A Saab 9000 convertible ?

This is a custom rebuild of a Saab 9000i, done by Björn Frykholm. It's a 50th birthday gift to himself. It took two years to accomplish, from 1993 to 1995. Many self made parts, the frame, the doors, interior parts. The canopy is a modified originally from Ford Escort. At least this I could understand from the google translated description from the swedish Saab turboclub forum thread.

The author of this masterpiece Björn Frykholm was for a time working with Robert Solstad, who did several special rebuilt Saabs, including convertibles as well as special transport vehicles. And this 9000 was not his first rebuilt Saab.

For more pictures definitely visit the mentioned Saab turboclub forum, there are more of this. This convertible is a nice addition to 9000 rebuilts including a couple of combis. Also here is one more interesting picture.

Nice !

source : Save Saab Museum facebook, Saab Turbo Club of Sweden

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11 practical things to consider when buying a convertible

There was recently a question somewhere on the net about Volvo C70 convertible. After a short talk it wasn't about a C70 but about convertibles in general. To compare convertibles and to set expectations for a newbie are two different discussions. Since there are people having  a convertible desire and never owned one, here are a couple of practical points, the obvious and the less obvious, to consider.

Most probably you need a garage
Outside can be cold, snowy and frosty. Not everywhere, but still. Also thiefs. Your future toy doesn't like none of these things, so doesn't do your wallet. 

Consider a wind deflector
A ride with the wind in the hair might sound romantic, but when after a full-day trip your frequence of asking "I didn't understand, could you please repeat ?" increases, you will know why. If it doesn't hurt it's the better case. The leather flying caps from WWI might look like from psychiatry these days but the creators knew very well what they did. The creators of wind deflectors knew as well. Some of them are built in, mainly roadsters (two-seaters), some you have to buy. It's not cheap but it works.

What about the trunk / cargo space ? 
In our Saab 9-3 convertible we could comfortably pack our stuff for a one week long vacation for two people and drive with the roof down with attached wind deflector along the adriatic coast a couple of hundred kilometers. The back seats are a hige help. Try that in a two-seater.

Is in a four-seats convertible really enough space for four people ? 
For short trips yes. One, two hours maybe. We did two times 11 hours in three people. It was ok. But to do this in four people you need a special kind of people. The ones who enjoy to suffer. Than it's ok.

A cap, a jacket and gloves
You have no roof, so the sun can look into your eyes in a very detailistic manner. A cap helps significantly, together with sunglasses. If you are afraid to look stupid in a cap (i do), you either ignore it or find a normal cap. There are so many choices. Also through the sunny days consider sun lotion. The sunburn can come very quickly.

The temperature jumps sometimes like crazy and you don't want to close the roof. Mountains, fields, city, countryside, morning, sunny day, evening, season, whatever. I've experienced 15º C difference within ~3 hours. You can use the A/C or heater but to have a light jacket with neck protection for the colder parts is very practical. Somewhere hidden in the car, it doesn't take too much place. The gloves are stylish, but that's it. Imho. Try them. Unless you drive with the roof down in winter.

And unless you dont have a special heater for the neck or so which the luxury convertibles offer.

Strong or weak engine ? 
Of course strong. All the slow cruising things are *******. A weak engine means less fun. You don't need to be a notoric speeder to have moments when you love to push the gas pedal a bit more than usual. This experience in a convertible is simply more intense. If you like diesels, fine. But be aware of the engine sound. You drive a convertible, not a tractor.

Hard top or soft top ? 
Firstly it depends on your taste. From the practical side both have pros and cons. Hard tops are heavier, slower in operation, take more place in the trunk and have a more complicated construction.  On the other hand they are less sensitive against bad weather, thieves and the cars are more quiet in the down position. They are also easier to clean. Soft tops are the exact opposite. Modern soft tops have multiple layers, mine survived several strong storms without any problems.

Dark or light interior ? 
Again it's up to your taste. The dark seats heaten up faster if you leave your car open, that is true. In my experience I had only once a situation, where they were really hot. Not a real problem here. On the opossite side, it's an open car, it will always be a bit dirty inside. Do you want to clean that? How often ?

Parking sensors or rearview camera 
Strictly recommended. You don't see too much in reverse. The rear window is small and some kind of assistant is very helpful. 

