by Tompa
June 9, 2011 in Uncategorized
Confused by the Anni and Ay go headline? Well, let me clearify things for you.
Please click on through to see what this post is all about… I´m Back in a 9-5.
Read the rest of this entry →
by Red J
February 19, 2011 in Saabology
This is my first snippets edition, let’s see what I found.
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For the Canadian Saab fans:
The first Saab to arrive in Edmonton is expected to arrive next week. It will be an Independence Day convertible. Other “normal” Saabs are expected to arrive in Edmonton mid-April.
Saab Canada is telling a different Story about the dealer in Edmonton.
One dealership in Edmonton is selling high-line certified used vehicles and doing a booming business in import service, as well as carrying the new Saab line-up.
Source: The Edmonton Journal, Autonet
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For the US American Saab fans:
Saab is having really interesting incentives in February in the US for the 2010 Models, upp to $7,000 for a 2010 Saab 9-3 Convertible.
Source: Autoloaddaily
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For the Rally fans:
Saab’s friend and rally enthusiast Vladimir Antonov said to have cleared North One Sport’s (a WRC team) outstanding debt and is providing significant investment for the future.
So people are starting to speculate if this means the return of Saab to Rally racing, maybe next year.
I think, not with the current cars and not next year.
Source: Rallybuzz
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For the Swedish Saab fans:
BIL Sweden County and Municipal distributed statistics for January 2011 shows that diesel cars with carbon emissions of up to 120 g / km dominate green car market.
In Stockholm County, every newly registered clean car in January, a diesel-powered “120-gram down”. While losing both ethanol cars and gas vehicles market.
Better translation thanks to Börjesson:
In Stockholm County, every second newly registered clean car in January was a diesel-powered “120-grammer”. At the same time, both ethanol cars and gas cars are losing market shares.
BIL Swedens läns- och kommunfördelade statistik för januari 2011 visar att dieselbilar med koldioxidutsläpp på max 120 g/km dominerar på miljöbilsmarknaden. I Stockholms län var varannan nyregistrerad miljöbil i januari en dieseldriven ”120-grammare”.Samtidigt tappar både etanolbilar och gasbilar marknadsandelar.
I think there is indeed a reason for a sub 120g Saab Wagon.
Source: Bil Sweden
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For the BioPower fans:
There is a fascinating article at just-auto explaining why bio-ethanol days of glory are already history in Europe.
I think the last 2 paragraphs tell the hole story.
A spokesperson for Renault, which now sells more FFVs in Europe than any other carmaker, told just-auto that “what is clearly lacking is a stable EU policy environment that delivers a clear and consistent signal to industry.” Meanwhile, Jonathan Nash, Managing Director of Saab Great Britain is clear about what he thinks are some of the reasons behind such inconsistencies: “There has always been a high level of government policy sensitivity around biofuels. This scepticism has been caused in part by the powerful anti-biofuels lobby, while the lack of credible well-to-wheel certification for biofuels’ emissions also makes policy makers ambivalent towards them.”
Whatever the reasons, it is clear that biofuels continue to divide opinion on a major scale in Europe. The fact though, that Europe’s policy makers are as confused as the general public about them is helping no one.
Source: Just-Auto
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If I’ve forgotten somebody please rise your hand!
by Swade
October 20, 2010 in News
Yesterday, I wrote about the Norwegian version of the Saab 9-4x press release, quoting as follows:
From August 2011, the 9-4X [will] also [be] offered to customers in Europe and the world at large. The engine range will eventually also include diesel engines, better adapted to a Norwegian tax regime than the powerful V6 petrol engines. In the Nordic countries will also BioPower engines currently being developed.
This gave us some hope that Saab might eventually fit a diesel into the Saab 9-4x, which is considered essential for the European market.
They may still do so, too, but that hope faded a little today.
