This is the last of my outstanding videos from the Sweden trip (that's not saying that they video is outstanding, just that it was ...... outstanding).
It's the full press conference that took place just an hour or so after the paperwork was signed and Saab was sold by General Motors to Spyker Cars NV. This includes the questions asked by the Swedish press and answers provided by VM and JAJ.
I was standing next to the PITA press guy and yes, I felt like elbowing him to the cranium. I'm pleased to say I didn't, however. Difficult questions are fair enough, but there's a right way and a wrong way (i.e. respectful and disrespectful) way to pose them.
CAR Magazine is probably the best English language auto magazine out there. They are, generally speaking, the car-mag version of "Keep Calm and Carry On" with their steady, solid appraisals and consistency.
So it was gratifying to watch their round-up of the Geneva Motor Show today and listen to their thoughts on the Saab situation.
The video is just short of 20 minutes long and at 11:40 Gavin Green starts to talk about Saab, calling his interview with Victor Muller "the most uplifting moment of the Geneva Motor Show" - which he notes is a pretty happy show this year after the doom and gloom of 2009 motor shows.
.....and fresh from Saab's official Youtube Channel.
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Also, Jeff managed to capture the press conference from Geneva and upload it to Youtube. Here it is, for those of you who might have missed it in all the bedlam last night.
One thing that struck me as I watched this video is that for a country with a presumably small Saab population, there sure seems to be a large proportion of Saab 9000s there in absolutely brilliant condition.
Of course, later on the same day, GM announced that Saab would be wound down and all hell broke loose. The 5-star crash test slipped into the ether - which is why I'm bringing it back.
Arild has just brough to my attention that there's a EuroNCAP video of the crash test now available on Youtube.
Here it is, and I've posted the EuroNCAP findings from the original post, below.
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The crash test results for the 2010 Saab 9-5 have been released and I'm very pleased to share that the car received a 5-star rating from Euro NCAP.
Safety has always been a pillar of Saab design, right back to their earliest days. This result continues the tradition of a Saab being as safe as a car can be.
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The full results of the tests, along with VIDEOS, diagrams and scores for various parts of the test are available at the EuroNCAP page.
Following are the comments by EuroNCAP on the Saab 9-5:
Adult occupant
The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal test, the windscreen pillar moving rearward only 2mm. Dummy readings showed good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger. Saab were able to show that occupants of different sizes and those sat in different positions would be similarly well protected. In the side barrier test, maximum points were scored with good protection of all body areas. In the more severe side pole impact, protection of the chest and abdomen was adequate. Protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear impact was rated as good.
Child occupant
Based on dummy readings in the dynamic tests, the 9-5 scored maximum points for protection of the 3 year infant. Forward movement of the dummy's head was well controlled and both the 3 year and the 18 month dummies were properly contained by their restraints in the side impact. The passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. However, information provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag is insufficiently clear. The dangers of using a rearward facing restraint without first disabling the airbag are not clearly indicated.
Pedestrian
The bumper scored maximum points for the protection it offered to pedestrians' legs. However, points outside Euro NCAP's normal test zone were found to be injurious. From 2010, Euro NCAP's assessment of the bumper will be broadened to include such points. The front edge of the bonnet provided poor protection as did the bonnet in most areas where an adult's head might strike.
Safety assist
Electronic stability control is standard equipment on all variants as is a seatbelt reminder system for the front and rear seats.
OK - a big slab of amberfluid, or whatever is his wish, should be sent off to Robert P for working for around 7 hours to add subtitles to the recent video featuring Victor Muller on the Dutch TV talkshow, Pauw and Witteman.
I've transcribed a number of interviews in the past and I know that a mere 20 minutes of dialogue can take hours and hours to write down correctly.
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