The Swedish government has long been on my $h1tlist when it comes to Saab dealings. They like to position themselves as friends of the Swedish automotive industry with measures such as the automotive aid they offered back around 2008/9, which no-one took up because the repayment requirements were absolutely ridiculous. The truth, however, when it comes to Saab, is that […]
I haven’t seen my old boss – Saab’s former Chairman and CEO, Victor Muller – since around October 2011. We’ve shared a few quick emails and phone calls since then, but that’s about all. Prompted by a phone call with another former Saab colleague earlier this week, I decided to give Victor a call and see what’s going on. In
When I worked for Saab, I made a number of videos that were posted to a special Inside Saab channel as part of Saab’s official Youtube channel. NEVS will most likely remove those videos in due course so I’m posting copies to my own channel as well (where I’ve got the original on my hard drive, at least). I filmed
Just a quick note to let any interested parties know that I’m selling a few Saab 99 bits on Ebay. I’ve got three items up there right now, with a few more to be listed over the coming weeks. On sale right now: Saab 99 Turbo Inca wheels – set of 4 Saab 99 Turbo Steering wheel with center pad
Football season is over, which means it’s movie season. Mrs Swade and I will be seating ourselves in the cozy confines of the State Theatre from time to time, chewing on some chocolate swirls and enjoying a beverage or two (Hartz cola for me, a glass of merlot for she) whilst taking in some of the latest action on the
Is it a ‘bond’ of Astons? Maybe a ‘kill’ of Astons, with owners having a licence to kill? Whatever it is, the Aston Owners Club of Victoria assembled in the northern Victorian border town of Mildura last weekend and a friend of ours, Ian B, was able to snap some photos of this multi-million dollar collection. What I really enjoyed
What’s the collective noun for a group of Aston Martins? Read Post »
I’ve written a bit about my fears for Holden’s future given the small role the company plays in General Motors’ global portfolio. I’ll risk sounding like an old country and western song and show you why I fear for them – the old they don’t make them like they used to thing. I took some of these photos a few
CAR Magazine is 50 years old and they’ve just done a special photo shoot featuring their best 50 cars of the last 50 years – including the Saab 99 Turbo. My guess is that they’ve used Chris’ 99T for this photo shoot, the same black 99 Turbo that Jeremy Clarkson and James May fell in love with on Top Gear.
CAR Magazine 50 best from 50 years includes Saab 99 Turbo Read Post »
The Red Bull Stratos jump happened while Australia was asleep, so if you’re an Aussie and missed it, here’s the jump itself from start to finish. The video goes for 14 minutes. If you were lucky enough to see it live, you might want to watch it again. I’ve never skydived. I can’t even imagine the fear or exhilaration Felix
Red Bull Stratos – Felix Baumgartner’s space jump from 128,000 feet. Read Post »
Some very sad Saab community news from Colorado today. Whilst I’ve heard of the place, I can’t say I know the people at Saab indy repair shop, East of Sweden. I’m still feeling terrible for them today, however. It seems a 62 year old man (a Saab 9000 owner) went there with an explosive device in his car and a
Some news articles caught my eye in the wake of my opinion on Holden from a few days ago. In that article, I suggested that Holden might end up being too small for GM to keep what is basically a one-country brand. First, from this week’s autoextremist op-ed: Let’s face it, GM has Cadillac and Chevrolet. Yes, Buick has its
