Boston Auto Show November, 2001

Posted on 25. Nov, 2007 by Ryan in 2000-2009

Photo Credit: Saab History

With the 2007 Boston Auto Show around the corner I thought I’d reflect on the last time I managed to get to the Boston Auto Show back in November of 2001 at the Bayside Expo Center.

It was Public Relations Manager, Dan Prescott formerly of Saab Cars, USA Western Region, a recent donor to the Saab Film Project here on Saab History, who extended press passes to myself and other members of the New England Saab Association to represent Saab at the club level to be present at the 2001 Boston Auto Show – Saab Display.

It was at the 2001 Boston Auto Show where the new MY2002 Saab 9-5 was introduced and former Saab Cars, USA president, Dan Chasins did a keynote discussing Saab’s current status and this new model launch. The new 9-5 was the first vehicle that Saab introduced that included amongst many things, the integrated grille and bumper design that continued on with the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan a few years later. The Saab 9-5 was clearly the flagship model being promoted at the Saab exhibit at the 2001 Boston Auto Show.

The Saab display area was well spaced and it was surprising to see all of the model variants being showcased throughout the Scandinavian furniture and displays. The informational electronic kiosks were also extremely helpful in order to immediately access the details and specifications on each model. That being said, I did find that the lighting or lack thereof was problematic in best illuminating the Saab products as well as the overall area with the overarching shadows it created. In addition, the dark carpeted flooring material was not the best choice in which to exhibit automobiles that was provided, which seems to have been the case for every automobile manufacturer at the auto show.

The best part of the press day at the Boston Auto Show, involved the test drives. As press pass holders, we had the opportunity to test-drive any of current model offerings which consisted of the MY2002 9-5 Sedan and Combi and a 9-3 Viggen 3-Door around a route alongside the Boston harbour. I think that having the opportunity to test drive the vehicles that were on display was extremely important for contextualizing the passive educational experience we have all come to expect at auto shows, so this component made the experience that much more important.

Having the opportunity to be invited to the 2001 Boston Auto Show along with my fellow colleagues with the club at that time was memorable and I thank Dan Prescott as well as Saab Cars, USA for extending the opportunity to us.

Tags: 9-3, 9-5, Automotive Component Group, Boston, new 9-5, New England, New England Saab Association, new saab 9-3, saab, saab 9-3, saab 9-4x, saab 9-5, saab 9-5 wagon, saab 900, saab 9000, saab 99, Saab Automobile, saab ng900