FIRST US DIESEL SAAB??? Hell yeah! They've been in the parts catalog and many Euro markets for years. Ask SaabCarsUSA or
Canada why not here?...the best answer you'll get is "we just don't want them over here". Pretty LAME! The new 93 is argueably
one of the sweetest cars Saab (or GM) has ever made. That ReaXs passive rear steer...brilliant! The four cylinder turbocharged
petrol (the Euros never took a liking to "gasoline" and thats what the parts catalog calls them) engines have more than enough
kilowatts and decent fuel economy....but I had to know (sabe) what the weakest engine in the line offered. Having driven VWs
diesels (the first back in 1980 when I was a VW/Saab sales rep wondering could I splice a VW diesel into a Saab...I had a
dream?)I thought I had some idea of what to expect....
After having been twenty-plus years in the auto repair business(mostly Saab) I'm pretty much not afraid of anything. I'm buying
my first new Saab...a first-year SportSedan '03 TurboDiesel. Silver? Steel Grey? Too many of those. Luckily there was a Cosmic
Blue in Fred Flikkemas showroom. But I'll have to go to Sweden to get it(IDS)...OK... and there'll be no warranty(in the US) on the
non-US parts...OK...and if it blows up, I'd have to deal with Sweden.... and the twenty parts that need to be changed to satisfy
DOT....then EPA...OK, OK, OK. Many thanx Saabusa. I could sell thousands of these myself.
I flew to London end of June 03, spent a few hours getting lost on the underground (great fun), checked out the dealer
(SaabCity) and they kindly let me test a RH drive. Whoa! Ya have to keep telling your self it's only 125 hp...the same 2.2TiD
used in many Opel/Vauxhalls...but that low-end "twisting force" thing. And they don't sell these cars in the US....because? Two
days later I'm at ANA in Trollhattan, check out the car (uhoh-no mph speedo), tour the museum, the plant. Then go break this
beauty in...Monica says "keep it under 3500 rpm" (thats 110), Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Munchen,
Suisse, left the car in Lyon, took the TGV to Paris and back(a must), then finally to Antwerp for the boat ride. That would be the
last time I'd see the car for almost a year.
A few weeks later the car arrived in Newark. It was then that Customs Officer McFail (great name) interrupts his golf plans to
inform me that I must provide him with a note from Saab that this thing met DOT specs or there was a 99% chance it would be
deported or crushed. I had thirty days. Ouch! This here is the sticking point... Fold or call? Call. I had to hire a registered importer
(RI) to do the deed. RI's usually deal with super-exotic richboytoys not available here and this shop had quite a few with bumpers
and doors being modified to meet FMVSS. It wasn't quick or cheap,but it had to be done. They had to research the difference
between a US and EU car and then verify the changes to be made. The twenty parts. And make an initial emissions test. Passed
with no modifications. I got the car in August 04 and it didn't have 7700km on it anymore but now had 4800 miles.
Now its August 08, just turned 100K. The cars been everywhere...DC, BC, Seattle for the 04 SOC, CA, NO, FL for the biodiesel
expos, Stratton for the 05 SOC, Lake George 06 SOC, TroyMI for 07 SOC....and it's been 99% flawless. The only thing to blow-up
so far has been the amp for the front speakers. Funny story....flying west along I-76, NE CO, tunes full-blast (150 watts at speed
not enough) all of the sudden-something is burning, somebodies brakes?...Poof! a match worth of smoke rises above my knee
from under the seat....I freak thinking wiring meltdown, pull over, ready to disconnect battery, but didn't cuz everything seemed
perfectly normal. I move on, two hours 'til civilization. Back on cruz, the usual ~90....everyone's do'in it. But that was a CO
trooper and he wants to chat. 86 wasn't ticket time, so I thanked him for the warning and after checking the car out, when he
heard 40mpg-sign him up! Note to GM...most every CO copper used to have a soft spot for Saab. These engines would excel in
police and taxi/livery, sales, delivery duty.
Is it my imagination...no. I get back from FLFL where I saw more Bentleys than Saabs...because there's no fingdealer! Im really
bummed with the Caddy/Saab dealers, esp in the south. Has anyone seen one that gives a shat about Saab? Whats worse is
crap like Caddy/Volvo dealers or the occasional GM/Toyota? This has got to stop. Dealer development and retention will continue
to suck until Saab gets this product and hybrid rear-drive.
So the question remains.....donde esta los dzl sabe Saab Diesel??? See the difference in the cars in the picture?? The one on the
left has a license plate and if the others had a 35-44mpg motor, theyd fly off the lot too. Ever heard of a "halo" vehicle? An
example is the not spectacular Chevy SSR pickup. While they sold nearly 10K of those in 2003, Chevy attributes an additional
20K in sales of other vehicles because of them. Judging from the continually rough US and Canadian Saab numbers, it sure looks
like Saab, the perennial red-headed stepchild in the GM "family" sure could use a halo....or something. Wheres Mr Goodwrench?
Are Saab-only dealers not worthy?
The handmedown Saburu 92 was a debacle, even after its massive ad campaign to the detriment of the then one-year-old
93...GMDetroit didnt even bother to "GMize" it so consequently the dealers had to buy a bunch of Subaru tools and diagnostics for
cars most only sold/gave away a handfull of. And how many incarnations (now five?) of the Trailblazer/Ascender? are needed?
