I know most of you will have probably heard the news that Will and Kate’s little Prince has finally said hello to the World but I just wanted to share with you a picture from The Daily Mail of the car that Prince William drove to the hospital at six this morning. It may have been Kate’s security teams car but I want to think William drove it himself.
A big congratulations to William, Kate and The New Prince from all of us here on SU.
Very nice! The Swedish royals have also had very similar 9-5s. 🙂
If the baby had been a girl, “Sonnett” would have been a nice name! For a boy, “Griffin”?
You mean Sonett 😉
And if either one of them grow up to be vegetarian, would that make them Viggen ? LOL
Yes, Sonett—-but NEVS might sue them if they now own that spelling! They’re not making money by selling cars, so maybe by suing the Royal Family, they could get that assembly line moving.
And frankly, I think “Prince Angelo” has a nice ring to it.
It is probably a security car: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3gGTs4PUdmU
Remember this ?
http://saabism.blogspot.ca/2013/02/prince-charles-saab.html
Hard to believe the Saab 9-5 is 16 years old. Looks great in that picture – really purposeful. Glad it got Kate and William to the place on time!
Congrats to them both : )
And that is a 2006 model as well….
A few years ago, SAAB gave Princess Mary of Denmark a 9-3 Convertible:
http://www.motorsm.com/AUS/cars/new/Saab/Princess_Mary_wedding_gift.htm
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At least we now know the name of the car they drive; now waiting for the name of the new born 🙂
Congratulations to all British SU members with this royal birth.
The newborn I’m waiting for is supposed to be born in Sweden, not England. The problem is that the “doctors” working on this newborn seem to be having a real problem figuring out how to deliver it. They represented themselves as doctors, but I think maybe they might be bank robbers or something.
Guys, come on. I log in everyday to SaabsUnited for Saab news but I really don’t care what a prince, a queen or a king drive. Even if it’s a Saab…
-A Saab driver who really don’t know why we have kings and queens in 2013…
I share your sentiments—-but to be fair to the people running this site, there is very little “news” to report about Saab. Sure, club get-togethers, cars of the week, etc. are fun to read about and keep things moving along. But I think that perhaps the majority of us want to read about what today’s Saab is doing—-model introductions, when we can test drive a new Saab (and where), future model development, concept vehicles (like KIA and many others show on their websites—yes, cars that might or might not ever be built, just some design ideas). The problem is, Saabs United is unable to share or report any of this about Saab, presumably because the people who now own Saab don’t feel there is a need or value to “priming the pumps” for future sales. So with an absolutely stone silent, mute company now in charge of Saab, any ideas they have, anything they’re working on (if you believe they even are) in a vault—Saab fan sites do what they can to provide content. I actually didn’t know the Royal Family drove Saabs—-this was something new for me and as a Saab driver myself, it’s kind of cool—-something to tell my friends “I have something in common with Prince William!”
This was Saab news. The above picture was the banner picture for a few of the largest newspapers in the UK and was seen by millions. Tens of millions, perhaps. Whether you care about royalty or not (I’m Irish btw and the royal family has nothing to do with me), it was great to see this Saab as ‘front page news’ and, if nothing else, served to ask a question of what might have been…
My sister drives the same car, so we had a good laugh about it, too.
I love this “fun” stuff. There ain’t much new Saab stuff around and this brings a smile to my face.
I login to Saabsunited every day and I am really happy to see that the appeal of defunct car company runs wider than the hardcore enthusiast. In 2013, watching the behaviour of our publicly elected representatives compared with the behaviour of the Royals and the fine work they do for this nation, I suspect the cost / benefit is highly weighted in favour of the Royals!
I agree this is such a non-story. Its not like the car is his personal vehicle or that he took the car because of its performance. If anything it is a slight against the brand that he used a SAAB. I am sure it was hashed out before that he would use that car to drive to the hospital because the paparazzi would not think that a royal would stoop so low as to drive a old SAAB. It would be like if jay-z drove one of his body guard’s crown Victoria or chevy impala to the hospital. So what, who cares.
