by Red J
March 15, 2011 in Saabology
Saab has published the 9-5SC sketches with the main measurements. I’ve attached the sketch of the sedan for comparison purposes.
The SC is 2 mm longer and 18 mm higher. The head room is on the front seat 6mm larger and 15mm on the rear seats.
The rear track has also increased by 2 mm
Left: dimessions in mm; Right: dimessions in inch
RedJ
by RobinM
March 15, 2011 in News
Swade first mentioned this back in late February, but I thought I would re-post the story as it starts tomorrow.
The Saab Roadshow will start on the 15th in Rothrist. The stars of the Geneva Show: Saabs 9-5 Saloon & Estate , 9-3 Convertible “Independence Day” & Griffin will be on display and ready for a test drive. For those in the area please check out the special I Love Saab web site.
–
by TimR
March 15, 2011 in Saabology
The first Saab of the Week of the next SaabsUnited comes from Hollywood, Florida, where Steve has just taken delivery of a brand new 9-5 in beautiful Oak Metallic. The car has a lot of extras in it including built-in navigation, sunroof, tech package and enhanced Harmon-Kardon Stereo. The engine is a Turbo4 and Steve is so impressed with his new car, that words do not suffice =)
He describes the car as a “tour de force in modern automotive technology”.
Steve intends to be pouring over the owners manual for the next few days finding out how everything works =)
Steve’s 9-5 is standing next to his wife’s 2009 9-3 SportsCombi in the drive way.
We at SaabsUnited want to congratulate Steve and his wife to two amazing looking cars =)
Every monday we will feature a readers Saab here on SaabsUnited.com, so please keep sending us photos and stories of your cars to saabsunitedcrew@gmail.com and mark the subject line with SAAB of the Week
by RobinM
March 15, 2011 in News
Saab GB is pleased to announce prices and specifications for the new and improved 9-3 model range which goes on sale in UK dealerships next month.
With a raft of improvements including two new petrol turbo engines, enhanced specification, lower emissions and improved performance, the 9-3 range has become even more attractive and competitive than ever.
More Equipment
Saab is renowned in the motor industry for offering high levels of standard equipment in its vehicles. Standard features across the range include alloy wheels, leather trimmed interior, heated front seats, park assist and Bluetooth phone integration system along with a host of safety systems including electronic stability programme, six airbags and Saab Active Head Restraints . All MY12 9-3 models now come with automatic dimming mirrors inside and outside the vehicle, electric folding mirrors and automatic rain sensor wipers as standard, a customer saving of £400.
There are two levels of specifications, SE and Aero.
Fresh looks
The MY12 9-3 range receives a fresh face and is distinguished by new front bumpers, ‘ice block’ headlamps and a new grille. At the rear, the Saab wordmark replaces badging on the chrome trim and all Saloon variants receive a boot-mounted aerodynamic spoiler.
Inside, the cabin features titanium metallic-effect trim around the instrument panel, gearshift moulding, doors and glovebox. SE models are fitted with Leather Appointed comfort seats, while Aero models feature new graphite-fibre around the instrument panel, gearshift moulding, doors and glovebox and Leather Sport seats with contrast stitching.
Class-leading fuel efficiency
Under the bonnet, two new 2.0-litre petrol turbo engines produce 163hp and 220hp and include direct injection, variable valve timing and twin-scroll turbocharging. Both of these engines will be available with a six-speed manual and automatic transmission. In terms of CO2 per unit of horsepower, the new manual 220hp 2.0-litre petrol 9-3 Aero Saloon and SportWagon raises the bar for efficient performance and is the most powerful sub 160g/km petrol engine vehicle on sale in the UK.
Like its sibling, the 9-3 1.9-litre manual twin turbo diesel line-up also offers class-leading CO2 emissions of just 119g/km in both the Saloon and SportWagon. The MY12 9-3 SportWagon can now claim the title of being the most powerful zero first year VED estate car available in the UK and is a perfect choice for company car users, and a cost-effective option for customers keen to reduce fuel consumption and their carbon footprint.
