Top Gear and Saab Owners Club UK
January 31, 2012 in News
The legendary brit program named Top Gear is preparing a tribute to Saab covering “over 50 years of Saab production” . And the production has contacted the legendary Saab Owners Club for helping them by providing cars .At this moment we can’t say nothing more . “Following the their approach to us a few weeks back we have now supplied almost all of the cars for 2 days of location filming.
However, although some of us were present even we do not know the full content of the film so it will be a bit of a surprise to all of us. It will, we are sure, contain some of the normal Top Gear humour so we don’t all expect to escape unscathed! We are assured that, overall, Saab will come out looking good.”
From Saablog-in
julie@KellySAAB said on January 31, 2012
any news yet of when this episode is to air? and will it air in US at same time as overseas?
terry9000k said on January 31, 2012
I don’t think they have stated the dates yet, but when it is on UK TV, immediately after you can watch it online on BBC iplayer ;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mj59
julie@KellySAAB said on January 31, 2012
thanks for the heads up, terry!
simonswisssaab said on January 31, 2012
Hi, according to the soc gb site it appears the episode will be shown sometime between mid to end of February. Can’t wait!
kochje said on January 31, 2012
Keep us informed while that can be a very interesting tribute.
theSandySaab said on January 31, 2012
For our Swiss friends there was a good piece about Saab in SF1 “CashTV”, 2 days ago.
During my years in Switzerland I drove a Saab and understood that it has a good following there (understated car for those who do not want the bling of a beamer or benz) with excellent Saab Techs and of course Hirsch. Hirsch is also mentioned in the CashTV piece, that they loved to work with Saab, but that they now are looking to provide tuning for another European brand – unnamed and under a cover…
Still interesting Saab times, fingers crossed for a white knight and a restart…
theSandySaab said on January 31, 2012
http://www.cash.ch/cashtv/
Now available online…
Trued said on January 31, 2012
So what is the NEW brand Hirsch is about to work wit that was hiding under the black cover? Anyone who could recognize the rear lines?
So that marks the end of exclusive SAAB partner…..
saab92aero said on February 1, 2012
Hard to tell from looking one time, and since I can’t watch at work I can’t take another look. But my first idea was BMW 5-series, but then again, exhaust didn’t look to much BMW-like…
I wouldn’t be suprised though if it’s an Opel Insignia under the cover…
Allan B said on January 31, 2012
Oh no!/Oh yes!
The scope for schoolboy insults about the Swedes, the Chinese, the Turks, the Dutch and the Indians will be too much for Clarkson and Hammond to resist!
But I suppose it will all be worth it if Saab emerges in a good light. This is good news and I hope I can catch it on Iplayer.
hilmar said on January 31, 2012
Completely OT: Read an article on Autoblog (by Noah Joseph, 24th of Jan, source Autocar. uk 23.01.12). “Volvo looking for a small car partner” ????????????? And they are looking for a model platform that can underpin anything from a hatchback to a large saloon … Well, there is something obtainable next to them …
maanders said on January 31, 2012
Very interesting, but does Geely/Volvo have the “deep pockets” to buy and restart Saab, as well as keep it going? I thought there was an article here a few months back about Geely having some cash problems.
hilmar said on January 31, 2012
You are right. I don´t have any overview but perhaps there is a possibility somehow. Perhaps Mats Fägerhag knows the answer ?
Muppen said on January 31, 2012
That´s about time….little late but nice anyway!
saabsideways said on January 31, 2012
‘So there we have it, a small and once great car maker, a leader in automotive style, performance and technology, a company ahead of it’s time, killed by a fat American uncle who raided it’s larder and left it to die starving at the side of the road…………..is this really the end for Saab’
Read it in Clarksons voice.
terry9000k said on January 31, 2012
Where?
Allan B said on January 31, 2012
Hahaha! I forgot about the Americans.
JohnA said on January 31, 2012
56% of Saab’s market before the time of troubles.
rallyho said on January 31, 2012
Please stop that pathetic school girl whining ….. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa GM hit me, whaaaaaaaaaaa.
The c900 was a dinosaur and going nowhere fast and I had enough to know.
Saab should have died back in 1993. Consider GM as putting food on your tables. You sound like welfare wannabees.
saabsideways said on January 31, 2012
‘welfare wannabees’ The U.S. government bailed GM out to the tune $50 billion and will get barely half of that back. The dominance of the US is at an end, the country has become a world laughing stock. Comedy politicians, religious bigots, creationism in schools, worthless housing stock, mass unemployment and a guy running for president whos on his third wife and wants a moonbase… keep fiddling because your Rome is burning.
rallyho said on January 31, 2012
We are indeed an economic train wreck pumping billions into solving problems while The Euros had their thumbs up their tushes. Israel? Balfour? Dien Bien Fu?.
