You are browsing the archive for 2009 June.

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by Swade

Tuesday night snippets – the news edition

June 30, 2009 in Archive

There’s a couple of stories floating around the web that I’ll tie together here rather than dedicate to individual posts.
——
DI.se on Mark Bishop’s trail
There was a big article in Sweden’s Dagens Industri newspaper in the last couple of days. They were trying to track down The Koenigsegg Group’s mysterious shareholder, Mark Bishop, but seemingly without success.
They even went to the trouble of sending some reporters to California, but they were met with closed doors.
If there was anything worthwhile in the report that we didn’t already know, perhaps one of you Swedes could share some dot points with us? The report is not online as yet.
—
Leases back in town for UK market.
Some good news for British Saabers and dealers alike.
Lease providers in the UK, who had previously suspended writing up Saab leases due to uncertainty surrounding the company, have started doing business with Saab again.

Now an agreement has been reached between General Motors and the Swedish sports car maker, Koenigsegg, which should see Koenigsegg take control Saab within weeks.
As a result, lease companies here are revising their Saab policies again.
“We are writing business on Saab,” confirmed Mark Sinclair managing director of multi-marque provider, Alphabet.
“We have reconsidered our stance recently and have improved our rates accordingly.”

It’s nice to see a little bit of confidence, eh?
Not all lease providers have jumped on the bandwagon, with some still waiting to see what happens. Here’s hoping for some [K]-egg on their faces soon :-)
Thanks to Karen, in comments!
—
Twitter-tipology
One of the reasons I’m getting back into Twitter, is to catch all the things that don’t make the headlines on various websites. I’ll be using it the same way.
Like tonight, where the Saab Newsroom posted a link to a new-old Saab 95 video from 1961 they’ve uploaded to Youtube.
Cool.
Other Saabers you can follow include Joe Oliver from Saab’s PR division and Peter Backstrom from the Saab Museum.
—
Opel no diamond
News continues to circulate about the Opel deal being far from over.

General Motors has stepped up negotiations with rival suitors to offload a stake in Opel/Vauxhall, its European carmaking business, and could sign at least one memorandum of understanding this week as talks with Magna International, preferred bidder, have hit obstacles.

Fiat’s offer is still on the table and both RHJ and BAIC are said to be considering raised offers very soon.
It’s worth bearing in mind that whilst we’re all very hopeful, the deal with Koenigsegg isn’t done yet, either.
They’re in the midst of their due diligence inspections right now, but that’s not open ended and one would guess there’ll have to be some hardcore negotiations and signatures sooner rather than later.
—
Money for pleasure
Via Jalopnik, a rare example of the undisputed #1 sex-on-wheels exclusomobile is for sale on Craigslist.
There’s no nudity in that ad but it could still be considered NSFW just because of the car.

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by Swade

First K-Saab plate?

June 30, 2009 in Archive

Just in via email……
KonisegPlate.jpg
Well done!!!!
Thanks Daryl!

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by Swade

Is the Swedish government off it’s tree?

June 30, 2009 in Saabology

UPDATE below
——
This is related to the earlier story of Saab’s desire for operational finance to carry it through until it’s ownership situation is settled and it’s EIB loan application can be seen.
TTELA are now covering the story, too, and their translation seems to be much more readable. I’m no longer occupied with site admin stuff, so I can also give some more thought to things.
The situation seems to be as follows:

  • Saab had several buyers lined up, all three of the primary ones were credible buyers of varying financial strength. Conclusion – Saab will be sold and the government is probably 90% assured of not being left holding the baby.
  • Saab have sufficient orders to increase production and possibly thereby increase employment, but this will incur immediate costs, which they don’t think they’ve got the funds to cover (revenue from that activity won’t be seen for a while).
  • It seems Saab can’t apply for their EIB loan until September 22, unless they can grease the wheels somehow.
  • Their only option at the moment is to seek a loan from the Swedish government, who have allocated funds to help car companies, who haven’t paid a single ore (pls forgive my lack of dots) from this allocation but who also say they won’t lend it because the emergency car company funding isn’t actually for car company emergencies. Or something like that.
  • The government, instead of stepping in and helping whilst Saab is in this short transition limbo period, they want Saab’s new owners to step in, despite the fact that THEY DON’T EVEN OWN THEM YET!!!!!!!