Auto Motor and Sport have a reporter in the US, who’s over there to drive the General’s 9-4x sister vehicle, the Cadillac SRX. Seeing he was over there, he enquired about the diesel proposition and was told by one of the Cadillac people that there were no preparations being made for the fitment of diesel at the factory where both vehicles will be made.
Further to that, however, is the amendment of the Norwegian press release that was the trigger for this whole issue.
The paragraph that I quoted above has now been edited out of the release. It seems they must have been working from an early draft that slipped through the net (It happens more often that you would think).
So, all of you looking for 9-4x diesels (with more MPGiesels – thanks James May) – stand down.
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by Swade
October 19, 2010 in News
The Saab 9-4x press releases came out yesterday and as predicted, the two engines at release were a normally aspirated 3.0V6 making 265hp and the turbocharged 2.8V6 making 300hp.
There was no mention of a diesel or BioPower engine in the global release published yesterday, but it has been noted in comments that the Norwegian press release mentions both for the Saab 9-4x in the future.
This is a Googletrans from the Norwegian press release:
From August 2011, the 9-4X [will] also [be] offered to customers in Europe and the world at large. The engine range will eventually also include diesel engines, better adapted to a Norwegian tax regime than the powerful V6 petrol engines. In the Nordic countries will also BioPower engines currently being developed.
The mention of BioPower is interesting because it brings to life the possibility of adapting Saab’s 2.0T BioPower engine currently in the Saab 9-5. Whilst having less power than the 3.0V6 base engine, it would have more Saab-like driving characteristics and less weight.
‘Arild’ first noticed this in Norwegian press articles about the 9-4x where diesels were specifically mentioned, and writers of those articles attributed it to the Saab press release. A look at the Norwegian version of the release confirmed what they were saying (thanks Arild and Me).
They won’t be available at launch, obviously, but it’s encouraging to hear they’re in the pipeline.
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by Swade
June 2, 2010 in News
We first heard about the possibility of a Biogas version of the Saab 9-3 back in October last year. Back then, it was shown at a conference in Gothenberg as a test vehicle only.
The car has now been driven by Auto Motor and Sport, who also provide some pricing information about the car in the following article, provided by Carl-Henrik via email:
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Saab 9-3 SportCombi TriFuel: Three in one
Our man on the west coast, Thomas Berggren, has test driven the new multi-fuel car 9-3 SportCombi TriFuel. Three different types of fuel in one car. It arrives much funnier news from Saab now!
AMS: Hello! You drive something that is called “TriFuel” – what does that mean?
TB: Well, it means that it can run on petrol, E85, and biogas. It has a normal fuel tank on 61 litre, but also a gas tank on 102 litre that can take 24 normal cubic metres of gas.
AMS: Can you fit so many tanks in the car?
TB: This is an “after conversion”, just like Volvo has done with their V70, and because of that it steals some of the space from the cargo compartment. The cargo floor is about 100 mm higher.
AMS: How does it work when you drive, can you choose petrol on your own?
TB: Yes, you can. With a small button on the dashboard you can choose type of fuel. When it is cold the cars starts on liquid fuel, that is handled automatic. Later when the engine is warm you can drive on gas if you want, and of course you can change while on the move. Saab is thinking about making the car to choose the biogas as primary fuel, but so far the driver has to make that choise on her own.
AMS: How is it with milage?
TB: 61 litre gives a normal milage for a SportCombi, but then you can add 24 cubic metres of biogas, so totally you have a milage of about 900 – 1000 km. Then you have used up all fuel and it’s a good time to find a gas station.
AMS: Is it any fun with it?
TB: Yes, Saab sticks to their strategy that it should be valuable/profitable in regards of driver-happiness when it comes to bio-fuels. With petrol the car has 150 hp, with E85 it is 175 hp, and with biogas it is also 175 hp. This in spite of both ethanol and biogas has a lower energy-factor than petrol
AMS: What does it cost?
