Saab 9-1 - the opinion (27)

Filed under Saab News and driven by swade

So the Saab 9-1 - IF it is made, and we certainly hope it is, is likely to be made on a small car platform such as the Gamma architecture currently used on the Opel Corsa (see the headline below this one).
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This is a pretty big paradigm shift. One that alters whatever considerations I had about my own potential for owning a Saab 9-1 in the future as I’d never pictured it being a car of that (lack of) size.
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The bottom line: it’s going to be small, which is exactly what a compact car should be, I guess.

Saab 9-1 - the ‘news’ (8)

Filed under Saab News and driven by swade

Whilst I was sleeping there was an article published over at Automotive News that’s been the subject of plenty of discussion elsewhere on the tubes.
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The news is that if the Saab 9-1 is built, it’s likely to be on GM’s Gamma architecture, rather than the Delta architecture as originally conceived. If it really is news at all, then it’s huge. Unlike the car, which will be quite small….

Turbo X startup question - answered! (10)

Filed under Saab Tech and driven by swade

I got a question from a Turbo X owner via email the other day, and as I know we’ve got a number of Turbo X owners (and Aero V6 owners) here, I thought I’d share it with the wider audience. The query was concerned with the car performing (and sounding) better during the first few minutes of a cold start, compared with when it warmed up.
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Seeing as how I don’t actually have a clue about these things, I passed the query on to our resident GM Master Technician, Tedjs. Here’s what he had to say….

More on Saab from the London Motor Show (8)

Filed under Saab News and driven by swade

The London Motor Show officially started today. In addition to the XWD news we’ve already heard, there’s an expansion of the Aero range for UK Saabers to consider.
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But that’s not the big news for me. My main concern was whether or not they’d use the show to announce any action on a possible Saab 9-1 compact vehicle. We did hear a little about it, but it wasn’t anything concrete or positive.

Site problems II (15)

Filed under Troll stuff and driven by swade

A number of people have been having problems accessing the site in the last week. If you’re one of those people then it’s most likely that you’re only able to read this via an RSS feed. If so, please come on back, clear your cache and force a refresh of the homepage.

I believe we may have found the cause of the problem - a script that was written by a problematic plugin. We’ve erased the script, so hopefully normal service should resume with a refreshing of your browser.

European 2.0T to get XWD and eLSD (17)

Filed under Saab News and driven by swade

When details of the 2009 Saab 9-3 for the US market emerged last month, there was welcome news in the form of XWD being added to the 2.0T range. US customers had to be content with the base version of the technology, however, as there is no eLSD available on the 2.0T range for the US market in 2009.
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I suspect US customers are going to be less than pleased, then, when they hear that their European counterparts will have access to the full XWD system in the 2.0T range, with the eLSD becoming an option in European markets in the coming year.

Stig to take Saab 99T around the Green Hell (6)

Filed under Saab 99 and driven by swade

Some say that he was the secretive fifth member of ABBA, and that the hair covering 90% of his body is actually made from carbon fibre. All we know…….
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The original Stig (Blomqvist, that is) is going to be promoting the Saab Turbo X with a lap of the Nurburgring in a couple of original Saab 99s - a rally trimmed version and a turbo. I hope they bring a camera!

Why the Saab 900 Rocks, part 1 - Interior (13)

Filed under Saab 900 and driven by swade

Seeing around 50% of the visitors to this site haven’t owned a Saab 900 and only 18% of the remainder have driven one, I thought it’d be a good idea to have look over it and share what I reckon are the best parts about this legendary automobile.

The interior is my favourite part of any car, especially in the Saab 900, where Saab unleashed the funk like few manufacturers before or since.