It may be that I’m making Saab mad once again by taking a stance on this, but from the outside looking in, it seems the only good thing the Swedish government has done for Saab thus far is refrain from killing the company completely.
It seems every time Saab goes to shake the metaphorical hand of the government, they’re wearing one of those electric shock gags in the palm of their hands.
—
Swedes, I know you’re going to give me a belting for this one for not knowing the internal comings and goings of the government and industry there, so fire away.
But it just seems like the government are doing every small thing that the law requires them to do, and absolutely nothing else.
——
UPDATE:
A report from Reuters seems to clarify the issue a fair bit.
The funding that Saab is seeking in the form of a bridge loan is something they need purely to increase production to meet demand.
They still have enough money to get through reconstruction, albeit at a low rate of production. If they got the bridging finance from the state, they could increase production, meet anticipated higher demand, and re-employ some of their workforce that was previously laid off.
So I guess those former employees who are needlessly unemployed at the moment can send a thankyou card to Stockholm.

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by Swade

Funding issues still haunting Saab?

June 30, 2009 in Archive

I covered an article at GP.se earlier this month, where they reported that Saab might run into money problems if they have to wait until September to secure their EIB loans.
There were several other reports to contradict this, but the story still lingers.
Today, GP.se are covering it again, though now with quotes from Saab’s head honcho, Jan-Ake Jonsson:

Saab needs new money in the summer to go up in production. It says CEO Jan-Åke Jonsson to GP from Almedalen.
Under the heading “What is the future for the Swedish car industry”, the Saab’s CEO Jan-Åke Jonsson and Industry Minister Maud Olofsson State Jöran Hägglund to discuss on a plank of Almedalen today.
But really, they have much more drastic – and [important?] question – discussions to bring in a concrete plan.
It is about Saab’s very near future.
- We would have to go up in output relative to the orders we have,” says Jan-Åke Jonsson when GP meet him in Almedalen.
But there is no money to do it.
Therefore Saab is trying, by all means, to accelerate the loan process for loans from the European Investment Bank, EIB.
But Saab is also negotiating so-called överbryggnadslån, or emergency loans, directly with the Swedish state.
- We have discussed it, but not received a hearing so far, says Jan-Åke Jonsson.
Saab, together with the new owners, for discussions with Riksgälden and EIB to try to speed up the process to obtain clearance from the EIB loan earlier than September 22. It is the date mentioned as the earliest EIB’s board could decide on the loan.
- The EIB has a board meeting in July We are working with the EIB to see if we can not move the decision until July,” said Jonsson. We have not excluded it.
- ….it allows us to adapt our operations so that the money is enough.

Now, we should bear in mind that earlier reports told us that JAJ and Saab’s administrator, Guy Lofalk, both stated that Saab had enough money to get them through to new ownership.
It may be that increased orders mean increased costs without revenue flowing through in time to cover those increased costs. A basic cashflow problem.
It should also be remembered that Saab can’t use EIB money to cover production costs. This money is earmarked for investment in new technology.
–
Thanks to Per and Magnus!

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by Swade

Saabs United – finding good homes for Turbo X’s everywhere….

June 30, 2009 in Saabology

The quest to house any remaining Turbo X’s continues and today I’ve received an email from another new Turbo X owner.
His name is BrianL and he writes as follows:

I thought I’d drop you a line before these pop up on your Flickr feed. I finally got some decent photos of my new toy. A barely broken in Turbo X SC! I’ve added about 2000 miles to it and it has been awesome. I was a bit hesitant about buying the same car again, but this car is a totally different car than my 04 SS.
I was encouraged by your post on left over Turbo Xs and saw this one needing a new home. It’s fully loaded except auto and nav.

