This is little to do with Saab, BUT

1) It was sent in by Bill P, who most recently gave us a 46C temp reading on his SID. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 40s again for the next week or so.

2) No-one, and I mean no-one, can resist a baby koala.

These weren’t taken by Bill, but passed on to him and then from him to me. I think they’re now going viral, too, so you can expect news services to start picking them up soon.

Someone get this little fella some ventilated Saab seats! It’s hot out there in the bush!

I don’t mean to be inappropriately gloomy here, but ctm sent through this little bit of research and I think it bears out, pretty well, the situation that GM find themselves in at the moment.

Please note that these figures are for the US market only.

We all knew that they were on a downhill slide, but it’s another thing to see it represented in real terms. I don’t think there’s much need to elaborate on these figures.

Just click to enlarge.

And another one showing GM vs the competition.

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Could the ‘900 factor’ mean a good year – finally – for Saab?

It’ll be a tough year in terms of sales but hopefully the latter stages of the year will see some excitement with the new 9-5 being shown and finally offered for sale.

So, in a continuing tradition here at Trollhattan Saab, here’s 9 things I want to see in the new year.

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1) A good owner for Saab

Is there anything more important on Saab’s horizon than this? General Motors have until March 31st to prove their sustainability and present their case for more funding from the US government. GM’s marketing maven, Mark LaNeve has already mentioned that there’s progress on the sale of Saab, so that “strategic review” they were talking about doesn’t look like ending with Saab keys in GM hands.

The one thing we all want is a responsible, believing owner for Saab. The brand has so much to offer the right owner. We just have to hope that that right owner comes along.

2) A good outcome for GM

Despite my annoyance with GM’s management over the last few years, no-one in their right mind would want the company to collapse. They haven’t grown Saab to any notable degree, and they’ve probably sucked a lot of the intelligence from Saab, but they’ve also kept the brand alive so that it can be sold.

All the Saab employees that I’ve met and enjoyed some time with are GM employees also. They’re great people and others just like them work with other GM brands. I may not like their product, but I hope they go OK.

3) No concept cars

As much as I like looking at them and imagining the future, we’ve seen enough concept cars for the time being. And I can’t imagine a concept that I’d like more than the 9-X Air, anyway, so let’s just enjoy that one for a while longer, eh?

What Saab need in 2009 is new products that people can actually buy and drive. The good news is that we’ll get it.

[Read the rest of this entry →]

Should we feel flattered or offended? That depends upon your definition of the word “luxury” as it refers to automobiles.

As I’ve mentioned several times, I travel quite a bit. As I mentioned in my last post, I visited Ohio. On the way back home via Southwest Airlines (I love Southwest), I happened to pick up their monthly magazine, Spirit. I like to do the crossword puzzles in the back — I rarely read the articles.

That’s where things got interesting.

As I was close to finishing the Hex Files, a word puzzle in this month’s edition of Spirit, I came across the following clue:

12: A luxury se(*)ardly the type of car I’d expect to come from a Scandinavian country.

The object of this particular puzzle is to find the six-letter word (hence the word “hex” in the title) that fits into the (*), both completing the sentence and fitting into the spaces on the puzzle board.

In this case, the answer to the clue is the word Danish. Thus, the completed sentence is as follows:

12: A luxury sedan is hardly the type of car I’d expect to come from a Scandinavian country.

So, the question is this: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If luxury means the luxo-cruiser with overstuffed pillow-like leather and a vanity mirror on the visor, it a good thing for Saab. If luxury sedan means a premium, high-quality car, then it’s bad.

So, which one is it? I think since this is an American magazine it means the Lincoln/Caddilac luxury car, so I’m good with it.

Complete puzzle and solution after the break.
[Read the rest of this entry →]

I never know whether to synchronize my comment headings with Tasmania time or to write them in US time. Generally, I’m writing from the Central time zone in the United States which is roughly two-thirds of a day behind Swade in Oz. Therefore, I often post in the morning hours of the next day. “Weekday”. I know that fits.

