Now that much of the Saab sale malarkey is done, I’m currently taking stock of what should be done around here, and at home. Of course, Spyker still have to close this deal, so it’s not all over yet.
But that doesn’t mean the wheels aren’t turning in my mind already as to what this transition will mean for Saabs United as a Saab news site, nor for me as a writer and publisher. Things have changed in the last 12 months and this isn’t the site it used to be anymore.
Can it go back? Can I go back?
I’ve taken some first steps in terms of both the site and at home. There’ll be one big change around here coming quite soon and possibly some changes at home, in the garage area, as I try to return to being a normal person and an actual participating member of my family again.
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THE top executives at most car companies can rattle off the names of their models. Victor R. Muller can tell you the names of his customers.
…..so begins a story about Victor Muller and Spyker in the weekend’s New York Times. It’s a very interesting read about both the man and the company and they even talk to a Spyker owner about owning one as they take a C8 Laviolette out for a test drive.
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Are Renault looking to pinch the Saab 9-X Air’s beautiful back end?
That’s a 1:43 scale model Renault seen by Auto Motor and Sport in Sweden. Apparently they’ve also seen full size testers up in the Arctic north for winter testing.
They believe the car could be scheduled for a debut at Geneva and have commissioned one of those clever photochoppers to prepare a CGI based on what they’ve seen.
Now compare that back half with the supermodel of Saab Concept Cars, the Saab 9-X Air….
Sacre Bleu!!
Saab need to get that 9-X Air out – and soon!
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Off topic for a moment…..
The crisis facing Toyota right now is something you just can’t ignore. I’m not sypathetic towards Toyota at all (but definitely towards victims) but am just amazed at how quickly and comprehensively a company’s reputation can go out the window.
In the event some of you haven’t heard, Toyota have stopped selling 7 or 8 key models in the United States, including the Camry and Corolla, and have issues recalls amounting to millions and millions of vehicles in the US, Europe and China. The problem is unintended acceleration, which Toyota wrongly blamed on faulty floor mats and customer misuse before finaly admitting that there’s a problem with their accelerator pedal assembly.
AutoExtremist has a very pro-Detroit look at the situation.
Andy Rupert has a couple of videos that you must watch (esp the ABC one) if you know anyone who owns a relatively recent model Toyota.
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And speaking of videos, here’s some Spyker beauty to start your week off right.
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I’m actually wondering when the Saab website is actually going to be working again…
Anyway. This place could actually have quite an active forum, although I acknowledge why you wouldn’t want to. I’m sure a few here would be happy to be moderators though.
About Toyota… They definitely have problems, the only real reason you would buy a Toyota is for reliability because they are about as interesting as a white wall.
They really have nothing going for them now.
The Toyota situation is the anti-Saab situation- how a huge company can become obsessed with quantity over quality and that it takes just a tiny tiny part to severely damage even the most revered in the auto industry. I’m shocked by the situation, just as many auto journalists are, but also like you Steven, it feels good to see given facts tossed out the window- that only the big can survive, that there is little opportunity for small makers to compete. The overcapacity problem only needs to apply to supply that no one wants- I think Toyota will definitely be on the short end of that stick, whereas rare commodities like Saab will have an advantage.
In short, I’m sick of listening to the experts lately about the economics of the industry. Only time will tell.
Also, that Renault is an ugly ugly cousin of the 9-X air, and I certainly hope Saab gets to push out its own badass models soon. Whatever direction you choose to go with the site, have no fear that many of us will still be here. Like has been suggested in the past, more ways for us commenters to interact is welcome. We’d all like to contribute something to the site, the Saab community, and to the brand in whatever small way we can. You do an excellent job keeping us organized. Steven.
Swade: Behind you 100% on the “becoming a participating member of my family” front. I’ve made a few changes, too, to keep my home life better.
There are challenges ahead, my friend. There will be new models that are not embraced by the press, there will be credit worries, there will be quarrels with GM, there will be suppliers that let Saab down and there will be months that sales do not happen. Savor the time when things are not immediate. Now is one of those times.
Wow, the Toyota situation is a whole lot more serious than I thought. The audio clip of the family calling 9-1-1 trying to stop the car sent chills through my body… My condolences to their family members and friends…
man do I love Spykers. I’d love it if Saab does a limited edition version of the Spyker’s interior in the new 9-5. 2010 only
The C8 Aileron is amazing. Thanks for the video.
I’m afraid I can’t see the 9-X Air happening as an actual car. The best that can be hoped for is that elements of the design will feature in the NG9-3 Convertible. As VM and JAJ would say “It’s not in the business plan”.
