Before touring the factory today, I had to find it. Just finding Saab itself was a challenge for a guy with a substandard map in a LHD car (I drive RHD) on the wrong side of the road. I thought I was lost at one stage and turned around, but some directions from a gracious local told me I was on the right track and just didn't go far enough.
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Getting to factory facility was one thing. Finding the right place to report in was another. I pulled in at the first carpark I came across, which just happened to be outside the technical division. Model 408 (the internal name for the MY08 9-3) is quite out in the open here, and sure enough I happened to pull up next to a Pepper Green Metallic MY08 9-3 Aero Sports Sedan in the carpark. There was a red MY08 Convertible driving along the road outside the factory and once I found my way to the reception area, there was a black MY08 Convertible parked outside. 5 minutes after meeting Christer at reception, we were walking back to his office and were passed by a Saffron Yellow MY08 Convertible, which also looked quite striking in person.
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Out of respect for my hosts, I didn't take pictures of these, but I can tell you that Pepper Green looks great, and the black convertible was stunning. The rear lights on the Pepper Green sedan looked much better in person, though I still worry a little about how they'll look on lighter cars. They're certainly a bold design move, which I gathered was the intention as I spoke with Christer through the day.
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Inside the factory, I also saw a new 9-3 with the front lamps illuminated. Again, no pictures (not allowed, but I wouldn't have anyway) but it's only a few days until you see them for yourselves.
They look fantastic.
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One thing that Christer was quite frank about was that the Trollhattan plant is a GM production resource. Like many of you, I tend to feel quite sentimental about this iconic piece of Saab history, but reality has hit home here with a thud.
The plant will be used for production of other cars in years to come, but Christer also seemed quite optomistic that there will always be some Saab production here too.
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Over lunch, we also spoke about the publication of various spy shots of the new 9-3. Saab accept the fact that in a modern age with swift electronic capturing and movement of images and information, there's a high likelihood that things thay'd prefer to have kept quiet will be recorded and shown.
There's a limit to this however, and some images have been provided by people that may be at risk of some legal action. The images that seemed to bother Saab the most were the complete Convertible images in Auto Motor and Sport magazine.
I mentioned, and Christer agreed, that I always have to keep sources protected and anonymous, but anyone passing on information should realise that it can, in some instances, be harmful to the company and risky for the person passing on the information.
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Over all, Saab seem to be quite pleased to have the blog around. This was a huge relief for me as I know there's plenty of potential for me to cause them some headaches sometimes.
They've been a little surprised and quite appreciative for the passion there is evident in the various sites and forums out there, something they acknowledge is a bonus for them compared to many other brands (esp the other Swedish brand)
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This evening I took a tour around Trollhattan with Mats, one of the regular visitors to the site. It was great to get out and see some of the broader surroundings of the city - places I'll get to again in the next few days so I can photograph them, film them and post them on site.
Mats also took me around to show me where all the other Saab facilities are around the town. It's not all just in the central factory area. I'll get these as well so you've got a fuller understanding of Saab's presence here.
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One amusing thing that Mats pointed out was that Trollhattan is the location of Volvo's smallest dealership, which I think is quite appropriate.
-----
Getting to factory facility was one thing. Finding the right place to report in was another. I pulled in at the first carpark I came across, which just happened to be outside the technical division. Model 408 (the internal name for the MY08 9-3) is quite out in the open here, and sure enough I happened to pull up next to a Pepper Green Metallic MY08 9-3 Aero Sports Sedan in the carpark. There was a red MY08 Convertible driving along the road outside the factory and once I found my way to the reception area, there was a black MY08 Convertible parked outside. 5 minutes after meeting Christer at reception, we were walking back to his office and were passed by a Saffron Yellow MY08 Convertible, which also looked quite striking in person.
-----
Out of respect for my hosts, I didn't take pictures of these, but I can tell you that Pepper Green looks great, and the black convertible was stunning. The rear lights on the Pepper Green sedan looked much better in person, though I still worry a little about how they'll look on lighter cars. They're certainly a bold design move, which I gathered was the intention as I spoke with Christer through the day.
-----
Inside the factory, I also saw a new 9-3 with the front lamps illuminated. Again, no pictures (not allowed, but I wouldn't have anyway) but it's only a few days until you see them for yourselves.
They look fantastic.
-----
One thing that Christer was quite frank about was that the Trollhattan plant is a GM production resource. Like many of you, I tend to feel quite sentimental about this iconic piece of Saab history, but reality has hit home here with a thud.
The plant will be used for production of other cars in years to come, but Christer also seemed quite optomistic that there will always be some Saab production here too.
-----
Over lunch, we also spoke about the publication of various spy shots of the new 9-3. Saab accept the fact that in a modern age with swift electronic capturing and movement of images and information, there's a high likelihood that things thay'd prefer to have kept quiet will be recorded and shown.
There's a limit to this however, and some images have been provided by people that may be at risk of some legal action. The images that seemed to bother Saab the most were the complete Convertible images in Auto Motor and Sport magazine.
I mentioned, and Christer agreed, that I always have to keep sources protected and anonymous, but anyone passing on information should realise that it can, in some instances, be harmful to the company and risky for the person passing on the information.
-----
Over all, Saab seem to be quite pleased to have the blog around. This was a huge relief for me as I know there's plenty of potential for me to cause them some headaches sometimes.
They've been a little surprised and quite appreciative for the passion there is evident in the various sites and forums out there, something they acknowledge is a bonus for them compared to many other brands (esp the other Swedish brand)
-----
This evening I took a tour around Trollhattan with Mats, one of the regular visitors to the site. It was great to get out and see some of the broader surroundings of the city - places I'll get to again in the next few days so I can photograph them, film them and post them on site.
Mats also took me around to show me where all the other Saab facilities are around the town. It's not all just in the central factory area. I'll get these as well so you've got a fuller understanding of Saab's presence here.
-----
One amusing thing that Mats pointed out was that Trollhattan is the location of Volvo's smallest dealership, which I think is quite appropriate.
