Dreaming of Alberta driving in a Hirsched Turbo X

Tags

SAAB, 9-3, Hirsch, Joy, Alberta, Turbo X

Canada is a country I have huge affection for, my wife is Canadian, and every time we visit, I fall in love with it’s beauty and wilderness.

I often imagine being able to drive along deserted roads, with giant trees, ice blue lakes and mysterious mountains surrounding me, I imagine being in a luxurious car with a gorgeous, crisp engine rasping in the background, a Saab 9-3 Turbo X maybe, yes, that would be perfect.

A few months ago, Mike from Alberta emailed Saab vs. Scepticism :

“I’ve been trying to sort out wheel options for my 9-3 Turbo X, and the pictures of your 9-3 quickly settled my wheel search. I’ve also acquired some Hirsch alloy pedals and leather door handles, inspired by your 9-3″

Over the weekend, Mike sent a few pictures of his Turbo X with the Hirsch goodies fitted and looking seriously stunning. Apart from being proud that SvsS has managed to inspire others, I’m also a little jealous that he’ll enjoy cruising down the very roads I imagine myself being on, and what’s more, he’ll be in a very special Saab indeed.

A huge thanks for the photos Mike, make sure you keep sending more from any road trips you find yourself on, and maybe we could have an Saab vs. Scepticism Alberta Outpost

To warranty or not warranty, that is the question

Tags

9-3, Bond Steet SAAB, Hirsch, Life, SAAB, Saab Parts UK, TTiD, Warranty

I find myself in a rather difficult position, as I imagine other owners of brand new Saabs will do. In August 2012, my 9-3 will be a year old, which means that as well as the manufactures 3 year warranty no longer being honoured, the 12 month dealer warranty expires too.

I happen to be lucky enough to live near an extremely established and passionate Saab dealership, who from recent conversations will continue to sell, service and look after the hundreds, if not thousands of cherished Saabs in our area. However, with no warranty, I could face large and unexpected bills over the coming years, so it’s all in the hands of the Saab Reliability Gods, or maybe not.

Here in the UK at least, It seems the newly formed and rather visionary Saab Automobile Parts UK Limited could save the day, they’ve launched Saab Secure; a warranty that replaces the original manufactures one.

The Good I’ll be able to keep my new 9-3 away from third party parts and non Saab mechanics for the foreseeable future.

The Bad After spending over twenty five thousand pounds on a new car, I’ll have to dig a little deeper and pay for a replacement warranty, when what I would have liked to see was some kind of honourable gesture from Saab or my dealership.

Saab Secure _ Because my Saab is worth it.

A classic Summer in the making

Tags

900, Classic, Convertible, Joy, Life, SAAB

Over the past few weeks, the Saab 900 has sat quietly on the driveway, roof up, trying hard to protect itself from rain; and lots of it, not the perfect weather for the classic convertible. Then, on Monday, it suddenly changed, 25 – 30 degrees, blue skies with a soft, warm breeze, the 900′s time had come.

The poor weather has left its mark though, and highlighted a few things that desperately need fixing; the fabric beneath the rear window leaks, and the roof liner now plays host to a mini Olympic swimming pool, there also seems to be another leak in the drivers foot well, and the carpet currently resembles a small swamp, no worries though, all fixable.

Start the engine with its spellbinding 900 burble, and the problems soon become distant memories. Pop the roof down, pull up the wind deflector and set off down peaceful country lanes, trees rustling above and sunlight washing over the time honoured, worn leather interior. Into the evening we left the roof down and went out for supper at a friends Italian restaurant, leaving late, the air was still warm, and a slight mist had formed, but through it we caught glimpses of the star studded night sky.

The Saab 900 somehow has a soul, one that we’ve quickly fallen in love with, driving it with the roof down has to be one of life’s simple luxuries and is going to give us some classic Summer memories, thank you Saab.

Saab vs. Anti Social Behaviour

Tags

9-3, Hirsch, Life, SAAB

I’ve always believed in respecting other people’s property, but others don’t seem to agree.