Competitive Pricing
Saab’s vehicle pricing has always been highly competitive and the new 9-3 range will offer customers an even greater value-for-money proposition. With all the model year upgrades on offer; new interior and exterior enhancements, increased standard specification, powerful twin turbo diesel and petrol engines, low CO2 emissions and impressive fuel economy, customers will find the 9-3 range even more attractive than before.
Charles Toosey, Managing Director at Saab GB, said: “We are very confident that the 9-3 range will be a great success in the UK and will appeal to motorists wanting a high performance, low emissions vehicle, with high levels of standard equipment and competitive pricing.”
Saab MY12 Saloon Price List:
| Trim | Fuel | Engine | HP | Transmission | CO2 (g/km) | On-the-RoadPrice (OTR) |
| SE | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 130 | Manual 6-speed | 119 | £22,495 |
| 1.9 TTiD | 160 160 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
119 153 |
£22,995 £24,530 |
||
| 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
119 153 |
£23,495 £25,030 |
||
| Petrol | 2.0t | 163 163 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
155 185 |
£21,495 £22,875 |
|
| Aero | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
129 153 |
£26,995 £28,530 |
| Petrol | 2.0T | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
155 185 |
£27,245 £28,770 |
|
| 2.0 T XWD | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
194 206 |
£29,255 £30,760 |
MY12 Saab 9-3 SportWagon Price List:
| Trim | Fuel | Engine | HP | Transmission | CO2 (g/km) | On-the-RoadPrice (OTR) |
| SE | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 130 | Manual 6-speed | 119 | £23,620 |
| 1.9 TTiD | 160 160 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
119 159 |
£24,120 £25,655 |
||
| 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
119 159 |
£24,620 £26,155 |
||
| Petrol | 2.0t | 163 163 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
159 190 |
£22,620 £24,270 |
|
| Aero | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
135 159 |
£28,230 £29,655 |
| Petrol | 2.0T | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
159 190 |
£28,370 £30,020 |
|
| 2.0 T XWD | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
195 209 |
£30,380 £31,885 |
||
| 9-3X | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
135 159 |
£26,495 £27,920 |
| Petrol | 2.0 T XWD | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
195 209 |
£27,620 £29,125 |
MY12 Saab 9-3 Convertible Price List:
| Trim | Fuel | Engine | HP | Transmission | CO2 (g/km) | On-the-RoadPrice (OTR) |
| SE | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 160 160 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
137 162 |
£27,495 £28,920 |
| 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
137 162 |
£27,995 £29,420 |
||
| Petrol | 2.0t | 163 163 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
173 199 |
£27,495 £29,050 |
|
| Aero | Diesel | 1.9 TTiD | 180 180 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
137 162 |
£31,745 £33,170 |
| Petrol | 2.0T | 220 220 |
Manual 6-speed Automatic 6-speed |
173 199 |
£31,995 £33,550 |
by Swade
March 14, 2011 in Editorial
I don’t want to get too dramatic here. And I don’t want to be a drag on your time. I’ll do a final SU entry around this time tomorrow and there’ll be lots to say then – about the future and in thanks to the many people who have made my blogging journey so enjoyable.
But there are a few things I’d like to share before then. I’ll go in point form to keep it quick.
That’ll do for now. Tomorrow I’ll finish off. Sorry if that sounds like preaching, but there are a few things that running a place like this teaches you about managing this type of communication medium and I just wanted to help you help the new crew.
Now, back to some car stuff….
by Swade
March 14, 2011 in Saabology
I wrote about Saab Billboards last week and in that post, I asked if someone could take a picture of the billboard at Landvetter airport, just outside Gothenburg.
I have a penchant for good advertising from any source – but Saab in particular, of course – and I just loved this billboard when I saw it straight after the Geneva Motor Show. I didn’t have my camera ready at the time, but thankfully Johan R was heading that way this weekend and stopped for a couple of shots.
The billboard features the Saab 9-3 Independence Edition Convertible. And a big, beautiful butterfly. It’s double-sided, hence the white flap to the left side (which is the butterfly wing for motorists coming the other way).
