Saab wins design poll at Auto Express

August 3, 2011 14:55 Line

By: Swade

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Auto Express magazine (UK) has just handed out it’s 2011 New Car Awards, and the award for Best Design goes to …… [drumroll] …… the Saab PhoeniX Concept.

The award for Best Design was decided by public poll. The PhoeniX was up against 39 competitors but took a massive 30% of the vote (yes, Saab does indeed have an engaged online community).

Second place in the award went to the Alfa Romeo 4C and the final spot on the podium was occupied by the Jaguar C-X75.

Auto Express’ comments:

Concept cars are designed to grab headlines, and Saab’s PhoeniX did just that when it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The stunner is the first car to be penned from scratch by new design director, Jason Castriota, and its styling gives us a glimpse of what’s to come from the famous brand.

Comments from Saab GB:

Commenting on winning the award, Saab GB Managing Director, Charles Toosey, said: “We are delighted that the PhoeniX has been awarded this prestigious accolade. The PhoeniX symbolises a renaissance of the innovative spirit and passion that drove Saab to build its first car, the iconic Ursaab, and we look forward to launching the next generation of Saab models in 2012.”

Charles Toosey, left. AE’s Graham Hope, right.

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Below, Jason Castriota talks about PhoeniX – what it is and what it means for Saab.

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At the Saab Owners Club GB annual meet – Part 3

August 3, 2011 14:37 Line

By: Swade

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Finally, some of the arty, interesting and funny images from the Saab Owners Club GB annual meeting I attended last week in Haydock.

If you haven’t seen them already, you can also view:

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Click to enlarge any of these images.

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Press Release: SWEDISH AUTOMOBILE ISSUES SUBSCRIPTION NOTICE UNDER GEM FACILITY

August 3, 2011 8:00 Line

By: Swade

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Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 3 August 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces today that it issued a subscription notice for 5 million shares under the current EUR 150 million equity facility between Swan and GEM Global Yield Fund Limited. The exact number of shares to be issued and the price thereof will depend on a 10 day pricing period, which commences today.

Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) expects to be able to pay the wages of its white-collar workers still this week. Swan and Saab Automobile continue their discussions with parties to obtain further short-term funding to be able to restart and sustain production.

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At the Saab Owners Club GB annual meet – Part 2

August 2, 2011 14:42 Line

By: Swade

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Yesterday we covered some of the older cars at the Saab Owners Club GB annual meetup at Haydock Racecourse.

Today, we’re looking at the 1980′s and onwards. The cars of this generation are those that will likely be more familiar to the modern Saab enthusiast and the vehicles on show were just as beautifully maintained and presented as the older cars.

The Young’uns

Click any photo to enlarge.

Let’s kick things off with the (second) youngest vehicle at the show, Mike’s 2010 Saab 9-5 in Glacier Silver. I saw four new Saab 9-5s on the roads that day, and all of them were this colour. Obviously, all of them were owners with impeccable taste.

There was another Saab 9-5 at the show, a 2011 model, which was brought along by Graeme Lambert of Auto Express magazine. The vehicle is their long-term tester. And yes, it was also in Glacier Silver :-)

There were plenty of Saab 900 Convertibles on show and it was the perfect day for some topless exhibitionism…..

I have to draw some special attention to this next one. It was a limited run of convertibles specially made by Saab City, the Saab GB owned dealership in central London. The paint and interior combination was specific to these model and the car was badged as the Diamond Edition. It’s unknown to me how many of these were made or how many still exist, but I sure hope the owner understands and appreciates the rare gem he has there.

And some more modern convertibles……

This one stunned me when I first saw it. Try as I might, I can rarely remember seeing one of these in red (a red Viggen convertible in Minnesota comes to mind, but not much else). I don’t know why there aren’t many of them as this looks sensational.

…..And a beautiful blue Anniversary convertible, or “Cerulean Edition” as it was known in England.

There was only one Saab 9-3 Viggen at the show, in the perfect combination of Lightning Blue paint and 3-door body.

To my discredit, I didn’t get an exterior photo of this Saab 9-5. I can assure you that it was as black as the darkest night, totally spotless, as is the engine bay and interior you can see below.

The ‘Best prepared current production vehicle’ award was one by a Saab 9-3 that was truly magnificent in its presentation. The detail in the engine bay and body kit (carbon fibre) was amazing.

This Saab 9-5 had a very unusual set of almost-Saaby wheels…..

And another very nicely turned out engine bay as well….

Saab 9000s were a little under-represented in terms of numbers (as they often are) but this Aero was a treat….

And this Saab 900 was just plain good fun…… more pics of this one in our final post, coming very soon.