IMHO, all you’re missing is the nav, Brian. But that’s just me.
BrianLTurboX0.jpg
BrianLTurboX1.jpg
BrianLTurboX2.jpg
I’ve passed along my congratulations privately but wanted to do so publicly as well. These are awesome cars going for rediculous prices, and they deserve good homes.
The best car I’ve ever owned is the Saab 9-3 Viggen and the Turbo X is this generation of vehicle’s Viggen – and then some. It’ll be one of those cars that every enthusiast will wish they’d owned at one stage.
If you can find one, snap one up.

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by Swade

Former SaabUSA chief Joel Manby on GM/Saab culture

June 30, 2009 in Archive

Joel Manby was one of the 8 guys who kicked off Saturn back in the 1980s, with a finely honed focus on the customer being more important than everything else – even the cars they were selling.
In the mid-late 1990s, he was slotted in as the head of SaabUSA, staying there for four years. He’s now working as the CEO of a company dealing with entertainment parks called Herschend Family Entertainment.
Manby did an interview recently with Georgia Public Broadcasting. The interview was mainly concerned with his current role at Herschend, but in discussing the corporate culture there, he also touched on his past experiences at GM in general, and Saturn and Saab in particular.
The full interview is available in PDF form here or you can watch it on video here.
I’ve reproduced the Saab and GM bits below:
——

“…what I saw at General Motors which was not very good. It was chaos. It wasn’t very well led. And at General Motors it was only about the bottom line. It was only about money and, you know, at the end of the day, I don’t think great people are really attracted to that…”
“…when I was in the GM culture, a lot of the discussion was about cutting costs and labor issues, union issues, and not enough about what’s going on with that customer.”
“…with Saab, we had a fantastic car, but we had no marketing strategy and no dealer network.”
“On Saab, the biggest thing I learned is how difficult it is to change a culture that is not customer focused and in Saab’s case, it was an engineering driven company. When you’d be in the meetings, it’d be all about having the absolute, best car, which actually, you can go too far, because you can put things into the car that customers aren’t willing to pay for. The engineers want it, but you’re not willing to pay for it as a customer,and that’s what I walked away with [from] Saab. You’ve got to only put in things that the customer is willing to reward you for…”
“At Saturn and Saab I saw a lot of mistakes there where, frankly, it became poor leadership. It really comes down to strong leadership and at Herschend, the owners just permeate the values.”

This guy is incredibly customer-focused and running a car company has to be about the product first and foremost, but some care and attention on the customer side is going to be crucial as Saab emerge from GM’s shadow.
Under Koenigsegg, Saab will have a chance to rebuild their identity under the flag of an exotic and very Swedish ownership identity. The customer experience will hopefully be developed to reflect this.
This has been an interesting insight from a guy was, at one time, right there at the coal face.
——
My thanks to Alan H for the tip and quotes!

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by Swade

Jalopnik review Cadillac SRX

June 30, 2009 in Archive

You know I don’t really care either way about the success or otherwise of the Cadillac SRX or Cadillac in general. Send them all here as far as I’m concerned….
BUT.
This particular Cadillac – the new SRX – has a sister vehicle that will be very important for Saab’s future, so when I saw this review at Jalopnik on my feed reader this morning, I thought I’d take a proper look.
The most important thing to read in this review is the summary sentence on quality.

The SRX greets you not with the new car smell of off-gassing plastics, but instead smells more like an old Jaguar with a nose full of leather and wood, a subtle reminder that this car is part of a return to proper Cadillacs, a return to that whole “standard of the world” business that Cadillac hasn’t been able to claim in at least three decades.
The interior fit and finish in the SRX is seriously luxurious, using GM’s “cut and sew” hand-stitched leather throughout.

Fit and finish are said to be ‘luxurious’ and in the absence of any complaints, I’d take that as a suggestion that the quality of workmanship in screwing this car together was satisfactory.
For those who are concerned about the Saab 9-4x being built in Mexico for quality reasons, this will hopefully give an initial small measure of comfort.
There’s a few other comments worth noting:

The difference between “Drive” and “Sport” is striking. The former is characterized by sluggish shifts, controlled-but-noticeable body roll, slightly over boosted power steering and a tendency towards understeer. Sport changes things completely with Crisp shifting, high revs, near-neutral handling thanks to the Haldex AWD system….

