2010 9-5: A Fresh Look

The following was submitted by Mike Bugda, a regular at CRS for many years, after spending some time with me in a 2010 9-5.

First, everyone who reads this should understand that Pierre and I go back to at least 1990, when I had a 900 Black turbo (may it rest in peace), where we extolled the virtues of this car from its exhaust note, to its wonderful utilitarianism, to its total embracement of what Pierre has been known to refer to as “Swedishness,” which includes practicality, only adding what you need and little more, safety, innovation and driving fun. Who else had turbos in 4-cylider hatchback cars with FULL fold-down seats back in 1981?

On to the car:

My original concern was focused around a fear that the new 9-5 was somehow a “saabified” version of a Buick Lacrosse, as SAAB/GM had done with the 9-7x, which I do not care for at all, as I am decidedly NOT an SUV type person. Furthermore it seems to me that an SUV is somehow the antithesis of what SAAB is about.

Okay, so that’s where I initially started from.

Today, I met with Pierre to go for a test ride and engage in some form of a Point-Counterpoint discussion on the whole SAAB 9-5 from every aspect we could come up with, in the hour or so we had time to share driving around with one and chat about it all. Here’ s what I recall thus far from what we did today.

1. Sleek. This 9-5 has to be the sleekest model they’ve ever come up with period. The roofline is lower than I expected, I do like the overall shape although both Pierre and I have previously likened it to a Camry. Once up close, I could also see some of the Aero-X design elements, such as the side window treatment. It really does look much nicer up close than in any pictures I’ve seen.
2. Engine. Yuk. Why would they start with a six cylinder when a true SAAB would begin with a turbocharged four? Isn’t that what makes a Saab a Saab after all? Pierre suggested a couple of possible reasons, which were acceptable, but I still want my four banger! [PB—I don’t think I’d have started with “Yuk.” I’m a four cylinder kind of guy, too, but there is certainly a market which demands this level of performance, and besides, it’s nice to see Saab start with the haut de gamme, and have the more pedestrian version come later.]
3. Sitting in the damn thing. Well, I had to admit I liked sitting in it, but challenged my good friend as to what makes this whole interior deal “SAABish”. We looked around and could agree that the cockpit wraparound thing for the driver was SAAB inspired as was the start button on the console – which is essentially unimportant now except for being a legacy type of thing, which Pierre had to demonstrate had a “no accidental shutoff” feature when the car is running and in drive. Pierre later noted the black plastic of the console wasn’t so good, but aftermarket choices could fix this easily. [PB—I don’t want the aftermarket or Hirsch to fix this. Saab should, and I believe I’ve read that there is a change coming.]
4. Driving (Mike). I liked the HUD, but we discovered later that this was not a uniquely “Saab thing”. I did however like the ride, “the cockpit feel”, and the seats. Pierre however posed the question that if everything was covered up, could you tell it was a SAAB by just sitting in it – something we both recognized we used to be able to knowingly expect to say yes to categorically. The only thing I could for sure say, was that giving the seating I could tell it was probably European, but not necessarily “SAABish”. Acceleration was decidedly smooth, but doesn’t give a good sense of how fast you’ve gotten up to high speeds like previous SAAB’s. No “grunt” factor, which may not be bad. Excellent “SAAB Like” steering response as well.
5. Driving PB--There more I drive the car, the more I like the balance in the suspension. I like the Drive Sense, but need more time in the car to really understand the differentiation in a visceral way . Next, I noticed how quiet it was internally. Not very Saab like—but a welcome improvement! I like the feel of some of the controls, irrespective of their origins. I decided I didn’t like the placement of the “SID” (or whatever it’s now called) control on the turn lever stalk. I much preferred these controls on the steering wheel. The steering wheel is great, and I love the heft and feel of the gear selector, though Mike thought it was way too erotic…..but that’s Mike.
6. Gizmos. No real unique Saab gadget per se as we also later learned that many of the stalks on the steering wheel column and such are pretty much standard GM now as well. However I did notice later the logical layout of the controls on the console, which IS a SAAB thing, but I’ll be damned if we could find an “AUX” input for an iPod or such. [Ed—I did locate it later—both the jack and USB ports are in the rearward center console. I would have preferred to see them in the more forward covered console along with the power port.]
7. Surprise Visit: As we were returning, I swung into a Buick dealership to do a quick “comparo” with a Buick Lacrosse. You’da thought I dropped Pierre into Nazi Germany in broad daylight during the war the way he slunked down in his seat and carefully slithered around the place. Geez. Well he was wearing SAAB emblems everywhere that day, but the guys, all retired and overweight linebackers from some second string college team didn’t care a hoot anyway. So we sat in the Buick, and there’s the HUD, the same steering wheel stalks, but crappy seats for overweight 60 somethings, and a lot of plastic in what I thought was a crappy rendition of a console. It felt like I would be driving my living room and not a contemporary “world car” like the 9-5. Pierre of course was kinder about the whole thing, being French and all I guess, or maybe he was afraid they’d take him prisoner or something.
8. Driving Back. So after Pierre bee-lined it back to the 9-5 to launch outta’ the Buick lot, we talked about the higher belt line which kind of bothered him as can suffer claustrophobia here and there. I thought sitting in the back seat would have more of that effect due to the diminishing window size form the Aero-X window treatment. I didn’t mind the belt line as I felt more secure and safe with this configuration, and saw it as a plus, but not a “SAABish” thing. Trunk Space is huge, but both Pierre and I felt that making this thing into a hatch looks like it’s almost already done now with the way the tail slants back. THAT would be “SAABish” – and we both felt that would make us happier with the car overall. A Hatch is SAAB legacy if you ask me. [PB—Nobody’s asking you, Mike.] What I want then, is what I would describe as a SAAB designed version of the BMW Series 5 Gran Tourismo, which I would NOT pay $75k for.

Summary: Is it “SAABish” enough? The answer is yes. But here’s the thing; some of the things we’ve become accustomed to in these cars have evolved into something better, leaving behind some things we loved so much in these cars. Pierre tells me the four-banger is coming, so that would be important to me, and 220 HP would be enough for me even for a car of this weight. God is it heavy! The innovative things we admired in the car, like the HUD, although also shown in the Buick would seem to me to be inspired by SAAB, so I think they’re SAABish enough in the gadget side. Logical controls layout – check, Saab put them in there. Turbo charging – check, just like downtown! Good drivability and road feel, check! Front wheel drive. Check! (Although the Buick has that too now!) So yes, there’s enough in this car for me to recognize it as a SAAB, some things I’ll have to adjust to, as the product has evolved well (meaning improved) from what it was, even if I loved those things, including the exhaust note!