Agreed. Apologies if I wasn’t clear there, but I think the implication has been all along that the 9-X Air wouldn’t come as a discrete model line of its own, but that the concept behind it would shape Saab’s next convertible model.
Swade:
I can’t imagine how long the grass is in your yard and your list of “Honey Do’s” must be huge! You too, EnG!
Toyota was clueless. Why make up the story about the floor mats? I hope the Consumer Reports eats there words about cars and quality.
Comment of the day….
“Buy a Saab… you goose”
goose?
Comment of the day….
“Buy a Saab… you goose”
goose?
Comment of the day….
“Buy a Saab… you goose”
goose?
Yes, but mine is less from this site as it is from my work travel schedule. It is what it is.
If the 9-X Air’s overall design does feature in the NG9-3 vert, it’s very possible Renault might beat Saab to the punch!
Stingray, I think it might be from the phrase ‘Silly Goose’ …:P
It’s windy up there at the top. Toyota’s en route to where GM went.
Swade and Eggs, you guys both deserve a vacation with the family!
the design may beat it to market, but isnt the 9-x convertible supposed to have a new patented convertible function that no one else has?
But if Saab has some kind of trickery up their sleeves with the way the convertible works, they’ll have the upper hand. I remember that post Swade made about the 9-X Air’s supposedly secret convertible feature.
Swade, I think you’ll certainly have plenty of things to write about for a good year or two. I say this because the new business has to develop and grow and new models are coming out and what have you. While you won’t be waking up at 3:30 for any announcements like last weeks, I think you’ll have a good amount of news to provide each month. Hopefully first hand account news since you have been so close to folks at Saab and VM!
I’m already suffering from withdrawal symptoms without my SAVE-SAAB news high…
No kidding! I’m bored now. Hehe.
Swade,
I, for one, think you can do whatever you’d like to do with SU. While I appreciated the timely news on this site (my first source for all news Saab), I always look forward to your writing and the Saab Pride-style entries (including updates on your Monte and other people’s Saabs).
Whatever it is that SU becomes, I hope your family can be priority #1.
Thanks for all you do!
~Peter
Yep, coming down from that high is difficult…and boring!
Having watched quite a few Spyker videos now, I’m also keen on some Spyker-inspired interior styling on at least one, limited edition Saab! Also, someone mentioned in another thread that the glove box and some of the fittings in the Spykers weren’t right, I’ve noticed that in a lot of the cars that have been filmed now. Hopefully just a result of the overuse of demo models.
Swade and EnG, hope youu guys have asome great family time away from this site!
Swade, I hope you can take some time for your family now… You deserve it now that Saab is near to be saved and things cool down a bit until the new models hit the market…
Thanks for all your efforts?
Swade, I hope you can take some time for your family now… You deserve it now that Saab is near to be saved and things cool down a bit until the new models hit the market…
Thanks for all your efforts!
i disagree with you Jeff, in a way i think the renault looks better than the saab concept, im not a big fan of renault, but i like this one. I think the Aero x concept is much nicer and saab should make that first.
I think its so fantastic that spyker has bought saab, and that saab has a future again, can’t wait to see what saab and spyker will come up with in the near future!!!.
I really think Swade deserves a holiday …… paid for by SAAB and SPYKER
Spyker meeting Feb 12th…
http://www.spykercars.nl/download/investor/Agenda_EGMS_Spyker_Cars_12_February_2010.pdf
Regarding Saabsunited.com’s plans, I think Swade has done an excellent job and well…frankly regarding his “changes” I think Saab Spyker have offered him a related job. The current Saab website is a mess, and frankly Spyker’s is nothing too solid either.
Are these “changes” consistent with an online media/web development senior position role??? Hmmm….
Trust me, if that happened, I wouldn’t speak about it in riddles.
No such offer has been made.
Changes in the garage area?
The only thing I could imagine is; you’ve seen a yellow 3dr Viggen and you are going to replace your Monte.
Whatever you do with YOUR blog will be OK for me/us?
Reagrding the Renault; We are speakeing here abaout a Renault Twingo CC, which means a car the size of the Chevy Aveo with a hard top, Although it may look like the 9-X Air it is not a competitor to the SAAB Conv.
SAAB should go aginst the current and build a soft top conv; everybody is building nowadays those fat-assed hard-top convertibles.
And a last but not least; If Volvo is offering incentives for people switching from their Toyotas; I think this is an inteligent move that SAAB should follow at least in the States, but I don’t know if the TOYOTA drama will last that long.
Not a copy of Saab but something deeply influenced by.
I am pretty sure the Renault designer wasn’t watching 9X air pictures when he drew this car. What can you expect when you show such influential concepts to the public (and hide the real models at the testing stage)?