Not to turn this into a foodie blog, I’ve enjoyed another regional delicacy here in Dayton, Ohio: Cincinnati-style chili. No side-trip needed for this little treat — there are chili restaurants all over Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. I tend to be a Skyline Chili man, but the others are good, too. Four way with onions, please!

Onto the Saabs.

First up, AutoWeek.com has a short mention of the Saab TurboX, most notable because the author criticizes automatic sport shift for having “terrible, very slow shift response”. For any other car, I’d wholeheartedly agree. However, this the TurboX. As you may recall, in my experience with the 2008 Saab TurboX the automatic transmission performed admirably in manual shift mode. Perhaps Swade’s recent drive will settle the disagreement.

Jalopnik is having a little fun speculating on the next generation 9-3. Their reasoning is sound: the Opel Insignia will be out late this year, and the model that it replaces, the Opel Vectra, is the current 9-3’s platform mate. Speculating that the new 9-3 will follow, they’ve based this Photoshop on the Insignia.

Not bad. Speculation is just that — speculation.

Finally, Saabrobz has a great set of pics from the Kak Midnattssolsrallyt 2008 on Flickr. Here’s a sample:

Trollhattan’s local newspaper, TTELA, is either in receipt of some very sensitive information, or they’re speculating their little Swedish butts off!

TTELA are saying that since Russelsheim is getting the Opel Astra to build (on Delta) in a sort-of exchange for Trollhattan getting the Saab 9-3 to build (on Delta), that means that the Trollhattan plant is probably going to have a whole heap of excess capacity. TTELA are saying that that excess capacity will go towards building a Saab 9-1 at Trollhattan.

All that is great in theory, but remember that the Saab 9-1 is yet to be given the green light from GM Europe. Unless TTELA have some great inside scoop story here, we’re still going to have to wait on that one.

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So why hasn’t the 9-1 been given the go-ahead yet?

Small cars mean lower prices and therefore, lower margins for car companies. Take a look at GM’s current financial situation and you might understand why they’re gunshy about new low-margin models for a low-selling Swedish subsidiary (I ain’t saying it’s right, it’s just how it is).

CNN Money are reporting that GM stock is at a 33-year low and it’s now on negative watchlists meaning that there’s an even chance that their ratings will be lowered in the next few months. Fortune are forecasting that sales will be down by more than 25% in June for GM.

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All this bad news is hiking up the chatter about GM closing the doors on one or more brands. That CNN Money report (linked above) cites Saab and Hummer as being on the block.

Hummer, yes. Saab, no.

I don’t believe they’d be announcing production allocations for various factories if they were selling Saab. Or new vehicle development. Some might say it beefs up the sale prospects, but I’m not so sure on that and I’m pretty sure that any prospective suitors would see through it if it’s just window dressing anyway.

GM have apparently appointed Citibank to investigate the possible futures for HUMMER.

LaNeve said Citibank would “evaluate, solicit and review any offers we may have for the brand or any other offers we might have such as a revamp of the brand, partnerships or licensing. We’re looking at all options.”

They should do the same for Cadillac in Europe. Seriously.

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In other GM News, they’ve announced a price rise for 2009 of 3.5% (on average). I’ll let you known Saab consequences are fully understood, but combine this with the reported cancellation of GM employee pricing for the Saab 9-3 in 2009 and it means they’re going to have to be working very hard to establish Saab as premium in the people’s minds.

They’ve also announced a 0% finance offer that’s going to be held between the 24th and 30th June. The Saab range is included in that sale. For those who like to buy instead of leasing, there’ll be a $500 offer on the hood instead.

Check with your dealers.

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In non-GM news, the finalists for the 2009 European Car of the Year competition have been announced. Not surprsingly, there’s no Saab amongst the 25 or so finalists.

As a matter fact, I just did a review of the top three placegetters for the award since 1964 and there’s never been a Saab place in the top three for the award. Not one, ever. Not the revolutionary 99 Turbo, nor the Saab 900 Cabriolet or the 900 T16 Aero. The 9000? Nup. Saab 9-5? Never.