I, of course, will want to drive a four-banger and manual shift version before I’m willing to consider writing a check, and if it came with a hatch, then I’m sure I’d be sold on the car, but yes, I liked more than I thought I would thanks to my friend Pierre, but I would need to drive it more to become better acquainted with what it is now, and adjust my thoughts some. [PB—In my first few weeks at CRS in 1989, Felix Bosshard, the owner, gave me a draft of his quarterly newsletter to proofread. I took a red pen and marked it all up, noting that he had written a number of run-on sentences. He then gave me one of “those” looks over the top of his glasses and said, in a deliberate and perturbed tone, “I LIKE run on sentences.” Ergo, I will not comment on Mike’s refusal to use more than one period in the last paragraph.]

SAAB could also use a better ad agency as the “Time is now” thing they have going. Pierre and I both laughed at how his son thought it was an IKEA ad. [PB—I’m not sure being mistaken for IKEA is such a bad thing. It just can’t be the only thing.] I can’t make the connection with the moose and the pine tree the engineer pulls out of the paper sheet – how does that translate to the car I drove today?

PB—I had great fun tooling around with Mike in the 9-5. Mike has all the requisite traits of a good and loyal Saab customer, and has become a real friend of ours over the years. We enjoy seeing him come in, even if his jokes aren’t what they used to be. Whatever I think about the 2010 9-5 doesn’t matter in the least. Saab’s first challenge is to convince customers like Mike that the 2010- 9-5 is worthy of their consideration (which I think we’ve accomplished) and then Saab needs to deliver that vehicle in a configuration which satisfies those customers not just as a Saab loyalists, but as automobile purchasers. Then Saab needs to find a way to attract all those who once were proud Saab owners, but who have wandered away for one reason or another, and there are many of them out there. Finally, there is the dream of conquest, of finding customers among those who have never owned a Saab. If asked, I would counsel Saab to concentrate wholly on its current and former client bodies until a new cadre of Saabs is on the street to attract attention of the uninitiated. Then again, like Mike, nobody’s asking me.

Better Late than Never

With all that has happened here in the past month, one of the casualties has been that I have not had time to drive the 2010 9-5. I was all amped up to drive the very first one, but it was sold so quickly that I lost that opportunity, and by the time a larger batch arrived I was still coping with post-Swedish Car Day catch up on a number of fronts.

After a few aborted attempts in recent days, this morning, I had the keys and a plate on my desk, and I got a chance to drive the car with longtime customer and friend Jon Chomitz. We didn’t stay out very long in the car, as I still have much to keep me otherwise occupied, but long enough to get some firsthand gut reactions to this much anticipated car.

While I had learned how to operate all the gadgets back at a training session in the spring, I felt a bit lost when I got in the car. I dismissed trying to re-familiarize myself, and focused instead on just driving the car and getting an initial impression. I wanted to know what the tactile, visual, auditory and visceral reactions would be to driving the 9-5.

First strong impression—the seats are really firm, almost hard. Not uncomfortable in any way, but as someone who has spent a lot of time in a lot of Saab seats over the years, these felt different, and I would not have recognized them as being Saab seats. Second impression—the suspension is marvelously firm. I did have the selector in the “I” position (for “intelligent,” meaning adaptive). Third impression—I felt small inside the car. I am diminutive, and enjoyed how I could sit fairly high and enjoy a low belt line in older Saabs. In the 9-3 Sport Sedan, one does sit low, but the greenhouse is very airy. Not so in the 9-5. It is very large so there is no claustrophobia, but the side windows are so short, the belt line is so high, that by the time I lifted the seat high enough that I felt I could see well and be comfortable (Saab has always accommodated us short folk with plenty of vertical seat travel), I found myself with my head almost to the ceiling.

On the roadtest, I found the car to be exceptionally quiet and refined. On smooth or rough pavement, the 9-5 felt very substantial. The engine note, while not my cup of tea (I have never heard any V6, even the TurboX, which I enjoyed listening to) is properly masculine in timbre. The steering felt properly weighted, and not overly assisted at low speeds. The brakes were predictable and easy to modulate, and while I did not do any severe braking, given the massive size of the brakes, I am certain that they will be very powerful. Acceleration was reasonably brisk and completely linear. This is one of those cars where you need to watch the speedometer to really gauge your acceleration, because it is carried out so smoothly and progressively that there is little sensation of acceleration compared to the actual acceleration.

One let-down was in using the shift paddles to manually shift the automatic transmission. While I often find that such inputs are often ignored by a car’s computers, today I found the “upshift” command completely ignored. 500 rpm before redline on hard acceleration I started calling for an upshift, and after three clicks of the paddle, and a few bumps off the rev limiter (actually seemed to hover at the limit), then the belated upshift finally occurred. Put the shifter back into drive. I should mention the shifter. It’s one of those pieces you always touch in a car, and this one feels terrific. Like the rest of the car, it feels of quality and substance. The “key,” or fob, is much the same. Less bulky than Saab fobs of old, it is nonetheless heavy and substantial, not plastic or cheap feeling.

Last disappointment is the parking brake. It is a pushbutton affair on the console. I am sure that as a parking brake, it is fine, though I wonder what happens if the car needs to be towed with a dead battery and the brake is set. My complaint is that a parking brake is a very good tool to use when driving in snow to initiate oversteer in tight corners. This may seem adolescent to some, but I rather like drifting in the snow, and between safety systems and this parking brake, I fear the only way to do it in this car is to drive way too fast.

My overall observation is that I was surprised, much as I was surprised by the 1999 9-5. Then, I was comparing that car to the 9000, and it took me quite some time to appreciate the chassis dynamics in a car that otherwise felt way too soft. In fact, I believe that it might be less of a stretch to come out of a 9000 and go directly into the new generation 9-5, much as our first 9-5 purchaser did. I will learn to forgive some of the minor irritations, as one does with any car, as I learn to appreciate subtle refinements which I have yet to realize. The most fundamental impression the 9-5 made with me is that it is grand and substantial. I can’t wait to spend more time in one!

Reflections on Swedish Car Day 2010

Swedish Car Day 2010 has come and gone. It is strange to look up at the wall calendar and realize that it is September and that I don’t have to do anything for Swedish Car Day, when for the past ten years, September was the month of anticipation and get-ready. Of course, that all changed after SCD 2009, when we were treated to horrific weather—rain, snow, gale—such that I lobbied the Larz Anderson Museum incessantly until they bequeathed us an earlier date. Thus, 2010, while the eleventh SCD, was the first one in August.

