Saab History

Please welcome Saab independent, Swedish Motor Cars of Falls Church, Virginia, as a sponsor with Saab History. Saab Enthusiast owned and operated, Swedish Motor Cars prides themselves on their Saab sales, service and restoration projects and are the most accessible Saab independent in the Washington, D.C. metro region!

Have you ever gone to a dealership and been able to have all of your cars needs met at the same facility? Maintenance, Mechanical, Electrical, Collision, Paint, Detailing and Accessories?

Dedicated to the proposition that all automobile service and repair should be high quality, fast, personal, and reasonably priced, Swedish Motor Cars, Inc. is an independent shop offering over 35 years of top notch automotive expertise. We have a fully staffed service department with quality skilled technicians, service scan tools which are being updated to handle most makes and models and a database competitive with the franchise dealers for repair diagnosis. Our on-site body shop is staffed with premiere collision repair specialists whose skills range from subtle and simple repairs to the most difficult collision repair. Our technicians are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence or by manufacturer factory training programs.

We will work directly with you to describe your automobile’s needs and explain your options for service and repair. We offer our customers options to get better deals and better prices than can be found at a dealership. All our work is guaranteed. Call us for an appointment, or come in to see the owner Richard Rudenko, or Service Manager Nevin Cuff at our Falls Church, Virginia location.

Swedish Motor Cars
551 North Washington Street
Falls Church Virginia 22046-3536

phone 703.237.0988
fax 703.891.0152

http://www.swedishmotorcars.com

swedishmotorcars@aol.com

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Photo Credits: Saab History

Over the past holiday season, I got the chance to visit two of my site sponsors, and one of them was Atomic Auto in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Getting this chance to meet the team led by Travis Decker, was quite nice and pleasant. Their shop was without question, extremely convenient and it never ceases to amaze me just how much product knowledge is retained in the independent Saab shops today.

During my visit, I got the chance to meet the rest of the crew, Lou, Barry and Eamon who got to show me a little about what their normal days are like and what kind of work they do. What really impressed me during my stay was how clean their shop was, in addition to just happening to see a frequent customer stop by to ask about getting his headlight working. The impressive part about this experience was seeing Travis meet the customer’s unscheduled visit and request within minutes allowing the customer to get back on the road again. Where does that kind of customer service exist today?

As I departed, Travis was able to get me some historical literature that he was saving, one of those pieces included an original Saab 900 engineering features booklet in “mint” condition!

A great shop, great people and great customer service!

Atomic Auto
726 SE 6th
Portland, Oregon 97214
503 969-3134

http://www.atomicauto.biz/

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Saab History welcomes Saab Colorado, Inc. an independent Saab repair shop from the Denver, Colorado region of the United States as a site sponsor.

In 2000, I visited the owner of Saab Colorado, Inc., formerly known as Donald J. Koziol Saab repair, while I was visiting my Brother who lived there. I have to say that experience at Donald J. Koziol’s was memorable to say the least. I am more than happy that they have expressed their interest in supporting Saab history.

As part of this unique sponsorship arrangement, Saab of Colorado is also supporting Saab History’s video coverage of the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).

The 2008 NAIAS looks to be quite the event, especially given that we have heard it is the location for the world premiere of the new yet to be seen Saab Crossover vehicle, touted as the Saab 9-4x.

Here is a summary about the service that Saab Colorado, Inc., provides to their customers:

The Service:

We offer full mechanical service and top quality repair. All work carries the same warranty as the manufacturer: 1-year parts, 1-year labor, unlimited mileage (with the exception of standard-wear items).

The Quality:

All work includes in-depth analysis, diagnoses, and repair of your SAAB®. We cater to the serious owner who wants to keep their SAAB® in top working condition.

The Pricing:

Our pricing is competitive with the industry and area. We do charge factory list prices for parts and do not charge more than SAAB® suggests as list pricing.

Our labor rates reflect true times for the repair work, not smoke and mirror times by posting a cheap labor rate and then expecting our customers to believe in bogus repair times. Some of our competition in the mile hi city has a reputation for this type of archaic pricing. I personally feel it is an insult to the intelligence of anyone to do this. This was an old practice done years ago that gave and still does give the industry a bad reputation. Labor guide times are posted in numerous books and standards have been set. If a job is a three hour job, you should be charged that at your posted rate, not be told it is a six hour job. We have a base charge of one half hour labor for diagnostics. If more diagnostic time is needed we will notify you of additional charges beforehand and give you our results to that point. Some repair times include diagnostic times which we incorporate in the repair jobs needed if we perform them.

In most cases all parts installed are oem ( original equipment from the manufacturer) This ensures that only top quality parts that you are billed for are what you are receiving. It is not a uncommon practice for many shops to use subquality parts and still bill you for the oem to increase their profit margines.

Summary:

Driving and maintaining your SAAB® should be a pleasure, so we treat your SAAB® as if it is our own. Adding you to our family of customers brings rewards and relationships that we both share. Our goal is to provide you with the best customer service possible. If you are happy then we feel we have done our job the way it should be done. Please email us if you have any questions. We will be happy to assist you.

- DJK

SAAB COLORADO, INC.
5555 W. 11TH. AVE. #E
LAKEWOOD CO 80214

Tel: 303 - 238 - SAAB (7222) / Toll Free: 1 - 888 - 606 - SAAB

Web: http://www.saabman.com

Photo Credit: Saab History

The 1992 Saab 900 Turbo that I just rescued in Washington, D.C. had a safe travel up North to New England with special thanks to Bill Jacobson at Sports Car Service in Wilmington, Delaware, conveniently located off of Interstate 95.

This rust-free mid-atlantic Saab was a private sale that really needed some immediate replacement and repair in the tire & wheel department. The two front wheels were bald, not to mention varying tire speed ratings and three out of the four wheels were identified as bent.

Thanks to Mr. Jacobson’s Viking Wheel Service also conveniently located on the premises at Sports Car Service, I was able to not only get three replacement tires for the trip up North that matched the 4th tire, but I was also able to get these unique directional wheels straightened all at the same time. The result of Viking Wheel Service’s work, yielded a significantly safer and comfortable driving experience in comparison to the first two hours of the drive and that’s the least of what they do.

This Saab enthusiast operated Viking Wheel service not only straightens any and all Saab wheels, but they also completely restore them back to original OEM standards and look brand new. It is also important to mention that unlike many wheel restoring companies that use a process that virtually eliminates the lips of the wheel, Viking Wheel Service uses a special CNC lathe that has the accuracy of 200ths of an inch, resulting in the least amount of material removed in order to ensure a showroom condition.

Here is the list of amazing amount of services they provide:

Wheel straightening, Stripping, Certified Welding, CNC Face Machining, Refinishing, Powder Coating, Polishing, Chrome Plating, Custom Finishes, Wheel Widening, Custom Work, Wheel Locator Service.

I highly recommend taking full advantage of this Saab enthusiast owned and operated Viking Wheel Service at Sports Car Service. Conveniently located right off Interstate 95 for locals on the East coast region of the United States just 2-hours North of Washington, D.C. , and 4 hours South of New York city, Sports Car Service offers a multitude of wheel services at a reasonable price without the burden of state tax given their geographic location in Delaware. With the international exchange rate advantageous to those outside of the United States, you can take note that they also ship Internationally.

This is the place where I will be sending my wheels before next summer. If you need to get your wheels redone once and for all, I suggest you tour their website, then give them a call now that we’re in the winter season so that they are ready to enjoy by the summer.

The 2008 Saab Owners Convention is also just around the corner, so get those beat-up old Saab wheels into Viking Wheel Service, you’ll be glad you did!

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Viking Wheel Service
3901 N. Market St.
Wilmington, DE 19802

Phone: 302.764.4041

E-mail: vikingwheel@verizon.net

Web: http://www.vikingwheel.com/

Please welcome Atomic Auto of Portland, Oregon as Saab History’s first sponsorship from an independent Saab mechanic!

I have yet to visit their shop in person, but I understand that they have a pretty capable crew that are up to any challenge when it comes to servicing those Saabs that are either out of warranty or are of a particular vintage.

Here is a testimonial from a customer in reference to their capabilities:

“Travis Decker’s knowledge of all things SAAB is beyond impressive. He’s always willing to share his knowledge, explain procedures, and discuss options without condescension, and without pushing additional services. He works quickly, with a thoughtful, practical approach to repair and maintenance that must come from being a SAAB owner himself. Travis has gone out of his way on many occasions to make sure I was happy with his work, and with being an SAAB owner (I’m on my second older model). I’ve recommended him highly to my friends and colleagues. He’s the kind of mechanic you hope to find.”

Outside of the servicing end of things, Atomic Auto also races Saabs as depicted in the photographs above. Travis Decker and his team are quite on top of just about everything Saab and from what you will read below, they also appear to get along well together, which can be especially tough the more people you have.

A kind thank you goes to Travis of Atomic Auto for sponsoring Saab History and I look forward to hearing more from them in the near future.

Below you will find their description of who they are, what they do and how it all started:

Atomic Auto was born in a barn in the wilds of northern Oregon during a stormy summer night in June of 2006. Spawned out of the endless energy (and insanity) of owner, manager and slave driver Travis “Wildash” Decker, Atomic Auto is proud to be Portland’s most unique, if not only, exclusively SAAB shop.

We pride ourselves is preserving what is best about Saab’s and improving where we can. We install both genuine saab parts and, by request, after market OEM parts that enhance the… character… of the worlds best cars.

Atomic Auto is staffed by the cream of Portland’s Saab Technician community. We enjoy fighting over music, making car’s fast and fixing all the things that go wrong with our favorite automobile. We are, more specifically;

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Travis Decker

Travis lives in the woods and sleeps in his mechanics uniform. He has dogs and chickens and if you’re nice he’ll bring you eggs, from the chickens. Travis listens to “angry good music” and drives a modified NG 900. As well as a really big truck. When he’s not in the shop he’s probably out fishing for salmon and steelhead, or wandering through the woods grizzly adams style. He and his family have been driving 900’s since the lives of himself and younger brother were saved by a 1980 900 Turbo (1992.)

Eamon

Eamon is from Vermont. He is one of those people that’s really good with anything mechanical. He probably would have beat up Travis if they had gone to school together. But, as it is, he brings a peaceable aura of industry and organization to an otherwise rather chaotic shop. Eamon has “eclectic” music tastes and will fight you if you talk trash about the 9000.

Barry

Barry is the positive reinforcement facet of Atomic Auto. He’s the pretty face and front office charm that keeps us running from day to day. Barry drives a 9-3, as we could not have our main man driving a GEO with a new baby and wife on board. His job is to keep us running (and happy). Barry not only listens to rock music, he actively rocks out on the drums.

Lou

Lou has been working on Saabs for over 30 years. He know’s a lot. A whole lot. Anything Travis is too ADD to fix (or, dare we say…incapable of?) Lou can take care of. Lou listens to country music and drives an OG 900. He’s all respectable and such, which while at odds with the rest of us, is a good yin for our yang.

Austin

Austin is the shop monkey. He went to a pretentious east coast school and then decided he wanted to learn something. After spending a year wandering around Thailand he gave Travis a call and subsequently drove across the country to work at Atomic Auto. Austin organizes things, runs around a lot, and generally does what he can to help out. Austin listens to a lot of Hendrix and Floyd, and drives a 9-3 that is…fast.

We like to think that we’re the best independent Saab repair shop. Ever. Stop by and let us know what you think.

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Atomic Auto

726 SE 6th
Portland, Oregon 97214
503 969-3134

www.atomicauto.biz

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Photo Credits: Saab History, Sports Car Service & National Airviews

On Saturday, October 13th, I had the opportunity to visit the Saab Independent, Sports Car Service of Wilmington, Delaware.

The History

Sports Car Service began operations in November of 1956, the same year that SAAB Motors, Inc. operations began in the United States and this family owned and operated Saab independent sales & service facility has been selling nothing but Swedish-built Saab automobiles ever since.

The People

Upon my visit I was greeted with a firm handshake by owner and general manager, Bill Jacobson, as well as his Father, John who was originally responsible for getting the business off the ground since the first owner passed away just prior to 1961, the same year that SAAB Motors, Inc. moved their operations from Hingham, Massachusetts to 100 Waterfront Street, New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Jacobson also has four sisters, one of which now runs Saab of Baltimore and the first SAAB 96 that she drove resides in his showroom, in good overall shape.

The Collection

This facility conveniently located on North Market Street right, a 5-minute drive off of 495 embodies the true “Spirit of Saab” with an impressive museum-like collection. This collection, located in the main showroom, includes many vintage and extremely rare Saab models representing the likes of the SAAB Sonett I VIN #6, SAAB Quantum IV, SAAB 92, SAAB 93 donated by former President of Saab-Scania of America Bob Sinclair, SAAB 96s, a 1993 900 CE #139, and a one-of-a-kind white 900 convertible built for former President of Saab Cars, USA, Jim Crumlish.

In addition to this facility, there is also a special warehouse located nearby that houses over 40+ SAABs, associated parts and various other miscellaneous items. Of the SAAB’s represented in this warehouse, you will find the first SAAB 93 to be delivered in the State of Delaware, the SAAB Quantum I, the dual-drivetrain Saab 900, an un-built SAAB Quantum IV kit, and a SONETT I (94) mold.

The Memorabilia

Throughout the facility, from the showroom, to the accessories to the back office, to the customer waiting room, this enthusiast-run independent Saab facility showcases more SAAB memorabilia than I ever knew existed. From the scale models, dealer awards, vintage photographs depicting legendary notables such as Tryggve Holm & Ralph Millet to the videos and posters a plenty, I became more impressed, ultimately leaving me speechless and unable to answer the question asked frequently, “so what do you think?”. As I eventually made my way through every room at Sports Car Service, I realized that each wall told a series of Saab stories and these stories are important to not only the family history with Saab, but the family’s continued contribution as a whole to the Saab community.

The Enthusiasts

During my visit and tour of the facility, I was also introduced to a notable Saab Enthusiast in the Saab Community by the name of Stefan Vapaa who, alongside his Father, have a long history of SAAB involvement, specifically in the racing scene. As part of my visit, I had the special opportunity to visit his Saab workshop not so far from Sports Car Service (SCS) as a passenger in his beautiful silver Saab 9-5 Aero, to return in none other than a yellow SAAB Sonett II, VIN #651 open-top racer back to SCS. The experience in Stefan’s Sonett was exhilarating even as a passenger. As we got up to highway speeds, I got to take in the beautiful sky due to the open top, the wind, due to a lowered windscreen, and the unparalleled handling characteristics that make this roadster ideal for racing and finally the extra kick we had due to the 108 octane racing fuel this machine required. As we made our way back to SCS, I smiled because I have never experienced anything quite this unique, given that we were driving a very customized Sonett II tailored to the racing scene. If you would like to find out more about Stefan’s Saab racing scene, please visit his website, At Speed.

The Swedish Heritage

Bill Jacobson, a second generation Swede, and his father, John, who’s parents came over from Sweden at the age of 19, have kept the Swedish heritage alive in a region rich with Swedish history. Wilmington, Delaware or “New Sweden” as it is also referred to, proudly celebrates being the port town where Swedish Immigrant ships first landed and built a fort back in 1638. It was also in Wilmington, Delaware that the first widely touted and attended Saab Owners Convention took place back in 1988 which included this Swedish Heritage theme as part of the program.