I think I have already seen a 9X roofline in some cars (Skoda Yeti?). Saab designers had a few bright styling ideas in last 10 years, very original. I think if I were a car designer, after seeing 9X (all 3 of them) I would start thinking in a different way of my work.
I am not a big Renault enthusiast either, but being made to drive Renault five years ago as my company vehicle I started looking at Renaults and discovered they must have a great design team. Their cars are always different from the mainstream, have own “DNA”
me too!!! i miss it a lot!!!
Well whatever the change is, I hope its mutually benefits you and the Saab community.
I don’t think Toyota tried to mislead someone with the floor mats. They are a bit too serious for that. I rather think that Toyota themselves were mislead by the fact that the floor mat issue actually exists and that it kept the engineers on the wrong track. I think they really thought they had a solution.
Perhaps every car they at first investigated had the (invitingly easy fixed) floor mat problem.
Imagine the horror when they discovered that something else was the problem and that they had been barking up the wrong tree losing much precious time.
There is a reason why you should be careful with new technologies. Mercedes had electronic brakes which gave them headaches. It worked fine on the expensive SL-class, but was only trouble on the mass produced E-class.
Safety is too important to play gambles with.
I saw that film of the Spykers and thought I saw some similarities with Aston Martin. Not in design and sales, but in style, attitude and racing interest.
Perhaps Aston Martin can be persuaded to buy Volvo?
Koeniggsegg and even Victor himself conceded that they “have” sketches they’ve made of the new 9-3… doesn’t that mean a possible departure from the current design? I’m quite squirmish at the thought of now having the 4 year old design brought out to the market…I think the 9-1 is one model that could be rushed out and still sell very well for SAAB…I’m quite skeptical about the 9-4X and really hope it does well…but I think it’s still needs to be worked on externally…it doesn’t gratify me….
Well… as for the Twingo CGI…I personally think it’sjust gonna be like the scaled model we’ve seen….I don’t think it’s really gonna look like the CGI at all (the rear ofcourse)….
As for the site …mmmm…I personally like the idea of a forum…it could be optional for one to register and be free for everyone to browse and post…maybe then have 4-5 Moderators to ease the tension….
Another angle for us during this cool down period is that we don’t have to scroll around hundreds of comments anymore. Pooh!
“Normal” number of posts with a reasonable number of comments makes the site more fun.
Any blogger’s site evolves and as time passes by things change. It good there is and you take time for reflection Steven. Healthy!
That Renault design stinks as much as a rotten fish IMHO.
I never understood the problem with Toyota mats. But it has taken a turn now and there seems to be a serious problem. Based on the reports from the videos I guess the problem should eb considered purely electronic, not mechanical. If speed increases without the driver wanting it, there is IMHO no mechanical part that can do that. And that raises the question if you rather have a computer controlling your acceleration or a simple wire (if broken the gas will be cut off too). And then my thoughts go to virus (accidental or on purpose) and that’s even more chilling than that 9-1-1 call.
That SAAB 9-x Air is one of my two favorites. Such a beauty. So SAAB!
Enjoy!
I agree. I think a 9-1 would be a more popular than a SUV in 80% of Saab’s markets, but it is hard to make money on small cars. Not that Saab will make much on the 9-4x, probably very little in fact. By the time Saab has paid GM to build and supply the car, then paid royalties etc., dealers will likely make more on each car sold than Saab ever will. What the 9-4x will do is bring people into US showrooms. Hopefully many of those people will drive out in a 9-3 or 9-5 instead. Expect the 9-4x to have a short life though.
You if anyone surely deserves a holiday. You
Swade, you just do what is best for you.
Remember, you’ve really made a difference during the last year. If this evolves into something that fits your life, what culd be better than that? If not, you must always put you and you family first.
I couldn’t agree with you more…but what bothers me with the 9-4X is that it seems it was made more for the American market than globally…which is why I foresee a big flop and an unfortunate burden Spyker have to bare…no offence to the US but most of the cars designed in the US seem not have the entire world into consideration…which is why even people in America complain about the quality and built of their Ford Focus against the Global Focus designed in Europe… Jeeps are great cars and very practical…but interior is not too good…the ONLY cars to have ever come out of the US to meet global standards is the new Cadillac CTS/SRX and seemingly the new Chevy Cruze…it’s quiet apparent that not only interior wise but design-wise GM had to adopt a whole new paradigm shift…I personally feel that GM put more money and effort in the SRX than th 9-4X…it just looks to american (sorry…I mean’t something like Afro-centric/euro-centric)…
swade !!! u going somewhere??…what did u mean exactly..must b my bad english im confused??..i understand that u need to be with the family more bbut what are those change??