Thanks Johan!
The distance shot…….as you approach in your vehicle…..(click to enlarge)
And up close for detail……
——
by TimR
March 14, 2011 in Uncategorized
Letter from Marco in Finland:
I don’t know if any of us has missed the recent events in Japan. And maybe the SU isn’t the Media to bring it up. This is why I chose e-mail to get your attention to it:
Even if the events in Japan during the last few days aren’t directly of concern to most of us, there are thousands of Fellow Saabers there. These people have a club there as well: Saab Owner’s Club of Japan. The site seems to be up and running. (http://www.saabclub.jp/aboutsocj.html). I don’t know if Saabs are in any way in these people’s minds at the moment but they might appreciate our message to them. After all, we are all humans and we have similar ways of thinking when loving the same cars. Besides, they were also saving Saab a year ago.
There is also a quite extensive network of Saab retailers and service centers in Japan (http://www.yanase.co.jp/saab/), some of them in the worst affected areas.
————————
If there are any readers from Japan, perhaps they could update us a bit more about the situation…
From all in the SaabsUnited Team, our thoughts are with the people of Japan in this time of need!
————————
I suggest you all support “Doctors without Borders” they are usually the first ones on scene at every disaster.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
by Red J
March 13, 2011 in News
Saab is struggling to get serious sales figures in saturated markets like the American and the European. So it is logical for Saab to enter markets with a bigger expected growth, the so called emerging markets.
And on top of the emerging markets are the BRIC countries. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The contract with the Chinese distributor was signed in December 2010 with China Automobile Trading Co. and it is expected that the first cars will arrive there in July.
The information about a contract with a distributor in Russia is still unofficial, but in an interview that Mr. Antonov gave to the Russian News-Site Gazeta.ru last week, he stated that the contract with Armand was just signed. Armand was the old Cadillac and Saab importer in Russia, and is the Russian Peugeot importer.
Today the Brazilian newspaper Mogi News has published, that the 9-4x will be imported to Brasil by the current Spyker, Koennigsegg and Pagani importer Platinuss. It seems like Mexico and Brazil have some kind of treaty, as the 9-4x will not have to pay importing taxes/fees to enter the Brazilian market. Later on Platinuss will introduce the 9-5 and the 9-3 in Brasil.
We have the C the R and now the B. Mr. Seidl should search now for an appropriate I to have the full BRIC.
RedJ
by Swade
March 13, 2011 in Saabology
It’s a long distance relationship that we hinted at a few days ago thanks to a tip from SUHRT’s Jorgen Trued – now confirmed.
I’m not sure if I’ve got all this correct as I’m writing off the top of my head, but here goes……CPP Global Holdings Ltd is the same group owned by Vladimir Antonov (and I believe, also part owned by CPP Managing Director, Brendan O’Toole) that recently agreed to acquire Spyker’s sports car business. They are also the coachbuilding company that now makes Spyker vehicles since their move from Zeewolde.
And if you’re not familiar with Bowler’s vehicles, do yourself a favour and go Google them. Brutal beasts, they are. It’s nice to have them in the extended family.
——
The Saab 9-3 Griffin is now being advertised in Sweden…..
…. nice image, that one. The ad also talks about the Saab 9-3 SportCombi now getting under the 120g/km bar.
243,000 crowns is around $38,000 US dollars.
Thanks to JH for the scan.
——
People are still buying Saabs……
I’ve had two emails over the weekend relating to people shopping for Saabs. One for a Griffin and one stitching up a deal on a Saab 9-5 Aero.
It’s great to see, and I’m sure we’ll hear more about these purchases as time ticks on.
In the meantime, I’m making a few enquiries of my own. I’m still not in a position to buy new, but am having some thoughts about some vintage Swedish steel. I’ll keep you posted.
——
This is the front of the Saab PhoeniX Concept….
And this is a quick photoshop of how the PhoeniX concept front end could be adapted for a future Saab 9-3. The artist wishes to remain nameless…..
