If there were any concerns about the authenticity of the 9-4x and 9-5 engine information that I posted last night, those concerns would be based on the fact that they came from a new, as-yet unverified source.
I can confirm that the 9-4x information agreed with info I’d previously heard from a completely independant and very authoritative source. After I published the 9-4x information last night, I received further confirmation that the numbers were accurate from another person in a position to know.
Given that both the 9-4x info and the 9-5 info has come from the same source, and the 9-4x info has been verified by several others, we should be able to trust the 9-5 info in terms of accuracy.
Whilst it might be taken as accurate, we don’t know yet whether or not the info is complete. I can’t believe that there’s plans to top-out the new 9-5 at 260hp, especially when the two cars ‘below’ it would make 280hp and 300hp respectively.
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David Kiley from Business Week treads on an old path:
Eventually, though, I predict that by 2020, GM will probably be lighter by at least two brands—either Buick or Pontiac will be gone, and Saab will be gone. It will happen as dealers go out of business, and then GM can kill off what’s left of the channels…when…hopefully…financial times are better.
It’s actually an interesting read on the brand challenges that various car companies face. It raises that old spectre of Caddy in Europe once again, but I’ll leave that alone.
And imagine how pleased I was to scroll down and see a comment from Kroum in response to the article. Go get ‘em, Tiger!!
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The Truth About Cars are bleating once again about GM buying bloggers with drive experiences etc, and the bloggers obligingly withholding from critique as a quid pro quo. The possibility that the cars could actually be good (as Eggs just found with the Turbo X – a trip sponsored by GM) doesn’t bear thinking about.
RF recalls the time he snuck into a Q&A with Bob Lutz and how astounded he was that everyone there seemed to just lap up what Bob was saying. Given that RF has it in for GM so bad, and that Lutz is one of his main targets, you’d think that he would have peppered Lutz with all the hard questions during that session.
Nah. He asked one lousy question about pensions.
The only reason TTAC doesn’t go on GM-sponsored trips to test drive cars is because they’re not invited. It ain’t that hard.
Yes, I know it’s already over, but we get Eurovision a day late here. I’m watching it now. It’s a yearly tradition here.
And yes, I do know who won.
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Romania – Voices blend nice. But boring as B@tsh!t
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Great Britain – A little too straight for Eurovision, isn’t it? And there’s no way on earth that she plays guitar.
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Albania – Always a danger when they sing in their own language. There’s no connection to the song at all. The lighting on this set is brilliant.
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Germany – definitely the worst one so far. The blonde’s voice was classic fingernails on a blackboard material. I’m going to have nightmares about this.
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Armenia – Nice eastern start. Good eastern asian feel, actually. Quite like the song, but her voice is making me squint to try and shut own my ears a little. Where’s the puppet turkey when you need him?
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Bosnia Herzogovina – Now this is Eurovision!! Bring on the wierd stuff! Washing lines. Guys in school uniforms who can’t sing. Wedding dresses. I’ve got absolutely no idea what’s going on here. Brilliant.
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We get the Terry Wogan commentary here. He’s a legend in this part of the world. At least for one weekend of the year.
Time for….
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Israel – Is Israel really part of Europe? Or is it h=just that they wouldn’t be too welcome at a similar competition in their own neighborhood? The Israeli singer proves the rule about the femininity of muscular gents. He sounds quite girly, and not in a good way. Some guys can pull that off pretty well. Weird backing dancing going on here. Not a winner.
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The stage set really is amazing.
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Finland – Yes! Rock on. Hair rock, leather and big hammers! Bare chested unattractive men. This is Europe!! He’s channeling Bruce Dickinson. This is awesome. There should be a rule stating that there has to be one heavy metal band in each Eurovision.
Guitar solo!! Woohoo. Dual guitars doing harmonies. Double kicks. Yes!!!! It’s sung in Finn but I don’t care, this is brilliant!
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Croatia – It’s called Romanca, so I’m not holding much hope here.