Honestly I agree we are so far gone there is no coming back.
I am sad I lost family defending your soil in WWII while Saab built planes for Hitler.
Red J said on January 31, 2012
I am sad I lost family defending its rights while the US was making treaty with the dictator that caused the death of members of my family.
C’mon, rallyho, keep the tone civilised, the US has tons of corpses in the cabinet.
rallyho said on February 1, 2012
If you mean Stalin, the Polish in me would certainly agree.
Jelmer said on February 1, 2012
Maybe you should focus on the U.S. elections instead of Saab… enough BS there to frustrate yourself about.
Without Europe the U.S. would never have existed in the first place and be inhabited by small happy people not quite like the people living there now… Maybe you can try to see the WOII in this perspective….
JasonVT said on February 1, 2012
Saab built planes for Hitler????? I think you have a bit of your history confused. Saab built planes because of Hitler, remember Sweden is neutral,. Saab was formed to provide protection for Sweden, no-one else.
rallyho said on February 1, 2012
Dead wrong!
Read the Saab Scania Story published by Saab.
They admit the money to start Saab came from Fokker and built bombers also a Harvard (US license), used for Luftwaffe training.
Your statement is total BS!
saabsideways said on February 1, 2012
rallyho, you are living up to the stereotype of Americans, crass, overbearing, unable to take criticism and naturally aggressive.
How did Operation Cyclone work out for you ? I think your birds came home to roost.
SaabMan said on February 1, 2012
Is the tone of this exchange necessary? Surely there are many parties to blame for Saab’s current sorry state. One is most definitely GM, but we could also look to the Swedish government and the European Investment Bank, Spyker/Victor Muller and Saab’s internal management. There are many Americans and Swedes and everything here on SU. We may have political disagreements (often among our own countrymen and women), which is as it should be. But we remain civil and quite friendly even. One of the beauties of SU is its ability to bring together Saab enthusiasts from all over the world. Please don’t ruin it by making inflammatory comments about one nation or another, and most especially the people who live in these countries.
sandycapp said on February 1, 2012
You might want to remember, before making comments like that, that whereas we (UK) entered WW2 in defence of an invaded ally, the US entered (2 years later), only after being attacked at Pearl Harbor.
Allan B said on February 2, 2012
Saabman is right. Banter is fine until it becomes nasty. GM are rotten, and many things the US government gets up to are rotten as well. But that is equally true of the UK government and many leading corporations that operate out of the UK, in my opinion. Sweden: same goes, in my opinion. And that’s just it: my opinion. Others in my country wholeheartedly endorse things that I consider abhorrent – such as blood sports, the wearing of socks and sandals, and Phil Collins. While I’m on the subject of music, the invention of rock ‘n’ roll alone is one of myriad things for which I say ‘God bless America’. For me, the humour in Saabsideways’s original comment is in what I thought was a parody of Jeremy Clarkson. It seems to me the attitude of many Brits, the English in particular, towards the Americans is a sort of imperialist penis envy. That’s the long and the short of it.
xlx said on January 31, 2012
nice !
they wrote a tribute to saab not long time ago : Saab: a small TG.com tribute, if it will be like this, than OK
kanundrum said on January 31, 2012
My Dream is that they test Both the Viggen and the TurboX on The test Track lap board!
Bernard said on January 31, 2012
It would be cool if they have a used Saab challenge. The challenges are always funny.
Joe said on January 31, 2012
I can tell you from a good source within the BBC that a forthcoming episode of Top Gear will feature James May behind the wheel of the new Saab 9-5 Aero, since Mr May has already mentioned that he has a thing for Saab’s.
Belfast_Saab said on February 1, 2012
There was a 2second clip of James at the wheel of the 9-5 at the ‘false’ start of this weekends episode!
900SE said on February 1, 2012
+1
droy said on February 1, 2012
I saw that as well – not sure if that’s good, being in the snippets they “wanted the BBC to think they were airing”, rather than the fun stuff… But hey, it could still be positive, even if it’s not tyre squealing, drag races and POWWERRRR!!!