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Saabosphere – Saab links we liked this week

August 1, 2011 21:27 Line

By: Swade

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I do not know if this is real.

I suspect that it isn’t.

But it’s nice.

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Sometimes ‘the social space’ can be tough to deal with. Consumers have a voice through social media and much of the time, they use it to voice complaints or opinions that companies need to address, either to solve an issue or to correct a misconception. That’s OK, we deal with it.

Occasionally you get a social story that shows the way this new medium can be used for good.

Susan Scrupski runs a website called ITS Insider, where she tracks various IT Services industry issues and trends. She’s a heavy-hitter in this space, too, being named one of Fast Company’s most influential women in technology for 2010, and with thousands of Twitter followers, Facebook friends and Google+ listings.

Roger Beasley Saab in Austin, Texas, probably knew none of this when Susan walked into their dealership last weekend to take a look at a car from Saab’s Pre-Owned program. But when they gave her fantastic service and a finance deal that suited her needs (rather than theirs) they won her praise.

I came across Susan’s story from her Twitter feed. She has over 7,000 followers and many of them will have read about it as well. Susan detailed her experience on her personal blog and you can read the whole story there (and I recommend that you do).

Amazing car buying experience at Roger Beasley Saab this weekend – Taking It Personal.

The lessons:

  • for customers – it’s OK to use your voice for the power of good.
  • for dealers – you never know who’s walking into your showroom. Always provide the best service you can for the good of the customer.
  • for Roger Beasley Saab – Continue to look after Susan, just as she’s looked after you.

Congratulations to Roger Beasley Saab for earning the shout-out and to Susan on the acquisition of the new-to-her Saab 9-5.

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Most of us will have been to car shows in our local areas. Given that this is a Saab website, I imagine most of you would have been to shows where Saabs figure prominently, perhaps alongside many other makes that originate in your country.

When “your country” is Russia, that makes for an exhibition of vehicles that many of us don’t get to see too often.

Yes, there’s a Saab in there, and plenty of other interesting metal as well.

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The Saab 9-4x leading a pack at Spa, in Belgium.

Need I say more?

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We’ll have more on this in coming days, but for now, if you’re in Great Britain, keep an eye out for the Nomad Theatre, popping up in a place near you.

Here’s what it was like last weekend, at Hampton Court Palace.

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From Tobias A, via Twitter:

Wonder if we can expect any news on the current situation from Saab this week? @Inside_saab Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

I’ll tell you all what I told Tobias in response, because I know there are a lot of eyes on the company at the moment.

Officially speaking, we don’t do speculation. We can’t comment on matters that involve potential investors, or matters that are under discussion and incomplete. I try to bring some commentary and perspective from time to time (which some choose to interpret and dismiss as spin, but which they took as insight back in my SU days).

We will always bring you hard news as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.

Stay tuned. We appreciate your concern and support and despite what some say, our executive team are working their tails off to solve our current issues.

If you want to follow Inside Saab at Twitter, it’s @inside_saab.

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At the Saab Owners Club GB annual meet – part 1

August 1, 2011 17:29 Line

By: Swade

Comments (15)

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending the annual meetup of the Saab Owners Club of Great Britain. Th event was held at Haydock Park Racecourse at Merseyside and it was great to see so many beautiful Saabs in one place.

I’ve been the SOCGB national once before, in 2010. There were a few of the same cars as last year, but it was good to see quite a few different cars as well.

The oldies – click the image to enlarge.

Most of us in the enthusiast crowd are appreciators of the older Saab fleet and the English do attention-to-detail as well as anyone else out there in Saabland.

This Saab 95 was so clean – everywhere – that you could have eaten your dinner from any surface you liked (if the owner let you, which he wouldn’t).

Even the springs and hinges are painted and cleaned!

This is about as old-timer as it got last weekend – a Saab 92B. Like nearly every car at the show, it was pristine.

This early Saab 96 stroker caught a lot of attention with its bright red paint in the sunshine.

And I had to do a double-take at the interior. You’d think a guy who grew in Australia would be accustomed to right-hand-drive but I’m so used to seeing 96s in Sweden now that I had to look twice and figure it all out in my own head.

An image that harks back to a day when car companies sold cars with a range of real colors…..

….of course, if people bought cars in great numbers that were painted in something other than silver/black today then companies would produce more colors, but neither party seems willing to do so.

That first car in the row is a Saab 96 Souvenir edition, a limited model of just 150 units, sold in the UK in the late 1970s.

Some more fantastic Saab old-timers…… I love the minilite wheels on a Saab 96.

