Another Great Review of the 2008 Saab 9-3

Posted on 13. Sep, 2007 by in 2000-2009, 9-3 SS

saab hos black Another Great Review of the 2008 Saab 9 3

Photo Credit: Saab History

There is a great article recently provided about the 2008 Saab 9-3 by Al Vinikour of the Chicago Sun Times. This is an extremely good read that speaks to the recent Saab 9-3 Drive Event here at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.

Source: Chicago Sun Times

By Al Vinikour, September 13, 2007

When I was in high school our guidance counselor predicted the farthest I’d ever go geographically was Chicago. He bragged that in his lifetime he had been to Angola, Brazil, Morocco and Lebanon. Years later I discovered these were all cities in Indiana … and he’d never even been to Chicago.

I thought of this recently as I sat down for dinner with some colleagues at the Swedish Embassy in Washington DC to hear about the new 2008 Saab 9-3 – Sweden’s newest export. Since first entering the North American market in 2003, Saab has sold more than 120,000 of them. From what I experienced driving the new version it’s not going to take any five years to surpass that number.

The 9-3 comes in three body styles – Sport Sedan, SportCombi (grow up…it’s a station wagon…and a good-looking one at that) and Convertible. The Sport Sedan and SportCombi are available with front-wheel-drive and for the first time, all-wheel-drive (AWD). The Convertible is only available in FWD. Saab’s AWD is actually an XWD (cross-wheel-drive) and features innovative developments in wheel slip management and, as an option, the use of an electronically-controlled rear limited-slip differential.

Saab’s XWD is a fully automatic, on-demand system capable of sending up to 100% of engine torque to the front or rear wheels. This fine balance of the drive torque between the front and rear axles raises the threshold at which ESP throttle and braking interventions are triggered, allowing more driver involvement. For instance, during highway cruising, only 5 percent to 10 percent of engine torque is transmitted to the rear wheels. For less-than-ideal conditions let the Swede do the job.

To visit the complete article, click here to visit the sourceChicago Sun Times

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One Response to “Another Great Review of the 2008 Saab 9-3”

  1. Ted Y

    14. Sep, 2007

    Great article. I’m wondering if you should quote the whole thing though. You know better than me, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to post a “teaser quote” with a “click here to read the full article”? I’m just thinking that the Chicago Sun Times would then get hits directed from Saabhistory and know that it’s a beneficial thing to post positive articles about Saab, thus encouraging more good coverage.
    Of course, if it’s a bad review, quote the whole thing with NO LINKS to the source. :-)

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