Nice work. I’d give that a second look. For sure.
——
The Saab IQon video is definitely proving to be the hit of the Geneva Motor Show news releases. It’s been picked up by motoring websites, as well as plenty of technology mags.
I took another look at it today using my Apple TV device to stream to my 40-inch screen and it looked absolutely fantastic. As of that viewing, it had been watched over 110,000 times.
It’s hard to say what was the bigger hit for Saab in Geneva – PhoeniX or IQon. Great to have them both there, however.
——
It’s a long weekend here. Woohoo!
I have a lot of writing to do tomorrow, as well as trying to fit in a visit with fellow Saabnut Drew B and a good cleaning of the Monte Carlo. Busy days.
I hope you’re having a great weekend.
–
by Swade
March 13, 2011 in Saabology
We got some initial video and thoughts from the opening of Saab’s first all-new showroom, Saab of North Olmsted, a few days ago.
If anyone wants to take a deeper look at the new facility, I can recommend this photo collection. There are plenty of inside photos from the new showroom, including the service area.
Thanks to Mickey at Saab of North Olmsted for the tip!
by Swade
March 13, 2011 in Saabology
Zippy’s a Saab 9-3 owner and one of our long-term family here at Saabs UNited and I know he’s been very keen to get behind the wheel of a Saab 9-5 V6 for some time.
Last weekend he had the chance to drive an Aero, courtesy of Rob over at Springmans Saab in Vancouver, Canada.
Zippy was kind enough to send in his thoughts.
——
I’d love to be able to say I actually laid down $70,000 and drove away with a massive smile on my face – as well as a huge hole in my savings – but in reality I had taken my car out for an inspection when Rob handed me the keys to a 9-5 Aero with a stunning dark cocoa and parchment leather interior and told me to ‘enjoy’.
The car was loaded with every conceivable option except a sunroof. At first the sight of all of those buttons seemed overwhelming bit in actuality they are intuitively laid out and after ten minutes in the car I was an expert.
I am not big fan of automatic transmissions, but the paddleshifters, in reality, have about 80% of the fun factor of a manual, which surprised me. If I were to have an auto I’d never have the car in Drive choosing to shift “on the fly’ as it makes the car just that much more enjoyable – and drivable.
Drivable? In Drive I found the car was a little reluctant to downshift when you put your foot down, even when in Sport mode. Heading out to the highway I decided to see what the car was capable of merging into traffic. I found my slot and floored it….my response was “holy $h1t” – said out loud – as a smile grew from ear to ear.
I loved the HUD, which was easy to read and showed my current gear when in “flappy paddle mode” as well as my speed which seems to reach high numbers in no time. Its a huge safety feature as I never had to take my eyes off of the road to check speed etc.
The engine doesn’t even feel turbocharged to me as it actually feels like a small V8 the way the power is instantly fed thru to the XWD system. I just cannot imagine what this engine feels like in a 9-3 TurboX albeit with “only” 280bhp.
The offramp gave me an opportunity to test the sticky XWD system which didn’t even flicker when I abruptly took my foot off of the gas at the same time as braking trying to trick the system. You would never even know the car had XWD. It just felt like a well balanced, rock solid car. I would love to be able to drive this car up Cypress Mountain with its hairpin turns and sweeping bends to see how it handles on the twisty bits. I didn’t get the opportunity to use the SATNAV system but the car sure looks better with the full colour screen over the green screen that was in the base 9-5 I had previously driven.
Heading back to the dealer I kept getting odd looks from people thinking to myself ‘what the heck is his/her problem?!” until I realised that people were actually looking at the car. A thirtysomething couple in an old(ish) E-Class stopped just ahead of me and to the left craned their necks getting a better look at the cars lines with that “what kind of car is that?!” look on their faces when the woman lowered her window and asked me what it was I was driving. Having explained her it was the new 9-5 I also took the opportunity to tell her who to go and visit if she wanted to get a really good look and take one out for a spin – or better yet replace their ‘German taxi’. They then held back to get a look at the cars behind as I pulled away from the lights. This car turns heads and I can only imagine what kind of response this car would get if it were driven in the busy streets of Vancouver especially in Arctic White.
