Colour your Saab!

Today I`ve got my convertible back from the car wrapping company in a new colour. I`ve driven in 2 black Saabs in a row now for four years and it was time for something else. The wrap is removable (3 hours of labour), so my car remains original.

Bericht door Save Saab Museum.

In the past Saab owners where more expressive with colours for their Saab. See the picture below I`ve made in Spa last year. Finally; Click here about the blogpost of Alexander about breaking the grey.

Saab 92 (ex Peter Backstrom)

Jim Pascale lives in the US and ownes a very nice Saab 92 (see picture below). He bought this Saab 92 out of Sweden 3 years ago. In the past this 92 was owned by Peter Backstrom. That`s why he wants to have contact with him. Maybe someone can help Jim?

Below also a video of Jim`s Saab 92 going up and down his driveway. It is a Saab 92B from 1956 btw.

The first Nevs 9-3

The first Nevs Saab 9-3 built `ll be used for the certification process of the Saab 9-3 in China. After that the car `ll be stored in the collection of the Saab Car Museum in Trollhättan.

As I wrote before, the Nevs 9-3 is (for the moment) available in two colours; grey and black. If you want any other colour on your new Saab you can personalise your 9-3 with a wrap. Wrapping a car (depends on country and quality) costs about 2000 EUR. The wrap lasts for about 3 years and it costs 3 hours of labour to remove the wrap from your car (no damage to original lacquer). A complete respray of your 9-3 is also an option, but your car is not original anymore (a wrap is more a "protection").

Click here for the pictures of Saab 9-3 Convertibles in red.

The first electric Saab 9-3`s are sold

The first electric Saab 9-3`s are sold now to Qingdao; source;

The city of Qingdao, part owner of Nevs, will purchase the first 200 EVs with delivery starting April. Mattias Bergman is quoted saying “You will observe a continuous change, but the first specifications have arrived. The specifications will be gradually changed, both battery and drivetrain”. Range at first will be limited to ~200km and the car itself will be 80% similar to its ICE cousin. “The difference will be the drivetrain”. The car will be produced in Trollhättan with final assembly taking place in China. Nevs have two facilities producing batteries there, so they will be mounted there. “Production of the EVs in Trollhättan will commence early next year” adds Mattias Bergman, “it does not take long to produce them, but then they must be shipped to China as well”. “This is an important part of our vision that our customers not be dependent of fossile fuelds, but retain the freedom of getting around in a passenger car. This is what is important to us, and where our focus is. Finally we let the customers decide if they prefer an EV or a conventional ICE.”

The first new Saabs are sold already online!

Yesterday at 14:00CET (GMT+1) the sales started for the new Saab through Nevs website. It was a great start of the sale because they received a total of 15 orders of new Saabs throughout the day.

-”It is pleasing that we directly met an interest that also led to the ordered cars. And our first customer in Trollhättan actually visited me yesterday afternoon. We are humble but also hopeful for future sales. Many people have heard of and want to make an appointment for a test drive, which starts in January “– Jonas Hernqvist, Nevs Sales Manager

Source

At the moment only 2 colours are available for the new Saab 9-3, black and grey. I hope more colours `ll follow in the future. For the time being a wrap is a good solution if you want an other colour. I for myself have made an appointment for a red wrap for my 9-3 convertible for next week. Click here for the link to the wrapping company I`ve chosen.

New Saab 9-3`s for sale again

Starting today the new Saab 9-3 is for sale again in Sweden (see Swedish text below)! Initially the cars are only sold to clients in China and Sweden. However, over time the Saab 9-3 Aero and other models will also be available to customers in other markets. Click here for the Saab webshop!

Bericht door Save Saab Museum.

