Hirsch steering wheel

At the first look I didn't liked it. At the second as well. But after a time I like it more and more. And seriously considering it. However, I don't know, if Hirsch still produces them. Btw. the Saab is a lime yellow 9-3 II convertible 2006, 2.0t with Hirsch software and belongs to a friend.

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Roller coasters and tumbles

It's May 31. and rumours are saying that until today or until end of the week the battle of Saab should be decided. And indeed, the increased news activity makes me somehow feel, that now is really the time of the decision. Sure, this feeling was here many times before. But... but Youngman is back with reportedly highest bid, there are many debates around NEVS, the electrocar consortium. Victor Muller is or was in Sweden for working with the administrators ... too many things in one moment.

Actually the starting passage of the video is showing exactly what is happening with Saab. So who will be the guys sitting in the 900 ?

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Is electric Saab an alternative ?

The news, that the chinese car maker Youngman is out of the game in the battle of Saab, flew through media a few days ago. Another recent news says that one of the winners with high probability is NEVS (National Electric Vehicles of Sweden), a newly established consortium with the only purpose to buy Saab assets. It's also partially known who is behind : a chinese / HongKong based National Modern Energy Holding and Sun Investment, a venture capitalist company from Japan. The CEO is Karl-Erling Trogen, former CEO of Volvo Trucks.

The intent of NEVS is to buy Saab and produce electric vehicles and maybe hybrids.

This news obviously and immediately divided Saab fans into two groups : the haters and the "somehow agree on this". No really lovers of this idea.

My first feeling was of course an emotional shock. Me, the petrol fan, who even dislike diesels should now be a fan of EVs or hybrids ? No way. I am the hater. But to get a valid opinion one has to go a bit deeper than that. Namely to answer myself the question what makes my Saab for me so special.

Firstly the aerial industry roots, which are less and less visible in the current Saabs. Will they be ressurected in some parts of the interior ? We dont know.

The massive construction and safety features. Will this be maintained ? The first probably no, due to cost saving, the second definitely yes.

The chassis. The GM's Epsilon platform is gone for Saab. There are things deserving criticism, at least on my, maybe too strong 9-3. But generally for the normal Saabs the chassis was better working than on the Vectra, at least this was my impression. Will the PhoeniX platform be better and used ? We don't know, it is for sale.

The design. Will the new Saabs look that ugly as a Prius or Volt ? It depends on who will be the designer. Jason Castriota with the PhoeniX has set a very good base, will this be used ? Again, we don't know.

The saabish atmosphere inside. The indefinable thing causing such strong feeling of the driver. Will this be maintained ? We don't know.

The practical side of the things, large trunk, comfortable seats. Yes, they will definitely want to make the car as practical as possible. But an EV is not designed for long trips, so it doesn't need a large trunk.

The driving radius. Obviously an EV has short driving radius and long charging intervals. It is for the city and charging through the night. I don't need such a car. Hybrid ? Maybe.

The brand Saab. Will this continue ? We don't know. 

The Saab community. Unfortunately it will shrink.

The feeling to drive something special ? There are plans to sell 100.000 cars per year. It would be still a decent minor car maker, so yes, this feeling eventually could be there.

The strong engines. Until I've seen this video [youtube, 2:28min], I was sceptical. But the electric engine can give you impressive power and torque. Of course the disadvantage is the reach. But this is a demonstration of a what is possible. Will this be used in real life ? Maybe. If you can have a 300hp strong Saab, why couldn't you have a hybrid with similar power and significantly less fuel consumption ?

There are too many unknowns to hate it from the start. If NEVS wins the race and go ahead with their plan, it will mean a huge cultural change which many Saab lovers will not accept. Therefore in order to survive, there must come new customers.

For me personally, IF  the answers to "we don't know" will be yes, a hybrid is a valid option. Not an EV because of the driving radius, the batteries are not there. A hybrid yes. But only if NEVS can manage to produce Saabs with soul. And this will be a huge task to accomplish. Good luck than.

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Drive safely please

A few days ago someone I've knew, met frequently on gigs and talked to many times, has died in a car accident. It was one of the recent rains which caused a slide on the road and a tree was in the way. It wasn't a Saab, but it doesn't make any difference. Her death touched me massively. She was full of energy, intelligent, creative, inspiring, liked people and anyone who met her liked her. She left a not even a year young son and husband here. You will be missed Bety.

People PLEASE try to drive safely.

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Artefacts

They are just marketing things, but for many they are things of big value. These small artefacts will remember on one of the Saabs eras. The first answer of the question "which eras" is "unsuccessful". But also in this era Saab has built great cars,  which are loved by many owners including myself. And brought new Saab lovers. Shot in a coffee break, here are two of mine artefacts.

