Nines 351

I trust you have all seen the recent Wheeler Dealer’s episode, the one with a few minutes of footage from the SOC 17 in Pomona. If you haven’t, you can find it on Amazon Video and purchase the episode for just a few dollars. Many of our Saab friends, or at least their Saab’s, had a cameo appearance, and we had fun hosting Mike and Ant last summer. SCNA has observed an exciting uptick in web hits and inquiries since the episode first aired in October, and luckily, we had our newly updated website live in time for my television debut. I appreciate the hard work of our board members and others to get the site up and running and for helping SCNA remain visible and viable for the future.

While we have been working hard on planning for SOC 18, there have been regional events and celebrations to enjoy as well. The New England Saabs group planned another successful Mt. Washington drive, and I am proud to announce that my car won a Cayden’s Choice Award at the recent Wedding Show on 9-3-2017. Congratulations to Brad and Keira on your special day, and thanks for sharing it with so many of your Saab family and friends.

In the midst of all this, I managed to pick up another Saab recently. Although the power of the 2.8 Turbo is excessive and the XWD unnecessary, I find myself the proud owner of a 2009 9-3 Aero with XWD. The sticker price of this amazing vehicle was more than $45,000 when new in 2009, and the car has most options available at the time. I am reminded of how amazing the XWD system is, especially when mated to the Electronic Stability Program, or ESP. This system incorporates the ABS and TCS systems to anticipate the drives intention, and make adjustments to each wheel individually. This system, only available in the Turbo X, the 2009 Aero XWD and the 2011 9-3x Sport-combi, represents the pinnacle of design and technology for the last generation 9-3, and driving this car is invigorating.

Now I can be assured to arrive in style on August 9, 2018 at the 36^th annual Saab Owners’ Convention.