Heated or / and cooled seats
Heated seats are great, when the temperature goes down or when you drive through the night. It's pleasant and comfortable. I don't have any experience with cooled seats.

What is the right temperature for driving with the roof down ?
Depends on your sensitivity. In my opinion the ideal temperature is 24-28ºC (75-82º F), It starts to be too hot after 33º C (91º C) and too cold below 17º C. However in the spring when you can't wait for an open ride, you will definitely drive in colder conditions.

I might forgot on something so feel free to ask. Enjoy the ride.

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The royal security team Saab 9-5 Aero

It was a storm over the news yesterday and everybody knows that Prince William and Kate have a son. Congratulations !

The Saab fan community had one more excitement. One of the security cars is a Saab 9-5, a proper Aero. The picture comes from DailyMail and travelled all over the saabish facebook pages and fan sites.

It seems, that the Saab appeared on a two years earlier catch, published on Youtube. Thanks Alexandros for heads-up.



Now I don't know really what is better wishful thinking, if it's the same Saab or another one. Because  if it's another one, it would mean, that the security team has/had at least two Saabs. I hope, they're in good shape and hold long.

It seems that Saab is not an unknown to the Royal family. Prince Charles had the a drive a 9-3 convertible back in 2010. Hopely he liked it ;)

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A possible NEVS new SAAB 9-3 design ?

A really nice discovery was posted to SaabsUnited. A reader was browsing to the website of the designer studio yovinn in Göteborg, where amongst others Matias Cindric, the former Saab chief designer works.

At the doors are pictures with known curves. It's a Saab, no doubt. It's a new picture and it's still at the yovinn website.

NEVS said at Saabfestival, that they will start with a minor facelifted 9-3. It's on the third slide from their presentation. This is a minor facelifted 9-3.

 

These seems to be two different variants. A four door and a two door maybe ? The front part remembers a bit on the 9-3 Griffin, the two Saabs have a bit different front masks. The rear side is taking the nice 9-5 concept of the wide "red position lights". It looks great.

Nobody told what chassis version would be the NEVS 9-3. Well, here it's clear, however I highly doubt, that they aren't working on a SportCombi version as well.

So is the appearance of the photo a coincidence ? No way, this kind of pictures are never a coincidence, but a nice marketing/PR tool. So if NEVS was too silent, which many fans didn't liked, this could be the answer.

According to NEVS "overdeliver and underpromise" communication strategy, it would mean, they have this 9-3 in an advanced stage already. Well, they have to. If the production should start after summer this year, the car must be close to ready by now.

I like it. It looks nice, it would be a very nice start. But these are illustrations only. Let's see how the reality looks like.

Thumbs up and cross fingers !

btw. if someone from the designer studio is looking at their websites traffic, they must be extremely lucky right now :) 

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Clean

Someone repaired the isolation of the walls in our garage. The result was a tiny film of dust on cars parking inside. It's gone now .)

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Cabrio season as it should be

These days is here in the middle of Europe probably the best convertible season in the year. The summer started, 25-28°C (77-82 Fahrenheit) is the ideal temperature, not too hot, not too cold. Exactly as it should be. It's no sea or ocean here, but the Danube keeps the days and evenings very comfortable.

Things have changing nature. We had at the staircase of my former flat a grafitti saying simply: "up and down", Right now some things are up and some down. It depends on how many things you do and perceive. It's now here this strange mixture of the ups and downs.

Fuzzy-headed from both sides I've decided to do a bit of head refresh, stabilise the too many thoughts and emotions. With a convertible ride of course, in this weather a no-brainer. Through the drive some nice moments appeared.

Some pictures, photographed simply through my sunglasses.

Ferry through Danube. Someone decided 20 years ago, that a free ferry for many years is cheaper than a bridge. OK :)

Sunflowers around the road.

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The wiper blades

Wiper blades might look as a banality, but if they don't work properly, they can prepare a lot of stress and maybe dangerous situations. Two years ago I've searched for a good ones and tried Valeo Silencio X-TRM.

There was a post about it here on Saabism. It's from 1. April 2011 (no joke :)) at about 60.000 km. It  means they were good for 2 years and 2 months and 50.000 km. Which is very good.  They did a great job in every condition and then recently abrupt stopped to clean properly.

Since this is a very good performance, a new pair is ordered.

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