How Good is a Tuned Saab? - /TUNED
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Matt Farah revisits cars from his youth to see if they're as good as he and the Internet think.
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I don't think that Saab were trying to be different to be different.
I they they were different because they were trying to do something better; they just never had enough cash. Given enough cash, I have no doubt they would have given BMW, Merc, and Audi a good run for their money on performance, and Volvo a kicking in performance.
Saab were far better than the Germans back in 1983. But we now live in 2000 and ...
Much as I blame GM for Saab's demise, I also blame Saab for a lack of innovation. The central starter can only be and attraction for so long!!!
But the German are far better at marketing their unreliable rubbish. I've never seen or experienced such poor and costly reliability issues as Germany cars. Yet see the car journalism world, see their channels on TH-cam and the vast majority of the content are reporting on German cars.
@@Xilog "I don't think they could get away with much innovation in the years they were under GM"
Agreed. However, if Saab were doing that much of a sterling job, they wouldn't be in the position where they needed to be bailed out by GM!
But GM … and Ford for that matter, are amongst the biggest benefit scroungers, surviving only by the grace of taxpayers money! And let's be honest, compared to their Far East compatriots, both GM and Ford continue to churn out unreliable garbage, to the poor saps that are willing to buy them.
Lol
@@utubecomment21 I don't think it was Saabs lack of Innovation, More Saabs engineers ran the company, not finance bean counters. So they didn't just take the cheapest route to fix a problem, they overengineered the fix and it cost a lot more to do this way. Which is why Saab were always losing money on cars they made.
Until you own a Saab, you dont really get it
Oblio1942 TRUE!!!
Owned 5 myself, all built from ground up as Frankensteins. After 92, it wasn't really a SAAB... A real saab story.
Just bought my first Saab 2003 SE Turbo. I'm in LOVE!!
i might pick up a viggen in the next couple of weeks! Deciding whether the coupe or sedan
I have a 2001 SAAB 9-3 as my first car and it is very fun
As a former Saab technician I can say I truly loved working on them. As a driver I have to say meh. They are really nice to drive, just not exciting. Except the 9000 Turbo. That car was ridiculously fast and as Matt pointed out as long as you stayed near redline on shifting you didn't have to worry about turbo lag. Superior build quality, and very thorough PDI at the dealership made buying a New Saab an event. Staunch owners will tell you these cars are either excellent from day one or complete garbage. No middle ground.
cheif10thumbs I drove my '87 9000 till it had 317,000 miles on the clock. It wasn't a turbo, but I did swap it for one though :D What a difference. Never had any issues that weren't my own fault, mostly lack of care etc.
And as for superior build quality, my ex drove the turbo through a telephone pole, sideways (right on the A-pillar), and it only gave in a bit and twisted the dash. Everyone inside were totally unharmed. I did let go of the car though, didn't really wanna spend more money on repairs than it was worth.
I only drove 150 miles on it before the crash :(
Nasty2015 I want to try a 9000 turbo then. Wanted a viggen but they are expensive and don't see too many built like the 9000.
cheif10thumbs I've got a '94 9000 Aero, and it's fun as hell. When driving up the tach, it's really responsive and can blast you all the way back in the seat and give you a good case of the shakes. And I haven't even touched it yet in terms of tuning...
No the Saab vector is fasst
+kamikazemelon787 I had my 96 9000 tuned. It was only supposed to a boost on the turbo from 0.6 to 0.9 (which equaled 75bhp) However, because of some chip failure it gave a turbo pressure of over 1.5, which meant it had over way over 300bhp. So when i tried it from 40-130km/h it ate an porsche 911 turbo. Just saying, that car is fun as hell to tamper with.
GM owned SAAB when the 9-3 was made. It was a heavily re engineered Opel Vectra, which was in turn one of the most boring family sedans available in Europe at the time. The 900 though was a SAAB construction from the ground up and much more interesting. It was GM that killed SAAB with its platform sharing.
trefod disagree, the 9-3 is a great car and far from boring especially the Aero. Nothing like a Vectra just try driving one! Although GM parts were used Saab engineers were constantly being a pain in the ass for GM and changing stuff to bring it up to Saab spec. IMO Saab ultimately failed because of its inflexibility at the core to compromise quality for profitability.
Cartel DJProviders It was GM's fault for thinking they could get Saab to share their shitty technology, I always respected Saab for not putting up with GM crap and making their own kit. GM failed to understand the Saab brand and slowly killed it. Saab could have been GM's premium brand in Europe and North America taking on the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi and also trickling down technology developed by Saab into their base brands (Opel, Vauxhall and Holden). The failure is all GM's.
trefod Saab killed itself for failing to be profitable when it was still independent of GM.
highwaystar1009 I don't agree. Meglamaniacs tend to buy profitable opposition and shut them down.
trefod GM pumped billions of dollars into SAAB without really having a strategy to "develop" the SAAB models. Audi Quattro became the king of the rally scene, SAAB was sleeping, and should have developed a 4WD model which they never got around to. It would have boosted sales with a big PR op. I agree that 900 was much more innovative than 9-5. 9-5 is a boring daily driver, auntie feel to it, riding high and when you put it into 2nd and put the pedal down its "geared" in such a way that it feels boring to drive. Norwegian Hydrolift boss Bard Eker (owns 50% of Koenigsegg) tried to save SAAB with Dutch guy but there was just too much debt. His designs on a new 9-5 are breathtaking. He planned to take it back to its old school values: Great innovative design with a good helping of speed. SAAB parts factory alive and kicking in Trollhattan, Sweden. My first car was a 72 95 station wagon. It was no pussy magnet but it was MINE. I drove the hell out of it :-D
you can tune a b234 saab engine to 500hp without changing the headgasket...some of the best 4 cylinder engines out there, often forgotten for being "a saab"
***** the good ol 9000 Aero ;)
kirbyswarp a true wolf in a sheep costume
***** Unless you know what it is. I see them (any Saab really) from a mile away.
***** We see 9000's, 9-3's and 9-5's here at speed run events all the time and they often do over 190 mph standing mile runs.
***** What's it like to drive with 500hp through the front wheels?
Matt shows a real lack of knowledge about Saabs, the Viggen was not the fastest car Saab ever made but it was really quick in its day and is no slouch even by todays standards. The B235R engine is superb and easily tunable if you want greater performance. Cooling is the main issue in the 9-3 Viggen, the 9-5 HOT had the same engine but less issues tuned. Saab made really solid cars and much safer than most, they did not skimp on strength just to improve the 0-60 time.
Alert64 Was the Viggen marketed as the Aero elsewhere (Europe for example)?
No, the Aero designation was really a trim level (although it was the trim level on many of the more potent Saabs, but not the Viggen) and was introduced in Europe first, then the US.
Agreed but the Viggen Rescue Kit should sort that... ;-)
Alert64 I believe the fastest Saab from the factory was the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X. they only made them for about half a year.
Alert64 I think it depends on the year though. If we're talking 2000s, something like a Maxima, also a spacious FWD car, had way more power, a much better interior, much quieter and refined and it was faster too while having a v6 with no lag. I just don't think Saab had anything beautiful or fast to compete with other manufacturers.
My first and only accident was as passenger in one of these old 900 Turbos. We rolled it at 100+mph (emergency braking from much higher) around a bend. Not hitting anything directly, it rolled and flipped for what seemed like forever. It landed upright, and we both got out just a little shaken but otherwise uninjured. The car was a wreck - it even had a large tree branch lodged behind the rear bumper it must have collected as it bashed over bushes along the road. I was amazed how well the car held up and also protected us as we covered our heads hoping for the best. Man, was that a sweet, quirky car to have as a teenager. A very stupid and costly mistake but one we certainly learned from. The engine and interior were later transplanted into another 900.
Two years after that accident, I bought my own 900 Aero which I've also heavily modified. Bigger turbo, gearbox, engine management etc it's running about 350hp. I've had it for 13 years now and even though I ride motorcycles almost exclusively these days, I will never sell it, and will cherish it's unique character forever.
Matt been following you ever since the first Hennessey lotus episode which I loved. I worked at a Saab Dealership in 1985 and it was funny- The turbo's were coming back in hand folds- said they where ripping away from body and bragged that the body could not hold back the turbo( that was made by there Jet engineers). I drove a few as a porter and would take them in theback and drop the clutch- That Turbo use to go crazy and spin the car side ways. As we know now there is much more then slapping a turbo on and letting it go.
As a hardcore Subaru owner I have to tip my hat off to Saab. I always liked Saab. It was the last car we had before we switched to Subaru and I too wish they were still in business. However if I had to choose between the two on this video. I would totally go with the old school Saab. That thing is badass!
I learned to drive on a 1989 Saab 900 turbo convertible , 5 speed of course.
Unfortunately we sold it , in ~1997, with only 30k miles on it! It was a really nice car at the time.
i drove an 86 900 t, for 10 years, then got the 96 900 t, had nothing but good times with both cars.
When I was buying my 2002 9-3 SE 2.0T, I bought it only because it was reasonably priced and Saab holds the title to be reliable and safe. I was thinking it's mediocre crap you buy in used car marked, and honestly planning to sell it as soon as opportunity shows up, and I get something better to buy. So I though until I experienced Saab for the first time. Now not only that I have no plans to ever sell it, but I don't wan't any other car than a Saab! This is something only Saab owners will understand.
I remember buying an '88 Saab 900 turbo automatic from a women for $800 (maybe 20 years ago) that had been sitting awhile and needed work. I got it driveable and felt it was pretty fast but not earth shattering. Then I discovered if you simply disconnect a certain vacuum hose under the hood, it deactivates a turbo limiter and then the thing went like a bat out of hell!! I remember a 'vette trying to pass me going up a hill. He couldn't. I flat out pulled away from him. Sold it soon after, tranny was going out.
I must respectfully disagree with the comment "...different just to be different..." couldn't be further from SAAB's purpose, intent, and above all, design strategy. Also, their "Born from aircraft" slogan was certainly genuine when the company started production late '49. The very same engineers making their bombers & fighter planes were put to the task of designing a car. The pure aerodynamic shape was develoed using the wind tunnel at the National Sweeden Aeronautical Institute of Reaserch Institute. Thanks for the fun video non-the-less!
Finally a car guy (Matt) who knows what he is talking about.
Everybody has an opinion...and so do car "experts". But this clip's under-whelming commentary totally misses the mark WRT Saabs...and what they were all about (then and now). Sorry. That's my take. Yesterday I drove my 85 900 Turbo into work. Today my 95 9000 Aero. 30 and 20 year-old-rides, respectively. Sheer pleasure and satisfaction. Reliable, powerful and fast even compared to contemporary 80MPH + interstate cruising today.. In their day, both cars were considered very fast. Not by today's standards, sure...but definitely back then. My 85 900T Sedan (yes, I've had it since new..shipped from Germany)...was one of THE fastest cars on the road here in New England. Quiet, comfortable, smooth, sure-footed with outstanding highway performance -- and good MPG. Roomy too. And great in snow and all forms of bad WX and road conditions. My 9000 Aero (also owned from new) was/is even faster, smoother, roomier with even better torque and MPG from the 2.3 turbo mill. Just averaged 28MPH to/from NW PA at 75/80MPH drones. The Mother of all Saabs....back with 225HP was 'high end'. But forget the non-turbo and automatic tranny versions. It's all about turbo and long legged gearbox/gearing. Off the line? Forget about that too. But from 3rd gear up ...you're mine. Max GPS speed recording on my Aero? 142MPH somewhere in New Mexico...just 3 years ago. Roll-on acceleration? Faster than a Porsche back in the day (50 - 80MPH). OK. So I'm Saab biased and a Saab one (stupid arse actual bought one). The 900 Classic WAS their pinnacle model. So was the 9000 Aero. After GM (and Opel)....Saab DID lose much of their personality, performance edge, quirkiness, hatchback, etc/etc. And -- yes -- the dealers made them ridiculously expensive to maintain (i.e., the dreaded "30K major inspection"). But they're definitely a drivers' car to be involved with. And if treated (and driven) right, they don't disappoint. In short, Saabs did everything really well...and were quite versatile and practical (to drive). I don't think you did them justice here...and at least acknowledged that they were far more than quirky character/personality cars. [did I mention my 88 900 Turbo Convertible and 86 SPG?] :-)
I drive a 2004 saab 9-3 and i love it. Im a college student who knows a thing or two about cars but I'm broke so i can't afford so many upgrades. My car is completely stock with 120,000 miles and let me tell you something, mines very fast. Ive beaten so many cars including new cars with performance upgrades. Its weird tho because whenever I'm driving i see multiple saabs around. i don't get why they went out of business. The old cars look new and the newer cars look ahead of its time. A shame.
I've got a Saab 93 2002 2 litre Turbo, done only 80.000k's Drives like a baby, v imp you look after your car, and just hope they start producing more SAAB's
I really like this show, you have a good, humble and informed way of talking about the cars. :)
Atleast in my view, Saabs' branch off into car production was more of a project of finding use of engineers and other comptetence otherwise destined to be laid off following the decreased aircraft production after ww2. It shows in that SAAB automobile never had the size and width to design a through and through well made car like Volvo but instead relied on a few technically innovative solutions. Being swedish and growing up with Saabs, they always had a lot of wierd, horribly designed details. Nevertheless, the peak technical innovations still make them interesting to a degree and I would not mind having a Saab 99 turbo. :)
They look great. I'd want one, just by looking at them.
Maybe i'm crazy, but a cool build would be a coyote rear wheel drive setup or maybe an all wheel drive would be an awesome sema car.
I really bought into Saab at the time when the Viggen was around, and still remember it being one of the most powerful front wheel drive cars you could buy for many years. It's not surprising they went out of business, but I think GM really butchered the brand before hand.
I had a 900s turbo 16v awesome car.
My dad has a viggen and i love it
To me the 9-3 has to be the best I seen people juice 700 on stock internals that's.crazy
Well. There is also the 2.8T Aero with 280hp that can be chip tuned to cause all kind of trouble. :D
My family drove saabs for 40 years
Saab still do build jet fighters - The Saab JAS 39 Gripen being the latest
Matt, just wait until I have my 500 whp SAAB 9-5 AERO. I'll show you a fast cool saab.
Saab is also probably one of the safest cars out there too. In the early 90's my dad and grandfather was driving on a one lane road when suddenly, one car in the other lane decided to pass the car in front of them, not knowing there was a Saab 900 waiting to smash that car. Despite this being an 80 km/h head-on collision, my dad and grandfather had no injuries at all, they were fine thanks to Saab's high end engineering.
Yeah I watched some in depth video of saabs and they are designed to be very safe. I think the saab's roof can withstand like 5 saabs on top of it weight wise. (Don't remember the exact number, but roughly)
my father actually got one for that very reason, he wanted a fun, quick weekend car that was also safe and practical, that car is built like a tank is we still have it to this day, she needs some love but damnit I'll do whatever it takes to get her road worthy again
@@GoobMane did you get her road worthy
THE old 900 is just porn for my eyes!
HELL YEAH😬💦
it looks so good
Yeah for me too 🔥
Miss that "saab smell"...hard to describe unless you've owned one. Also, the floorboard ignition was so badass. Nostalgia!
when i was a kid i got nauseous form the smell when the leather got hot :/
didnt get it in the winter though
Lmfao is that what that is! My boys first car was a saab sedan and it had the oddest funkiest smell. He didnt know what i was talking about and my wife liked it. He chalked it up to maybe because he did nothing but hot box it with blunts and that blunt smell stuck. Lmao now i know the car just had its own unique musk😂😂
Did you know the ignition was placed there by engineers as a safety feature? It was so if you get in an accident your knees wouldnt hit any of the keys or the ignition if you slide forward
Because the seats were covered with reindeer leather
I don't think it's the leather, but I could never figure it out. My friend's oldest brother had a Sonnet 3 and I was introduced to the smell. In college my friend had a 900 hatch, and it had the smell. When I had my 9-3 convertible it had it - but only sometimes, and I missed the smell when it wasn't there.
I used to overlook Saabs for decades, until I bought my first one. Great, sturdy built cars! I sure miss them...
Rabot à
First car was a 98 900 se for me, she had been wrecked before I got her rear axle was bent to shit, electronics messed all up from some improper wiring, vacuum tubes a disaster (found a nail in one that had split holding the ends together, makes much more sense than the previous owner just replacing the tube /s). Fixed what of that I could, still have her, the engine simply won't quit, but the body is rough, and the electronics issues are a nightmare... I wish I had the mechanical ability or the money to swap the engine to another chassis because the Saab even in the condition she's in never lets me down.
You forgot the main reason there is no SAAB today. They got screwed by GM.
jeffel80 Actually he's right and wrong. Saab were bleeding money because they wouldn't put a new car out until it was 100% ready, which is why their cars do stellar mileage and are so highly regarded. . GM saved the company, but then told them to get the last 9-5 out on a budget with GM inferior parts, and to cut some of the innovative safety features Saab was renowned for. Saab refused to do a half assed job, so GM pulled the plug when the bills came in even though the new car was selling well. Most people in the know think GM just asset stripped the company and only wanted the Saab technical know how..
Saab "built" cars, General Motors "sold" cars, only one head could be at the end of that snake.
actually saab ingeneres was spending so much money from GM to build the 9-5 model that GM ended there working together ....i thank GM for my 9-5 ...hahaha
In the end they actually got screwed by Swedish politicans. You should view the documentary if you think otherwise.
Uppdrag granskning: Spelet om SAAB.
Unfortunately most of it is in Swedish. Maybe you can use translation.
th-cam.com/video/dyGge-ApVgs/w-d-xo.html@LuX
Come over to Sweden, i'll let you drive my Saab 9000 Classic fully built 600whp.
I will be waiting for you Matt!
:)
I had a 900 T8 -89
Holy shit, I’ll come to Sweden. No shit, I actually will.
Same, my 9000 Aero is a 600HP BEAST. if he wants to see what a fast SAAB is...
I own a Saab 9-3 05 with 207hp. You simply can't find more car and power for the money. At the same time, it's an excellent car to drive for every month of the year, because it's made for with extreme weather conditions in mind. It's true that people look elsewhere when buying a car, because people always buy what other people buy. VW, Audi, Ford, Toyota etc have all gotten in to the market as normal, regular cars. Nobody wants a Saab because of the fact that it's different and many haven't even heard of the brand Saab. Bland and boring is the future of cars. There is no space for radical design solutions and quirkiness anymore. However I'm going to proudly own Saab until they are completely gone.
+Jake I have the Saab 9-3 2.2tid '03. Cool design, good economy, comfort 10/10 and pretty fast...what more would anybody want...
+Jake Great! I have a 9-3 from 2000 that's clocking up 250000 kms now and she purrs just fine. Reason I bought a SAAB is that my friend's SAAB (also from 2000) has gone 650000+ kms and still only needs new exhaust system and an oil change from time to time! Also, it is not built to be super fast mega car, it is built to be a fast cruiser for motorways. But then, I am Swedish so what do I know about cars, right. ;-)
+Jake I totally agree with you man!
+Jake I had a Saab 9-5 2.0t. Loved the car but at the same time was also very dissapointed.
Why? Because it just wasn't a Saab anymore. It was a more solid and a bit better driving Vectra.
Didn't have any major issues with it except sensors going haywire and the cat cooking my oil every 5k miles (major design flaw on GM's part). It was comfortable, fast for its size and generally a nice place to be in.
However, would I buy another? Probably not.
Mircea Dogaru You should absolutely go for the SAABs pre-2003, after that GM had too much say in a bad way.The 1998-2003 models are still SAABs but with some GM fancidoodling. I can't comprehend people bing put off by a car just because the ignition is placed differently. But then, most people are stupid I guess.
Seems like Drive is still having some audio issues, the music is almost louder than Matt in places.
***** Yep, Shooting themselves not in the foot but the head yet again.
***** Out of interest what are you listening with? I dont have any issues with the volume levels through my headphones.
Mat Guest
Speakers, on my laptop and also through my T.V. Perhaps the person doing the audio was also using headphones, so it sounded normal to them.
***** editors are lazy as hell !!!
Mat Guest in the beginning there is a issue with the audio just listin to it evryone has it. its edditors fault
Dad of a very good friend of mine drives SAAB 900s as his daily driver. Buys them with 300.000km + on the clock, fixes them up a bit and they drive for years and years. They are indestructible, and every electrical component still works factory new. Thats some swedish quality right there
That Saab is pretty cool, not really feeling the "carbon fiber" vinyl wrap on the hood, though.
Shane Mounir Sweet build thread, but if the hood is real carbon fiber, why cover it up with vinyl?
David F. The satin finish of the wrap matched he satin paint better then the glossy carbon fiber hood. Also the rear spoiler and vent covers were wrapped to match. I kind like the satin or flat finish better on this car.
Shane Mounir Makes sense. I'm not a huge fan of satin finish, but the car looks great, though!
David F. "Hey I don't agree with you so i'm going to swear at you" is what that other guy was thinking
"Hey, I'm an angry little child, so, I'm going to keep saying 'fuck' to show everyone how mad I am"
I bought my 1985 SAAB 900S in West Germany, when I was stationed there with the US Air Force. I bought her new, still own her today....and she is still going strong. I must admit she has aged better than I have, she has just shy of 300,000 miles on her, with tender loving care and proper maintenance she drives like a dream. I bought my wife a new SAAB in 2007, and it too runs like a dream.
I literally just found this guy's car on ebay
+monkeymafia729 haha true i found it too! www.ebay.com/itm/Saab-900-SPG-Hatchback-2-Door-/331732318311?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4d3cc97867:g:UGYAAOSwo6lWJ~Mf&item=331732318311
+monkeymafia729 He wants a new car haha got tierd of the old piece of shit saab. I mean come on if you don't have over 300 hp the car isn't very fast.
+Brown Mista.Brown Depends on the weight of the car.. look up Lotus, they dont have much power but they are lightweight as fuck, they're fast
Mikkel Plougmann yes the lotus is quick no doubt at all!
+Isaac Blanco it didn't sell
But why they talk bad about the Saab ?
Swolbraham Lincoln Because he drives super high-end modern cars on a daily basis. That's why.
+kirbyswarp watch his channel and see him praise $5k to $15k cars all day long
Michael Cohen I've been watching his one takes since he started.
kirbyswarp Before i even read the comments I knew you would be in here lol.
Warning, Danger To Manifold ! Why lol. I've commented on 2 or 3 of Matt's videos...
I would drive the shit out of that car until the engine went kaput. Then I'd rebuild the engine and do it all over again
well that would take a while
Good luck, I know about a saab that have gone 2 million(!)km and still runs well
With regular synthetic oil changes, the motor on that 900 will outlast you. www.autoblog.com/2006/12/18/saab-offering-free-car-to-members-of-the-million-mile-club/#:~:text=You%20no%20doubt%20remember%20Peter,million%20miles%20in%20his%20Saab.
Wow, never thought I'd hear "viggen" and slow in the same sentence. I guess I should drive tuned STi's and modern F-type R's everyday, then this 16 year old car can be called "slow". Not fair to compare a stock old car to modern/tuned cars...
I didn't think I would either. I like to think my viggen is decently quick.
cullen walls Because it is.
kirbyswarp Okay. I agree with you. Viggen's are quick but it all depends on the driving conditions. I'm actually the owner ( Khaled aka Shane) of the cars that were filmed and I was there at that 90+ degree day in Malibu canyons when this review was being shot. Unfortunately heat was a the enemy that day. On the way to filming location matt drove the Viggen and I drove the SPG. We cruised PCH until we got the canyons. I can tell you that from the first pull in my SPG i was barley able to hit 13-14 lbs of boost. right then I knew this was not going to go as expected. I usually run 18-10 psi in the spg and the viggen runs it;s stock full boost as long as the ambient temps are bellow 75 degrees. Once the ambient temps start getting in the 80's and 90's degrees the computer starts to tapper boost and that quick Viggen becomes a sick dog, boosting 1/2 the stock boost for engine safety. Also the 91 octane which is the highest pump grade in LA does not help either. if you listen to the podcast you will hear Matt talk about how fast the cars were at the end of the day when the sun was going down and the temps dropped bellow 75 degrees. So Viggens are but give it heat and low octane and they are not that fast ( just like Matt said). shoutengine.com/TheSmokingTire/virtual-podcast-7897 start listening at minute 32.
Shane Mounir I've watched the podcast, but most people will not. It gives the general car public the wrong idea. I also live in California, so I know the 91 octane struggle...And Sacramento 100+ degree summers.
Also, unrelated, but how did you get that Viggen logo stamped into your glovebox door? I've admired your car since before I even got my Viggen :)
kirbyswarp Thanks for the kind words. That Viggen badge is a 3D badge that I purchased on ebay years ago.
GM destroyed SAAB. Destroyed all of the lines.
this is why me and my dad are buying a 95 aero track car it's already been built by Abbot racing and pushing 450bhp and 750nm of torque it kills focus rs and any modern day hatchback.
building built not bought
quife Lsd and strengthened gearbox. semi slicks. still spins. around 2 bar and holding.
1st and second is torque limited
whole point of it being track car lol. on roads I use yokohomas they're decent in higher gears and in the wet.
Honestly for me it was never just the speed, but the fantastic shape of this car and many cars back then. Today all cars look very much the same, whereas back then almost every car had a different silhouette and it made motoring interesting and exciting. My favorite Saab is the 99 and you can buy an early 80s model for not too much money.
Saab 900 had a very unique style.😊
that old saab at 160 mph would be safer than you think. more safe than other cars that can do 160. even modern ones.
if there is one thing saab has ALWAYS done right.. its saftey. building a safe automobile was number 1 priority first. everything else (driving dynamics, power, aesthetics) came second.
euroaaRON1 And then we can think how safe Saabs are if they have everything else than safety already really well...
Mighty Car Mods anyone??
yeah lol
+Eden Kelly #teamevo
#teamdentistjet
+Johan Svensson #teamlubeinthedash lololo
+Eden Kelly Wasaabi 9000
I just rewatched this video again after 5 years and while Matt had some valid points, sadly this Video does not do SAAB justice. Viggens are surprisingly fast on 93 octane and temperatures less than 75 degrees.This was filmed on a 95 degree day and California 91 octane. Therefore the engine management was limiting boost for protection. The Viggen almost ran half the stock boost and the spg was barely running 13 psi compare to the normal 18- 20 psi I get on a nice cool day with 93 octane.. Tapering boost according to driving conditions is what made SAAB's such a quick yet reliable turbo cars. in this video both cars almost cut the boost by about 40% due to driving conditions . I'm sure if Matt drove these cars on a nice 70 degree day with 93 octane he would find out why his Friend Nick had a fast car in high school. I will be making a video soon demonstrating the SPG upgrades in details and showing some driving videos from the driver point of view. If you would like to be notified when the video is posted you may subscribe to my channel by clicking on my profile.
Khaled Mounir
Saab Sonett Broh!
I restored my Sonett and show it on my channel all the time.
Also I am making a Project Rally 9-5 wagon lifted on 31's to take off road.
And I have a 9000 that pushes 26+ psi of boost!
Love my Saabs!!
Love your work amesie
netrioter The Sonett is going strong. The 9000 is on it's way out.
Johnthfailsnail Keep it outta the cabbage!
Amesie's Corner I wonder if Mr. Regular will ever get around to the Sonnet. ):
Amesie's Corner Had a friend with a Sonnet, Ford V-4 power, strange little engine and neat little car, kind of forgot about those! At the time I found a 1969 96 with the 3 cylinder two stroke engine and the switchable one way clutch, that engine was the original power for the Sonnet too. Mine wasn't the oil injected one, but did have three carbs, it made impressive power and the car drove very well. I heard they really used to dominate winter road rallies as they could get through damn near anything. Good memories of that car.
No shit a 230bhp car "isn't that fast" when you drive 1000bhp monsters for a living.
+Mr X thats the reason he has a motorbike. every 12 year old has one. right?
Yea, if you are 12 do not own at least a liter bike, are you even 12?
Lorries are slow bro
If I was the owner of these cars, I'd be pissed about this video. I understand making reviews of new cars and being critical, but making a video about a guy's pride and joys and just say ''meh, your cars kinda suck'' is a bit douchey at best. It would have been preferable not to post the video at all, I think.