My final impression? A very roomy rock solid four door sports car with a Jeckyl and Hyde personality. In Comfort mode it wafts along as a luxury sedan should but when switched to Sport mode it turns into a snarling four door sports car with the ride comfort a luxury car.
Is it perfect? It would be if it had a manual transmission. That is why I would have to get a manual 2.0T Aero Hirsched-up to 260bhp with XWD, a set of 19inch Edge rims, DriveSense and that SATNAV with HUD but no such beast exists here in North America so I guess I have to start saving up for the V6 Aero. All I can say is that anyone who owns one of these cars is very very lucky and I am 110% green with envy.
Thanks to Rob and Jason at Springman’s Saab for sharing the car with me and taking time to “talk Saab”.
by TimR
March 13, 2011 in Uncategorized
Try looking up the definition of the word SAABism, you will probably find a lot written about it but no clear meaning to the word. So what exactly does the word mean?
While reading the book Anders Tunberg wrote about the development of the original 9-5, I came across the word on several occasions and finally it hit me. The word can be summed up in the phrase “thought-through”, everything affected by SAABism has a lot of thought behind it. For example: why place the ignition key between the seats?
Well when you sit down in the drivers seat the first thing you do is to close the door, grab the seat-belt and fasten it, and where is your hand then? Right where it is supposed to be for the next step, turning the ignition, release the parking-brake, setting the gearbox into drive or 1st gear and then you are ready to go… Your hand is directly in the right place where it should be compared to cars having the ignition next to the steering-wheel which forces the driver to move both hand and head several times before this procedure is complete.
Another factor pointed out by the engineers was that it was easy to see and not obstructed by anything making the position ergonomically correct.
So how is SAABism born? Well many people who drive around in their cars on a daily basis, come across situations where something is annoying, it could be the position of a button on the dashboard, it could be that you get out of your car at night and step into pile of dog poop. The thought “why didn’t they put a light there so I could see it” is a thought that leads to SAABism, which in turn leads to improvements of the car, for example putting a light under the door so that when opened, the person getting out of the car can see the ground and avoid having to clean his/her shoes afterwards =)
Well this was just one example, more of them are the dual sun-covers, the amazing cup-holder in the dash of the original 9-5, connecting the glove-compartment to the air-conditioning keeping drinks cool, heated front and back-seat, ventilated seats, head-lights staying on after you close the door and lock the car (follow me home) etc. etc. etc… I could go on forever…
My thought is, that it is SAABism, brought to us by designers such as Olle Granlund, David West and many others that actually makes SAAB, a SAAB.
—
Well here is my challenge for all you readers: come up with something more that can lead to SAAB creating more SAABism in their future cars! =)
/ TimR.
by Rune
March 12, 2011 in News
Actually it is still barely afternoon, but as you all know the spirit of SU was born in Australia so by the time this is published it will already be almost Sunday. Eventually, I expect SU will convert to Saab Mean Time (SMT) which is more or less GMT+1.
On to the snippets.
——
Pam sent our team a note letting us know that the IIHS has published the first MY10/11 9-5 crash test scores. No side impact testing as of yet, but I’m sure their testing regiment will continue. Good score so far.
——
AutoNews’ Rick Kranz offers up some nice thoughts on the PhoeniX. “The PhoeniX design is polarizing. But that’s OK.” (thanks John for the tip).
——
Both Saab PhoeniX and IQon continues to receive attention all over Internet. A little googling turns up heaps of articles and opinions. “Don’t Angry Birds and drive!” writes Rik Henderson of pocketlint.com. A colleague of mine received a citation a week ago for using his mobile while driving. He tried to demonstrate that he had a handsfree device in his glove compartment, but no rebate on the ticket was offered. Imagine the cop’s reaction had there been a little Angry Birding going on too.