The 97 needs to be replaced with a Saabized Acadia. GMC and Chevrolet trucks have good sales results and you would have to
believe the diesel (with a 6.6? the only US Dmotor at present....read a 4.5L available in 09, thats a double 2.2) trucks they sold
played a big part. Read Cadillac will start making a model for Europe in Trollhattan and guess what one of the engine options will
be? 19L TiD. What???? And yet another V6. Maybe for the 95 or 97, but the 93 sure dosen't beg for it. At least this one has a
timing chain. In my experience a Saab V6 purchase is usually the last. Compare engine specs(below) on a 95 23T Aero and the
new 93 28T Aero. What was the point? Now with fuel prices ever higher, NA auto industry "deathwatch" and chapter 11 unfolding
before our eyes, a Saab diesel and/or hybrid looks like the only thing worth buying in GMs lineup.
What goes on in the not-so-aptly named "Renaissance"Center? Tough question. No dzl sabe for sure...the view of the blight that
is Detroit surely can't be condusive to inspiration. Bling? 24s? Spinner rims?...Onstar? What a waste. Thats where US autotech is?
Rarely see ads for SAAB CARS. Wheres the goodole employee discount? For everyone? Making a dime while losing billions?
Brilliant! The view from the crow's nest of the Titanic is lovely this time of decade. Speaking of Cadillac, Hummer...must question
the wisdom of combining these two conspicuous consumption brands with the more "green" direction Saab used to espouse. Oh
wait, I forgot about the endless E85 campaign. I smell a hoax.
Is it true that Trollhattan is at 60% because they can't get enough diesel motors from Kaiserslautern and UK is selling more SAAB
cars (without the benefit of 92s or 7s or "employee discounts") than US? Where is Tonawanda?(wikipedia) The wrong answer is
New York. Is it possible they might be able to supply additional motors? Rick..Bob. After all, the new V6 is cast in Mexico,
dieseled 8K to and built in Oztralia, then dieseled some 17K+ to Goteborg, mated, then shipped back to mostly NA? Thats 30K
miles before it spins a profit? While Buffalo is 5K? Do ya have a suggestion box?
Realize diesels aren't for everyone....but if your puttin 50+ miles on everyday and looking for solid fuel savings and great
performance....then this product (engine) can't be denied, especially when you hear that VW and MB diesel owners would love
another option.
Go to GM's site (news) and all Lutz blubbers about is global this, global that. Yet their one truly global name (Saab) seems
headed for the breakers...to be replaced by Cadillac?, which only sells ~2K of their FUmobiles worldwide? Can't believe KLutz is
going to let'em go down without a fight. Is he still pissed that the 93 turned out better than he wanted it to be? If I were Carl or
Jan-Ake or Steve, one snap of the fingers....Let Saab be Saab...worldwide! Dont believe this crap that diesels wont pass NOx
emissions...MB is doing it with 6 cylinders.
Picked up a fire-chief red gas 93, 5spd to see how the other 99.9% over here lives....Not bad...has 97K, still pretty tight, gets
~24-34. But its hard to believe the difference the motors make.
Hooked up the rentar fuel catalyst....cut the NOx emissions almost 20% and I'm getting 100 miles more on a tank, maybe 130 if
I could just keep it at 70 mph. (Thats 630 on 13.5g) Testing of this magical device on the road is a challenge, because of
inconsistent diesel fuel quality (cetane) but could make greendieseltechnology meeting CARB and T2B5 specs easier. We'll see.
BP oil! and other big oil...Good to see ULSD finally show up at the pump! Better twelve years late than never. Oh, but
wait...wheres those cetane stickers?! Usually MIA...does that mean roll the dice?, could it be the dreaded less than 40 CETANE?
Mixed with 11% BioD??? Thanx fur nuttin. No wonder we dont have diesel cars here. With miserable 40C still around, good luck
passing strict emissions. WTF is so hard about getting it to minimum 45 cetane??? That would be "a start".
More....later. In the meantime, see the articles page and check these other websites!!!!!
biodiesel.org biodieselnow.com US Diesels? saabnet Google: ulsd diesel kyoto US mayors scrt diesel go metric
Bosch USA TDIclub trollhattansaab.net gmfastlane saabcentral Ebay the oil drum dieselnet
saab.com gminsidenews seekingalpha saabhistory admworld thetruthaboutcars journeytoforever jibjab
gmeurope.com unh.edu epa.gov/otaq/ abbottracing greencarcongress genuinesaab TRANSLATOR
ENGINE SPEC COMPARISON FROM SAAB.com Aero wagon vs. combi APROX FUEL CONVERSION
__________________________________________________________________________ l/100km mpg
93 28V6T 95 23T 93 19TiD 95 30V6TiD 5 47
Horsepower/rpm 250@5.5K 260@5.3K 150@4k 176@4K 6 39.2
Torque/Nm 350@2.1K 350@1.9K 310@1.7K 350@1.8K 7 33.6
0-62mph(100kph) 6.9s 7.3s 10.2s 9.9s 10 23.5
60-100kph in 4th * 6.9s * * GO METRIC NOW!!
80-120kph in 5th * 9.8s * *
Fuel Swill l/100km 7.4-15.5 6.7-12.9 4.8-7.8 6-10.3
mpg 17-28? 21-42? 36-59 *
*these numbers soon (uh-oh, no (in no way am I advocating the diesel V6
chain) until it has a timing chain...these engines have
a miserable reliability record... they have
been yanked for 06)
Go Metric!! Want more scientists and engineers???? GO METRIC ASAP Want smarter kids??? Go Metric!!
dzl sabe Saab Diesel dzl US first SAAB US diesel dzl Saab sabe US first SAAB sabe GM diesel dzl Saab DIESEL US SAAB first dzl
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