Saab were responsible for the adaptation of the XWD system into all of GM’s FWD vehicle platforms. So kudos to Saab for a job well done on this vehicle for GM.

Standard equipment for the SRX includes the 3.0-liter, 260 HP V6 in our tester with a 300 HP turbo V6 coming soon.

Again, that turbo engine will basically be the HF V6 that’s currently in the 9-3, tuned a little higher. And again, turbocharging was Saab’s baby in the GM fold.
It’s a review that’s worth a lookover if you want a very generalised idea of the quality that should be present in the Saab 9-4x when it arrives. The vehicles were developed somewhat independently, but there’s a commonality there that can’t be denied, so a glimpse at one should provide some insight into the other.

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by Swade

Press release on True Electric

June 30, 2009 in Archive

I don’t want to get too hooked up with this company, because there may not be any substantive link with Saab in the future.
The display car is a Saab 9-3 convertible, and they have received development help from Innovatum in Trollhattan, who also do work on projects with Saab. But whether Saab can/will take this any further in terms of production model development remains to be seen.
Regardless, it’s an interesting development in electric propulsion and a lot of it’s taken place right in Saab’s backyard, so here’s the Googletrans of a press release that came out on the eve of the car’s debut at Almedalen Week 2009:
——
Swedish company behind the next-generation electric cars.
2009-06-25 14:13
The Swedish company Electro Engine in Sweden AB has developed a new system that enables high-performance electric of conventional cars today is powered by internal combustion. Demonstration vehicles shown to the public during Almedal Week. The launch will take place June 29 kl. 09.00 in Visby harbor.
The system, known as True ElectricTM, can be used directly in the manufacture of new machine cars. It can also be used to convert second-hand cars to pure electric cars. This can be done without any reduction in car safety and performance. Moreover, the system has the potential to be far more cost effective than the system used for electric traction in the market today. A key component is a revolutionary and patent-pending systems for battery management.
Electro Engines CEO, Thomas Bergensfjord, notes, “many want to continue running stylish, practical and safe cars with good performance while they are keen to choose a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative. With True ElectricTM can now combine electric cars environmental friendliness and low running costs with the existing cars function and performance. For example, we may have a SAAB 9-3 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in 6.5 seconds, reaching a speed of 180 km/h and run 15-20 mil (which I think is 150-200 miles or kilometers – SW) of clean electricity without we changed the car exterior or interiört – with both the trunk and pull the hook to go. ”
According to Christer Asplund, project manager at the Power Circle, electricity industry association, this is a world news which may have a significant impact in bilvärlden. “We can really tell an important step in a technology. Moreover, it is a novelty which I believe is awaited the car makers. There has been much talk and long, not least in the sites and forums online, the need for a really good electric cars. A car that combines the advantages of large, safe cars with good performance and electric all the benefits, both in terms of environmental benefits and lower operating costs. The first vehicle shown is a SAAB is especially gratifying. “adds Christer Asplund.
“It is a unique concept as Electro Engine have produced. Cooperation with the vehicle manufacturers have already begun, both for cars and other vehicles. The American tradition of innovation and engineering, today’s launch is something to be proud of, both at home and internationally”,
Tore Helmersson, president of Innovatum AB, a development of Swedish industry and based in Trollhättan, has committed to deep to support the Electro Engine. Innovatum operates a number of future projects aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels. “Electric cars will eventually be an important part in the Swedish vehicle production. With Electro Engine illustrated that American innovators force can pave the way for a technology”, summarizes Tore Helmersson.
True ElectricTM is a modular and future-proof system for electric propulsion based on patent-pending innovations in particular battery management, power electronics and advanced synkronmotorer. The system then adapted to each vehicle type and model.
——
And here’s another photos, from Allt om Motor, where there’s another story:

This is a unique concept that Electroengine has developed. Cooperation with manufacturers has started, both for cars and other types of veichles. For Swedish tradition of invention and engineering the launch today is something to be proud of, both here in Sweden and internationally”

TrueElectric9-3conv2.jpg
——
Thanks to Per and Carl-Henrik!