Besides the change in date, we knew long ago that this was going to be an extra special SCD. The Saab ownership change was finalized months ago, and this was the first SCD to take place with a future devoid of the uncertainty that cast a pall in past years. Then there was our special guest, Steven Wade, aka Swade of www.saabsunited.com , a key player in the saving of Saab, not to mention the many-times-daily news updates he reported as the melodrama played out during 2009 and early 2010. His presence certainly added a lot of luster and excitement, and brought Saab fans to SCD who likely would not have attended otherwise.

I recall that in 2000, I was given the task of putting this event together by my predecessor, Tim Martino, whom I must credit with birthing this event. I had no idea of what I was doing, or even where the museum (then known as the Museum of Transportation) was. I was given a date. I went to the museum and a lawn events director and I sent about arranging it as best as I could. October 15 arrived. It was a cool, sunny day. The foliage had started to turn. The setting was perfect. The lawn events director had recently departed, and a newbie replacement, Elln Hagney, did her best, though there were certainly logistical issues. [This played out again this year, where the lawn events director left a few weeks before our event, and his replacement didn’t quite have all the protocols and procedures ironed out.] Best of all, people showed up! There were forty-two Saabs and twenty-two Volvos, and while that may seem paltry, the museum told us it was the best attended first-time event they had had. The only difference in my roll in 2000 was that I didn’t have to MC the event that year—Tim Martino did. In later years, I would not only produce behind the scenes, but be the guy at the microphone as well.

So what of Swedish Car Day XI? Certainly, it was a success. Some will say that it was too hot, but in the shade, and even in the museum, it was pleasant. While a small minority pines for a return to an autumn date (including me), it will not happen. There was a LOT of anxiety leading up to SCD XI, mostly for me. There were the logistical concerns regarding Steven Wade, his flights and his accommodations. Ray Ciccolo asked me to put on a rally, as I often had done in the past, and I knew that I just didn’t have it in me to organize one. They are easily as much work if not more than SCD itself, and to the benefit of a couple dozen people.

Instead, we linked a date of advanced driver training with In Control www.driveincontrol.com for Saab and Volvo drivers and held that instead. That wasn’t without its own anxiety. After an initial strong booking, we took a number of cancellations. Then, we never got ANY Volvo participants, so I cancelled out the Volvos and made this an all-Saab event, but was still short on participants. In the last days, we took a few more registrants, including a Volvo-driving couple whom we informed would be converted by the end of the class since we had no provision at that point to have a Volvo at the school. That said, the class was a smashing success. The weather was superb. Steven Wade mingled with class and had a great time learning and exploring the Saabs’ capabilities. All the participants left with big smiles. Good.

Next on the agenda, on the early evening of August 28, was the reception and cookout which I had advertised as a reunion point for those arriving early for SCD, and for anyone wanting to meet Mr. Wade in a more intimate environment. We had a good turnout—about forty people, I believe. Peter Vincent did yeoman’s duty at the grill to keep everyone fed, and other than spreading out a few chairs and having some soft-drinks and popsicles, those in attendance largely entertained themselves. Barbara, a Saab newbie from Ohio, arrived in her Viggen. A contingent from New Hampshire, including Carl Levine, were on hand. Blogger Gunnar Heinrich was there, along with “Eggs ‘n Grits” from saabsunited (aka Mike Hickman), vintage Saab aficionado Chip Lamb and a number of Charles River Saab employees. One highlight that evening was to watch Ralph Bockoven take Steve Wade for a ride and drive in Ralph’s 1968 Sonett II. Mr. Wade returned so impressed that he seemed rather intent on finding one for himself, even threatening to take a detour on his way back to Australia if an opportunity arose to do some scouting on one for sale in California. Though this event was scheduled only until 7pm, it ran well past 8:00, and I was tired. I hated to do it, but we had to gently nudge everyone to move along in one of those “you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here” situations. By the time I was done cleaning up and locking up the building, there were still some stragglers hanging around. Again, everyone who was at this reception was smiling. Two down, one to go.

Swedish Car Day on Sunday got off to a rocky start. I was thrilled to see my helpers, including a number of volunteers, here bright and early. Same for Boston Volvo and Volvo Village of Norwell. I was a bit anxious when the museum coordinator did not show at 7am as promised, nor did the Volvo club members who had promised to stake out their portion of the upper and lower lawns. Alas, we were largely unprepared when the first cars arrived. We then set to doing what we do best—improvise! We directed everyone to park first, then come back to register. This, as it turned out, was much more efficient than the plan I had, which was to have a number of registration volunteers with clipboards going up to the cars as they entered the approach to the lawn. In fact, this may have been the smoothest registration process we’ve pulled off.

I had been frightened that we would be overrun with cars. We had over 120 preregistrations, and I was estimating 250-300 cars which would have been unmanageable. In the end, we registered 202 cars (133 Saabs, 69 Volvos), and there were 225 cars on the lawns. This may have been the most cars (memory tells me that we did have slightly more registrations on one previous occasion). The mix of cars was excellent, and what the Volvo group lacked in numbers it made up for with brilliant quality and condition.

Our guest speakers were David Burnham and Steven Wade. Mr. Burnham was apparently not apprised of that fact, thinking he was only displaying his car in the museum. This is not his fault—this had been arranged through the Volvo club and somewhere along the way this was not communicated to him. He did his best, and his 1971 140 GT was indeed wonderful. Steven Wade delivered a terrific speech. While not divulging too much new information, he summarized his involvement with efforts to sell and save Saab in a cohesive way that tied the entire drawn out affair together quite nicely. He did reveal that Victor Muller was one of his secret sources, which is why he knew that things were not quite as dire as the rest of us thought in those late December days. He should have trusted him more and panicked less!
After completing the rituals of counting ballots on the People’s Choice balloting, handing out awards, and distributing raffle prizes, I finally had a chance to run around and look for friends, old and new. It was wonderful to see former Saab employees Paul Hartman, Jorgen Weikert and Bill Wolf. I was buttressed all day long by so many terrific volunteers and employees who worked so hard, including Linnea, Stephanie, Scott, Seth, Marcel, Kyle, Alfredo, Ben and Rudy. Thanks to John delRosario for his picture taking. My apologies to anyone I left out! Everywhere I looked, people were smiling! By 3:00 the lawn had emptied and it was time to leave, but not quite for home. Attendee Curvin O’Reilly, who was involved with Saab advertising with McCann-Erickson back in Saab’s heyday, wanted to review some advertising history and concepts with Mr. Wade, and since it was so hot, I suggested we all go back to Charles River Saab to take advantage of the air-conditioning.

Until nearly 6:00, Mr. O’Reilly made his presentation to me, Chip Lamb, Mr. Wade and Mike Hickman. At that point, Mike headed for the airport, Chip aimed his SPG toward Virginia, Mr. O’Reilly headed to New York, and Mr. Wade and I jumped in a car and headed north where my wife had assembled a feast for us, a few employees and Saab friends. Finally, I could relax!

