Saab – Car of the Day

More Tales From the Strip

garythepowers — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:00:12 +0000

By John Allen – Denton, Texas 9/24/2008

What follows is a detailed acount of a 2004 Saab 9-3 Linear versus a 2004.5 VW GLI. The Saab is driven by John, the VW by Simon. The following account is accurate and was written by John.

This is the story of a grudge race that happened this Wednesday evening at the 1/8^th mile track in Denton. These cars have raced a couple times, and although the GLI has the Saab on HP and Torque the 9-3 has managed to win. This is the story of their latest rematch.

It was a cool night. The sour smell of burning clutches hung in the air. The mood was charged with excitement for Simon was getting his rematch. John and Simon raced a couple preliminary heats to get the adrenaline pumping and to shake the jitters out of their bodies. Simon with great exuberance, John however knew it wasn’t the main event and worked on technique.

At 9:45 both men knew it was time. The tension filled the air. The crowd was hungry with anticipation. It was the main event. The final race for the T-Shirt. No quarter asked, and none given.

As the drivers pulled up to the staging area, John felt a calm wash over him. He knew if he could win the start it was over and he was full of confidence. With good reason, he had on his lucky racing shirt and had proved his mettle in the past.

The lights came on and the racers were off in a flash of light and brilliance. (Sort of) John’s cat like reflexes gave him a reaction time of 0.0277, less than three 100ths of a second. The pressure got to poor Simon. His car did not move for 0.2264 seconds, giving the Bronze Saab a 2 tenths of a second head start. But, would it be enough?

At 60 feet John held a strong lead of .2 seconds and felt comfortable in the drivers seat. His tires were sticky on the pavement with no slippage or hopping. The race started to change at 330 feet. Simon was slowly climbing back into it. Even though he had almost no chance he would not give up. He was only 0.0293 seconds behind, and closing.

It was too little to late for Simon. John was the winner by a margin of .0692 seconds. John drove back to the pits and was greeted by his fans with cheers and admiration. His sweetheart was waiting with open arms and a kiss.

The night was John’s, and Simon had to drive home alone, thinking about the next time. (again)

John Allen is a guest writer for “Car of the Day” and is a regular drag racer and Saab enthusiast.

The LS2 is Where?

garythepowers — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:20:22 +0000

The ubiquitous GM LS2 V8 is one of the great engines for sale right now. It evolved from the infamous LS1 engine and turned into the 6.0 liter 400hp heart of the 2005 Corvette. The LS2 has also served time in the Pontiac GTO, Chevy Trailblazer SS, Chevy SSR and the Cadillac CTS-V. The LS2 is also serving in GM’s European and Australian cars in the Vauxhall Monaro VXR and the Holden Special Vehicles.

There is one more place that LS2 is put into duty by Saab in their SUV. The Saab 9-7 Aero is an AWD SUV with 400lb-ft of torque and 390hp.

This Saab SUV firmly places the ”Sport” in SUV. It also has a great does of style and luxury. Saab is proud of this vehicle. The MSRP is $47,000. However, right now, GM has its employee pricing, and there a ton of incentives on this gas eating 364cid V8. People aren’t interesting burning that much gas for a go fast SUV. However, if you are looking for a high speed, luxury, stealthy SUV then you can get a great deal on the 9-7 Aero.

The current incentives put this $47,275 SUV at $34,788. That is over $12,000 off! That’s a heck of deal if you can afford the gas.

The Saabaru

garythepowers — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:23:48 +0000

Today I was asked to find a fun car with the following parameters. More space than a Carolla, less than $15k and fewer than 15,000 miles, fun to drive and something that can be driven 100-300 miles a day.

Once again I find myself recommending a Saab to fit the bill. Saab has benefited from its strategic partnering with GM and Subaru. The COTD is the Saab 9-2x or the Saabaru.

The 9-2X Aero is a basically a Subaru Impreza WRX wagon given the Saab refinement. I’ve been a big fan of the WRX since it first came out. It is a value and performance leader. You get 227 turbo-charged horses with AWD. The nice thing about the Saab version of the WRX is a smoother ride and a much nicer interior treatment.

If $4 gas is making you put a car’s MPG rating on top of the performance list there was even a non-turbocharged 9-2x Linear. It has a 2.5 liter boxer 4 cylinder engine that produces a respectable 165hp and gets 20/27mpg on regular pump gas while still retaining the fun to drive aspect of the car.

If you’re looking for a car with a bit more storage than your average economy car, way more luxury and sport than any economy car, while still getting economy car MPG performance the Saab 9-2x Linear is the car for you. If you want a bit more power look at the 9-2x Aero.

The 2004 Saab 9-3

garythepowers — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:21:43 +0000

I loved the used car market, there are all kinds of interesting finds out there in the used market if you hunt for them. In the used car market there are interesting comparisons because cars depreciate at different rates. Today I had to good fortune to be part of a test drive with a 2004 9-3 with the manual transmission.

The 9-3 is an amazing deal in the used car market. They can be bought in the $11k – $15k range depending on the exact version of the car and mileage. This Saab 9-3 wasn’t the best received car when it was introduced because Saab positions the car to compete with the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4s and the Infiniti G35s of the world. The Saab is a great car but always seemed to finish near the bottom of the European sedan roundups that would occur in the automobile magazines.