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by Swade

News: Some Saab discount programs to be halted

June 30, 2009 in Archive

People who are currently eligible for various discount programs might want to hurry up some of their purchase plans in light of this.
This came in from a Djup Strupe US-based dealer.

It’s just been announced this morning that starting July 1st, Saabs (and Hummers and Saturns) in the U.S. will no longer be eligible for the GM supplier discount as offered through the Military, College grad, and Credit Union member discount programs, so anybody who has been on the fence about one who may qualify (is an active member of a U.S. armed services branch, is a member of a credit union, or is a recent college graduate) should probably snap one up while they still get the discounts.

I assume it will mainly effect US customers. If you think you might be cut off, best to check with your Saab dealer and make sure. It sounds like you’ve got 24 hours.
GM are our friends, aren’t they?

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…..But it’s a PORSCHE!!!!!

June 29, 2009 in Editorial

On my way to work this morning, I saw a Porsche 944, just like the one below, pulled up at a set of traffic lights.
I had two immediate and concurrent reactions.
porsche-944-turbo-front-2_165.jpg One was “Wow, that looks fantastic!” and the other was “what a pity it doesn’t drive anywhere near as good as it looks”. For those who might be new around here, I looked at buying a 944, only in silver, earlier this year. All my childhood fantasies turned into mush when I finally got to take it for a comprehensive and unaccompanied test drive.
The car was selling for $8,000 and at that price, it was the cheapest 944 for sale in Australia. I considered it for quite a while before knocking it back. I was considering the Mazda MX-5 as well. I had dinner one night with some friends and Greg, when I asked him what he thought of the options, answered with some kind words about the MX-5, then said “……but the other one is a Porsche!!!!”
That’s pretty much what I thought for most of my deliberation period as well. Forget the shabby and incredibly dated interior (this was a pre-86 car) and the A-pillar right in front of my face. Forget the big noisy engine that puts out only 85% of the power my old 900 Turbo did, despite being 25% bigger. And forget the fact that it ran hot on the test drive, despite $15,000 of service history over the last few years. Forget that I feared having to re-mortgage my home just to do the clutch…… It was a Porsche!
If I’d spent that money, I’d be weeping right now.
Instead, I spent a few thousand more and bought a low mileage Mazda MX-5 and I look forward to every weekend now. Last Saturday I had to run two errands to get my internet connection fixed up. There I was, in the middle of the Tasmanian winter with the roof off and a huge smile on my face.
That was living!! And I’ll do it again next weekend, too.
——
I didn’t just write this to re-hash my car purchasing stories all over again. There’s more to it than that.
Koenigsegg have just signed an agreement with GM to purchase Saab. I guess you could call this entry some sort of open letter or appeal to Koenigsegg to remind them of something (not that they need the reminder at all. Just because it came to mind).
We’ve all heard, read and spoken a lot about Saab’s heritage and model history. That’s because to a large extent, there’s not been a lot else that’s been positive to talk about in recent years.
Saab’s history is now in your care. It’s up to you.
Saab have a number of revered models, especially the 900. Needless to say, though, they can’t trade on memories any longer. Even the most die-hard of fans will only harbour affection because of those old cars. It won’t make them buy a new one.
People don’t buy Boxers or Caymans because of their memories of the 944. They buy them because they’re good, modern Porsches.
We’re all looking forward to the 2010 Saab 9-5. It’s the first all new Saab in around 6 years and it’s the first since GM “re-committed” to Saab back in 2005. It’s Saab from the ground up and I’m sure it’s going to attract heaps of interest.
But the next round of Saab cars is yours to design and build. They can’t rely on the Saab name or the Saab badge. They have to be good, safe and smart because all those elements were designed into them.
I can’t wait for the future of Saab Automobile to come around. It’s going to be a cracker!