And this bright blue V4 was an eye-catcher not only for it’s paint….

An early Saab Sport……

And a 96 that’s done the rounds….. I guess it’s one of the blessings of being in a big club with proximity to the continent. Great people to see and great events in the warmer months.

This year’s Top Saab 99, a beautiful 1984 model, which I got to drive home!

This one had some very nice twin pipes at the back and sounded fantastic!

And finally – I got Sonett fever once again. Every time I’m close to these babies I just lose it. I spent a lot of time on the green one, chatting with the owner, etc. Absolutely beautiful and officially on my automotive bucket list.

I want to be in this picture one day…… it looks so “must drive”

One of only 258 ever made……. and gorgeous!

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I’ll have more from the Saab Owners Club GB annual event coming soon…..

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Writing of Saab’s potential

July 31, 2011 0:47 Line

By: Swade

Comments (7)

Greetings from England, where I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Saab Owners Club of Great Britain annual meet. I’ll have a bunch of photos from the event in the next few days. Today, I’d like to point you towards an article that appeared in the Swedish press over the weekend.

I’d like to point out something I wrote last week in an editorial here at Inside Saab:

I still love this place and I still believe in this company. It’s exactly the same as when GM were considering shutting us down: there’s simply too much good stuff – brand, product, plant and people – for this [company] to be left to wither.

Brand, product, plant, people. To me, that’s what it all comes down to.

There are very few automotive analysts or writers willing to assess those elements of Saab’s operations in any detail. They have a tendency to skim over a few of them with a summary, essentially saying “brand=damaged and product=not enough” without looking at the whole company in any depth. The focus is purely on financials, which do have to be sorted out, no doubt. But a look beyond that would be welcome.

Discovered via SaabsUnited, I’d like to point you towards an article in Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper. In this debate article, the writer does manage to take this deeper look at Saab and expand on those four essential elements in some detail, finally saying in a Swedish newspaper some of the things that many of us who believe in Saab have been trying to promote for some time – Saab has some superb potential.

Click through and translate the full article online. If you’re familiar with the workings of this company, then I think you’ll find yourself nodding your head quite a lot.

A summary of the virtues discussed in the article:

  • Reach – Saab’s new deal with Pang Da has the potential – if each Pang Dab dealer sold just one car per week – to provide around half Saab’s required volume.
  • Technology and talent – Saab’s engineers have recently developed extraordinary tech that gives the 9-3 TTiD Griffin a full 180hp whilst keeping under the 120g/km emissions threshold. I’d like to add to that some of the technology under development and due to be seen soon: things like e-XWD and iQon. Saab also has a world-class design team led by Jason Castriota.
  • Partnerships – our engine partnership with BMW and vehicle development partnership with Youngman and Pang Da.
  • Range – Our range is bigger than it’s ever been and it’s only getting better. The cars themselves are constantly improving and the 9-5 and especially the 9-4x are getting fantastic reviews in key markets.
  • Brand – Our brand has taken some damage in the last few months/year, but remains very identifiable and strong. The author cites the Saab support convoys (world-wide gatherings 18 months ago when GM threatened to close Saab) as evidence of this.

There’s a lot more to the article, too. A glance is cast towards other niche carmakers that seem to survive pretty well, and a look towards other markets that have supported their car industries with assistive policies or actions (see below about a ‘bailout’).

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Both as an employee and as an enthusiast, it’s very encouraging to see an editorial such as this in the Swedish press. There is a strong fear in this market that Saab will turn out to be another instance like the shipyard corporate bailouts of the 1970s. Many people seem to be very negative towards Saab because of this fear but it’s encouraging to see someone looking at the potential within this company.

And having mentioned the shipping industry bailouts, I’m obliged to also mention that unlike the shipyards of the 70′s, Saab is not asking, nor have we ever asked, for a government bailout.

Brand, product, plant, people.

Given conditions that would allow the right investors to come on board and help this company stabilise and grow, we could make the most of all these elements of our company.

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Events: Saab Owners Club GB annual event

July 28, 2011 15:17 Line

By: Swade

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It’s a little late for posting to the events page, but later today I’ll be jumping on a plane to head off to England.

Part of my weekend visit will include a couple of days at the Saab Owners Club GB annual gathering, being held this year at Haydock Park. All the info is available at the club website. If you’re in the area then I’m sure they’d love for you to drop by, say hello and maybe have a cup of tea!

There will be all the cars, of course, but there will also be parts sales, show-n-shine and all the other usual events that accompany a big nationwide event. Personally speaking, I’ll be spending a lot of my weekend trying to steal either Peter’s Sonett II or Chris’ 99Turbo and then heading for the chunnel.