TB: This one costs 304.900 Skr ( = 31790 EUR / 39.040 USD, exchange rate of today), which is 40.000 Skr ( = 4170 EUR / 5120 USD ) + VAT more than a BioPower-model. The conversion is made by Saab ANA in Trollhättan and is sold by Saab dealers.
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And as per the October story….
From other sources, it seems a Swedish company called BRC might be hooked up with ANA in this conversion business. They’ve been working with converting Volvos for some time and also had a hand in building this BioGas powered racing Saab for the Swedish Touring Car Championship.
Click here to see ANA’s own (short) page on the BioGas Saab 9-3.
by Swade
October 28, 2009 in News
Saab have shown their BioGas model at a conference in Gothenburg today. Both TTELA and Auto Motor and Sport are reporting on the vehicle.
The vehicle loses around 9cms of luggage space in the rear in order to hold 100 litres of BioGas in its tanks. That much gas will take you around “20 mil” which is Swede-speak for 200 kilometers, IIRC. Plans are afoot to get that range up to 30 mil “but we have not reached that yet” according to Saab Powertrain’s Kenth Johansson.
There is no confirmation yet that this model will get the green light. The infrastructure for BioGas is still pretty limited. There are plans for around 70 BioGas filling stations in Sweden by 2012, so this isn’t a widespread solution. If it does go ahead, it’ll most likely be a Sweden-only model at first.
As it’s a demonstrator model only, there’s no idea at this point as to the cost of the conversion, but reports from a few days ago suggest it will be done at ANA rather than at the factory.
by Swade
October 26, 2009 in News
I need to check into some details on this, but it’s certainly an interesting development that we should hear more about this week.
From Auto Motor and Sport, with a translation thanks to Frank!
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Saab will show a new 9-3 for biogas
Tuesday the 27th, a new Saab model will be unveiled in Gothenburg and it can be run on three fuels: gasoline, E85 and biogas.
So far we know no more than having the invitation to the premiere show, which will take place on Tuesday 27th October. The display is made in connection with an EU meeting in Gothenburg, where policy makers are gathered under the heading “Future Road Transport – safe and clean.”
In parallel with seminars and conferences for the heights in Europe to the dealer ANA Trollhättan show off a new Saab 9-3 1,8 t BioPower, which also will run on biogas. The car is a result of the project “Trifuel”, which of course refers to the car can run on the three fuels, gasoline, E85 and biogas. The project was coordinated by Innovatum Teknikpark with GM Powertrain Sweden AB, AVL and BRC Sweden AB.
The conversion to run on biogas will be made by ANA Trollhättan and Saab may thus have a competitor to Volvo V70 2.5 FT Bi Fuel and the Volkswagen Passat bestseller Ecofuel.
For company car drivers, gas-fueled cars that can run on biogas are especially interesting when you get 40 percent discount on the benefit value (not more than 16,000 per year). The rapidly growing interest in gas-fueled cars have put heavy pressure on supplies to the as yet relatively few gasmack services.
Biogas is methane gas extracted from organic waste and it is a very environmentally beneficial vehicle fuel that is carbon neutral. Methane gas is extracted as a byproduct of crude oil and natural gas is then called. The amount of biogas and natural gas can vary from filling stations.
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AMS also have a picture of a Volvo V70 converted to run on BioGas. The tanks are stored in an under-floor compartment so that the space loss is minimal.
Here in Australia we have a lot of cars that run on Liquid Petroleum Gas. Being a gas-newbie I’m unsure if this is a different product, or a different name for the same product (it’s a different product – SW).
Anyway, Australian LPG installations often involve a single large tank in the trunk, which does cause a loss of luggage space. I think they’re getting better at it in more modern cars, though (admittedly, I haven’t looked at an LPG car for a long time).
As AMS say in their article, it’ll be interesting to see how they solve the tank issue.
We’ll watch with interest as this is another good positive development for Saab.
by Swade
August 28, 2009 in Saabology
There’s been a big discussion in comments on the emissons output of the 2010 Saab 9-5. I figured the discussion got significant enough to bring it to the front page.