Belfast_Saab said on February 1, 2012
Haha I know, I was excoted for those 2seconds until I realsied as you say, that this was part of the ‘dull’ programme. Sometimes I wish they would do more of that – I get quite bored with TG as it becomes more extreme and infantile – scripted jokes and stunts hold less and less attraction, or am I just getting ready for my slippers and pipe ?!?!?
Allan B said on February 1, 2012
No, Belfast Saab, you are absolutely right I reckon. TG was enlivened a lot from when I used to watch it as a boy in the 90s by the inclusion of less po-faced features, more humour, more pieces about life with cars in general rather than being stuck in a rut of the type of serious, yawnsome review that Clarkson et al have lampooned. But it certainly crossed a line a few years ago, when it stopped being a serious programme about cars in any sense and instead became all about the presenters. It is now basically a televised lad’s mag for gleefully unreconstructed morons. I quite like it.
Allan B said on February 1, 2012
… having said that, I suspect about 50% of TG’s audience today are still actual 13-year-old boys. As a parent it doesn’t bother me too much, considering there was just as much brain-rotting stuff on telly when I was a kid, and I turned out all right. Wait a second…
Camasi said on January 31, 2012
Great news! Really looking forward to it. FYI: http://www.finalgear.com has every single episode for download. This episode, like every episode, will be available the day after it airs I’m sure.
zippy said on January 31, 2012
FAB!! I love TopGear.
GerritN said on January 31, 2012
Unfortunately we’re not able to watch the British version.
The American Top Gear is really weak, the guys are just trying too hard to be funny.
terry9000k said on January 31, 2012
See link in 1st comment above ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Red J said on January 31, 2012
Terry the BBC player is also only for UK residents.
terry9000k said on February 1, 2012
Hi Red,
Not anymore, but you have to pay:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2020243/BBC-iPlayer-launches-Europe–costs-half-price-licence-fee.html
I did not know that outside the UK, could not get it though…so what happens when YOU click on the link at 1st comment Red?
saabsideways said on January 31, 2012
TPB that other great Swedish institution, Piratpartiet up.
Alex740 said on January 31, 2012
If you have cable, you can watch the UK Top Gear on BBC America as it airs in the UK.
Back episodes are on Netflix. They have a couple reviews of Saabs, most notably is OG 9-5 Aero that they race against a Jet.
Hogge said on February 1, 2012
I think that the US Top Gear isn’t too bad.
Sure, the cast isn’t as likable as the UK one. But in US Top Gear, they have Cheap Car Challenges almost every week, and I love the CCC’s. Too bad that Top Gear UK don’t have them anymore.
Oh, and by the way, this season TG are going to race a (pre-facelift and therefor not XWD) 9-3 against a fighter jet… that’s not allowed to fly!
GerritN said on January 31, 2012
“wasn’t mentioned” should be “was mentioned”
Sorry, multitasking and headache.
GerritN said on February 1, 2012
Btw, the above comment was a correction to an original comment which gave a link to another ‘Saab’ website that is very critical of VM _and_ SU. This comment never made it through the SU censor office! There was nothing in my comment that warranted censorship except the mentioning of this other web site. I must say that I’m pretty upset to see this comment being nixed. Not so much because I want to make propaganda for this other web site, but rather that only the mentioning of this web site apparently warrants censorship, exactly along the lines of what this other web site is accusing SU of.
There is a whole discussion going on about freedom of speech and information on the internet. If my comment was removed because the SU authors don’t want to have this other web site mentioned then SU, as far as I’m concerned, falls on the wrong side of the moral internet divide. As a long time member I hope this is not the case!?
Greg Abbott said on January 31, 2012
In the U.S. you can purchase episodes of Top Gear in the iTunes store, relatively soon after they air in the U.K. (within a month or so, IIRC).
I’m looking forward to this.
Alex740 said on January 31, 2012
Clarkson likes Saab and usually he is the toughest so I think it will be a pretty good tribute but I do expect some jabs as well.
Evan Pagano said on February 1, 2012
Awesome I sent them this idea on twitter and they actually did it. It’s a little weird in the past they haven’t been very fond of Saab.
Alex 900 said on February 1, 2012
If I am as far in the selection process as I hope I am, There should be 2 tickets for Top Gear on their way to me
It would be quite good if the 29th February (the show I have selected to go on if chosen) was the one with the SAAB article featured.
Aeroman said on February 1, 2012
Rune sent me a link to this telling TG photo: http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/sneak-preview-gallery-top-gear-series-18-2012-1-20?imageNo=8
So we might have a tribute followed by a challenge!
Fun aside, let’s hope the it is more of a tribute than an obituary (and don’t put off any investors).