New Saab 9-3 Linear

Folks,

I actually bought a Saab with 8 miles on it!! It's the new 2004 Linear. I could not afford the Arc or the Aero, but it's my third Saab, and my first new one.

I got rid of my 900S Convertible (1997 with 101K on it) b/c we have a kid on the way, and the wife said "4 DOORS!" I got the $500 "loyalty" cash off the car. But the dealer made me a sweet deal in any case.

Well . . .

1) I'd never owned a turbo. CHOICE! I love the sound 2) The new design in wonderful, inside and out. I think it rivals the BMW 5 Series and Lexus ANYTHING!

3) It's a manual, and I forgot how much I actually love shifting. I always had my hand on the gearshift in the automatic convertible, like I was about to do something. Maybe it will get old in 120K miles, I'll let you know.

Question(s): I didn't really read up on this thing, but has anyone heard anything that might signal a red flag on the new 9-3s?

I heard rumor that folks should run the engine at idle for a couple minutes when done driving to give the turbo and chance to actually cool. Is this true?

Thanks in advance,

- Colorado

Reply to
Colorado M. Heart
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Old news. That applied before turbos were water cooled.If you pull into the driveway after driving with moderation, just shut it off after idling to a couple seconds. OTOH, if you run it hard and pull to a quick stop, let the turbo spin down for 20 seconds. No biggie.

Reply to
Bob

But why did they choose such a name as 'Linear' ?

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

To make the other names sound better?

Charles

Reply to
Charles Christacopoulos

It does invite speculation. Maybe there is something about the steering: can it only go in straight lines? Maybe it was because "Non-linear" would have started people asking tricky questions.

-- Andrew Stephenson

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

Congratulations on the new car!

If you get a turbo, a manual transmission is the only way to go. You can keep the turbo boost and rpms up through the turns by downshifting. Oh I forgot, you got this car because you have a child on the way, so don't drive like this with the wife in the car . . .

As for letting the engine cool down a bit, this is only necessary if you ran the the engine hard just before parking the car. I usually back into a parking space and the time it takes to carefully back in is enough to let the engine cool down. I have a Classic SPG with a manual and you have to put it in 3rd before you put it in reverse.

Reply to
ma_twain

The names Linear, Arc and Vector does appear to be randomly picked. Hence I close my eyes and pick three random words from my dictionary for the next generation Saab models. They are:

Irascible, Mozzarella, Croupier.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

Wanna have the Mozzarella, although this one sounds very cheesy ;-)

Cheers

Nicky

Reply to
Nicky Serfling

Quite many years ago Ford had an effective advertising campaign for Ford Escorts models. Three cars lined up were named: The good, the bad and the ugly. 1100cc, 1600cc and 2000cc respectively. Unfortunately, Ford didn't have the courage to put these names on the boot lids :-)

I think also that they wouldn't get away with such advertising in today's climate as it would be too suggestive of road madness.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

Actually, randomly picked in a math textbook. Probably more by how good they sound, rather than just randomly.

Trying to do same from a cookbook?

Reply to
devil

Edible cars (sort of): Citroen, Ford Cougar+Puma, Jaguar, Mini Moke, Suzuki Cappuccino, VW Beetle+Polo(mint).

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

[snip]

These are all mathematical terms relating to geometry. