Twist to an otherwise Saab Story

First gen-Saab 9-7x in front of operating Saab dealer in the Chicago suburb of Lansing, IL.

Lets start this post off with a brief History of General Motors relation to Saab and why this dealer, Like very few others across the country is an important automobile landmark.

As it was announced in December 2009, A middle seas automaker announced it would acquire the property rights and production equipment for the previous generation Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5 in a deal for the company to run production for three months.

The buyers intention was to create a new brand around the purchased technology and admitted to the purchase of three overall vehicle platforms, two engine technologies and two transmission systems.

The sale fell through.

Brings Saab lovers back to a better time in the auto industry.

General Motors announced the brand would be eliminated in 2010 if it failed to secure a buyer before the close of 2009.

As talks with several firms failed, including the Netherlands-based boutique supercar maker Spyker, GM formally announced its intention to wind down the Saab brand by 2011 in North American sales.

Favorite model in the group.

Earlier bidders Spyker and Merbanco revised their offers and were joined by a submission from Luxembourg-based Genii Capital, which boasted the support of F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone.

GM continued accepting bids until a self-imposed deadline of January 7, 2010.

Acknowledging that the chances for reaching a deal with any party were very slim, they pledged to evaluate each offer with due diligence.

2003 Saab convertible and 2005 Saab sedan

On January 26, 2010, General Motors confirmed that Spyker and GM had come to an agreement allowing Spyker to purchase Saab, subject to regulatory and government approval.

The sale was completed on February 23, 2010.

General Motors would continue to supply Saab with engines and transmissions, and also completed vehicles in the shape of the new Saab 9-4x from GM's Mexican factory.

The deal included a loan from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government.

It comprised US$74m in cash up front, payable to GM by July 2010, and shares in Spyker to the tune of US$320m.

As Saab is reportedly began production again in 2014, there might be a chance that they will return to America, as Alfa Romeo and possibly MG are doing sometime this year.

Its good to see a functioning Saab dealer as their hasn't been a new Saab sold in this country for over two years, which isn't that long ago, wait 10 years, they try a hunt down a Saab.

This is more of a Saab repair shop and Museum, than a dealer, but great to see on a fine summer evening.

>some shots of the dealer and cars seen:

Marker sign and modern classic Saab modeled in the distance.

Dealer viewed from the highway.

Top it all off with a Swedish flag.

Saab sign and logo painted on building.

Location of dealer:

Flikkema Saab- 2424 East 176th Street, Lansing, IL.

Spotted a UAZ-469 in Palatine, IL.

The UAZ-469 is an off-road vehicle manufactured by UAZ [( Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod)-which translates to "Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant")].

It was used by Soviet and other Warsaw Pact forces, as well as paramilitary units in Eastern Bloc countries. 

In the Soviet Union, it also saw widespread service in all state organizations that needed a robust off-road vehicle; standard military versions include seating for seven personnel.

The UAZ-469 was introduced in 1971, replacing the earlier GAZ-69. The UAZ-469 presented two great advantages: 

It was able to drive in virtually any terrain and it was very easy to fix. 

The UAZ-469 reached legendary status for its reliability and off-road ability. 

The vehicle was not available for purchase by the public, but many were sold as surplus to private owners.

Holden GTO Or a Pontiac Monaro?

As a usual Saturday goes, if i'm not going to work, I involuntary make my rounds through some of Naperville's best car dealerships, more commonly known as dealerships... there will be more humor than just that coming up shortly. I am usually hunting out the latest model to review, possibly test drive something, or find something that I never expected to see and oodle over it all day.

A future classic muscle from down under is the Holden Monaro, Australia's version of of our short lived 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO.

2004-2006 Pontiac GTO

2006 Holden Monaro

At Naperville Auto & Cycle Sales, I spotted this GTO with the Holden badge on the back, but not the front, which was clearly the Pontiac...

The GTO in question

A Holden badge that can easily be bought through eBay

This was a change of pace, exciting to see a Holden badge in America, I have loved Holden since 2008, and 2010 when I went to New South Wales Australia.

Its been a very popular trend to buy cars and switch the badgeing and passing it off as something not available in America.

There is a facility in Denver,CO, called Left Hand Utes where they legally buy the parts for Holden Commodores and Utes and swap the parts of Pontiac GTO's and G8's to make US registered Australian master pieces.

Some shots of the back of the properly badged models for reference:

Pontiac GTO

Holden Monaro

Longer and Brighter is Better:Part II

A day later, and more casual driving got me thinking of more cars that fit in with the redder crowd of four wheelers.

Lets just jump right in... we know what we're talking about.

As the current Dodge line-up, when Swedish maker Saab was one its last leg with U.S. sales, the final production models had to be the most futuristic Saab any car enthusiast has ever seen.

The bar was thin, grey/clear plastic, and red LED tubes on both sides of the car.

2010-(us)2012 Saab 9-5

(US)2012 Saab 9-5 Sport Combi

(us)2011-2012 Saab 9-7X

A more personal favorite of mine in this case, are the Oldsmobile Aurora and Lincoln Mark 8.

1995-1999 Oldsmobile Aurora

1992-1998 Lincoln Mark 8

To carry on Lincolns award winning design of cars, back then and now, most of these models hold the characteristic of a red stripe on the back of the car.

2009-... Lincoln MKT

2015 Lincoln MKC

2015 Lincoln Navigator

2007-2010 Lincoln MKX

2013-... Lincoln MKZ

As the new Lincoln MKC arrives this summer, parent Ford's Edge concept will come to market to match the design as in 2007 with then launched Edge/MKX SUV's.

2015 Ford Edge concept

The Honda Odyssey minor tweaks for 2014 come with the advantage of making this post... guess why? 

2014 Honda Odyssey 

More, as I can imagine, is still to come in part III.

Seeing Double

I was browsing through Google searches of Saturn cars and thinking in 5 more years, no one will know the name Saturn, what it is or what the yell is the logo supposed to be... I clearly see its the planet Saturn's rings, but it remains controversial if that's really it.

Point is, I passed over a picture of a 2006 Saturn Vue Red Line, and first thing that came to mind was... it looks like a Porsche.

How can a Saturn look like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, yet the front end shares shares striking similarities on ventilation:

Although the front look the same, the rears, as many SUV's are just plain with the name and license plate indentation .

Longer and Brighter the Better.

Over the last 30 years, right around the start of 1970, the rear end of the car was and still is considered a very important part of the vehicle, you can sit on the truck, put stuff in the truck, advertise beliefs and jokes through the use of bumper stickers and show other drivers who you are.

 The taillights of are crucial in both the design of the car and the laws that go with what is acceptable and against the law in the driving world, at least in North America.

Popular car-enthusiast site Jalopniks editors have discussed the variations of taillights, who does it better and what designs work vs. old or now unconventional ways to show drivers behind you your stopping.

Anyways, in the more recent models, car manufacturers have been utilizing the wasted space in the rear, and are putting what I call " bar tail lights" in place of little "stud " lights.

Perfect example of "stud" brake lights, nothing against the Lotus Elise, just the tiny size of the lights.

As cars are becoming more advanced to benefit humans need to pass a task off the something that can do it for them, cars, like people, are imitating the better one the be like that one.

I really like the "bar tail lights", from the middle 80's to 2015 concepts, the car looks more complete, and overall better with a stream of red LED tapered around the rear apposed to two segregated orange and red  boxes on opposite sides of the truck lock.

Here is the un-complete list of cars that fit my interest in long, LED, sexy, futuristic break lights.

(Again, the years of these cars range from the 70's to concept cars of tomorrow.)

Over that last few years or so, Chrysler Group has made dodge a sleek, exciting brand for all consumers, and a unified brand indeed, each vehicle rear is designed to look the same, which in this case is a great thing, and inspired me to write this article.

Here are the dodge vehicles that sport the nature of this article:

2010-14 Dodge Charger

2013-... Dodge Durango

2010-14 Dodge Challenger

2013-... Dodge Dart

Then there are more luxurious, prestigious cars that fit the category of uniform tail lights:

2015 Acura NSX

2014 Mercedes-Benz Coupe SUV concept

2015 Porsche 911 (Targa)

2016 Porsche Panamera GTS

The new 2015 Audi A3 Quattro has that neatest advancement to Porsche designed rear spoiler that automatically lifts at a certain speed, now many manufacturers are using the technology, yet Audi has automatic flashing censer lights when braking at high speeds.

Article from Jalopnik:
http://jalopnik.com/the-audi-a3-clubsport-quattro-has-this-ginormous-air-br-1583209945

When I claimed some cars from the 70s and 80s also have these kind of lights I so desperately love, its is also the Uncompleted list, and I have been writing this on and off for over and hour, so what else I come across will be covered in part 2.

Older models include:

1993-(05) Alfa Romeo GTV/Spider

Rear of  1990 Buick Skylark

1986-91 Buick Skylark

Ford Recalls Over 1.3 Million cars.

Ford announced today that it is recalling over 1.3 million SUV's and cars in North America to fix power steering, rusting floor panels and floor mat problems.

The recalls come as only as a precaution as automobile safety is being watched closely by Congress.

The Justice Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating General Motors delayed recall of small cars for ignition switch problems.

Also, Justice recently made Toyota pay a 1.2 million penalty for hiding information from government safety regulators.

In the largest of the Ford recalls, the company also is calling 915,000 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariners to fix a problem with a torque sensor within the steering column. 

The problem could cause loss of power-assisted steering, making the SUV's more difficult to control and increasing the risk of a crash.

The company recommends one of three fixes: 

replacing the sensor, updating software or replacing the steering column.

 The recall affects model year 2008 through 2011 vehicles built between Aug. 18, 2006 and Sept. 11, 2010.

Another recall covers 196,000 Ford Explorer SUV's from the 2011 through 2013 model years. An electrical problem in a steering gear can knock out power steering. Dealers will either update software or replace the steering gear.

Ford also issued two additional recalls Thursday:

Over 196,600 Taurus sedans from the 2010 through 2014 model years. They can rust around the license plate light, which can cause a short circuit and fire. The cars were sold in 20 states and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads of snow and ice.

82,500 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ cars from the 2006 through 2011 model years. Floor mats in some cars could come in contact with the gas pedal if improperly installed. Dealers will replace the mats.

This is all lead on because of GM's neglect in answering to their own problems sooner, now the government is practically issuing all automotive manufacturers to send cars back and retest their ability to keep customers safe and continue to buy.

Manufacturers are more willing to issue a recall at this point because their sheer number in recent months has become a sort of background white noise for consumers.

General Motors Recalls 2014-15 Trucks & SUV's.

General Motors announced on Friday that it is recalling about Five-hundred pickup trucks and SUV's are being recalled to fix a potential problem with an airbag sensor.

The 2014 and 2015 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL models may have a potentially faulty supplier part in the sensing and diagnostic module, which controls the vehicle air bags.

A total of 500 vehicles, but it is not known how many vehicles are in customers’ hands or dealers’ lots so far.

 Already General Motors has halted the shipment of 3,500 vehicles to dealers while it investigates.

General Motors is not sure when the problem will be resolved, but vehicles in dealer inventory will be repaired before they are delivered to customers.

General Motors sent a bulletin to Cadillac dealers yesterday indicating that parts recently sent to fix an airbag defect for 2015 Escalades may have been defective themselves.

The improper fix was the result of last week’s recall of 1,402 Escalades due to a problem where the passenger airbag may not deploy completely in an accident. 

GM also has warned customers to not let anyone ride in the passenger seat before the vehicle has been serviced.

General Motors has instructed dealers to cross-check serial numbers on parts they have already received against a list of “suspect” numbers.
Part of the instrument panel must be removed to check the part’s serial number to determine if it is the suspect item.

If you are keeping score, this is GM's 7th recall this week and 30th since Jan. 1.

The 2014 recalls so far cover about 13.79 million vehicles in the U.S.

The company said that the 500 trucks, which it has determined have not yet been shipped from their plants or are still on dealer lots, cannot be sold until the repairs are made.

GM's issued so-called "stop-sale" order applies only to this specific group of vehicles and that no other similar vehicles are affected.