The Saab Thread

[DavidMorgan]

From Saab production lines roll again - The Local Published: 22 Mar 10 11:32 CET

At exactly 9.17am on Monday, Saab Automobile's production director Gunnar Brunius cut the yellow ribbon to restart the production lines at the firm's Trollhättan factory.

The body of a new Saab 9-5 began the slow process towards the end of the line bearing the text Saab 001 to symbolise the new start after the recent takeover by Dutch Spyker Cars.

Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller was on hand to receive a standing ovation among Saab staff.

Saab's new dawn created a buzz of media interest and Victor Muller and Saab CEO Jan Åke Jonsson were obliged to repeat their obligatory handshake over the bonnet of the new 9-5.

Jessica Karlsson, one of the fitters assigned to the first vehicle, has worked for Saab since 1996 and there were times that she thought she had built her last car.

"Yes, everybody thought so the way the situation was looking. But this is a moment we have really been waiting for and look forward to. It will be fun to get going again," she said.

Many of the Saab employees bore a badge with the simple message "I love Saab."

The firm plans to manufacture 500 cars this week, with production increasing to 1,090 within three weeks. Production will mainly concern the Saab 9-3, but also a first run of the new 9-5.

[Swisstrader]

From WSJ:

By Jeff Bennett

DETROIT (Dow Jones)--Spyker Cars NV (SPYKF, SPYKR.AE) won $1.2 million worth of Michigan tax credits, clearing the way for the company to locate its Saab Cars North America headquarters in a Detroit suburb.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority granted the credits, which run over five years, during a meeting in Lansing on Tuesday. Spyker had asked for the financial support in exchange for moving Saab's headquarters to Royal Oak.

Mike Colleran, Saab's chief operating officer, plans to move employees into the new site by the end of the month. Saab's current offices are located near General Motors Co. in downtown Detroit.

Spyker, which bought Saab from General Motors Co. for $74 million in January, plans to initially employ about 60 people, although that number could more than double within the next four years. The average weekly wage will be $1,693.

Saab and Spyker will act as one company with Saab headquartered in the U.S. and Spyker retaining its current home in Zeewolde, the Netherlands.

A new auto maker headquarters would be a much needed boost for Michigan's image and economy, which has been rocked as auto makers and suppliers have trimmed their work forces amid the economic slowdown. Spyker plans to invest $2.4 million in the site.

Most auto makers and suppliers have attempted to keep a presence in Michigan, which is traditionally seen as the heart of the auto industry. GM has its headquarters in downtown Detroit, while Ford Motor Co. (F) is located in Dearborn, Mich., and Chrysler Group LLC's home is in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Saab will manage its advertising, sales, and dealership development from the location, according to its proposal filed with the growth agency. Future operations could include distribution for Canada and Mexico and an onsite call center operation.

The state had scheduled a similar tax incentive meeting for Saab late last year. That was canceled after potential buyer Koenigsegg Group AB withdrew its bid to buy Saab.

-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires; jeff.bennett@dowjones.com; 248-204-5542

[IVR007]

Thanks for posting DavidMorgan and Swisstrader.

The firm plans to manufacture 500 cars this week

Pretty amazing, a small growing sports car maker has bought a Swedish car manufacturer that makes more cars every week than there are Spykers on the road

[SpykerOwner]

+ YouTube Video

[Reddingius]

"The requested video is not available"

[DavidMorgan]

For the first time you can read Autocar UK's review on the new SAAB 92 and some excellent photos.


When a car is created by aircraft engineers, one is inclined to expect something really outstanding in both design and performance. This attitude of mind comes in no small measure as a result of those special qualities demanded by modern flying, which, when translated to car terms, generally produce the succès d'estime.

Such were my reflections when I took over the new Swedish Saab 92 at the start of a 500-mile road test, the first to appear in the British Press, and I was not disappointed. Indeed, it would be a very biased motorist who could find any serious complaint against a twin-cylinder family saloon of less than 8hp which can put 53 miles into an hour without strain and has the road-holding properties of real sporting machinery, albeit at a petrol consumption of nearly 40mpg.

The Saab aircraft company and its chief car designer, Mr Gunnar Ljungstrom, are to be congratulated on a really intelligent attempt to produce a small, inexpensive car, which, in the words of the high-pressure salesman, “has everything”.

..... "a twin-cylinder family saloon of less than 8hp which can put 53 miles into an hour without strain" Yes, Test Date 28 October 1949


Although the Saab bristles with novel features, it is its performance that wins the day. As a medium for putting in fantastic average speeds over rough, twisty roads it has few rivals in its class, at least in my humble opinion. And having driven 131 miles in 2 hours 59 minutes, I am in a position to enthuse.

The engine is comparatively quiet up to about 55mph, but there’s a momentary vibration around 45mph, which disappears as the revs rise. Initially the left-hand driving position seems strange, especially as Sweden drives on our side of the road, but after a few miles one settles down behind the well-raked two-spoked steering wheel with a feeling that here is a car capable of being placed to the inch.

Lockheed hydraulic brakes are fitted, with 8in drums that proved very efficient. It was possible to carry out a hands-off emergency stop from 60mph, the car pulling up with complete safety in a dead straight line.
I gave full marks for the behaviour of the independent suspension during this period of somewhat hasty motoring. Not only were the worst bumps effectively damped, but I was abetted to corner at speeds which would have propelled a more conventional car over the hills and far away.

Before the car was somewhat regretfully returned to its rightful owners, I was given a hair-raising display of its stability by the chief of Saab's testing department, Rolf Mellde, a well-known competition driver who last year managed to boost the output of his personal DKW to something over 55bhp. He drove me to a deserted stretch of dual carriageway and proceeded without any intimation to lock the car over from one side to the other at well over 50mph. How it managed to stay upright I shall never know, but it did.



There's much more to read here: Saab 92 car reviews & latest news from the experts at Autocar
and of course the photos.. Enjoy the 1949 road test ..

[SpykerOwner]

Originally Posted by Reddingius

"The requested video is not available"

You clicked too soon. Try again.

[DavidMorgan]

Originally Posted by Reddingius

"The requested video is not available"

It's here: YouTube - Saab resumes production

[DavidMorgan]

2011 Saab 9-5 First Look
Edmunds the US online motor magazine drove the 9-5 with VM and the article gives more insight as to the future... Below are extracts..

He looks across at us and says, "Crazy isn't it? To get the first 9-5, I had to go and buy the company."

Victor Muller is the Dutch entrepreneur who has rescued Saab from the dustbin of history by purchasing the remnants of the Swedish car company out of General Motors' forced bankruptcy. He's an adamant, outspoken kind of car guy, which is how he managed to start Spyker cars in 2000 at the age of just 41. And it's this temperament that leads him to hand over the keys to a preproduction 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero Turbo6 XWD and invite us to drive him into town from the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam where we met him.


We did the right thing and accepted.

But we've already figured out that this 2011 Saab 9-5 Aero Turbo6 XWD is far from the sort of car you'd expect from a company just emerging from bankruptcy. This is the full Aero trim, for one thing. Plus the Holden-engineered 2.8-liter V6 is enhanced by a Borg-Warner twin-scroll turbocharger, and the result is 296 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 295 pound-feet of torque at 2,300-5,200 rpm. (We can't help but occasionally rev the engine just to watch the needle on the boost gauge swing around the dial and hear the slight whistle of the turbine.)

Plus this car has the latest, trickest Haldex all-wheel-drive system that combines a quick-acting center differential with an electronic limited-slip rear differential to combine the best of AWD traction and rear-wheel-drive dynamics, just like the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X that introduced the technology.

The turbocharged V6 has variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cams, and when you factor in 10.9 psi of boost, then you get a wide spread of torque between 2,000 rpm and 6,000 rpm. As a result Saab says this new, larger 9-5 will get to 60 mph in a decent 6.7 seconds.

Turbo lag is minimal, and it will shrink to almost nothing when a twin-turbo version of this V6 is introduced for the high-performance Saab 9-5 Viggen. (The Viggen — "Thunderbolt" — was a jet fighter built by Saab between 1970 and 1990.) "The Viggen name should play a significant role in the future," Muller confirms.

[Swisstrader]

Very nice article, but would have liked to have heard more of his opinion vs techno babble