I must say that this was the most exhausting Swedish Car Day. The preparation, general level of anxiety, the effort required at the events themselves, all conspired to really drain me, and I am still not quite recovered. But I am happy. All the smiles I saw during that weekend even got me to smile, and I am not prone to such things! In near proximity retrospect, this Swedish Car Day was as close to perfect as I could have hoped for. Great, right? Here’s the problem: how do I follow this up next year? I will confess that if I had my druthers, I’d never do this event again and go out on top. However, we all know that won’t happen. There will be a SCD XII, I contacted the museum the next morning to reserve next year’s date, and we’ll have to work really hard to make the day compelling. For now, I will relax, and put this great day behind me!

Simpler Times
Last week CRS service advisor Seth Wonkka flew to Portland, Oregon and bought a 1977 Saab 99GL which he then drove back to Boston over the course of four days. This past weekend, he came up to my place, where he got to look around the new house, and I got to take his new car for a ride.

In 1977, I was in high school, and I can’t say that I had much knowledge about Saab, other than what I read in car magazines, and certainly no passion for them. I lived in southern Connecticut at the time, and while there were some Saabs around, my automotive aspirations lay elsewhere. Porsches, BMWs, Mini Coopers, Fiats, and even some muscle cars from the late 60s to early 70s were my cup of tea. Despite the differences in all these cars, the one thing they share, and share with the 1977 99 is that they were quality automobiles, yet they were simple.

Sure, there were cars available in those days with lots of extraneous stuff, but you could also buy a bare bones high quality car, like a Mercedes-Benz with roll up windows (remember them?), a four speed manual transmission and no radio. I know—a friend had one. It was so nice to get into the 99, which is not that different from my 1992 900T daily driver, and marvel in its simplicity. The 99 has those clever roll up windows, multi-adjustable manual seats, no air conditioning, no sunroof, steel wheels, and not even power steering. Can you even buy a car now without power steering? Having owned a number of cars with manual steering, it can attest that it is delightful to have so much unadulterated steering feel.

I recall that when I started working with Saab that the 900 “base model” retailed for $11,400, or just a little more than a fully equipped Honda Accord or Chevy Celebrity. That was in 1984. The car did have power steering, but no power windows, power locks, alarm, radio, air conditioning, antenna, or floor mats. These were analog cars at the dawn of the digital age. Would anyone buy a stripped down version of a Saab today, if it was available, in order to save a few thousand dollars? I’m just not sure. While the simplicity and mechanical nature of the 900 and 99 were endearing in their nakedness, more modern cars would fail to impress in that condition. Even the 9000, a car I love dearly, was just a dullard in its “base” form (which was still rather richly appointed). I can’t even begin to imagine a 9-3 or 9-5 in “light” form. Perhaps we are destined to drive ever more sophisticated and clever cars. While certainly better than the cars of yore, they do lack that mechanical transparency that made the old cars, like the 99 and 900, so endearing.

Swedish Car Day is only Three Weeks Away!

This sounds so strange to say given that we just flipped the calendar over to August. For the uninitiated, Swedish Car Day is a lawn event at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, which was created by Charles River Saab and Boston Volvo in 2000. At that time, it was the best attended new lawn event ever, with sixty some cars in attendance. SCD has grown over the years and has pulled in over 200 cars at times.

2009 was a bit of a disaster. The weather was horrendous. It was bound to happen. October can have the best weather of the year, and it can also produce perfectly miserable conditions. In the ten years of SCD, last year’s weather was the worst. It was so bad that many wanted to cancel the event. I refused, given that so many people come from far away from this event. Besides, I stated, SCD is like Christmas—you can declare it cancelled, but it comes just the same. So there we were, in ankle deep mud on the Larz Anderson lawn. It was pouring and about 38 degrees. Some areas around Boston were getting snow. The wind was at full gale. Still, sixty hearty souls showed up. The caterer donated all his sandwiches left. We did the only reasonable thing we could do: we moved the entire show into the museum.

If you’ve never seen the Larz Anderson, both the park and museum are worth the effort. In the dry, warm comfort of the museum, our few remaining vendors set up their wares, our guest speakers had an intimate audience, and the Saab and Volvo crazies rejoiced in the close proximity of their Swedish car loving compatriots on the museum floor as awards were given. While the smallest SCD since 2000, this may have been the most fun!

Alas, the powers at be tried to remedy the bad weather situation and the Larz Anderson came up with a late August date. August 29, 2010 will see SCD XI kicking off at 10am. What remains to be seen is how well Volvo and Saab owners adjust to this shift in the automotive calendar.

For more information, see the SCD facebook page, and to register for the Lawn Event, Click here for Swedish Car Day Registration

The Rumors of my Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

This famous quote by Mark Twain might well apply to Saab today. As I passed through life in the past year, people I knew would always inquire about the state of Saab, and somehow the only news that would stick in peoples ears was the bad. It stuns me that months after the Spyker deal that I am still getting questions about what we are going to do now that Saab is out of business. Huh?

We hear this multiple times a day from customers at the service desk. How did people miss all the good news about the sale to Spyker? The general population with no connection to Saab might get some understanding from me, but I always take notice of the status of companies I like doing business with, and presumably if you drive a Saab, you’ve got a reason to pay attention to at least some of the news surrounding the company. Another example: I was at the dentist last week. The hygienist said how sad she was that Saab was going out of business, because the 1986 900T that she previously owned was one of her favorite cars of all time. These are always odd conversations, when one person talks, and the other has a mouth full of suction tubes and dental devices and is left grunting. I held my thoughts, because I had to make sure that when I could speak again that she knew that Saab was not dead, and in fact had a promising if not brilliant future. She was surprised!

Some of this fault lies with the dealer body. We could have done more to tell our constituents about the new Saab ownership situation. In fairness, we had planned to do a large campaign to inform our clients, but decided to tie it to the launch of the 9-5. That was a mistake. Now the 9-5 is still not here and we have lost several months of opportunity to declare the great news, which now hardly seems like news, but clearly would be to some.

Most of the blame has to fall with Saab Cars North America. I understand that they had to preserve the miniscule capital they had to launch the new car, but there should have been something out there that simply stated that they were still in business, and that the future of Saab would be something for all to behold. This especially frustrates me, because an outstanding video/ad has been circulating since last year and it would have gotten the message out and touched a lot of present and former Saab enthusiasts.

New England Forest Rally Newbie

In an earlier post I had carried on about rally racing, then had to come back to that post because my son, Pascal, had “gotten the call” to step in at the last moment as a replacement co-driver/navigator for rally driver Kevin Hans of Team O’Neil Rally School for the vaunted New England Forest Rally in the Western Mountains of Maine. Such a coincidence that was!