I morgon tisdag börjar försäljningen av Saab-bilar Tisdagen den 10 december kl 14.00 börjar försäljningen av Saab-bilar på den svenska marknaden direkt från Nevs hemsida. Nevs använder en för biltillverkare ny säljkanal genom att inledningsvis sälja direkt via hemsidan. Samtidigt skapar Nevs en personlig kundrelation genom alla led med direktkontakt från försäljning till leverans av bilen. – Vi vill ha en nära dialog med våra kunder redan från början. I vår direktkontakt kan vi bland annat snabbt fånga upp synpunkter och önskemål, vilket hjälper oss i vår ambition att ge kunderna en förstklassig upplevelse och ett engagerat omhändertagande, säger försäljningschef Jonas Hernqvist. Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan 2014 är fullutrustad och har en bensinmotor på 220 hk/350 Nm. Priset med sexväxlad manuell växellåda är 279 000 kronor inklusive moms, + 10 000 kronor med sexstegad automatisk växellåda. I priset ingår tre års fri service, tre års vagnskadegaranti, två års vägassistans samt vinterhjul på aluminiumfälg. Efter leveransen av bilen vill vi även fortsättningsvis erbjuda ett tryggt bilägande. För service och reparationer hänvisar vi till Saab Original Service verkstäder. De första bilarna av denna begränsade upplaga kommer att levereras under våren 2014. Då kommer vi att erbjuda kunden en speciell varumärkesupplevelse när bilen hämtas på leveranscentrum vid fabriken i Trollhättan. Här möter representanter från Nevs som, förutom presentationen av bilen, berättar om hur vi ser på framtidens bilindustri och vår planerade färdväg mot att bli en ledande elbilstillverkare. Ett besök i vår högeffektiva fabrik samt besök på Saabs bilmuseum ingår också i upplevelsen. För ytterligare information kontakta Nevs kundservice. Telefon: 0520-855 00 E-post: customersupport@saabcars.com

The Sharp Saab II

One year ago I wrote about the "Sharp Saab" from Puntita and Krit. Saabs are rather rare in Thailand, click here to see more Saabs in Thailand.

Saab production starts this monday!

Finally! After this weekend the production of new Saabs starts again! In the first place Saab `ll build Saab saloons, I hope they add the convertible and estate soon.

Something else about one of my own Saabs. I`ve decided to give my black convertible a new colour (red). It`s my 2nd Saab convertible in black and I think red looks good for a Saab 9-3 convertible. I hope my convertible is ready just before christmas.

NEVS is ready to go

NEVS management confirmed to SaabsUnited thursday evening, that the chain of suppliers to restart production is now ready to go! Per Svantesson, Purchase manager at NEVS told TTELA that gradual changes and improvements will be made until a facelift is ready to be rolled out. According to sources to SU this would happen sometime in the spring of 2014. Sources to SU say that production of cars would most likely start late november or early december, however there is no confirmation from NEVS on an actual date for the production start.

Bericht door Save Saab Museum.

GOOD NEVS!

Today NEVS has presented their first produced Saab to a team of three reporters from SaabsUnited. This really is good Nevs for all Saab fans.

Read more on this page of SaabsUnited or this page on the Saabism blog.

Saab meet at our airport

Gavin has made his "report" of our Saab meet from this week;