Well after 4 years the Saab has something that makes is very competitive with the other European options, massive depreciation. Depreciation isn’t always a bad thing, in fact, if you are buying a used car, you want that depreciation. The Saab 9-3 has lost of 65% of its original price and that means people looking for used car are in for a real deal.

The 9-3 is a blast to drive with the manual transmission. It has a euro-style sport-tuned suspension that can really hold a curve. The engine is a 2.0 liter turbo-charged 4-banger pumping out 175hp to 210hp depending on the model. There is actually a decent aftermarket for this little turbo motor with a pretty easy upgrade path to increase the output of the engine.

Now before you turn your nose up at the Swedish GM car, consider what it is competing against in the used car market. Cars in this price range are the Corollas, Civics and Altimas of the world. They are fine cars, but they miss the style, luxury and sport that the Saab has to offer. And the Saab is rated for 23/34 mpg!

For the car buyer willing to hunt a little, there is probably a gently used Saab nearby that they could pick up for a song. Style, sport, luxury, economical and a great price, before you just buy that plain Corolla check out the Saab 9-3.

The Refined Rally Car Option

garythepowers — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:23:26 +0000

What happens when you’re interested in a Subaru STI or a Mitsubishi Evolution but you want a little more than just a hot-rodded up econobox? There are few options a person could track down; a Volvo S60R or a BMW 335xi or even the 2007 STI Limited. Each of those cars gives you a 300hp turbo-charged engine with AWD.

I find myself drawn to limited edition turbo-charged sedans with AWD. They are the modern sleeper cars. Unique, powerful, classy, luxurious and rare all describe today’s COTD.

The Saab Turbo X is limited to just 2000 cars for the entire globe. I’m so very interested in the rare performance sedan and with only 600 of these making it the United States it is guaranteed to be rare.

One of the problems with an ultra-rare care is that they are hard to get and there aren’t any deals to be found on them. The $42k sticker price is what you pay. And with a car this rare you can’t rely on the used car market.

If I was to buy a car today. The Turbo X would be on the top of my list. Are there faster cars? Sure. Are there cars that are a better mix of performance, luxury, price, style and exclusivity? Not that I can think of.

I need a Turbo X!

Saab Turbo X — 1 of 600

garythepowers — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:24:08 +0000

The Car of the Day today is a Saab. A very special Saab. The Saab Turbo X is a rare car. Saab will build 2000 of the Turbo X’s and only 600 of those will make it to the US. The Turbo X only comes in black and is a 280hp AWD sports sedan.

I enjoy reading auto reviews and there are several professional write ups on the Saab Turbo X. The only thing better than a good professional write-up on a car is a well written write-up by a passionate owner. And I’ve found such a review for the Saab Turbo X. If you want to learn more about the Saab Turbo X ask Google or you can read the Driving the Saab Turbo X blog.

This car doesn’t have quite the performance of the Evo, but is a fun, sport, rare, and classy option.

The Car Hunt

garythepowers — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:09:20 +0000

I’m currently assisting a COTD reader identify the best car for his current situation.

A car is a major purchase and I appreciate when people take their time to research what is the best car for them and their current situation.

Here are his parameters:

“I want to buy a 4-door sedan. I don’t want to spend more than 40K, although I would spend 45K if I really like the car. My top three priorities are:

Safety

Fun to drive (handling and power)

Gadgets (Nav etc. – I like nice toys).

I also want a car that has a sense of style. I don’t want to drive around in a refrigerator.”

So I responded with these thoughts:

“Now realize any of my suggestions will almost always come with a performance bias.

The best option from Japan is the a gently used 2007 Infiniti M45. The M45 has all the technology Infiniti can muster, including one of my favorite options – air cooled seats. It has all of the request features that make that gadget guys happy. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/infiniti-m45/

From Japan I would also give an honorable mention to the Lexus G430 if the Infiniti is a little too on the sporty side of the scale for you.

A high powered option from America is a new or extremely low mileage (less than 5k) Chrysler 300 SRT-8. The SRT-8 is powered by a 425hp 6.1 liter hemi. It is a brute. There are several other SRT-8 siblings including the Dodge Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee all with the same 6.1 liter hemi and SRT treatments. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/chrysler-300c-srt-8/

An American honorable mention goes to the brand new Pontiac G8. If you don’t know about the G8 check it out. It would be a relative deal for you budget, but it is a very impressive offering from GM. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=124876

From the UK I would look at Jaguar’s supercharged V8 powered S-type R that is good for 400hp. http://www.forbesautos.com/reviews/2006/jaguar/s_type/r/test-drive.html

The only problem with the S-type is that is being replace in 2009 with the already released XF. The XF is an attractive car already getting good press. However, the S-type R is truly a special car and should be timeless choice.

There are the great cars from Germany the AMG E-Class, the Audi S6 and the BMW M5, but we would need to go further back in time to hit our price point. “

The rising price of gas and the desire for a slightly smaller car is causing our reader to think more along the lines of the BMW 3 Series, which is never a bad choice.

A creative option the 3 Series is the ultra-exclusive Saab Turbo X of which only 600 will see American shores.

I will keep you updated as to the Car Hunt Progress.