Pascal got together a fire-suit, head restraint system, helmet, etcetera and headed north last Wednesday to start preparing the car with Kevin. They showed me a picture of the work shop at Team O’Neil. Kevin and Pascal were working on the Audi Quattro in one bay. In the next bay was the Ford Fiesta of Ken Block being serviced. You may not know Ken Block, but I bet your kids do. Block is an absolute rock-star. Understand, this whole scenario would be like having a ticket to a Red Sox game, then getting a call from the Red Sox asking if you could play right field that day (since you were already going to be there anyway) and then going into the locker room and seeing your locker next to David Ortiz’. With the car prepared, Kevin drove it across New Hampshire to Bethel, Maine; no trailer-queen, that Quattro. On Thursday, the teams were permitted to drive all the stages. These stages are spread throughout that corner of Maine and New Hampshire, and bring to mind all the books of Louise Rich, with her vivid descriptions of C-Pond this and Middle Dam that. While driving the stages, an all day affair, Pascal had to familiarize himself with all the course “notes” which are written in hieroglyphs for his narration to driver Kevin. The book was an inch and a half thick!

Friday was the first day of racing. My wife, youngest son Marcel (aspiring rally racer) and I headed to Bethel. We found Kevin and Pascal with their car in the parking lot of Sunday River Ski Resort, which in rally-speak had been designated the “Parc Exposé.” All the teams had converged, cars were inspected by the race organizers and tensions mounted. World renowned Travis Pastrana was there, along with Ken Block, and they mingled freely with all the other drivers and the hoard of rally fans. Right next to team Hans-Belperron was one of the two Saabs entered in the event, a 1975 Saab 99 with a 900 turbo engine. I noted that the car, which hailed from Pennsylvania, garnered lots of fan attention. A great majority of the cars were Subarus and Mitsubishi Evo’s. But there were plenty of curiosities, too: a Volvo 240, a Datsun 280Z, a BMW 3-series and a vegetable oil burning VW Golf diesel. The “sweep” vehicle, which checked each stage prior to the racers, was also a Saab—a 9-7X.

The first few stages were short sprints, and were designed with spectators in mind. One of the beauties of the event was that there was no expense, and spectators could freely mingle with participants. Though some might deem the exuberance of some of the spectators as unruly, it was truly an egalitarian crowd just out for fun, with fun defined in many ways. What you didn’t see was spectators becoming a danger to themselves or drivers. Rally America, the sanctioning body, did an excellent job in designating spectator areas which were close enough to be exhilarating while still maintaining order and safety. That said, my wife did get pelted with stones on one corner, including a good sized rock to the throat. Not to worry, she’s sturdy and shrugged it off.

By the end of the first day, the red Audi of Hans-Belperron was in 21st position out of 65 cars, and given that it was one of the least powerful cars there, this was quite a feat. Things didn’t go well on day two, however. During the fourth stage of the day, near Richardson Pond, the red Audi started losing its punch. It seemed the fuel pump was delivering less and less pressure, and Kevin eventually pulled the car off and dropped out of the race. An ignominious end to be sure. But not as impressive as the ending to Ken Block’s, as his suspension failed at full speed and his car cart-wheeled into the woods, coming to rest on its side.

The Block connections abounded this weekend. Ken Block’s wife also ran a car in this rally, a Mazda Speed-3, which she rented from Team O’Neil; she also finished, unlike her famous husband. The Mazda she piloted was originally going to be the ride for team Hans-Belperron. Very much a different animal, being front-wheel drive and very powerful, it would have been interesting to see how they might have faired in that car. Most likely they would have finished. As it was, they were with plenty of company, as a total of twenty-four cars did not.

In the end, it was a very satisfying experience. Even if I divorce myself from being the father of a participant, I can attest that this was about as much fun as you can have for almost no money. The festival atmosphere, the goodwill of the spectators, and the bringing together of friends and strangers to cheer EVERYBODY was wonderful. Who won? Who cares!

Excellent Automotive Television

I spend enough time with cars in my life, between working at Charles River Saab and In Control and following my son’s racing pursuits, that I don’t need to seek out car related pastimes for recreational purposes. But my sons, especially Marcel, are huge fans of the BBC’s Top Gear television program. While I never sit down expressly to watch the program, there have been enough times that my sons have commandeered to clicker and switched to BBC America to tune in that I have come to appreciate Top Gear, and perhaps it is the best piece of entertainment on television—especially if you love British humor as I do.

Essentially, Top Gear is a variety show. It is part travelogue, part guest interview, and many parts silly fun, with motorized vehicles either directly or tangentially factored into their schtick. The three hosts—Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May—are delightful in their interaction with one another at times, and merciless in completely hysterical ways at others. Each show features at least one car (whose performance is gauged on the Top Gear track by the Top Gear mystery driver—The Stig), one celebrity guest who gets to take a timed lap in the Top Gear Affordable Car, and some sort of automotive challenge for the hosts, often in exotic cars or in exotic places. I cannot even guess at the sort of budget this show must have. There is not a continent which has not been the backdrop for one of their escapades. Indeed, some of these sorties are rich eye-candy, such as a tour they did of Viet Nam on motor bikes. Others are just ridiculous and make you laugh until it hurts, as was the case of their foray in the American South in $500 jalopies. It is truly brilliant television.

Top Gear has had the occasional Saab grace its stage. One episode a few years back poked fun at the “Born from Jets” campaign, in which The Stig piloted a 9-5 Aero on the track and raced an RAF Harrier Jet. The jet won. But it was still great fun, and while not completely enamored with the 9-5, there was certainly some affection for it.

In Praise of Rally

In a recent interview on Swedish television, Saab-Spyker CEO Victor Muller indicated a desire to reclaim more of Saab’s past by getting Saab involved with rally racing, expressing a desire to see Saab in the World Rally Championship as early as 2014. Those familiar with Saab’s history of course know of the legend of Erik “on the roof” Carlsson, who piloted Saab 96’s to three victories in the RAC Rally and two wins at Monte Carlo, among others. Those cars were severely underpowered compared to their peers. Yet, with his breathless driving style, Carlsson was able to best the competition. Later Saab rally champions included Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund.