Just back from a memorable trip to Holland, the question is where do I begin? Went down to London on Sunday and spent time window shopping in Mayfair before going to St. James's Park to see the ducks and squirrels. It was a glorious evening and I did so enjoy being there. Dinner at my club, nice to have freshly starched linen and a good meal washed down with Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand! Then to Docklands and the Thistle Hotel, the less said about that the better, but it was handy for the airport! Monday dawned dark and miserable, not like the previous evening! EGLC was a joy, security quick and efficient and no check in, I was soon strapped into the leather seat of a City Jet F50. A nice but short flight and we were at Antwerp where the skipper brought the Fokker off the ILS to low cloud and poor visibility, way below the weather minima for the Cessna to come in and pick me up Rudy howe...ver had turned up in his classic Saab 95 and we were soon heading down the motorway for the Dutch border. A brave man that Rudy as he invited me to drive his lovely old car, I had to 'fess up' that I had not driven a manual for 10 years and had never driven on the right hand side of the road. Three modern Saabs overtook us honking madly and I thought they were saluting this old-timer, should have known better! I managed to cope with the driving and even negotiated a roundabout before getting to his shop (of which more later) for a much needed coffee to calm my nerves, we were soon off to the small airfield where he keeps his Cessna 150. We arrived at the grass airfield and I was amazed to see a huge collection of Saabs lined up outside the clubhouse for my visit, I was most impressed. Rudy had been in contact with his chums who turned out in big numbers, including the three cars I had seen earlier - there must have been upwards of 20! There was a great range of cars, estates, convertibles and even a 9-7X, a 4x4 SUV never officially imported into the UK. The weather improved somewhat and it was time to take to the air, it was nice being in a light aircraft once again although the visibility was still poor, we went over the coast and saw some of the long bridges that link the islands. On our return Rudy took some more friends flying while I inspected the Saab collection. It was soon time to get something to eat and Rudy had booked a table in a nice restaurant overlooking the sea at Vlissingen (Flushing to you Brits!) there must have been upwards of twelve people dining and a good time was had by all, I can recommend the cod! After dinner we went for a tour around the town, had to make the obligatory visit to the statute of Admiral Michael de Ruyter who was born in the town. I will not dwell on the Admirals naval successes during the Anglo Dutch wars, somewhat embarrassing for us Brits, so I will move swiftly on!! Having looked around Flushing we moved on to Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland and had a look at some of the fine architecture although much was damaged during the war. It was then time for me to be dropped off at a very nice B &B ready for Tuesday. Tuesday was another damp and miserable day, Robert came to pick me up in the classic 95 and we went to Rudy's kitchen design shop. This is a temple to the gastronomic art, full of Neff and Miele appliances. Rudy has sold a fridge to London and other equipment to Australia so distance is no object! I liked the integrated plate warmer and the built in steamer but the piece of kit I loved most was probably the cheapest, a self powered LED mixer tap which illuminated the flow of water blue when cold and changed it to red when hot, how cool is that!! Soon it was time to leave for the airport in Antwerp, Robert at the wheel of the 95 once again. We made good time till we reached the outskirts then got heavily snarled up along the ring road - at 2 in the afternoon??? Faulty navigation on my part and the need for the satnav to find itself again was more time lost, then disaster! Someone bumped into the back of the Saab denting the chrome bumper, not easy to replace! Robert soon sorted things out but more time was lost, we arrived at the airport 15 minutes before take off. At a larger airport I would gave missed the flight but the staff were brilliant and soon got me through security and onto the aircraft, amazingly I was not the last passenger! So ended a super visit, my thanks to Rudy for being such a kind host and for the flight in the Cessna, to his many friends for being so welcoming, to Robert for all his driving and finally to the staff at City Jet who were not in the least fazed by my late arrival at the airport, they could not have been kinder. To you all I say a big thank you!

Pictures of the Saab meet of this week are collected on this page.

Pictures of the Saab meet yesterday

Yesterday we`ve had our Saab meet here at our Airport. On this page you can see the pictures of this meet.

Below a small video of Gavin driving in the Saab 95.

Saabs at the airport

For today my English Saabfriend Gavin comes over for a short stay in Holland. He wants to fly with me in the Cessna, but what he does not know is that a lot of Dutch and Belgian Saabists are present here to give him a warm welcome! Let`s hope for good weather now! Here more info (in Dutch).

New Saabs coming this year?

The "news" about New Saabs has been spread on our Facebook page some weeks ago. But as not all Saabists are active on Facebook this time something about those Saabs(the pictures are made in Austria on my way to Italy). According to the news new Saabs `ll be made again by end of August 2013 in the city of Trollhättan. 8000 Saab 9-3 sedans in both gasoline and diesel versions `ll be made and in the future an electrical version will be available too. The Saab 9-3X `ll be available by year`s end, but there is no mention of the 9-3 Sport Combi being produced.