Last year’s event in Bath….

I was fortunate enough to spend a day at last year’s event as well, in Bath, and am looking forward to a return visit this year.

I’ll have plenty of pics from the event and hopefully a few stories to tell, as well.

Naturally, if there’s any urgent breaking news (i.e. the official kind) then I’ll be updating the site as soon as possible. Griffin up!

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Events: Flying Saab weekend (Italy)

July 28, 2011 13:34 Line

By: Swade

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I’ve added another event to the events calendar.

This is one that I won’t be bale to attend myself as I’ll be back in Australia, but it’s one that I definitely wish I could.

It’s being hosted by the Saab Club of Italy and the theme is “Flying Saab”

The event will be held on September 10th and 11th at the Boscomantico Airport in Verona.

Being held at an airport is significant. Not only will there be a large variety of old and new Saabs for attendees to try out, there will also be helicopter, glider and light aircraft flights available, as well as tandem parachuting!!!

The cars on offer will date back to the Saab 96 and there will be a full range of vehicles for inspection and driving, right up to the new Saab 9-5.

The event is being organised by the Saab Club of Italy in conjunction with the City of Verona and one of the local Aeroclubs. A true partnership effort that’ll offer some great experiences for those who can make it.

Websites:

Both sites offer the opportunity to download a PDF leaflet for the event, as well as registration information. You don’t need to be a member of Saab Club Italy to attend – all are welcome.

I wish I could be there.

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Keeping it in the family – Saab 96

July 27, 2011 23:10 Line

By: Swade

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We have the coolest fans in the world. So many good stories to tell.

A few days ago, I was outside getting a breath of fresh air (ahem!) when a beautiful, blue Saab 96 turned up at the front gate. The car stopped and a familiar, smiling face got out to say hello.

I first met Hans Thing at the Saab Festival last year. He was at the festival with his son, Jacob, who had just finished rebuilding a Saab 92 – by himself – finishing the job at the tender age of just 19. It was my favourite story from the festival and if you want to see some impressive work, click that link and check out the images of the rebuild.

Here’s Jacob at the festival last year, with Erik Carlsson and Jacob’s Saab 92.

Hans is Jacob’s father and he called by the Saab factory gate for a visit because his family stopped in Trollhattan for a few days on their way to Finland for the 2011 IntSaab gathering (can’t wait to get there myself!).

I’ve written about their family obsession with restoring and preserving Saabs once before, so it was great for me to see one of their collection first hand. Even better is the story behind it.

This car – a 1970 model Saab 96 – has been in Hans’ life since 1976. That’s a long time but it’s not too unusual. What’s a little different is that the 96 has come in and out of his life several times over those 35 years.

Check out the history:

  • Purchased in 1976 for 900 Euro. 120,000kms on the clock and lots of rust in the body. Everything that needed it was renewed and the car repainted. Converted to LPG and the sold for 2,500 Euro to a friend when the work was all finished.
  • 11 years and another 300,000kms later, the friend called back – the car needed to be restored once again. Hans bought the car back and it became one of the family’s daily drivers for the next four years.
  • The car was taken apart (again) during this time. All the rust was removed/replaced and the whole body was hot-galvanised and repainted in Iridium Blue. An update to look like the 1980 model was completed at this time, along with the fitting of a 1700cc engine and some Saab 900 seats to match the paint. This work was completed in 1993.
  • That same year, the car was sold again, for 5,000 Euro, to a mother so that she could transport her two children. A promise was made that she’d return the car when she no longer had use for it.
  • Four years and another 100,000kms later -in 1997 – the car returned to Hans’ neighborhood, but not to his garage. It was bought by a young neighbor as his first car.
  • In 2002 the young neighbor completed his university education and wanted to upgrade to a Saab Turbo. The car finally passed back in to Hans’ ownership.
  • Since then, the engine has been overhauled and uprated to 1850cc, with Bosch K-Jetronic, a bigger cooling system and fuel tank. The body and paint have remained untouched since 1991 and are still in absolutely fantastic condition, as you can see in the photo.

If you read this story about their family Saabs, you’ll see that this car now has a healthy 800,000kms+ on the odometer.

Hans’ family – including his octogenarian parents – has a full fleet of high-milers and they’re all exceptionally well cared for. Both his son and daughter have restored their own cars over the years. In fact, his young granddaughter is now the fourth generation of the family to ride in the same car – her mother’s Saab 900.

I was so taken with his car that I offered to continue the story by purchasing Hans’ Saab 96, but he declined. Seems like it’s staying in the family for good, now.

A great story. One of very many out there in Saab-land.

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