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Youngman is out of the battle for Saab

That's came out today on Dagens Industri, the swedish economic newspaper. The negotiations with the chinese company, a hot candidate to be the new Saab owner, have been stopped.

"The reason that Youngman's out of the negotiations is that the administrators feel uncertain about the payments that are controlled by the Chinese bureaucracy and that they can take a long time,".

Also there are news saying, that the negotiations with the second hot candidate Mahindra & Mahindra aren't so intensive as they should be and that another new player is in the game : a chinese consortium consisting of a car and a battery company. They aim to build hybrid cars, projected volume around 100.000 units annualy.

One has to be careful with these informations. DI is known of spreading speculations and sometimes uncofirmed news around.

But the green / hybrid direction appears again and again. It doesn't matter if it's BAIC or someone else, green is modern these days as well as a huge business. It is supported in government circles. Also some realism appears in the switch from pure electric to hybrid cars.

The article mentions efforts of Volvo to establish partnership with the unnamed chinese consortium, however they are most likely not to be interested to buy Saab Parts AB, the spare parts company of Saab.

No word about GM, which has to say approve the deal.

We still have to wait, how the whole thing turns out. I'm a bit tired of waiting. But nothing else remains.

Credit : Saabsunited

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A teaser for the Saab Museum in Trollhattan

The Saab Museum fansite came with a very nice redesign. It's really worth the click. Besides the design you will find many data about the models and their tech specs. Also the author has done a really well video teaser.

Here we go :


Credits : Saab Museum, Saabblog.net

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Eatable Saab

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Saabism in Ameerica

Long time no update. I was in Silicon Valley, in the headquarters of my new employer (japanese / american). Rather than complaining about jet lag and 26 hours without proper sleep on the way back some thoughts about cars in the californian streets. I've been there last time 8 years ago, some things changed significantly.

Firstly much less V6 and V8 engine cars and much less pick-ups. Of course the crisis and sky-high fuel prices came also to the IT Mecca. The average price per gallon of petrol in California is 4.3$. Last time a friend of a friend was driving us in his wonderful old Cadillac around. I remember the discussion where he stated, that price around 4$ (which we had at that time already) would be a tragedy to him and force him not to drive a car. It's here. The heat map says, that this is the most expensive area, but it's anyway not under 3.15$ anywhere.

Secondly much more hybrid cars. For example the absolute majority cabs on the San Francisco airport were hybrids. After arrival, I was sitting there, smoking and watching, what they use, all japanese and nearly all hybrids. As if they would jump over the diesel generation and stepping right in the electric hybrid era.

Thirdly more subcompact / compact cars and South Korean cars. Last time Hyundai and Kia = zero. This time a lot. The same for small cars. It simply wasn't there.

And lastly less unusual cars. Much more standard "something". Less money ? According to the number of private jets starting every day from San José airport - no way. More probably commoditisation as in everything.

What about Saabs ? Only older Saabs, 9-3 first generation or 900 II and 9-5 first generation. No 900 classic. Saab is dying here :( All together in the week 5 x 9-3, 2 x 9-5, 1x 9-7X and that's it. Sad.

Saabism in a jumbo above Iceland

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iPad music transfer and play without iTunes

There are people who don't want to let iTunes scan the computer and synch the mp3 collection with the iPad. For various reasons, which go beyond "the obvious one". I'm one of them. The consequence is to search an alternative solution. I've found one, which seems to work perfectly. It is the Donut Player.

It can connect to your PC (W7 in my case), download files from a directory in a similar manner like ftp, make a local copy on the iPad (iPhone), create a playlist and play it offline. It can do it also the other way around, connect from the PC to the iPad. It is for free and can be found in the Appstore.

It requires more steps than simply to sync iTunes, but it works, you have the freedom of choice and prevents you from downloading too much unlistened music to your device "just because you have plenty of space and maybe you will listen to it". It knows copy/cut and paste.

You have to have both, the iPad and the PC on the same wifi network. First you have to connect and login to your PC. The app sees some directories, where you copy the desired music, download it to the iPad, organise and play. Watchout, untagged music doesn't work. It took me some time to set-up. If you stuck somewhere, a restart through the red cross in the Settings section helps.

I've tested it on the new iPad (iPad 3) with iOS 5.1.

I didn't used Dropbox in this case, because 1) I would need to use internet connectivity and upload music to my Dropbox folder in the cloud which is much slower than local wifi and 2) Dropbox somehow works worse with larger files.

However I use it in other case : local copies of pdf files, both books as well as whitepapers for the work. For this I use pdf-notes which can import from Dropbox all the files, which are marked with the star as important. It's again free, but with ads, maybe I will buy a full version.

All this, because a long flight awaits me tomorrow and every tool against boredom is good. And it can be used for playing music in the car through AUX input as well. Therefore the car apps tag.