I’m not much a fan of motor sport. I ought to be. I’ve worked in the car business my entire adult life, and have been teaching crash prevention training for several years with a cohort that is comprised almost completely of active automobile racers. I’ve done track days (written about elsewhere in this blog) which I find thoroughly enjoyable, and have had silly fun participating in autocross and rally cross events. Wheel to wheel racing, though, just hasn’t appealed much to me as a participant. Even my sons are more in tuned with racing. Son Pascal started racing rally cross when he was sixteen and placed second in the front wheel drive class in New England. He’s moved on to hill-climb racing, which he finds more thrilling, and gives me more gray hairs. All three sons have invested in building a heavily modified 1985 SPG that will see some sort of racing, at least once a proper roll cage is installed. Marcel, only fourteen, is slated to be co-driver for Pascal as they take on some TSD rallies later this year, including the Winter Challenge Rally in Vermont.

Yet here I am, somewhat uninterested in all of it as both participant and spectator. With one exception: WRC. World Rally Championship came to my attention when summary broadcasts were aired weekly on one of the new HD television stations. I watched once. I was hooked. No monstrous cars endlessly turning left. No shrieking, darting formula cars that look like alien insects. No, these were cars, driven by fearless pilots in breathtaking and fearsome places, all around the globe, at the most ridiculous speeds. It didn’t hurt that the perennial champion was a compatriot, Sebastien Loeb.

It was sad to see that so few manufacturers are involved in WRC. Only Citroen and Ford remain. Long gone are Mitsubishi, Subaru, Hyundai, Peugeot, Audi and a host of others. Hopefully, Saab returns to this world stage soon.

I would urge anyone to take a look at WRC. It’s entertaining, the drivers are full of character, and the scenery is beautiful. There’s a wonderful clip of Sebastien Loeb racing in Finland in 2008. His co-driver, Spaniard Daniel Elena, has the most adorable lilting counter-tenor (sounding more French than most Frenchmen) as he guides the champion through the forest. Can you imagine keeping your eyes on a clipboard while traveling along like this. Yikes! Enjoy!



If you enjoyed this, consider heading north later this month to be one of the crazy rally spectators at the New England Forest Rally. Big name drivers like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana will be participating. See newenglandforestrally.com for details.

Update: After writing this post yesterday, by the purest of coincidences, son Pascal got a call from Kevin Hans of Team O'Neil Rally School inviting Pascal to replace his co-driver at the aforementioned NE Forest Rally! Pascal is racing at Okemo mountain this weekend, but heads up to Maine on Thursday with his helmet and fire-suit ready to dictate the rally notes to Kevin. Alas, they'll be piloting an Audi...

Thoughts on a Favorite Car

There has been much discussion about a new small Saab which will pay homage to the 92. I owned a very small car once myself, and that car has been re-conceived by Honda. I just read a review of forthcoming Honda CR-Z, a sports-hybrid two-seater which takes its styling cues from the iconic CRX of the 1980’s. The CR-Z takes that styling and general concept, and wraps it around a more powerful engine and regenerative hybrid electric powerplant, with a unique (for a hybrid) six-speed manual transmission.

In the 1980’s, I was not a huge fan of Japanese cars. I liked them; I even owned them, including my first car. I just preferred European cars. My wife and I were both working in the car business in the mid 1985, and she was selling Hondas. She loved small cars, much like her mom, who was driving an MGB-GT when I first met her, and who would later be tooling around in a BMW Z3. Susan wanted to buy a CRX, which was no mean feat in those days, when one had to wait months in line for any Honda, and pay well over sticker price. Even Susan had to pay the “overage,” on a CRX, though it was reduced from $1500 to $1000. I wasn’t convinced. Still, Susan ordered it, and we waited.

During the wait, the New England Auto Show took place, and we both had to work the show. In those days it was at the old Hynes Convention Center on Boylston Street in Boston. At the end of the show, all the cars on display were taken away to local dealerships. Susan and I were each charged with bringing home a Honda. I don’t remember what she drove out of the Hynes, but I remember that I was annoyed that my ride was a 1985 Honda CRX automatic. Could there be a stupider car? My expectation was that I was going to be miserable driving home the 15 miles to Nahant that night. I crawled into the car, adjusted the seat and was resigned to the fact I could not be comfortable, and after a ride in a freight elevator, drove off.

Yes, the lack of a third pedal made the car stupid. Yet, I found myself completely intoxicated by the car. It was just plain silly FUN. No power anything. Awful seats and awful driving position. But it was FUN. The engine had no torque and only 75 horsepower. But it was FUN. There was a sense of glee I simply hadn’t experienced before. Certainly, the simplicity of the car was a factor. It only weighed 1800 lbs, was tiny, you sat on the floor, the steering was not assisted, and the car just begged to be tossed around.

Finally, ours arrived. It was blue with gray cladding, and had a proper transmission. It was Susan’s car, but became my daily driver when first son came along. I drove the car to 100,000 miles. Every one was uncomfortable, but utterly entertaining. The single most trouble free car I’ve owned, I sold it to my sister, who drove it a bunch more, and liked it so much she bought a newer one.

I’m not sure, at 2800 pounds, that the CR-Z can really capture the real essence of the CRX. But I applaud Honda for trying. Likewise, I hope that the Saab 92 project really does connect the past with present technology. Here’s to fun cars!

End of an Era

I have worked with Saab for almost all of my adult life. That’s a rare thing these days, to stay with one company. So is living in one place for a long time, which I also did, until last week when we sold our home on High Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. We moved to Ipswich just after our first son was born in 1988, and for my wife it was a coming home, for she had grown up there. In 2007 we abandoned the remote and quiet Labor in Vain Road and settled into a town-house built out of a Victorian home in the heart of the “historic district.” Built in 1900, ours was the new house on the street, with most of the other homes dating from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

Long before we moved there I had always noted a number of Saabs in the driveways up and down High Street. The density was quite astonishing. Then we moved in, and it went off the charts. Not only were there my 900’s and my wife’s 9000 aero (later her 9-5), but each of the older sons had a car. Then all three sons went in on a 1985 SPG racecar project, but that had to move off-site to Ipswich Outboard, where son Pascal works during the summer. Still, with the townhouse affording only two parking places, lots of Saabs ended up parked on the street in front of our house.

Lots became lots more. As friends and co-workers of ours, and our boys (especially) came to appreciate Saabs from knowing us, they started to own them. André started dating Muriel, who drives a Sport Sedan, her dad drives a 2005 convertible and brother a 2002 9-3. Have to work on her Volvo-driving mom! Then there was Kevin, Zach, Alex, Kevin’s dad, Ed, Henry, other Ed, Paul, Yvonne, Dan and probably others I’m forgetting who would come by our place and park their Saabs. High Street is a well travelled thoroughfare, and on one day where there were a few friends over, our driveway and the street were packed with Saabs. We were in the backyard doing something not at all Saab related. A gentleman came down the driveway on his bicycle and stopped, asking if there was a Saab club meeting going on!