No news about the engines to power the 2013 Saab 9-3. The "old" 9-3 had a GM engine, it is highly unlikely that GM would license this engine to NEVS. The tooling and know how for Saabs old H-series engine has been sold to BAIC. In the past Fiat engines have been installed in 9-3`s, that`s why there are rumors of a Fiat engine to power new Saabs. But why no BMW engine? They had a deal with Victor a couple of years ago.

Team behind Save Saab Museum page

Today Ingrid has joined the team of our Save Saab Museum page. There are three Saabists now posting on the Save Saab Museum page on Facebook (and we have more than 1600 likes now). Ingrid is a Saabista driving in a 9-5NG sedan and living in Holland.

Simik is living in Los Angeles and drives a 9-5 too, he is very active in the Saab community of Los Angeles.

Rudy is living in Holland like Ingrid and has a 9-3 Convertible (besides that also a 9-3 sedan and a Saab 95V4). Together we want to enjoy you all with info about Saab and nice Saab pictures. Feel free to share your pictures and/or stories on our Facebook page!

Saab specialist Tema automotive

Recently a new Saab specialist has started here in Middelburg (close to where I live). Today he has an open house, some of my Saabs are participating. Click here for more pictures.

Sold my 9-5 and congrats to Puntita and Krit

Yesterday evening I`ve sold my Saab 9-5 to a client. Her own car was too expensive to repair. She`s very happy with my 9-5 and I have still 3 Saabs left.

The 9-5 really is a good car, I really enjoyed driving the 9-5 but I did not use this car very often. It`s better this way. Besides that. I am in contact with the owner of my first new bought Saab (9-3 hatchback on petrol). He `s still a happy owner, but if he wants to sell in the future he`ll call me first.

Today Puntita and Krit are married in their "Sharp-Saab" in Thailand. Congratulations and good luck together!!!

With my Saab 9-3 Aero I`m still not finished by the way. Very often I have the "rear fog light" warning. I`m afraid I have to replace the whole fuse box (have replaced light, wires are ok).

New this fuse box is rather expensive, I hope to replace it with a used one. It`s not very urgent, so I have the time.

Saabs in Thailand 2

The Sharp Saab has got some company. The owner (Krit) has bought a "new" Saab 900s.

Of course Krit is proud of his Saabs. Krit and Puntita want to marry the 23rd jan in their Saab 96 (for pictures see the Sharp Saab article).

Saabs made in China

Source The Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co. Ltd., the State Power Group Co. Ltd., and its Swedish subsidiary signed an agreement on 7 January to build SAAB cars in Qingdao, Shandong Province, states the Qingdao Daily newspaper. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), a sister company to State Power Group Co. Ltd., bought SAAB in June 2012. Both companies are owned by National Modern Energy Holdings, a company founded and controlled by Johan Kai Jiang, a Chinese-Swedish enterpreneur. According to the Qingdao Daily,the three parties involved pledged to invest 10 billion yuan (1.6 billion dollars) to construct a factory capable of building up to 400,000 automobiles a year, which includes cars powered by both conventional internal-combustion engines and alternative fuel engines. The factory, an R&D center, sales, and procurement centers will be built in Qingdao, a northern Chinese port city. The Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co. Ltd. is believed to be a company set up by the Chinese government specifically for the SAAB project. That makes the Chinese an investor in any future SAAB cars. By shifting production to China instead of Sweden heavy import tariffs are avoided for cars made under the SAAB brand. A time frame for the building of the factory is unclear, but factory construction in China can be done at a breathtaking pace once approval is granted by the central government. An official statement by the Swedish subsidiary of NEVS is still pending on this matter. However a source to Saabblog.net states that in the future Qingdao will produce cars for the Asian markets, while Trollhättan will produce them for Europe and the US. Too good to be true? If it all comes true and SAAB is revived perhaps their first car ought to be the SAAB Phoenix, which will be appropriately named...