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JAJ presenting at Almadalen

June 29, 2009 in Archive

TTELA report that Saab’s head honcho Jan-Ake Jonsson will be making a presentation at the Almadalen Week event in Visby, off southeast Sweden.
This is the same Almadalen 2009 where the True Electric Saab 9-3 convertible will be hanging out as well as other key players in the automotive industry and government.
TTELA don’t know what the subject of his presentation will be, but any insight into Saab’s future in conjunction with Koenigsegg would be welcome news.
If anything comes through, I’ll keep you posted.
——
Also in TTELA is news of a German citizen attempting to contest Saab’s composition accord, whereby they pay 25% of owed debts in 12 months time.
He contended that as he pays some tax in Sweden, he was within his rights to contest the agreement. It sounds as if he wasn’t actually owed any money, but was just disagreeing with the accord in principle.
The Swedish District Court dismissed his appeal.
——
Dagens Industri have a report on Almadalen, with a little quote on the True Electric people:

The system, which has been developed with aid from the developing company Innovatum in Trollhättan, is also intended for direct new production of eletrical cars, and Electroengine already have made agreements for cooperation with car manufacturers.

They already have agreements?
Interesting…..

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Saabs United (again) on Twitter

June 29, 2009 in Archive

I had a temporary Twitter account some time ago but lack of use and/or a useful client led me to cancel the account.
I just wanted those who are Twitterers to know that SU now has an account set up, and I’ll hopefully be tweeting on a semi-regular basis.
SUtwitter.jpg
No, it won’t be a case where every new post is tweeted. In fact, I don’t have an automated post tweeter set up and have no intention to do so. It’ll just be normal Twitter activity, both Saaby and non-Saaby.
If you’re on Twitter, feel free to hook up @SaabsUnited
If not, then move on. Nothing to see here….

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More on those 2010 Saab 9-5 pics

June 29, 2009 in Saabology

As you may or may not know, Auto Motor and Sport and I have a kind of Gentleman’s agreement to use one another’s content as and when we see fit, with proper accreditation, of course.
I’ve met a few of the blokes at AMS and consider them some of the best in the business, which is why I’m happy to add their qualifying comments to the CGI images of the 2010 Saab 9-5 that I posted a few days ago.
Auto Motor and Sport have already driven the 2010 Saab 9-5 and they reported their thoughts at the time. Obviously, whilst in Trollhatan driving the test mule, they also saw the real thing themselves. Hence they’re qualified to add some thoughts to the CGI’s that were posted.
They say as follows:

“This is a computer-animated image and unfortunately – we have to say as someone who has been in Trollhättan and seen the real car – it is not not good at all. The upper line on the side windows is not correct, and the same goes for the C-pillar design. The rear looks “strange”, which is not the case with the real car. Taste is always a subject up for discussion, but we who have seen the wagon can testify that it is really powerful. Big, tough, and cocky – not as anxious as this picture!

This is great news and it’s as I predicted when I first posted the images.
These images were just CGIs and if you’ve been hanging around here long enough, you would have seen CGIs of the Aero X and other models that were nowhere near as good as real photos, and even further removed from the real thing.
These CGIs were genuine, I can tell you that much. But they’re also inherently limited by their own nature as preliminary images of the car, and being computer generated graphics.
The fact that the real thing, as expected, should be a whole lot more exciting and interesting to look at is a welcome thing.

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Back in Black – Saab 99 Turbo hits the track

June 29, 2009 in Archive

If you’ve met an Aussie who is a total Saab nut and you’ve met him outside of Australia, then the chances are high that that particular Saab nut would either be Steve B (known as “sab” on the various internet forums) or the owner of this particular 99 Turbo – Brendan B.
Brendan’s been to the Saab Festival and has got to know many of you through his running of the Saab 99 Register.
A few weekends ago, Brendan got his black 99Turbo out of the shed and took at for a run at Oran Park racetrack as part of a European Performance Car Challenge meeting.
BBSaab99TOranPark.jpg
Brendan’s 99 was running in a coupe class and within his class, he ran a very credible third place based on handicap points.