It used to be easy telling people where we lived. “Oh, the house with all the Saabs.” Then there were the Saab spectacles. One year the boys wanted to decorate the front door of the house but the scrooges in the condo association said no. Not to be denied, Pascal and Andre mounted a 1970s Thule roof load carrier on his 1992 900S rally-x car, which was already festooned with rally stuff, and proceeded to decorate the roof rack. All manner of bauble and bangle was secured to the rack, it was finished off with a bedding of fake snow, and then adorned with blinking battery powered Christmas lights. It was so wonderfully tacky! He then parked the car right in front of the front door. Who knew that a Saab could be that palette for an act of civil disobedience?

The Saab density on High Street in Ipswich, while still strong, took a hit last week. We’ll see how things go when we get into our new digs next month. What will the folks think of their new neighbors with all the Saabs?!

Shuttle Shuffle Part Two

Back from its gift-wrapping, our 2010 9-3X courtesy shuttle awaits only a registration transfer to be pressed into service. Going from our 9-7X to this car is emblematic of where Saab has moved in the past few years. The 9-7X was all GM and looked back…the 9-3X looks ahead and is the current embodiment of the new Saab. Adieu 9-7X….

With a dearth of Saab advertising, we are really hoping, in the least subtle way possible, to get some exposure for this car. It has been suggested that with a few sponsorship decals and some more aggressive wheels and tires it might be a candidate for participation in a rally. I should be careful….I’m giving myself ideas here. Until then, the 9-3X will be our trusty steed, ferrying our clients in comfort and safety.

Italian Connection

Last week Saab announced the appointment of Jason Castriota as Design Director at Saab, and apparently his first duty will be the design of the 2012 9-3. I'm not sure about this. Part of me is so eager to see new thinking coming out of Trollhattan that a young designer who learned his craft in Turin penning Ferrari/Maserati supercars would seem to be a fantastic choice. I guess, though, that I really wanted to see that new thinking literally coming out of Trollhattan. Can a guy who grew up in Greenwich, went to Emerson College in Boston, moved to Turin and studied there, be a great designer? Sure! But can that background give us a modern Saab? Not so sure....

However, I very much liked the work of Michael Mauer, and he was no more a Scandinavian than I am. Perhaps this will work, perhaps not. Time will tell. I would have almost preferred a Scandinavian from outside the automotive realm. All that said, I don't get to chose and we must wish Jason well and hope for the very best to come out of his studio, because the 2012 9-3 really will be the bell-weather for the future of the new Saab.

Diesel, Anyone?
I was reading some comments made by a reader of SaabsUnited this morning and he disparaged "stinking euro-diesels" and said we didn't need them here, and I assume that "here" means the US since Saab diesels seem to be available everywhere but the US. I had to respond.

I've been a diesel fan for a long time. It must be a Yankee thing. I love the idea of getting something for nothing. Who wouldn't want a 44% increase in fuel economy? More significantly, you could drive a real, safe, substantial car like the Saab 9-5 and get better mileage than a Mini Cooper, and on the highway you could likely best most hybrids. I've met a number of people who have rented Saab diesels in Europe and to a person they were all enamored with them. If you haven't tried a modern diesel, the next time you are in Europe, request one for your rental car. Not only will you be treated to a much cheaper trip at the filling station, but you will find the diesel experience seamless and virtually invisible, save the first minute of running after a cold start when there is a touch of diesel clatter.

If efficiency and frugality aren't reasons enough, consider what is happening with diesels and motor sport. Who vies to win the 24 Heures Du Mans? Audi and Peugeot! Diesel race cars! I give credit to Audi, too, for introducing diesel engines into their performance street cars because they can deliver what Saab turbo drivers have always craved. Torque. Lots and lots of torque.

I had hoped that Saab could leap-frog the competition, rather than trying to catch it, by developing a turbo-diesel regenerative hybrid. Too late, Honda apparently has this on the drawing board. I don't know if we will ever see a Saab diesel in the US given that the cost to certify the engine is so high, and to amortize that cost over a relatively few cars may be prohibitive. Then again, if gasoline heads north of $4 per gallon, it might just be the ticket.

News Flash
Charles River Saab is thrilled to announce our very special guest for Swedish Car Day 2010. While we've been graced with terrific guests from Saab in the past, including past Saab presidents Jay Spenchian and Steve Shannon, technical gurus John Moss and Peter Maitland. This year, we have the extreme privilege of welcoming, all the way from Tasmania, Steven Wade of SaabsUnited.com . If you've never visited SaabsUnited, take the time to check it out. Steven was way out in front last year as we tracked the repeated deaths and resurrections of Saab. His "deep-throats" were so reliable, that even employees of Saab kept track on his site. for more information on Swedish car Day XI see our facebook page.

New 9-5, take one

On June 8, 2010 I attended the first training session on the forthcoming 2010 9-5. I had seen the car in person at the NE Autoshow last fall, but this was the first time I was able to crawl around the car and play with it. Alas, these were European models and not available for test drives. Still, we gleaned a fair amount about the car.

As has been thoroughly reported elsewhere, the 2010 9-5 will be available in one iteration: Aero, 2.8l V-6, 6-speed AT, XWD....The price tag, for a Saab guy, seems steep at $50,000-$57,000. However, the front wheel drive, 2.0l variant will arrive with a base price below $40,000, so the overall price structure of the car seems appropriate vis-a-vis the competition. The car does have a lot of presence, though in a subdued, understated manner. The optional 19" wheels, which look very much like those from the AeroX concept, are stunning. The nose of the car is a bit bland, but with the advent of European pedestrian crash safety requirements, many cars will have similar bulbous noses in the future. The rear fascia is striking. The lighting is cool without being gratuitous. The flank of the car is rather dull; the shape, overall, is too--dare I say it--Camry. The hockey-stick trim on the rear windows are a poor attempt, in my opinion, to recreate a theme. If you want to emulate the shape of the c-pillar in the 99/900, then do it. Otherwise, and including the "Nesbit Notch" (a name as yet to be explained to me) in the front lower fender, the side view leaves me wanting.

The interior is lovely. The Aero seats seem quite good. The dash has some personality and retains functionality. The overall interior effect is handsome. Some of the elements seem of decidedly better substance and quality than we found before in the 9-5. The shifter and console area come to mind. No more whiz-bang but too-delicate cup holder in the dash. A more sensible arrangement is tucked into the center console. Three-zone climate control is now available, as is a rear seat entertainment package with screens in the front seat-backs......you see, you start with cupholders, and one day you wake up and there are DVD players in a Saab. The rear seat itself is thankfully large again, close in size to what we had in the 9000 and much more generous than in the current 9-5. The trunk is large, still has a wood floor, and has an optional U-track organization gizmo. An expandable aluminum fence is affixed to sliding mounts in the track, and the fence can be moved around to achieve the desired segmenting of the trunk, presumably to keeps parcels or grocery bags from rolling around. There is no spare tire or jack, just a can of flat-fix and a phone number for road-side assistance. We were told that a spare tire package would be offered as an accessory.

