News from the 2008 Saab Owners Convention

The 2008 Saab Owners Convention has been taking place this weekend in Devens, Mass, and whilst I couldn’t be there and didn’t ask anyone to do anything on TS’s behalf, Alexandre was kind enough to take some notes and pass them on.
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Notes include info on the Saab 9-1, TTiD for the US, engines in the 9-4x and a little on the 9-5. I’ve also thrown in a link to some initial images that have been posted.

Pollhattan Saab: a 1.6T for the Saab 9-5?

Earlier today, I posted on a Channel4 report about the Saab 9-5.
They’re claiming that the next generation Saab 9-5 will get a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine for its base model. They state that the info has come from a Saab source, but I’m remaining cautious until I can confirm the info for myself.
There’s been [...]

Channel 4 put 1.6T into Saab 9-5

England’s 4Car website is running a story today that claims the next Saab 9-5 will have a base engine of just 1.6 litres displacement, with a high pressure turbo employed to deliver the output expected of a flagship sedan.
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They claim Saab sources told them so, but I’m skeptical.

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.

2010 Saab 9-5 photochop

Auto Motor and Sport in Sweden have posted a new photoshop CGI of what they believe is the forthcoming Saab 9-5, which will be a 2010 model year vehicle released for sale late in 2009. The illustration is from an outfit called Schulte Design, who apparently make a habit of being very close to the real thing in their renderings.

Don’t lose your reverence

When you drive Saabs all the time, it’s easy to figure that it’s “normal”. It’s not. Go spend a week or two in what really is a “normal” car. A garden variety car from one of the garden variety brands. When you get back in your Saab you’ll realise again how well thought out it is. How good it feels when the turbo kicks in.

Saabs were never normal cars for me, nor will they ever be. Here’s why.

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.