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300.000 km with the Saab 9000

Alex, a friend from the Saab Club Austria, reached yesterday 300.000 km on his green Saab 9000 CS (2.3T, 200HP). The original engine is inside. The Saab received regular servicing withing the recommended intervals. Changes : timing chain, clutch, gear box, petrol pump and engine heads sealing. The Saab runs great. Original owner was the austrian minister of transport.

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Three generations Saab

According to the owner this Saab 96 V4 was bought by his grandfather in the late 60's and still in the family. A 3rd generation Saab.

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Music for cabriolets : Ghostpoet - Finished I Ain't

I've seen Ghostpoet a couple of weeks ago live in a club here in Bratislava. The live gig was very appealing, he played this together with a guitar player and drummer. The album Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam contains many strong pieces, so it landed in my Saab. And it worked. Especially this one. Maybe recalling my drummer past but mainly for it's slowly but inevitable gradation of the whole song. It will by far not be liked by everyone, but imho this is a masterpiece and there are more of them on the album.

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Saab 9000 with custom leather hood

A Saab 9000 from the Saab convention in Roudnice nad Labem (CZ) 2012. I liked a lot, so it's here.

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The last 9-3 Griffin is saved

The Saabsunited fundraising campaign to save the last Saab 9-3 of the current era was a success. The fans and enthusiasts showed their power and collected more than the needed 28.500 €. So, the last 9-3 will be an exponate of the Saab Museum in Trollhattan. The car is in the finishing stage at ANA Trollhattan and in the next days it will be donated to the museum.

This is a demonstration of loyalty of the fans to the brand as well as a strong signal for the Saab administrators as well as for the new future owner.

I am very proud to see my name on the list of the donors.


Configuration of the Saab :

Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin
Engine: TTiD4, 180 hp
Transmission: Manual 6-Speed
Wheels: ALU88 17-inch Griffin
Color: Arctic White
Interior: Black Leather/Textile

Additional equipment: Auto-dimming rearview mirrors, Electrically controlled front seats, memory on the drivers seat, theft-alarm, Comfort-locking, Mobile Hands-free, Rain-sensor, parking-sensors, spare-wheel, carbon-fiber interior, Bose Premium Audio System 300W.
Retail Price: 331’850 SEK (€37’205 / $48’672)

You can find the production photos here. 

 Congratulations to the Saabsunited team !

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Video from Saab convention Roudnice 2012

One of the Saab fan made a 7 minutes long video from the last Roudnice convention. Atmosphere, cars, the ride at the end. Nice one. Enjoy.


You can watch some of my photos from the event here.

Credits : Pepé

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Waschmaschine again ...

I seem to develop a new obsession for car washing stations. Especially for the colours inside and all the water chaos. Banal ? yes. Sick ? no. Just infrequent, normally this car is washed by hand. I've found a second station where the people are willing to watch out and hold the upper brush so it doesn't touch the soft-top. Which reminds me, that I forgot to impregnate the roof. Again.

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Saab Roudnice 2012

One of the largest meetings of Saab fans happens annually in Roudnice nad Labem, some 35 km behind Prague. I was last year there and didn't want to miss this year. Again fine atmosphere, around 150 cars there.

The weather forecast was not very good. Rain and storms in the afternoon and evening. The forecasts are never 100% accurate, it was a question of trust if the weather holds or not and decide for go / no-go. From my home it's 700 km there and back and a whole day of time. I took the risk and won. The weather was exactly as forecasted, a sunny day and later rains. But many people didn't risked, therefore a bit less cars than last year.

It was so fine again to meet people which you see 1-2x in a year and occasionally speak to them through the forums. Many of them still believe in the future. One of them bought a 900 classic convertible. I've seen some new cars and thinking more and more about the Hirsch dashboard trim. I don't know if Hirsch is still making it. Hm.

The way home was again as the forecast said. 280 km in rain, sometimes very heavy. Thunder and flashes all the time. So the legendary "The Real Thing" from Faith No More came into the stereo and with "you can rain as much as you want you b***" in my mind i drove home.

Pictures (clickable for larger size) :

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Convertible season 2012 starts

Packed with a lot of energy from the last weekend drive and browsing through the pics on the disk I'd like to share two of them. Nothing special, just random shots while driving, but such longer rides in great weather through interesting roads is something which enables me to enjoy life. Yes, it could be any other convertible as well as a motorbike, but sometimes after talks with people I more and more understand, that the Saab evokes mostly very positive feelings. Which I enjoy a lot, to spread positivism is an awesome feeling. I'm not sure if some musculative Mercedes would evoke the same.

This trip was not different. After parking a friend of a friend, came to me asking about the Saab and it turned out he knew about this car a lot, having it through his time in Australia. With the same engine (2.8T V6) which was developed by Holden, Australia. It was not the first time, that someone wanted to talk.

Oh and yes, my convertible evidently fits into the hills.

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