Environmental Awareness

There was one important aspect to this entire operation that embodies the phrase “environmental awareness”. Bill Jacobson of Sports Car Services makes a strong statement towards his company’s environmental impact with a very progressive system in place that not only greatly reduces electricity usage from the conventional source with the installation of nearly the entire rooftop of photo voltaic solar panels, but he also reclaims waste oil from customer oil changes and uses that oil to heat his facility in the winter season.

As a business, there are still those out there that are still overwhelmed by all of the new technologies when attempting to “go green”, then there are those that realize that it doesn’t take more than a few types of technology to make a significantly positive impact on the environment.

The direction that Sports Car Service has created, makes them a leader among businesses in the State of Delaware and another proud member in the global movement of environmental sustainability of which others can follow.

Summary

All in all, I was very impressed and thankful for having the opportunity to visit Sports Car Service in Wilmington, Delaware. I highly recommend this facility for ALL of your “Swedish-built” Saab needs, whether they are purchases of pre-owned Saabs, service needs by highly trained Saab service technicians, or even parts where you will find availability of just about everything including rare vintage parts and accessories.

This family-owned and operated independent Saab-only facility is top notch and truly embodies the Saab spirit with a strong Swedish flare!

Sports Car Service Inc.
3901 N. Market St.
Wilmington, DE 19802
http://www.sportscarservice.com/

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Photo Credits: Scott Hutchings

Scott Hutchings, the President of the Saab Owners Club of Canada, has just provided Saab History a press release appropriately titled “What happens when a hobby becomes more than just a hobby“?

Christian Skovbjerg as pilot and Scott Hutchings as co-pilot have now officially launched Aktive Motors Inc, a Saab Sales & Service business in Toronto, Ontario Canada. I am very excited for them about this venture and wish them well!

Here is the well written press release below:

What happens when a hobby becomes more than just a hobby?

You end up with something called Aktive Motors Inc.

Aktive Motors Inc. is the brain child of Christian Skovbjerg, a veteran of over 25 years of experience working on Saabs. Christian was educated in Sweden as an automotive engineer and worked for Saab Scania for many years, including roles such as Service Educator in Trollhättan at the head office for Saab.
Christian was also the first Saab Scania Master technician in the GTA.
He has worked in a number of the dealerships in the GTA and even spent some time in Singapore as a General Service Manager for a Saab/Porsche importer.

Obviously, Christian takes his “hobbies” very seriously.

This is where I come in. When Christian mentioned the idea of opening a Saab specialty shop to me, it was like a giant light bulb went on all of a sudden. “What would it be like to work in a place that deals with something that has become my greatest hobby?” Ideas started flowing and we started talking about this seriously. Christian wouldn’t have to do this on his own. I offered to work for him in whatever capacity he felt would fit. That was well over a year ago and on Tuesday July 3, we opened the doors on Aktive Motors Inc.
Don’t get me wrong, this is Christian’s business … he is the big cheese, the head honcho, the owner, but we will be building this business together.

Our mission is simple … to provide Saab owners with a place they feel at home, where they can come in for a coffee and a chat or have their Saab rebuilt from the ground up. We won’t be the cheapest place out there, but we also will not be cutting corners. When you come in for a brake job, you can expect the little things … like ensuring that you have had your brake fluid changed within the past 2 years. As part of our service, we will paint your callipers for you. Need an oil change? You’ll also get a complimentary wash and vacuum. Getting a major service on the car? We’ll take the extra time and detail your car for you.

We plan to have an extensive supply of new and used parts and are working with several suppliers of Saab performance parts. No longer will you have to order stuff from the US, the UK, or elsewhere. You will be able to buy in Canada and not worry about the hassles of customs, duties, or brokerage fees. And if we don’t have a relationship with a supplier, we will be happy to look into developing that. You will either be able to pick up the phone, stop by in person, or eventually, order on-line and have the parts shipped to you. Not only will we be able to supply the parts to a DYI’er, but we will also provide professional installation services for those not interested in getting their hands dirty.

Without any question, our focus will be on providing quality service and support for Saabs that no longer enjoy the benefits of warranty. However, for those who choose n