I haven’t been keeping up with the ‘green car’ rules in Sweden but apparently a car now has to get under 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram to qualify. Saab’s BioPower cars used to qualify for the conditions avoiding the congestion charges and parking fees in Stockholm. It seems, from the way some newspaper reports in Sweden are talking, that that may not be the case any longer. Perhaps some Swedes can fill us in?
The report at the center of all this discussion (and from what I hear, there may be a few similar reports out there) comes from Allt om Motor and it reads, in part, as follows:
Saab is hoping for a revival with the help of the new 9-5. It wont be a pushover. Who will buy a big sedan that emits 223 grams of CO2 per kilometer?
….It’s one thing that German executives choose to buy cars like that as status symbols. Even rich Russians like sedans. But a Saab sedan? If anything Saab should try to carve out a more sporty profile with a focus on the environment. A car for the individualist, for those who appreciate quality and sportiness, but don’t have the need to show it off so clearly.
Surprise at a Saab sedan? They spend the paragraph before this lampooning the Saab 9-5 for being 12 years old. Did they not realise as they wrote it that that car was a sedan?
But I digress….
Because there is a need for a smaller and more fuel-efficient car, a clever car that offers something others don’t have. An Iphone of the automotive world, that would make buyers consider camping in front of Saab dealers in anticipation of the premiere. Who will raise a tent for the new 9-5?
The version that is expected to sell best – or least bad – is the 9-5 2.0 T. It emits 223 grams of CO2 per kilometer with automatic transmission, which most buyers will choose. The limit for “green” cars in Sweden is 120 grams!
Saab are going to be late to the ultra-low CO2 party. Let’s get used to that now. It’s happening, it’s unavoidable at this point so we better just grin and bear it.
The lowest 2010 Saab 9-5 output at launch will come from the 2.0 TiD engine, with just 139g/kg when fitted with a manual transmission. That doesn’t fit into the ‘green car’ category.
But here’s my question – is anyone surprised?
We’ve known that the Saab 9-5 would be around 5 meters long for some time now. We’ve known that it was going to be Saab’s flagship car and whilst we’d expect Saab to make it emissions conscious relative to it’s size, did anyone realistically expect it to have small-car emissions at it’s size?
And how much is that going to effect the buying decisions of people who will be in the market for this car?
I’m thinking most in terms of the Swedish market here because that’s the context in which the article was written. Others know the Swedish markets a million times better than me, but it seems that the ‘green car’ incentive is basically for people travelling into Stockholm. Aside from that, I imagine there must be vehicle registration discounts for ‘green’ cars as well, which makes them more attractive to buyers.
Is the Saab 9-5 aimed at this type of customer, however? With it’s size and it’s level of equipment, is it likely to be marketed specifically at hypermiling soy-latte-sipping treehuggers? Or is it more likely to be pitched at executives, people who at a place in their life where the drive is more important than their annual registration tax bill?
Saab are still endeavouring to portray this car as enviromentally acceptable for it’s size. And I’ve got no doubt that as time goes on, Saab will be able to apply more and more of their own developments and technology to the 9-5.
Saab’s engineers have a lot of stuff in the back shed that hasn’t come to light yet. Hybrid technology has been spoken of. Optimised BioPower technology is another.
This 2010 Saab 9-5 is going to be a cracker of a drive, but one must remember that it was designed fully under GM’s ownership with access to GM technology. Some of that is good, and some of it will leave something to be desired. Saab haven’t even left the GM stable yet and it seems that people, especially the Swedish press, expect finger-snap solutions as if GM never existed or had control of Saab’s offerings.
Bottom line – the argument that CO2 rules will mean a downfall for this car is a strawman, it’s a diversion that doesn’t bear scrutiny when you look at this car’s place in the market. It was noted in comments that the CO2 argument will probably be more appropriate for the Saab 9-3 in it’s next generation and I think that’s pretty good thinking.