My lack of hope is completely justified. Isn’t this supposed to be a contemporary music contest. At least the old guy in the white suit is entertaining. How did this get in when the Irish turkey didn’t?
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Poland – I’m not sure where to look here. The plunging neckline (tacky, tacky) or the teeth to end all teeth. She looks like a blue mermaid from a tanning salon. Oh yeah, she’s singing. Sounds like a soppy piece of crapola. Aren’t there enough Celine Dion wannabe’s on the planet already?
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Iceland – I’m looking forward to this. Bjork’s from Iceland and she’s a genius. Unfortunately, this performance is from the other end of the musical scale. Poppy stuff. I’m sure it’ll go well in the clubs of George Street in Sydney. So would he.
It’s nice and tacky in a Eurovisionny sort of way, I guess. Lots of duets this year, too. Just noticed that. This must be the third or fourth so far.
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Turkey – Nice to see a turkey in there somewhere. Actually, the Turkish entry is always interesting. Do they go traditional or contemporary. The former is always boring and the latter is always awkward. They’ve gone for the latter.
Black and silver outfits and a red/white guitar just don’t work here. They’re sort of a Turkish version of Muse, but not as classical. Does that sound awkward? Actually, it’s grown on me since the start. The best from Turkey I’ve heard. Pretty musically intersting at the end.
Well done.
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Portugal – I think this is going to be a ballad. My goodness that’s a big hairy woman!! Some costumes shouldn’t be worn on stage. This performance features at least two of them. Let’s just say they wind machine’s giving too close a silhouette.
Um, crappy song.
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There’s not nearly as many drums as in previous Eurovisions. There’s been a few in the last couple of years where the finalists seem to have been judged by the number of drummers and drummers in the performance.
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Latvia – Ah yes, Pirates!!
Oh. My. Goodness. Now this is why we watch Eurovision every year!! I’m sure it was voted in for silliness. Fantastic.
The plastic sword is so bendy! Nothing better than hearing a Latvian singing about Jolly Rogers. I hope this ends up on Youtube.
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SWEDEN!! – Let’s see what the Swedes have to offer. My guess is it’ll be quite poppy and sweet.
Yep, it’s poppy. She looks a little like an alien. Geoff thinks she looks like she could be Mrs Joker from Batman. It’s very poppy, actually. Classic 16-year old girlie pop. Called Hero. Electric drums. You know the drill.
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Denmark – I think this might be poppy as well. Called “All night Long”.
Has real instruments playing. That’s encouraging. I like the guy’s voice, too. Yeah, this is good. In a non-edgy, non-offensive, feel-good kind of way. It’s a foot tapper. The singer’s wearing braces on his pants, too. Points for that.
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Georgia – Wogan called it slightly depressing. We’ll see.
I always automatically think that people wearing sunglasses inside, in a darkened room, are on drugs. I think I’m right 70% of the time. In this instance I think I’m right too, either that, or she’s missing her guide dog.
Actually, I really like the chorus in this. Great harmonies.
She must be missing her guide dog. She hasn’t moved at all during the performance.
Stunning visual in the middle of the performance. They changed from black to white clothing in around 2 seconds. I’d love to see how they did that. Amazing.
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Ukraine –
This is pretty good for poppy stuff. She looks like a twin from one of the earlier performances. Armenia, I think. Great parents. I could well and truly see this getting some votes, even if it’s only for the costume.
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If you’re not familiar with Eurovision, this is my favourite performance from it – ever. it’s from Germany way back in 2000. It’s a rapping funky Elvis from Germany!
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France – I just know I’m not going to like this. It’ll be some pretentious ballad or something. They never fail to make me puke.
Surprise surprise. Fake beards and a golf cart. And he’s singing in ENGLISH!! Isn’t that sacrelige in France?
It’s pretty interesting and catchy actually. Great middle section. This is something really fun. I’d consider this for a vote if I were voting. Very different.
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Azerbaijan – Yes, I’m serious. Azerbaijan.