Like much of the car media, channels like this are funded by German car companies. Look at them (car channels) and you'll see content dominated by unreliable German brands, from Lamborghini to Mercedes. But let's be honest, Saab did fall behind the times also. Front wheel drive was OK for 1983, but they should have gone rear wheel drive given the performance potential. I know they had a little spat of 4-wheel drive, the whole thing just gave Saab the feeling of a lower grade experience.
But for me, I knew the game was over when GM took over. And what did they do, take a cr@ppy Vauxhall, dressed in a Saab robe, and tried to flog it at a premium. In the UK we have an expression - "Mutton dressed up as Lamb" meaning - cheap tat dressed and sold at a premium. That's been the American car game forever, and for Saab it was game over.
exactly!! this is so nasty. i own a saab '93 900 convertible and i'm putting everything into getting it tuned and cleaned and painted; if i let this jerk drive my car and heard him talk about it like this, then i'd tell him to gtfo. i dont care who you are, you dont talk about people's cars like that
wasaabi!!!!!
Lol
I have a 9-5 Aero myself, and I absolutely love that car. Sooo sexy, get compliments and thumbs up on it all the time. Great usable power band, very beefy sounding engine with the 2.5'' exhaust and resonator delete. Sooo look elsewhere? Elsewhere for what? It's a great luxurious, sporty, unique and economical car!
My parents used to work at the SAAB factory. It was always fun to have different pre production-cars and rare options for test purpose at home. Especially the latest 9-5 sportcombi. Only 22 was built for the european market, before the factory was closed down.
so this guy spends the entire video shitting on the car he "tests" so one has to ask why bother? also, yet another of these videos offering so very little in technical info. just thought i'd drop in to see if /drive had improved. hardly.
What do you want exactly? All positive reviews? Throw away any video and not publish poor reviews? Lie??
Michael Cohen
to be clear, by "shitting on" i mean no substantive criticism and it's clear to anyone who watched the video. he sounded no more informative than any tool at a local car hang out who has a prejudice against car "x". your comments are all straw man.
***** Yup ...I heard some technical content. Maybe those guys mean actual statistics ...like BHP, WHP, Weight, Dimensions etc. Strange ...I have never ever heard Matt go that far with the stats so I am not sure where that expectation is coming from. Personally I like the way he does it. I want my reviews delivered from a person and not a stat sheet. I want the emotional stuff - I want the FEEL of the car. That is what he has been all about for a long time. I know my expectations are being met ...
Love the shape of the old turbo. Love it.
I was given a tuned 1991 900turbo;with the promise I'd never sell her. After three years of driving her; you'd have pry her from my dead hands still clutching the Momo steering wheel.I love this weird little car.
Actually turbo lag is not an attribute of Saab.
Even my 2000 9-5 with 150,000 miles with a turbo going out, still pulls at 1800.
Funny cause I've driven new audi's and wrx's and they lag far more then my 15 year old trashed Saab.
Did anyone see the top gear with Jeremy clarkson talks about the Saab driver smile?
That's pretty much me in a nut shell,
I love saabs.
I bought a '94 9000 Aero the day I graduated high school for $1000. It was the funnest car I have ever owned and never let me down. I ran it into a full sized bull at 40 mph. Had my SRS light not been on I probably wouldnt have needed seven stitches in my lip from the steering wheel. I traded the remains of that car in on a '93 900s. That car went to hell and back with me. I drove it to and from CO and AZ from IL at least once a year until I moved to CO. Then I drove it from CO to CA, IL and AZ almost once every 3 months. I put 12000 miles on it in 3 months at one point and changed the oil in it every 10000. It only had the 2 belts for the alternator and the window sprayers didnt work but it made it down 4x4 roads in NV and everywhere I wanted it to take me. Those two Saabs were my favorite cars to drive and I almost cry when I watch these videos. I knew I was going to regret trading the 900 in on a 500hp truck but you cant live in a Saab the way you can in a Tundra. Thats what I keep telling myself at least.
I still have saabs,in my day I had 30 or more 900s,I tuned them some,and had lots of fun.
Volvo 850 T5R reiview pls!
***** Clearly you know nothing.
***** And if that one owner didn't treat it right I'm not surprised it broke down. You can't treat it like a tractor and leave servicing to once in a blue moon. But to call a stock 7 to 100/60 car a tractor is a bit off don't you think. There's a reason they did relatively well in BTCC.
They got even better with the V70 and S60 T5's and R's
I currently own a V70 T5, it required an engine swap because it's one and only owner was a lazy idiot who hardly changed the oil, even with all the fixing and up to date servicing the engine eventually died because it was full of gunk. But it's running now better than ever with a swapped engine and a couple of modifications, an awesome sleeper.
Chris S I'd like to see some tuned bricks too. I always had a thing for 240 saloons (sedans if you're a yank) and got one a few years ago and utterly loved it but rust caught up with it and I sold it before the problem got too expensive. I always regretted selling it. Let's see a 240 turbo please!
***** Yeah right buddy, A properly mintained t5 eats g35's all day, calling it slow is stupid, and its also way lighter then a g35 or that boat of a BMW.
1.4-1.5 tonnnes with very low drivetrain loss.
Do a rolling start and the Volvo will smoke your BMW, even then, 300hp and it was smoked? You're joking right?
Of course it's heavy in the corners, it's a wagon. But you just push through, BTCC they had them on two wheels; flying.
And it's fast for an 18 year old who just got their licence, yes, but it's fast for an 18 year old who's driven the modified Twin Turbo 300zx in the garage at full pelt as well...
Seeing as you can pick up a 2001 V70 for 3.5k I'm not really surprised your older model went for $1000.
I miss SAAB
:-( My friend's father was a test driver at SAAB and always had some BA saab's home he had a 900 aero I think i put out some 20% more than ordinary 900aero.... it was a beast. Then he had a 9000aero that put out i think some were around 300 hp... I was always fun when we smoked 911turbos with that car.
As I said SAAB had testdrivers that was doing this on there free time... my friends father was a Teacher at a technical school in Trollhattan, Sweden.
Saab did som werd stuf. I guss you heard the story when GM sent some controllers to Trollhattan why the money in the projects didn't seem to be enough. The arrived at Gothenburg airport and checked out a SAAB at the car rental. Got into the car and started up the in car navigation system to enter the destination and it was totally different from a normal GM navigation system.
What the Saab engineers had done was when the got the navigation system sent to them instead of installing it, they decided to totally redesign the navigation system.
SAAB automobile in a nutshell :-)
I am proud to drive a SAAB !
I just sold my saab 900 spg :( but i bought an s13!
more skids so more skids lol
Nathan Petrohilos On the streets.
The streets of the track he's on.
more skids bad sell dude, spg's are becoming very rare.
can buy them for dirt in washington state :( 240s have been going up in price steadily for a while now though so i feel like it was a good move
more skids because driftcar
I think that Saab will be my next car.
For some reason this Saab reminds me of Porsche.
Matiss Prusis I see it in the hatchback body style, but totally different specs
Matiss Prusis do you play gta 5?
Un Anonim yes i do
my dad had one of those and i remember climbing onto the roof and bending the antenna back and forth
Bullet proof drivetrain. Fast for an executive/family car. Safety features surpassed only by another Swedish car maker. In all, a GREAT car that GM ran into the ground. But not a supercar. I look at SAAB owners with respect. I think I may buy one now that they're almost free,
Its a shame Saab is gone, the last car they made wasn't very good. I grew up with Saab.
Saab are still around... they make fighter jets.
Scania makes jets and trucks, not Saab. Although they basically were the same, they were still two different companies on paper.
J Gripen scania doesn't make jets
Well, the original company was "Svenska aeroplan aktiebolag".
HatcheDWheeL Ahh, yes of course, i must've been drunk at the time. Sorry.
J Gripen Be careful man, you don't wanna crash and burn.
Before audi and BMW used to be the assholes car (speeding, dangerous passes without blinker) turbo saabs had the same reputation.
When I was a teen in the 80's, my Dad had a black '85 900S 16V Turbo 4Door, 5spd.
It had a lot of strengths: it sounded GREAT (most vehicles as the time were muffled to the point of weaziness), it had front wheel drive (it was a great snow-skiing car), it's turbo eliminated performance-loss at altitude (again, for snow-skiing), it was a strong performer for the day (a little under 140mph top speed, stock), it seated 4-5 in comfort and it, frankly, looked a little bit sharper than the other Euro sedans on the road (smart-types dug its looks).
No, it was not for everybody. But if you lived in New England or the West Coast or Colorado, maybe worked in the city and liked to tear up to the slopes on weekends, SAAB 900 Turbo was a typical go-to choice, particularly from about 1984-1994 (until GM took over).
I had a 93 Viggen and loved it. Stock made 20 psi boost. Gearing was more for 30 mph plus. First gear was too low because you weren’t in boost talking off in normal driving. But stomp the throttle and you could spin the tires in 2nd without touching the clutch. You could even spin them shifting into 3rd with practice at about 50mph. It was a bit scary without Rescue kit. Torque steer was dangerous. 50 to 100 was crazy fast and it punched above its weight. Roomy and seated 5 people. No one could believe it was a 4 cylinder back in 2000.
that 2nd gear was the beast, i remember it :)
Probably one of the coolest cars I've seen on this channel bro 👌🏻
I live in a small town in Germany, where there´s whole yard with hundreds of only these beautiful cars just rotting and rusting slowly away. Apparently the owner sells spare parts from them, but they´re sadly just standing outside for more than 20 years and probably can´t be driven anymore.
So I shared this in all the Saab groups I'm a part of and the general consensus is they hate you now..
Amesie's Corner I was wondering as a big saab fan I have some ideas for the saab wagon as you was saying you wanted to do something for Erik carlsson you should write a little message in memory of him and also you should call it the saab monte carlo traction wagon also the sonnett 3 in the woods could you possibly ding around it a little and also do you have any of the svenka aeroplane atti boiget stickers if so I would love to get my hands on some
suny123boy1 there still is allot of parts available
suny123boy1 Nope never worried about it Orio has done a good job keeping parts available. I mean the models that are 30+ years old maybe you have a point
sunny123boy1 You really overestimate non-defunct car makers if you think theres a huge difference.
Actually there is a ridiculous amount of parts available. All at a cheap price. But if you think it will break often you obviously have never owned a swedish car. My volvo 740 turbo has 253k still running like a dream all original drivetrain
The Saab 900 Turbo was the shit! That B202 engine and cast header burble which your sound man didn't capture. the T16 was like steering a boat with an elastic band firing you down the road to an epic exhaust sound track.
Just bought myself a SAAB 9-3 -03 with about 390hp at the crank now i'm waiting for the snow to disappear :)
Nice!
390hp? Yeah right
jealous much?
+Dave1120 You can't argue with a run on a rolling road dynamometer ..
It's been on a dynamometer at maptun with 341hp to the wheels
Fun fact: Viggen in Swedish translates to Thunderbolt in English. Looking at the names of SAAB fighterjets it is quite similar. First was Tunnan - The Barrel then Lansen - Lance then Draken - The Dragon then Viggen - Thunderbolt and now the current Gripen - Griffin which oddly enough also is a SAAB car model but under the English name instead of the Swedish like Viggen. Another fun fact is that the Viggen fighterjet used a Volvo engine.