I’ve owned my Saab 9-3 for nearly 10 months now, it’s covered 14,000 miles, and been an absolute pleasure to own and drive. Within this time, it’s suffered a few battle scars; a couple of stone chips, a self inflicted wheel scrape (always painful) but besides that, nothing. Until now that is.

Last weekend, I found a rather perfect set of boot prints on the bonnet of the the 9-3, not only had it scratched the paintwork, but also creased the bonnet line; I was more than a little upset to say the least. It just shows a complete lack of respect, and has caused a few hundred pounds worth of damage.

I don’t mind the Saab getting more attention than our neighbours Audis and BMWs, but on this occasion, I’d have rather it went unnoticed

A room with a Saab view

Tags

9-3, 900, Convertible, Hirsch, SAAB, SportCombi

I looked out of our upstairs window yesterday, and realised what a fantastic view we had; I don’t’ mean the mature trees in the park opposite, or the surrounding historical architecture, although they’re very nice, I really meant the view of our driveway.

You don’t often get to see SAABs from above, to admire their design from an altogether different perspective, but there below me, were 3 gorgeous SAABs, all in a row.

I love each one for very different reasons; the 900 convertible, for the pure joy of topless jaunts around country lanes and relaxed family outings, the 9-3 Hirsch saloon, for my daily commute with its inspired drivability and luxuriousness, and the 9-3 SportCombi for its practicality and robustness for our family adventures.

3 SAAB’s may be a little eccentric, and I suppose that’s part of the beauty of SAAB ownership, it’s something I won’t easily give up, besides, a different badge in the line up would just look completely out of place.

When 600 pixels just isn’t big enough

Tags

Flickr, Photography, SAAB, Saab vs Scepticism

One of the pleasures of doing this blog, is having a reason to take lots of pictures of SAABs, but whilst a strict 600 pixel column width to keep things looking sharp is great, it doesn’t always do the cars justice; I want to show and see more.

Since starting Saab vs. Scepticism I’ve had a few compliments and also requests for higher res images, people are even using them for their desktops, which is fantastic; share the SAAB love I say.

I’ve set up a Flickr gallery for my favourite SAAB photos, so, if you see any you like, and need some SAAB inspiration, go grab yourselves a hi res version.

Saab vs. Scepticism on Flickr.

Welcome to an Exclusive Club

Tags

9-3, Aero, Hirsch, SAAB, SportCombi, Style, TTiD

A few weeks ago, I received a comment from R. here on Saab vs Scepticism that made me really happy

“Just bought my first but much anticipated SAAB; a 9-3 Aero SportCombi TTiD 180 with Hirsch 200 upgrade. Thanks for your blog which has increased my anticipation”

First of all, it’s great to know people are reading and enjoying SvsS, it’s also great to know someone else has just joined our exclusive club for the first time.

R. picked up his new SAAB on Saturday, and very kindly sent me a few pictures; wow, what an initiation to the SAAB club, a gleaming red SportCombi with a full Hirsch makeover including 19″ alloys, 345mm brake upgrade, lowered suspension, dual exhaust, roof spoiler and the ‘must have’ Hirsch 200bhp upgrade. This is one gorgeous SAAB.

I’m hoping R. may be kind enough to send me the odd photo and updates on how he’s enjoying his first SAAB. All I can say, is well done R. and welcome to SAAB, you won’t regret it.

Luxury Defined

Tags

9-3, Hirsch, Interior details, Joy, Life, Luxury, SAAB, Style, Test Drive, TTiD

LUXURY _ A space offering elegance and refinement, a pleasure out of the ordinary, above and beyond normal expectations of well-being.

Just recently, I’ve read a lot of online discussions as to whether SAABs are ‘luxury’ cars, and without going into detail, I think the definition of luxury says it all; SAABs are most definitely luxury cars.

Anyone having had the pleasure of either driving or owning a SAAB will understand when I say they offer a unique sense of luxury, not the polished wood and cream leather type of luxury, more a sense of well-being; exquisitely designed ergonomics, effective, refined controls, superior longevity and, of course wonderfully comfortable seats.