The available electronics were overwhelming. Nothing is new to the industry, I think. First, keys are now gone for good, with a remote fob which can stay in your pocket, and an on-off switch on the console to ignite the engine. Even the parking brake has become an electric switch on the console. There is adaptable and programmable DriveSense feature, which will tune the engine, steering and suspension to either comfort, sport or adaptive modes, or, it will allow you to personalize the mix of settings and save this to the remote fob you keep in your pocket or gain entry into the car. This way, every driver of the car can have their own settings stored. Do customers really want to make these sorts of adjustments? I'm not sure. The Head-Up display seemed a bit gimmicky to me, but I'd need to try it on real roads to say for certain. The multi-mode headlamps seem like fabulous. A mix of xenon and halogen lamps, they cast different light patterns based on speed and weather: short throw with coverage across both lanes and shoulders at low speed, at mid-range the beam goes further out further (only in your own lane) and the lighting to the side drops, at high speeds the lamp focus is far and narrow, and when the wipers are on, there is a rain mode, which I can't recall at the moment. All that, and they turn, too as do the current xenon lamps.

We didn't sample the audio system, but were pleased to see that it includes 10 gigs of hard drive space for downloading music, with the rest of the hard-drive reserved for the navigation system: no more DVD required. There is an input for usb for downloads, plus a plug for an iPod.

While the V6 will essentially be a carry-over from the one in the 9-3, albeit with more power, the 2.0l four cylinder will feature direct injection and have 220 hp and 258 lb/ft torque. This engine should provide excellent mileage and enough oomph to be very satisfying to drive, and I've read that the manual transmission switch-gear is the best ever in a Saab. Unfortunately, we will not enjoy the availability of the twin-turbo diesel, which recent reports out of Europe rate at 42 mpg!

I'll post again when we have the car. In the mean time, do a search for road tests on this car as the press-corp is in Sweden this week for the first bonafide road tests of the car. Opinion can also be found at www.saabsunited.com .

Personally, I always liked the "State of Independence" campaign, which ran for about 40 seconds a few years ago, before some advertising guru decided that we needed the eminently forgettable and lame "Born from Jets" interlude. I thought it did a nice job of exhibiting the spirit and the uniqueness of Saab, compared against the ubiquity of automotive design these days. Take a look:

I made some T-shirts for the store this spring with the new Saab logo/slogan. I've heard there is some question as to whether Saab can continue to use the "Griffin" symbol on the logo we've come to know. Personally, I'd like to see that old logo go away and a new one enter to mark the new beginning at Saab. The Griffin, with Saab/Scania in its periphery, goes back to 1985, and in the early 2000's the Scania name and rings were deleted from the logo, finally reflecting that the two companies had nothing to do with one another, and hadn't for some time.

While the new logo with the "move your mind" slogan is new in the US, it has been used in Europe for a while. When we had "Born from Jets," Europeans had "move your mind." I was never a fan of "Born from Jets." I'm not sure it's even true. While Saab went on to make jets, when WWII ended and the Saab automobile was being birthed, I'm pretty sure the Saab planes had propellers. "Born from Props," though, isn't too sexy. "We Don't Make Compromises. We Make Saabs" was pretty good back in the 1980's, but it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. To me the best slogan is "Ultimate Driving Machine." It is timeless. It's reasonably accurate. It's decidedly arrogant, which makes it perfect for BMW. Everyone knows it, too.

So are we to live with "move your mind" ? Unless someone comes up with something newer and better, I would suggest we go back just a bit and resurrect "Find Your Own Road." It's catchy, has a nice double-entendre, and goes to the aspiration of uniqueness that Saab and its owners have always strived for. If you don't remember this marketing, it ran for several years in the mid 1990's. The accompanying advertising was done in artsy-cartoon form, which was not universally admired. I liked it, but the only thing I'd like to take away is the slogan itself. For me, it just plain works. Here's a TV spot featuring Find Your Own Road.

Anticipation
We are within weeks of the official arrival of the new 9-5. This car has been so anticipated yet so delayed by the events of the past year that at times it seems as if it is only a myth or legend. Still, we have seen the car at the NE Autoshow when I made a point of attending out of the real concern that that it might be the only time I'd ever get to see the 9-5 that we had been hearing so much about. All of those concerns are behind us, and in a slow trickle we've been getting information on the 9-5 to whet our appetites. That will ramp up next week when I get to attend our first training sessions on the new car. We will have two service advisors and three technicians also take part in this first round of training. My biggest hope is that there is an opportunity to drive the 9-5.

Generally, I am underwhelmed by specifications. You can pass me all the documentation you want about a car, but until I know what it is like to drive, I cannot render an opinion about a it. that said, there has been much written about the car, a vast majority of which is positive. I just read a review in the British publication AutoExpress, and they were impressed and thought it was the best Saab they had ever driven. They tested the twin-turbo diesel version, and reported 53 imperial miles per gallon in mixed driving. My math tells me that's 42 US mpg. Can you imagine the hay we could make offering a large car that got that kind of mileage?
This ad for the 2010 9-5 appeared on YouTube. Like many of the European Saab ads in recent months, I think it captures the essence and aesthetic of Saab very nicely.

Saab = Safety
There has been a lot of conversation about the new Saab and what attributes Saab enthusiasts want to see (back) in the Saab product line. Hatchbacks, turbos, ignition switches between the seats, etcetera have been championed in various forums. As much as I have enjoyed all those attributes (my daily driver is a hatchback, turbo, with the ignition between the seats…), to me, the one non-negotiable trait that I would demand from the new Saab is safety. Saab never branded safety as, say, Volvo, or even Mercedes-Benz. Yet, when one looks at the rich history of innovation from Saab, plus their willingness to forgo patent protection of many of their safety innovations so that the entire automotive community could share their advances, there is no doubt about Saab being a serious pioneer in this field.

My first Saab, a 1984 900T, was purchased to keep my kids safe. Until I had kids, automotive safety was barely a consideration when purchasing a car. Now, it remains one of my utmost priorities. Thus I was very happy to find this video of the offset crash test of the new 9-5. Having suffered an offset crash myself (at the hands of a dope in a Toyota 4-Runner on bald tires who hit black ice and crossed into my path), I can certainly appreciate that it is vital to see the load paths in the front of the car disintegrate as the impact is absorbed, as well as the passenger compartment cell staying intact Bravo!

See the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmiWTCidbL8&feature=player_embedded