Saab has bigger hurdles when it comes to the 9-5. The availability of leasing arrangements is going to be a much greater hurdle, for example. The distribution network is another. The lack of a new-generation wagon for the next 12 months it yet another (esp in Sweden).
We can’t brag of a sub-120 emissions Saab at the moment. But we have got what looks like one heck of a good ride. The fresh-air stuff will come eventually.
It saddens me that the Swedish press can only note the coming of the Saab 9-5 by concentrating on perceived shortcomings. Hopefully Saab, under Koenigsegg’s ownership, can one day make some of these journos eat their words.
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Thanks to Blogo for the translation!
And please feel free to correct any errors I have with regard to the Swedish registration system and green car status – I know there will be a few of them, but I think the argument will be similar, regardless.
by Swade
June 9, 2009 in Archive
UPDATE:
I got this link in my inbox, see, and thought “now there’s someone I’d like to hear from at the moment”. So off I went with the translator, without looking at the date.
This story, a noted in comments, is one year old now.
My apologies for covering old ground.
Though if you haven’t read it yet, please feel free to go ahead. It’s good to see where things are heading. Kjell ac Bergstrom and his team are the Aces up Saab’s sleeve in this whole reconstruction thing.
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Auto Motor and Sport have done an interview with GM Powertrain Sweden chief, Kjell ac Bergstrom.
I met Mr Bergstrom in Sweden back in 2007 and was fascinated by the brief conversation I had with him. Let’s just say that I’d like to have taken his personal car for a ride. He’s been described to me by various parties as both a genius and a mad-man, two characteristics that often go together. Let’s just say that under his oversight, Saab could have a lot of interesting things in the pipeline.
Swedes will want to go through to the original Swedish version at AMS. Here’s the Googletrans for the rest of us.
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“Ethanol fuel is a dream!”
Pär Brandt – 2008-06-03 19:26
Swedish engineers at GM Powertrain Sweden have the major responsibility for developing the technologies of the future of General Motors. New, turbo-charged engines, ethanol is the “right size” is just one example. Kjell AC Bergström, manager of GM Powertrain Sweden, talks in an interview about what we can expect in the future.
General Motors is a big family that spans the entire world and with thousands of engineers who develop new models and new technologies. GM has previously found it difficult to ‘understand’ the Saab brand – but now it has become much better – however, it has not had any problems to realize what good engineers there are in Trollhättan and Södertälje.
GM Powertrain Sweden is an important group of General Motors. It develops advanced technology for a variety of car models, including the upcoming Saab 9-4X and the new-generation 9-5 and 9-3. We had an opportunity to sit down and talk with the head of GM Powertrain Sweden, Kjell AC Bergström, and got a little hunch about what we can expect in the near future.
auto motor & sport, ams: What product groups do you work on at GM Powertrain Sweden to develop for GM?
Kjell AC Bergström (KB): We essentially have our hand on three areas: DCT (drive-by double coupling), “charging” (supercharger with turbo and / or compressor) and “control” (control system with a global architecture for the entire GM).
ams: That sounds ambitious! Who decides the priority of jobs?
KB: I am responsible, receive assignments and report directly to the heads at Detroit. Financially, we receive funds from a “pot” that all producers contribute to in return for each make of car to choose freely from all the technical solutions and components. Furthermore, we have a fund that finances new technology, which GM calls the “ATW”, Advanced Technology Workgroup. The heads of Saab in Trollhättan will affect not my department’s work, although we obviously listening and performing tasks. It is Detroit that has the last word.
by Swade
May 29, 2009 in Archive
Some news from downunder……
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Saab BioPower Promotes Alternative Fuels with Queensland Government
Building awareness for the importance of alternative fuels, Saab has provided a BioPower 9-3 SportCombi to the Queensland Government to use as a promotional vehicle for a 12 month period.