  • Jeff Morton – BMW 135i
  • Mark Croudace – Porsche 986CS
  • Brendan Burdon – Saab 99 Turbo
  • Michael Cousidis – BMW M3 (E46)

He also managed to embarass a few newer and higher rated cars during the session as well.
Brendan’s daily driver is a RenaultSport Clio, which is a pretty quick little hot hatch. Despite being 20-something years older and a fair bit heavier, the Saab 99T was only 5 seconds slower around the park than the Renault, a deficit Bredan reckons could be eradicated with some better brakes, tyres and suspension.
The modifications made to the 99T are mild and are as follows:

  1. Exhaust – Custom 2.5 inch Stainless Steel turbo back exhaust with a straight through muffler.
  2. Gearbox – Custom built 4 speed, basically using all the best bits from a mixture of 99 and C900 gearboxes.
  3. Ignition stystem – Replaced the standard ignition with a MSD 6 BTM and replaced the magnetic sensor in the distributor with an Optical sensor. Also replaced the coil with a Crane PS91 coil and am now using Iridium spark plugs.

He says:

The Ignition would have to be the single best mod I’ve see done. Improved the fuel efficency for around town driving and have more power through the whole rev range.

BBSaab99TOranPark2.jpg
To put the 1:38 best lap time Brendan managed into perspective – he was keeping up with an R32 Golf at 200 km/h on the back straight and managed to totally embarass a BMW E30 325iS, which could only managed a 1:52, a full 14 seconds per lap slower.
Saab99Tscrutineering.jpg
As you can see from the watermark, one of the photos above was taken by a guy called Matthew Mead. He is a motorsport photographer who does some very handy work. You can see more at his website. I like this guy as he shoots with real 35mm film as well as in digital.
More of his photos from this specific session are also on Flickr.
——
A final thought…..
Have a look at that second photo again. This is why the 99 Turbo is still my favourite Saab of all time. The snub nose, the aggressive stance. As befitted the first turbocharged model they ever made, this was a car that meant business.

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My economy run results

June 28, 2009 in Archive

Today, our local Saab club had an economy run from Hobart to Derwent Bridge.
First of all, I want to thank you all for your hypermiling tips and emails the other day. My first action this morning was to empty the car of almost all the stuff I didn’t need. I was running short of time, so I left a few papers and things in there.
But out went the spare tire, a box of MX-5 parts in the back seat and Monte parts from the boot. My spare is a brand new looking Pirelli P6000, by the way. Very good.
Next I headed down to the local service station and pumped the tyres up to 45 pounds per corner. It was a little daunting as I did it, considering I had 300+ kilometers ahead of me and no spare.
The only other preparations for the morning were a recap of the tips you all offered. So with that, we were off.
Here’s the map again:
EconomyRun.jpg
On the way there, I employed all of the suggestions as well as I could remember them. I took Saabjohan’s suggestion about getting up to speed normally and then worked the gears and did as much cruising as I could on downhill sections.
I was as conservative as I felt necessary and averaged around 80 km/h or less for this leg of the trip.
My odometer read 164 kilometers by the time we got to the Derwent Bridge hotel for lunch and when I refilled the car there, I had used 12.9 litres of fuel. That gave me a fuel consumption figure of 7.8 litres per 100km.
If you’re ever wondering about the accuracy of your SID, mine was showing 7.8, so it seems to be pretty accurate.
That’s not exceptionally low according to some of the figures I’ve heard people mention here…….but I should explain a little about the route.
The road we drove today was fairly twisty and it took us into some of Tasmania’s hydro country. This is where there’s a bunch of highland lakes and reservoirs that feed into our hydro-electric power stations. We passed two of these hydro stations along the way and that involved some sustained hillclimbs.
The fact that we started near enough to sea level and ended up at an elevation of 774 meters should show that it was much more uphill than downhill, too.
I average around 12.5l/100km around our place, so 7.8 on a hilly, winding route isn’t too bad.
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On the trip home from Derwent Bridge, I drove home normally and averaged somewhere between 100km/h and 110. I took exactly the same road in reverse and overtook cars where I needed to and it was safe to do so.
When I got home, the SID had moved from 7.8 to 8.0 for the entire trip. I probably should have zeroed it prior to the second leg, but the difference was negligible enough for me to be happy to drive the way I normally drive.
I might employ a few of the low-consumption tips, but I found that thinking about it so much took some of the joy out of driving for me.
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We only had four cars turn out for this event. I’m not sure how the others went as I wanted to get home a bit earlier than the others. Hopefully I’ll find out soon and let you know.
Thanks again for all your help.

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