Oh. Boy. Awesome start!! I love hearing guys sing falsetto and this guy just screamed.
I was expecting some sort of goatherd traditional or something. This is really progressive, rocky stuff. Incredible backing vocals. The favourite so far for me. The falsetto guy’s got silver hair and silver contact lenses. the song is awesome, and a great show. Good vs Evil and all that.
Winners for me, so far. Just pipping out the Finns.
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Greece – Three things you can rely on: Death, Taxes, and the Greek entry in Eurovision referencing Zorba somewhere in their music.
Tacky and candy-coated poppy crap. Such a shame. A girl singing about “her secret combination”. Puke. The less said, the better.
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Spain – The title includes the words “Chiki Chiki”.
Elvis hair. A plastic guitar. A melody that sounds like it’s from India. Five Chiki Chiki dancers.
It’s wierd, but kind of satisfying at the same time. Not a vote winner, but interesting. I love Eurovision.
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Serbia – the hosts cometh, and they bore us to tears. The world needs another ballad like it needs a hole in the head. This will be the new internet dictionary reference for “tedious”.
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There’s usually a few more songs sung in English. It’s been very provincial this year as far as language is concerned. I can’t help but think it gives an act a disadvantage. But that’s just me.
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Russia – This is the winner, so it’ll be interesting. As mentioned in comments, political voting almost always prevails, so the song doesn’t need to be the best.
Another freaking ballad. Sorry to any Russians reading, but you didn’t deserve this win. Your singer is a thin voiced try-hard.
Terrible. An injustice to Azerbaijan
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Norway – The final song.
A nice classy way to finish, actually. They look like they could be Aussies. Though we rock.
Kind of inoffensive, but entertaining even if it’s not totally engaging. Great bass lines.
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My vote would go to the Azerbaijani entry. It was heaps of fun and completely unexpected. I hope they poll well. The Finns second and Turkey third.
Vlade Divac is in the house!!!!
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Another old favourite. From Lithuania in 2006.
A funny idea for a song and a totally rediculous dancer. Hilarious.
BSR have just put together a new product that you car junkies and control freaks will just love. It’s called the Riiport and like most of BSR’s gear, it’s a plug and play masterpiece in the making.
Riiport consists of a fully automatic driver’s log that sends data in real time from the car’s various control systems wirelessly via GPRS to www.riiport.com. Riiport is also able to read all diagnostic trouble codes that inform you if something is wrong with the car, providing both the code and a describing text.
It seems like the Riiport is purchased as a three-year subscription. There’s no installation fee for the unit itself, but your data will cease downloading after three years. That period might be a little to do with leasing, as it’s expected businesses might take this up as a fleet control measure.
Reading all the diagnostic stuff will be of interest to many private buyers as well, though, especially those who’ve purchased some of BSR’s other products
The Riiport device is currently only available for VAG vehicles, but Saab and Volvo are coming soon.
Here’s a great pic of our pal Gunnar Heinrich and his photog sidekick Kevin Kusina ready to launch a Saab TurboX around the improvised track in North Andover, Massachusetts.
As Swade has mentioned previously, Gunnar’s treatment of the event is much more polished than mine. Kudos to him, fo’ sho’.
Here’s Steve Shannon giving an interview to a Spanish-language crew in the middle of our improvised test track while a bunch of amateurs like me drove by at speeds well above our capabilities. I know that we’ve been critical of Mr. Shannon’s low-profile existance at the helm of Saab USA, but he was certainly accessible at this event. As I said in a previous comment, I think that Steve’s a “gamer” — ready to work even though the odds are tough. We may not know what he’s working on, and we may not like what he’s working on, but I definitely get the vibe that he’s working.
Incas. Incas are everybody’s friend. Especially when they are this pristine.
What percentage of Saab US sales would you expect to be SportCombis?
The answer’s interesting seeing it’s such a cool car.
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Blog-watchers might like to note that GM Europe has a blog now, called Driving Conversations. The first post is from Carl-Peter Forster. I think this is sort of like his blog to match the blog that Bob Lutz heads up in the US (the Fastlane blog).
