemed news papers such as the New York Times used him as reference. With his network that he nurtured for quite a while he is often first with news on Saab.
- I like to write and I like Saab. It’s nothing that get you rich, but I have a job as an accountant on the side that provides for me, says Steven Swade when we meet him among some Saab legends during the 60 year jubilee. He is enjoying every second of his visit to Sweden.
- To, in a few days, get the whole of Saab’s history and meet the people that have shaped Saab and with your own eyes see the manufacturing has been a real kick, says Steven Wade.

What made you start the Saab blogg?
I drive Saab, it’s as simple as that. Once you have tried, you are hooked. I’ve been a Saab fan since my twenties. My buddy, who owned a Saab 9000, converted me. In Australia, or more rightly Tasmania where I grew up, it’s all about Holden and Ford, so I started to look towards Europe. In Australia, we love underdogs. Saab is a small brand which has picked a fight with the giants, we love that.

What is so special about Saab?
- The more I have studied the company and followed its development, there more in love I have become in the brand, the cars and the special aura that surrounds Saab. It’s not just another car. It has something unique and a technology that has always been ahead of the competitors. The turbo technology for example, was revolutionary when it was put into serialized production.

What is your impression of Saab in relation to Sweden that you now have visited for the first time?
- Swedes are practitioners and has a nation full of engineers. You have a genuine feeling for quality and an ability to transfer your technological skills into functional, user friendly solutions. That shows in Saab. And you have an independent relation to the rest of the world and high self esteem. That shows in Saab’s attitude. Just look at the concept car Aero X, what a charisma.

What does Saab mean to you?
- To me, Saab is character, and that has been confirmed by all the people I have met here. Severel of them has been part of shaping Saab. Others are worried about what GM will do with Saab, but I am not worried. The brand has a genuine identity and is positioned in the very first line when it comes to car manufacturing in the world. I definitely believe that you have a future. My heart pounds for Saab.

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Awww shucks. Thanks Erik.

During my time in Trollhattan, one of the things I really wanted to do was photograph the interior of UrSaab.

I hung around a lot at the Saab Museum in few days before the Saab Festival started. UrSaab was in it’s glassed off area. I approached the museum curator, Peter Backstrom at one point and got “the hand”. Peter was understandably busy as the organiser of the entire festival.

I went through the next few days thinking it wouldn’t be possible and became resigned to the fact.

On the final day of the festival, a lot of the vintage cars were taken out of the museum for a run around in front of all gathered. UrSaab was one of these and for a while it was parked outside next to the museum. The driver’s side window was open, but I wanted to get a full shot of the dash, which is best done from the passenger side. The passenger side window was closed however, resulting in this shot:

I’m not particularly proud of what I did next, but I got my “I came half way around the world for this” mentality on. As the car was unllocked, I quickly opened the door and snapped off this one interior shot. Another guy came up and asked me to hold it open so he could do the same and as I closed it afterwards, I got a quite righteous and deserved telling off from a security guy – in Swedish. He could tell by my sheepish and perplexed look that I didn’t have a clue so he repeated the dose in English, finishing with “These are the rules”.

I got my telling off, but I also got my picture. It and a few other UrSaab detail shots follow.

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Many thanks to Joe for sending me this picture. Unfortunately Joe was behind the camera so he isn’t in the pic. This was taken on the last night of the Saab Festival, June 10, 2007 and was a great finish to a brilliant week in Trollhattan.

I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already. Except for the freezing cold here in Hobart, my mind feels like it’s still there a lot of the time.

That’s Robin, Brendan, Johanna, Tim, Rickard, Some grumpy old bugger, and Phil. Joe’s taking the picture.