by Swade on September 3, 2010
I’m going to feature a couple of the award winners from Swedish Car Day, held last weekend in Boston.
If you were getting your Saab serviced, wouldn’t you feel a little reassured knowing that your mechanic is as big a Saab nut as you? Or maybe even a bigger one? Such is the case at Charles River Saab, where a couple of the mechanics took away prizes in various classes.
And don’t make the mistake of thinking the awards were an inside job – one look at these cars and you’ll see the quality. There were plenty of great cars at Swedish Car Day, but the two that I’ll show you over the next day or so were worthy winners.
The first of the two cars I’ll show you belongs to Ralph Bakoven, one of the techs at CRS. It’s a 1968 Saab Sonett II V4 and whilst it looks sweet in virginal white, this car is far from innocent.
Ralph bought the car in 1989. It was far from the showpiece you see today and despite the low 58,000 miles on the clock, Ralph got it for a bargain $1,000 from a very sick owner who hadn’t had the time to restore it (the owner actually passed away the day before Ralph came to pick it up).
[click to continue…]
by Swade on September 3, 2010
Here’s another one in the latest round of advertisements from Saab.
Last week, I teed off on an ad that I just plain didn’t like. I can see where Saab are looking to go with these and now that I’ve seen a few, I don’t mind the concept at all. I just didn’t like the text on some of the earlier ones.
This ad is entitled ‘Obsession’ and it was photographed from the latest issue of Automobile Magazine. Much better.
Click.
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Thanks to Justin for sending it through.
by Swade on September 3, 2010
I’m only guessing, but there’s a high likelihood that you could count the number of Saabs sold in Australia last month on one hand. Perhaps even no hands.
It’s my understanding that Saab will “go it alone” here in Australia, setting up their own import group rather than appointing and import company like they’ve done in Canada. This is a great decision, primarily because all the importers here are crap and don’t pay much mind to smaller brands. Timing for this venture is unknown at this point.
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I thought I’d post some sales numbers here on site, just to give you all a look into the marketplace here in Australia. As you can see, there’s quite an influence from Asian manufacturers, which is not surprising given our proximity to the region.
An interesting development in the last week or so is the rumour that Opel might start bringing cars here and selling the with the Opel badge. In years past, Opels have been sold as Holdens. It may be that GM want to bring Opel in as the premium product with Asian designed and built Holdens sliding in underneath.
Anyway, here are the sales for Australia last month. This is the kind of stuff we’re putting up with on our roads.
Top Selling Brands
1. Toyota - 16,633
2. Holden – 11,146
3. Ford – 8212
4. Mazda – 6473
5. Hyundai – 6560
6. Nissan – 4733
7. Mitsubishi – 4502
8. Honda – 2740 (I think that’s a typo, should be 3740)
9. Subaru – 3230
10. Volkswagen – 3022
Top Selling Cars
Top selling cars:
1. Commodore – 3674
2. Corolla – 3520
3. Mazda3 – 2871
4. i30 – 2496
5. Cruze – 2383
6. Falcon – 2344
7. Camry – 1955
8. Getz – 1789
9. Lancer – 1614
10. Yaris – 1488
11. Forester – 1406
12. Barina – 1325
13. Captiva – 1317
14. Mazda2 – 1281
15. Prado – 1253
16. RAV4 – 1160
17. Golf – 1149
18. Territory – 1093
19. Swift – 1021
20. Fiesta – 911
by Swade on September 3, 2010
A while ago, I wrote about what I hoped/expected to see from Saab at the Paris Auto Show, which is coming up in October.
At that time, I forecasted the possible showing of a refreshed Saab 9-3 and perhaps an announcement as to some future partnerships that Saab might be looking into.
Some of you may have noted in another recent post that I mentioned I might have to adjust those expectations. And so it has come to pass.
Mail from a few different places indicates to me that Saab won’t be showing a refreshed 9-3 in Paris. In fact, from what I can tell, the only significant change to the initial release of the 2011 Saab 9-3 could be a new low-emissions diesel netting less than 120g/km. There may also be some changes to the equipment packaging in some markets, giving more standard equipment but for a slightly higher price.
This diesel IS a pretty big deal, actually, and could mean a lot for business leasing customers in Europe. But it’s also fair to say that it’s not the sort of announcement that shakes my tree, from a personal point of view.
It sounds like there might be a new, lower output TTiD engine making around 160HP to replace the 150HP TiD unit. Combined with longer gears, it should be using just 5.1 litres per 100km and emitting less of the nasty stuff as well.
Interior and Exterior should remain as they are for the time being. It looks like we’re going to have to wait a little while for the refreshed version, though maybe not an entire year.
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I still think that Paris would be an opportune time to announce any new partnerships, but I don’t know if those relationships have been cemented.
Whilst the new diesel is significant from a practical point of view, it is [just] a new low-output diesel. Not quite the thing that’ll inspire the dancing girls and marching bands.
by Swade on September 3, 2010
No, SU is not turning into a jobs board, but Aktive Motors have been very…. um…. aktive in the Canadian Saab community and I thought it’d be a good thing to help out their growing business.
Aktive Motors is located in Oakville, Ontario.
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Position: Senior & Junior Automotive Mechanic
Experience: 2+ Years on European cars
Required Education: Licensed preferred, but will consider experienced individuals
Terms of Employment: Full-time
Salary: To be determined
Job Description:
Aktive Motors is expanding again and is in need of experienced automotive mechanics for our busy shop so that we can maintain the highest level of standards and service that our customers have come to expect.
Mechanic must be able to diagnose and make repairs on all areas of a vehicle. Individual must also be able to use diagnostic equipment and computers.
Requirements:
- Must have their own tools and steel-toe boots
- Valid driver’s licence (with a clean abstract)
- Able to read, write and speak English
- Reliable, punctual, honest & hard working
- Ability to follow direction
- Attention to detail & customer satisfaction
- Positive attitude
- Able to work independently but also as a team player
We Offer:
- Great friendly working atmosphere
- Management support
- Advancement within the organization for the right individual
Please e-mail us your resume with your contact information to: christian.aktivemotors-at-bellnet.ca (replace -at- with @ as per usual)
We thank all applicants for your interest, but only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
No phone calls please.
by Swade on September 3, 2010
There’s a very good feature article in the online version of Automobile right now.
It takes a look at the difficult situations that have faced both Saab and Volvo over the last 18 months and the resultant sunlight that’s peeking through those corporate stormcoulds for both companies.
General Motors swallowed Saab in 1990 amid great hoopla and then cut it off at the knees. It sucked the life out of the boutique operation, which perpetually lost money, before eventually sucking out its brains entirely…..
There are very good analyses of the sale, the new 9-5 (S60 for Volvo) and the times ahead for both companies, with a pretty strong focus on Saab throughout.
The 9-5 is an example of what GM did right with the Swedish brand. The car is a convincing Saab and, despite its genesis, makes a fitting new entry for the re-emergent brand. It won’t be an easy road, but you can’t help but get the sense that the sun is shining on Saab once again.
Bring a warm beverage and park yourself in a comfy chair – this is a 12-page epic, which is somewhat unusual in the ADHD world of internet publishing.
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There are a few mentions of various 9-5 product configurations for what I presume is the US market. I haven’t heard anything concrete about these but it’ll be interesting to see if they’re accurate.
That Opel blurb...