Whispers around the traps indicate that CPF might be “the man” after Maximum Bob retires in a few years time. Perhaps this is getting him used to the role?
Well I just put my Saab up for sale. Kip wrote that we are selling it for $11,800 but I think we are going to try to sell it for $11,000. I am in no hurry to get rid of it. I just really need a bigger car. I have loved this car so much, it’s just that now that I have a little one I need a SUV.
The kid’s nine months old, for goodness sake! Unless she gave birth to the marshmellow man from Ghostbusters I’m sure a 9-3 Sport Sedan is plenty.
Cute kid, though. And if you do happen to click through (not necessary at all) the pause button for the music is at the bottom.
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There’s been a bunch of old Saabs hooning around in the last few weeks. Photos are tuning up allovertheplace Flickr. I picked this one to show because it was taken by our New York mate, Minx.
In the 45 minutes or so that I have prior to boarding the flight to the Delta Airlines hub in Cincinnati, I’ll get things kicked off with a brief overview of the days events:
WOO HOO!!!
Now, on to the details:
First impressions of the Saab TurboX: The Saab TurboX rocks, and in a high-tech-don’t-freakin’-mess-with-me kinda way. The exhaust note is beautiful: full, low and throaty. The 6-speed transmission is as smooth as the ice behind a Zamboni, either in manual or automatic trim. The steering wheel is the absolute right size (similar in size to my 9-5 wheel) and has great feel. 280 hp is plenty for this car, and the turbocharged V-6 feels good making the power, too. After driving my C900 for most of the previous week, the powerplant in the TurboX feels almost elastic. The power starts low in the revs and keeps going right up until redline. At almost any point, stomping your right foot gets the car moving wit’ a quickness. And then, on top of it all, the Haldex cross-wheel drive (XWD) system puts the driver in a great position to use these goodies to their fullest, rain or shine.
And the metallic black paint and special trim (both inside and out) look good on this car.
First reflections on the Saab TurboX: Where’s the freakin’ three-door hatch? This setup screams for a shorter, lighter vehicle to take even greater advantage of the power and control afforded by the amazing marriage of this excellent powerplant, transmission and XWD technology. It would be a home-run going away. Perhaps as iconic as the classic 900 or 99 in the heritage of Saab. Of course, I guess that we can make do with the convertible, but with the stiffness and versatility of a three-door? Fuhgetaboudit!
What a competitive advantage XWD will be on the upcoming 9-4x. It was genuinely difficult to get the TurboX to spin or even miss a turn, no matter how much the tires cried in pain. This technology should dramatically enhance the driver experience and performance limits of a taller vehicle like the 9-4x.
When Saab really gets the bee in their bonnet, they can really engineer a fine automobile that has very few flaws. They’ve even managed to do it with GM parts, so I believe that the TurboX is more than just a great car, it’s the first example of the true prowess of GM + Saab. This marriage has been looking for the royal offspring they are due for some time. This could be it. Really.
I’ve got reams of pictures and information to shuffle through. Stay tuned, this one will be on the board for a few days.
As mentioned earlier, I’m out of town on assignment. Posting will be light, but here’s a few snippets and thoughts.
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Spare a thought for we Aussie Saab buyers. Our federal government will pass it’s budget tonight and included in it will be a tax hike on all cars over $57,000. The 25% tax already in place will increase to 33%.
That tax is charged on the amount paid over $57,000. So if you buy a car worth $67,000, that’s $10,000 over the threshold and you’ll pay an extra $3,300 on top of the $67,000 price in tax.
Saab’s range goes from $43,000 up to just over $90,000 here, so a number of models will be affected.
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Warning. The following may render you speechless and dribbling all over your keyboard.
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Shaker Saab in Ohio is now called Saab of North Olmsted, which is OK, I guess. I’d heard good things about Shaker so I hope the new owners uphold the high standards that were set.