It might not be an important story—-but I disagree with you that it’s a slight against the brand. Regardless of if he wanted to be “stealth” by driving an older car and not something austentacious, he wouldn’t drive something he didn’t enjoy or feel safe in. He’s royalty—-they don’t bomb around in junk cars. It meets his standard and that’s pretty cool. Do I wish we were focused on new Saabs? Sure. But you know the rest…no news is bad news in NEVS case.
Angelo, if you were suddenly turned into a car battery you would be unique in the world as having two negative terminals!! lol
Martin: Well, that would depend what car I was put in! I could easily have two positive terminals—-but with NEVS at the helm, we’re all suffering from their “terminal mute button.”
Well, not all of us here in the colonies share this negative view about the Royals, good luck to the new Prince. As someone pointed out in the press, if he enjoys good health, he could live into the 23th century as King. Very scary to think about that.
That would mean he would live to 187, Chris. One thing is for sure I won’t be around to see the little fella become King George Vll or King James lll.
Well, with medical advancements and all…
And speaking of royalty: Has anyone noticed if any of those Bankruptcy Receivers are taking luxury cruises these days, or buying expensive jewelry and designer clothing? Just curious. Oh, and on a related note, the folks at International Saab in Falls Church, VA, have moved from thier large location (with a showroom) to a smaller building/lot, down the road. They’re still doing service on Saabs and now other makes too. I guess with no cars to sell and no discussion from Saab’s owners about future models—-they had no choice.
In 187 years Prince Charles will still be waiting for his mother to vacate the thrown, the world will be inundated with alternative power SAABs produced in Sweden, and I’ll be driving an old 2 stroke car with oil injection. At least no one can say I’m being negative.
Are you saying that NEVS will break their silence in year #186? I saw your comment on another thread—-about Saab racing, a Saab grill coming around the corner on a racetrack. Well, isn’t it time for the “Electrified 24 Hours Of Lemans?” All electrics. NEVS could be the dominant player, making Tesla look pathetic. No Chevy Volts, no plug-in hybrids. EVs only need apply. NEVS ROCKS!
It is ironic that those small racing teams are doing more to keep SAAB in the public eye than the company that owns the brand.
Well yes, a century,here a century there, adds up after a while.
I am amazed to see there are still kings and queens in 2013, we are not in the 15th century anymore. This is NOT democracy. These “royal” people are not elected so it’s a real shame some countries still have kings and queens. They bring nothing to the society. I don’t know why the population of these countries don’t do anything to stop this. Really, I don’t get it.
The Royal Family spreads a lot of goodwill for England. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea (no pun intended) but I can think of a few American politicians I’d gladly trade for William and Harry.
When the royal couple were ready to go home to Kensington Palace, the new Prince was placed in his infant car seat, walked out to William’s vehicle and the new Mom and baby were secured in the back seat of a black 2013 all-new Range Rover! William drove everyone home. Here’s a picture on twitter of the new Prince being placed in the back seat.
No surprise to me as Land Rover has three “royal warrants” that officially certify that Jaguar Land Rover is a supplier of motor vehicles to the queen, the duke of Edinburgh and the prince of Wales.
Here’s an NBC News story about the Range Rover connection and it includes a video of the royal family leaving the hospital wing. Now this is marketing! The end of the 19 minute clip shows the departure along with the free commentary about the vehicle.
Wow, the Royal Baby page has been headlining Saabs United for a while now, hasn’t it? No news from NEVS I guess, but here’s an idea that combines the Royal Baby story with the “Name the new Saab” page from last week: If NEVS begins production of the 9-3 this Fall (as their website still shows in their “news” section), the new model can be the “Saab 9-3 Prince George Edition” (commemorating the birth of the royal baby, whose Dad drove a Saab to the hospital). The first 200 cars will be made in the same dark blue of Will’s 9-5.