I know I’d be crowing about it if Saab were nominated or actually won, but when a Nissan Micra can win the bloody thing (1993) and Saab’s never even placed in it, well it shows what the thing is really worth, doesn’t it?

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Today will be a very interesting day for former Viggen owners here in Hobart. My new car gets inspected today prior to being registered, but more importantly, my old car goes up for auction. Go Drew, Go!

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Finally, there’s a collection of truly awesome Saab photos here on Flickr.

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I know that just about everybody who visits this site on a regular basis would agree with the premise that Saab have been overlooked and underfunded in the last 10-15 years. Some of that is self-inflicted and some of it is the fault of the corporate parent.

Whatever the origin, though, it can’t be ignored that Saab were pioneers in turbocharging, getting more from less and providing exceedingly utilitarian vehicles in the process. In 2008, that last sentence describes what most car-makers are aiming for, so is it now Saab’s time?

It should be. But with a corporate parent like GM, who knows?

Steve Shannon gave a state-of-Saab presentation to various interested parties at a Saab dealership in Los Angeles last week. Motor Trend provided some coverage of that event and now seems as good a time as any to tease out what they discovered and what would be ideal for Saab, and for the GM mothership, moving forward into the future.

[Read the rest of this entry →]

I’ve been following this story for a little while now – who will make the next generation Saab 9-3?

A few years ago we all thought that production was lost to Opel’s plant in Russelsheim, Germany. When it was recently discovered that the 9-3 would be built on GM’s Delta architecture instead of Epsilon, there was a great deal of hope that 9-3 production could be retained in Trollhattan (as the T-hat plant is being tooled for Delta in the next few years).

Today, we’re back to Russelsheim.

Automobilewoche are citing a labor official who’s claiming it’s a done deal that the next Saab 9-3 will be made in Russelsheim (a brief story from another source, here).

Again, I’ve got to remind you that the Saab 9-1 is not yet confirmed for production. If it were, then there’s a high likelihood that it would be made in Sweden at the Trollhattan plant. If this report about the 9-3 is accurate and it’s going to be made in Germany, this means that with the confirmed model line that we have right now, there will be no Saabs manufactured in Sweden in 2012 (9-3 snd 9-5 in Germany, 9-4x in Mexico).

The vast bulk of Saab design is now done in Germany. Saab’s presence in Sweden will be down to Simon Padian’s skeleton crew at Pixbo (how long will that remain?) and a few executives who get together now and then for the Saab Brand Center. Essentially, if there’s no 9-1 in Saab’s future, then the Saab’s link to Sweden is confined to some engineering that’s shared with all of GM (and mostly debuted by others within GM) and the Saab Brand Center meetings, comprising executives from Sweden and other parts of Europe.

Saab have to maintain a design and manufacturing presence in Sweden. The Saab Brand Center is valuable in the right context, but it’s just window dressing if they want to pass it off as Saab’s claim to Scandinavianinity (yes, I just made that word up).

Thanks again, Albert, who’s been keeping a keen eye on this subject

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GM’s NA sales have fallen through the floor and are progressing south towards the earth’s crust, thanks to a combination of poor economic conditions and a poor vehicle lineup. GM are looking to squeeze out some extra sales without apearing too desparate and have launched a military discount campaign.

All GM vehicles except the Corvette are included so if you’re in the services, you can check out GM Military Discounts and see what you can get off your next Saab.

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A very appreciative supporter of Saab Central. And a nice 9000, too.

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TS-frequenter and San Antonian, Dan S, has recently started a blog I’ll be checking in with. It’s called RacingReady and will chronicle him dipping his toes into the world of Autocross.

It’s something I’m contemplating as well, so I’ll be keeping a keen eye on it.

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I loved the video from MotorWeek that Eggs linked up to over the weekend. A great lesson indeed. We live in times when it’s the bells, whistles and general razzmatazz that get the attention rather than substance. Hence the Paris Hiltons of this world.

Saab build great cars for real-world drivers to enjoy. It’s not an effective marketing hook, but it’s that simple.

And the red 9000 in that video – superb!

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