When I manage to just sit and enjoy the luxuriousness of the SAAB 9-3′s interior, i realise just how special it feels, Hirsch fittings have only added to this, with leather door handles and detailing, exquisitely stitched leather dashboard, one of the finest sports steering wheels I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving with, and aluminium pedals with simple Hirsch branding.

Luxury isn’t an easy thing to define, some manufactures think that by adding a few pieces of wood and leather, it turns something normal into something special, to me luxury is far more than this, it has to stir emotions, leave you longing for more.

The SAAB 9-3 never fails to offer the feel-good factor every time I open the door, it feels more than luxurious, it feels SAAB.

In a world of insecurity SAAB shines through

Tags

900, iPhone, Joy, Life, Neo Brothers, SAAB, Sun

All be it with a 20 year old classic 900 convertible. It’s been warm here in the UK, unseasonably so, some days close to 25 degrees; in March, what’s going on?

But i’m not complaining, after all, It’ll be raining in a few weeks, that’s what makes the UK so interesting, you never know what your going to get; live with it, enjoy it, anyway back to the point.

The 900 has spent the last 3 weeks with my great mechanic – Charles, mainly to rectify the seized drivers side window, but there were other things too, he’s changed metres of perished pipework, he’s somehow loosened all of the electric window switches, and he’s given the dashboard a new lease of life with full illumination. The squeaky clutch pedal is no longer, and the drivers side window winds up and down as silently and quickly as I imagine it did when it left Sweden 20 years ago (thanks to Neo Brothers for a brand new motor delivered within 24 hours).

With the early Spring sun, having the roof down has been an absolute pleasure, the 900 feels very special indeed, its seductive lines drawing admiring glances whilst the distinctive 900 exhaust burbles reassuringly behind you. This is truly a classic SAAB to while away the sunny days in.

I know how unsecure SAAB’s future is, but it really doesn’t take away from the fact we are left with some amazing cars to take care of and enjoy for future generations; my 12 year old son has already decided that the 900 is going to be his first car, let’s wait and see, I may not want to give it up, after all 5 years isn’t a long time to enjoy a SAAB.

Apologies, iPhone photos again; gorgeous countryside + setting sun = photo opportunity.

SAAB vs. Wind Turbines

Tags

9-3, Bond Street SAAB, Cornwall, Economy, Hirsch, Joy, SAAB, Test Drive, TTiD

For the first few months of owning the new 9-3 TTiD, I fastidiously recorded the fuel economy; how many miles it could manage per tank, how that translated into mpg, but then I got bored.

For some unknown reason, car manufacturers like to give us completely fabricated mpg figures for new cars; tested on a perfectly flat track, no wind, no braking, minimal acceleration and 13″ wheels only as wide as those on my mountain bike. My wife seems to be the only person in the world that gets close to the official figures, and I still don’t know how she does it.

Anyway, I happened to pass some gorgeous new 450ft high wind turbines at the weekend, and got to thinking about economy and clean energy, which made me think about my 9-3, after all, not only did I fall in love with its looks and luxuriousness, I loved the fact that it was one of the fastest diesel cars on the market with reasonably environmentally friendly credentials of just 119 CO2.

My 9-3 left the SAAB showroom some 8 months ago now, and has returned pretty consistent economy; not the official 60+ combined figure SAAB advertised, but consistent all the same. I do a real world mix of city, country and longer distance motorway driving, and am averaging 41mpg, which translates into around 550 miles per tank. There have been anomalies: 620 something miles from a journey to Cornwall, and 490 something miles mid Winter when I didn’t do much besides sit in snow, rain and lots of traffic, but on average, 41mpg.

I like to think my choice of car, overall is a good one, one that will easily do a few hundred thousand miles, one that lasts long enough for a number of people to own and enjoy it, and one that, over its life will have a reasonably low impact on the environment.

So next time I fly by the beautiful turbines, enjoying the winding country roads and the Hirsch 9-3′s power, I’ll look, smile and be reminded i’m also driving a car with pretty good economy too.