Promoting ethanol blended fuels and environmentally friendly vehicles, Saab and the Queensland Government will be a central highlight of Australia’s largest free green festival, Greenfest 2009, in June.
“With Saab BioPower, the first vehicle to run on E85 in Australia, Saab really does deliver on our promise of performance with responsibility,” said Director of GM Premium Brands, Parveen Batish.
The vehicle, which has gathered 5,500 kilometres to date, is also helping to spread the word on the benefits of biofuels and dispel any myths on the impact of ethanol fuel on engines by inclusion in TAFE presentations to mechanical students where they are learning about the flex-fuel technology.
Saab Australia became the first car maker to produce a renewable, ethanol-powered car for the Australian market and continues to be the only brand in Australia offering vehicles that run on E85#- a mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol – or petrol, in any combination, from one fuel tank.
Further enhancing the company’s flex-fuel industry leadership position, Saab has recently announced its full model range will be E85 capable from mid 2009.
Saab BioPower combines turbocharging with the use of E85 fuel to deliver increased engine power and improved performance, as well as reduced CO2 emissions, and is available in 9-5 and 9-3 vehicles in Sport Sedan, SportCombi and the iconic Saab Convertible body styles.
Driving on E85 can reduce emissions because the plants used to make E85 help to absorb CO2 in the atmosphere. In Australia, CSR produces E85 with less than half the CO2 emissions of petrol^.
The Saab 9-3 is also being used for promotional purposes by the Queensland Government with a recent trip to the Dalby BioRefinery, the State’s first large scale grain-to-ethanol production facility, in preparation for its opening in the coming months.
Other activities planned throughout 2009 include participation in the EKKA Queensland Show in August as well as ethanol informational displays at V8 Supercar series races in Townsville, Willowbank and the Gold Coast.
In addition, participation in the Ayr Centenary Show in July and a visit to the CSR ethanol production facility in Sarina are planned.
The 2.0t BioPower engine delivers peak power of 147kW* and 300Nm* of maximum torque on E85. Running on E85 the BioPower 2.0t engine produces at least an additional 18kW* (147kW vs. 129kW*) and an extra 35Nm* of torque (300Nm vs. 265Nm*) compared to running on regular unleaded petrol.
Saab BioPower is part of the broader Saab environmental strategy EcoPower, which combines the enjoyment of a dynamic driving experience with the efficient use of resources to achieve responsible performance.
The EcoPower strategy blends turbocharging, engine rightsizing, Saab BioPower, aerodynamic performance and weight-saving design.
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*Figures as per ECE regulations
#E85 is of limited availability in Australia, visit saab.com.au for bowser locations
^According to CSR website: www.ethanolfacts.com.au/myths
by Swade
March 7, 2009 in Archive
Auto Motor and Sport cornered Jan-Ake Jonsson for a quick interview whilst they were up at Jukkasjärvi test driving the Saab 9-3x.
Here are the dot points from the interview:
* It definitely seemed to be a relief for JAJ to get up north and talk about cars instead of talking business plans and politics.
* Saab will be looking to emphasise the reduction in emissions in the revised diesel engines. Whilst diesels are only FWD in the 9-3x, they still present a pretty compelling package in terms of emissions and economy, and as everyone knows, a FWD will till get you around very nicely in adverse conditions
* Saab have worked hard on optimising their E85 engines. The results won’t be seen until the new 9-5, but they’ve made significant efficiency gains by tuning the car specifically for E85 rather than just adapting a gasoline engine for the fuel.
* Saab are very confident in their ability to manufacture all their future cars in Trollhattan, minus the 9-4x. They have space for another vehicle line.
* The Auto Motor and Sport guys were considering the recent trend for retro cars like the Mini and Fiat 500. They suggested a modern take on the Saab 92. Jan Ake’s response: “Firstly, it is something I never thought about, frankly. In any case, not for me. But it would be interesting to give the idea to our designers and see what they could do.
Not gonna happen, but it would be interesting!
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