@ SaaBoy… Ahh… I was not sure if “down under” goose was used in another….eerrr… descriptive way…
I am Happy all the Save Saab stuff is over… It was exciting to be a party of but nerve-reacking too!
Now we must SUSTAIN SAAB….
I’m not an SUV guy, but from what I’ve seen the 9-4x is as SAAB as the 9-5.
You are right, it is not the right car for some markets, if you want to sell lots of cars, but even in Europe SUVs/CUVs have a market.
GM will build the 9-4X in Mexico, but I can’t imagine Mr. Muller accepting a lower quality from the 9-4X than from the THN-build 9-5.
And when the TTiD Engine is available it will also have an OK engine for europe.
BTW the chevy cruze has been developed in Europe/Korea not in the US.
I think since GM is supplying the 9-4x, if it is a flop it will hurt GM more than Saab. GM probably needs to build a reasonable number of 9-4x’s to make the Cadillac SRX cost efficient. Whilst the 9-4x is undoubtedly a better effort than the 9-7x, I still don’t think it is the kind of car Saab would build if it really wanted to tackle the SUV market. But then Saab won’t be building it, GM will and I think it is responsible for all the development costs too. As I said, I expect it to have a short lifespan. Perhaps 3-4 years at best.
Website -
Very mysterious…. but I’ll hold belief that whatever changes may occur will be the correct way to go, for whatever reason.
Much like I trust Saab to design the perfect automobile, so too shall I trust you to design the perfect SaabsUnited.com
Renault-
No use trying to break this gently….That car is UGLY!
Similarly to recent Peugeot models, the front looks like a Japanese Anime cartoon crossed with a car wreck.
What’s with the gigantic disproportioned gaping smiley face front grills these days….. YUCK!
Here’s another example…. seriously WTF? It’s like someone took the car to the dentist and then forgot to take out the cotton wadding at the end.
End rant.
I think swade will change to a online poker site, with lots of flashy flash thingies…
From what I heard it actually IS a pretty simple (and therefore not easy to track) intermittent mechanical problem. Apparently, at a certain point excessive wear causes resistance in the travel of the pedal, on the way down (which is less easy to spot as you exert force with your foot and just push it through the pokint of resistance) but also on the way up, which causes the pedal to stay where it is as you don’t exert any force then.
Probably just another $ 0,50 little spring or some other part that should have cost $ 1 but the contract probably went to the lowest bidder with matching material and quality. Another bit of the inheritance perhaps of that Spanish gentleman who almost bankrupted VW by squeezing the part and component suppliers too hard?
Ivo
That’s pretty much what Toyota says is the problem. They have come up with what they say is a permanent fix for the problem which amounts to attaching a “shim” to the pedal assembly to substitute for the worn away material. It sounds pretty makeshift to me and I can’t imagine Toyota owners feeling totally comfortable with it. They will probably want to get rid of their cars sooner than they normally would which will have the affect of decreasing the value of used Toyotas.
The advice given to those who find themselves in the predicament of a stuck open throttle says something about decisions made by Saab designers years ago. That advice is to turn off the ignition (or press the start/stop button if the car has one), shift into neutral, and stand on the brake with both feet (assuming the car has an automatic transmission and therefor a wide brake pedal). The reason that extreme force is required on the brake pedal is that with a stuck open throttle engine intake manifold vacuum drops so that the vacuum brake booster becomes ineffective.
Some advise against turning off the ignition out of concern that in a panic the driver might turn the key too far and cause the steering to lock. This is why, when given the choice between the requirement of locking the steering or locking the gearshift lever, Saab designers chose to lock the gearshift lever. This design feature is to some “quirky” (Is anyone else as tired as I am of hearing “quirky”?), but to me is just smart thinking.
I can never get into a runaway situation with my MY 1991 900 or my MY 1993 900s; not only because I have an old fashion cable (pretty much obsolete) operated throttle but because these cars have real power brakes like diesel cars have, with a pump and accumulator and therefor no requirement for engine vacuum to stop the car.
Here is a tip for designers of “drive by wire cars”: Ground the throttle actuator through the brake lights. That way when the brake pedal is depressed and the brake light switch is closed a blocking voltage will stop current through the actuator and cause the throttle to close. Remember, you heard it first from me right here on saabsunited.com.
I know this isn’t on the front page anymore but hopefully people check the recent comments section and Swade will pick up on it, but this makes me sick:
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/02/geneva-preview-renault-flip-top-wind-roadster/#continued
If anyone wondered how the top on the 9-X air works, just watch this. I think they straight up copied it. Rude. Very very rude.
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