They actually put thought into the car's design. Was a save car to drive. From the 99 to the 900
I used to love the look of the Viggen, especially the yellow coupe. I thought it was sad when they made their versions of the Saabaru WRX or the GMC Jimmy. How rare are those Viggen coupes in the US? Are they reliable?
planb1215 They only imported a few thousand or so but you can usually find them between $5k and $10k.
planb1215
I own a 2001 Viggen (silver 4 door hatch) with 89K miles. 100% stock. I drive hard and have zero issues with mine. Granted, it is low miles (owned it since 45K) it is stored indoors, and is serviced correctly by an expert. Those things go a long way towards reliability. He failed to mention that it get well in the 30's for gas milage when driving normally. Not a lot of them manufactured and sent to the US (285 5 doors in 2001) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_9-3#Saab_Viggen). I currently own a 2003 Porsche C4S. It is faster, yes. But the Saab is more comfortable, has similar performance, gets better gas milage, and is a Saab through and through. Get one!
I wish that mighty car mods makes their wasabi9000 like this
+Miller Edits do you mean the new series they are runing? if so, thats a 900. XD ..have a good day :)
+No name yeah, but Moog accidentally renamed it after it's bigger brother 9k
might be trading my civic for a 900 turbo tomorrow :P
btw they are extremly hard to work on, i would say no aftermarket parts
That's not true...Saab was smart enough to make a seperate section for the parts devision...they are still in business and you can buy anything you would like for your Saab, brand new!! www.saabparts.com/
I've drove numerous different cars, and my wife has a Saab. Before she got it, I talked a lot of crap about it, but no lie it is one of the best cars I have ever drove. Super reliable and so smooth, when you're in a Saab you're in full control
I love Saab , today I just get my second one
2002 Saab 9_5 5 speed
I would say yes I want to drive it. I've owned Aero's, SVG's and Viggens. Great cars.
guy says he will never sell his saabs then he turns around and sells it 1 year later..... haha people are so fake
25 K...
I started considering getting rid of my classic 900 for something more modern, like a BRZ.
But then I started looking at all the tuning problems with modern engines.
The original b202 in the later model Saab 99 and 900 engines can make 300 to 400 HP reliably on all stock internals.
Apparently most modern cars shit themselves long before this. I was just looking at pictures of bent FR-S rods running slightly higher than the stock output of 200HP.
Wtf is this shit? I'll stick with the b202 and change the engine management to Trionic 5.5, thanks.
Not to mention that a number of these engines, unmodified, have gone over a million miles without being rebuilt.
Modern engineering is shit.
That guy's hair is interesting.
Hahaha 😂😂😂
guy could have ironed his shirt too... nice cars tho.
You mean his hat.
Robert Saunders I think he has hair extensions
Definitely told the barber "Just fuck my shit up"
What do you mean "the layout is strange"? Every new produced car these days have a straight 4 mounted sideways with front wheel drive. Saab invented most of the technology used in cars these days. They made turbocharging possible for regular affordable cars for example. You say its not fast enough?! Maby because they didnt make sports cars, its a five seat family "half combi". And if you want it to go fast just reprogram the ECU and you will get 300hp without any hardware modification. its possible on any saab even the 500 dollar cheap ones.
The reason for saab being gone now is that they spent to much money on quality. To make profit these days car companies make trashier cars that wont be worth using as long so that people will have to buy another. And I blame General Motors a bit aswell for their bad influence on the designs. Saab shouldnt been bought up by them.
+socke243 True. My 25 year old 900 has zero squeaks or noises when driving along, it's all totally solid after all these years.
What a shame, Saab 900 doesn’t need to be tuned, it’s already perfect.
Did SAAB have anything to do with JETS? F ya it did! The entire cockpit and car is designed like no other car. Matt gets this so wrong. Get lost Matt. Just like you said, the cybertruck isn't real and could never be manufactured. This guy THIINKS he knows stuff about cars, but his perception is skewed and distorted like the bully in high school who went nowhere.
Saab went out of business because GM killed it through neglect and cost cutting and ultimately ditching them when the Recession hit in 2008. Born From Jets isn't just a marketing scheme. It comes from the fact that Saab (the plane manufacturer...) used various plane building and aerodynamics techniques in designing the early cars. Why don't these self-professed "pertrolheads" on TH-cam ever do any real research? Saabs were great cars because they were designed not as a luxury saloon or track day darling, but for the regular, everyday driver who desired functionality with an edge of fun. My wife and I have had five 900's between us over 22 years, and every one was a wonderful gem.
my buddy had this exact car. he put a manual boost controller on it and didn't even have it tuned. it ran perfect right away and boosted hard. Harder than expected and left my friends Mazda 323 gtx awd turbo in the dust. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The Saab just fucking took off like a bat out of hell. incredible acceleration for a car that was basically stock with a manual boost controller and an exhaust. Really laggy but that was cool because it didn't drop out of boost like he's claiming here. As long as you kept the revs up, it stayed in the power and smoked every Honda in the parking lot. Although there weren't any serious Hondas lol B18b swapped Eg's and so on and so forth.
We love you Saab, please come back ! ( I have loved you since my friend rolled his Saab 99gl 5 times and your built in roll bar saved my life !)
add me to the list - my Dad passed, gave his 99 to a friend's son - he got broadsided - 99 dead, not a scratch on son - he's now a San Fran. tycoon - a real Wonderful Life moment
this is such a legit fucking channel
-West
Saab was a weird company. Even before GM bought it, it was not making any money. Just about every car was sold at a loss. Top Gear did a great piece on the company.
It was in many ways an engineer-driven company, rather than business-driven. They made lesser cars, like 9000 (which isn't really a Saab). Other car companies build their cars to meet safety standards. The engineers at Saab built the safest cars they knew how. As shown by Top Gear, if you flip driving any other car you might die because the roof caves in. The roof of a Saab will not cave in even if you drop it upside down. That's engineering. That other stuff is just cost cutting, at your potential expense.
Saab, the only car company that gave a damn.
I had a 9-3 linear high pressure turbo and ecm. I'd eat bmw m3s e mercedes,a4s on highway truly embarrassed them with my 4500 buck 4 cylinder