Personally, I suspect digital distractions will be difficult to avoid in the future. By blocking content on the main satnav screen, all you will accomplish is that the driver will whip out his other portable screen and use that instead. The choice will be between being able to use only one hand or be forced to employ other body parts as well. Still, as with the “fasten seat belts” sign, the car should lead with a good example. In either case, IQon is long overdue and an welcome addition to the Saab product range.
——
Keep sending us tips.
by Red J
March 12, 2011 in Saabology
In mid February Swade posted about a 9-3 tuned by Maptun performance to 415hp.
Last weekend the car was tested at the trackdays at the Snetterton circuit(GB).
The test went quite well, as the biggest incident took place in Holland, where the driver behind the Maptun 9-3 was too interested in the car and rear ended the car.
The guys from Maptun(white car) where invited by NeoBrothers(yellow-black livery).
You can get more details of the whole story at the new Maptun blog.
RedJ
by TimR
March 12, 2011 in Uncategorized
While reading the comments from Swade’s post a week ago some said that the person taking over after Swade had some big shoes to fill, well I realized many years ago that no one man can ever fill those shoes, it will take more than one person to do that.
That’s why I have brought together a team of great dedicated SAAB crazy people and this team is the next SaabsUnited. I don’t want to think of this as a “new” SaabsUnited because not a lot will change, no one could ever replace Swade but perhaps with a lot of work and some help from all the great people visiting this website we can continue the great work that Swade has started. I might be the owner of the next SaabsUnited but I’m also part of the team and we will function and work just like teammates in a racing team would…
I just want to give a short presentation of my self: My full name is Tim Rokka, I was born in Trollhättan 1981, both my parents worked at SAAB and I too worked there in 2002. Now I’m working as a professional airline pilot and have done so since 2007 in countries all over Europe, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. I’m currently flying Airbus A321’s for a Scandinavian charter company out of Gothenburg.
I’m a proud owner of one of the last 9-5’s of the original model which I bought in February 2010. Bought my first Saab, a 9-3 in 2001 which I rebuilt into a 9-3 Viggen. I have also owned a 9-5 Linear Sedan 2006 and 9-5 Vector SportsCombi Anniversary 2008.
So let me present the rest of the team:
RobinM – UK
Tompa – Sweden
RedJ – Germany
Jeff – US
Valeriy – Russia
Brendan – Australia
Rune – Norway/Sweden
Carl-Henrik, Sweden
A question about where SaabsUnited will be located geographically, was posted in the comments last night and I’m happy to say that we are bringing SaabsUnited to the hometown of SAAB, Trollhättan. The website will run off a server managed by Peter S., who work as a network technician & computer engineer. Peter is a life-long friend of mine who I met in 1997 and I assure you that he is as crazy about Saab as I am =)
So whats going to change? Well not much, the basic idea is that the site will continue to run just as it always have. What we will try to do is to expand the shop section. We will also focus more on interviewing people who are / have been important to SAAB. Of course we will try to maintain as high coverage as possible from various auto-shows and meetings from around the world. A lot more will be focused on using video and bringing it to you as soon as possible.
The website will become a bit more categorized with some recurrent items running on a weekly basis. SAAB of the Week is one such item and we would like you guys to send photos of your cars and tell us a bit about them and what the car means to you.
A SSD “Saab Sales Data” section will be added where Carl-Henrik will keep track of the sales of SAAB’s from around the world.
We will also take a look at the dealers in detail, how are they working, what kind of cars are available for a test-drive and in which condition those cars are. We are also going to cover different maintenance facilities as well.
The official e-mail to be used for all SaabsUnited related items is:saabsunitedcrew@gmail.com everything sent to this e-mail can be read by anyone in the team. This e-mail is temporary until we get our own e-mail server up and running which will be an @saabsunited.com address.
If you have any tip of a story we should cover or just want to drop us a line about something please do not hesitate to do so.
We hope you are going to enjoy the next SaabsUnited.com just as much as you always have and we do ask you for some patience in the beginning, it might take us some time to get organized and running well =)
/ TimR.
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Save the last 9-3 Griffin
