Autovisie: Saab goes compact

I reported on a story from the Dutch news service Telegraaf last week. In that report, based on a story from another magazine called Autovisie, they claimed that Saab will be showing a new convertible version of the Saab 9-X concept vehicle that made a hardtop debut at Geneva in March and won the Best Concept vehicle at that show.
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The translation of the Telegraaf article came from Albert VDB, who has been kind enough to purchase, scan and translate the article from Autovisie as well.

The Saab 9-3 button dash - do we miss it?

Regular visitors to this site will probably know that I love interiors. To me, the styling and layout of the interior is more important than the exterior appearance of a car. It’s where you spend all your time, where you engage with the car as you drive.
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Two years ago, Saab made a decision to change the dashboard of the Saab 9-3, from a button oriented setup to a simpler, dial oriented layout. You may not have thought about the change much since then, so spare a thought now for the oft missed button dash and dash-top SID.

Saab 9-1 - the opinion

So the Saab 9-1 - IF it is made, and we certainly hope it is, is likely to be made on a small car platform such as the Gamma architecture currently used on the Opel Corsa (see the headline below this one).
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This is a pretty big paradigm shift. One that alters whatever considerations I had about my own potential for owning a Saab 9-1 in the future as I’d never pictured it being a car of that (lack of) size.
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The bottom line: it’s going to be small, which is exactly what a compact car should be, I guess.

More on Saab from the London Motor Show

The London Motor Show officially started today. In addition to the XWD news we’ve already heard, there’s an expansion of the Aero range for UK Saabers to consider.
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But that’s not the big news for me. My main concern was whether or not they’d use the show to announce any action on a possible Saab 9-1 compact vehicle. We did hear a little about it, but it wasn’t anything concrete or positive.

European 2.0T to get XWD and eLSD

When details of the 2009 Saab 9-3 for the US market emerged last month, there was welcome news in the form of XWD being added to the 2.0T range. US customers had to be content with the base version of the technology, however, as there is no eLSD available on the 2.0T range for the US market in 2009.
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I suspect US customers are going to be less than pleased, then, when they hear that their European counterparts will have access to the full XWD system in the 2.0T range, with the eLSD becoming an option in European markets in the coming year.

New Saab performance bits from Hirsch

Hirsch’s newsletter for this July has arrived and once again, it’s full of stuff that makes me want to scream WHY CAN’T WE GET THIS STUFF ALL AROUND THE WORLD???
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This month there’s fuller info on the V6 XWD upgrade, an additional leather interior for the Saab 9-3 range and some specially designed, exclusive 19-inch wheels from the guy who drew the Saab 9-3 SportCombi - and they’re available in black.

SaabUSA sued over engine sludge

A lot of people have argued with SaabUSA about their engine having sludge-related problems. One woman in the US has decided to take the argument to court.

Engine sludge was an ongoing problem for the early models of the Saab 9-5 and certain models of the Saab 9-3, too. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. Susan Angell’s argument isn’t about whether sludge was the cause of the problem. She contends that SaabUSA knew all along and covered up the sludge problem.

Saab 9-1 and 9-3 - the Saab response

I sent off a few questions to Saab Sweden and Saab USA earlier this week with regard to a number of issues.
The questions to SaabUSA were concerned with the appointment of Mark McNabb and the effects that might have on Steve Shannon’s role there. I haven’t received a response on that issue yet.
The questions [...]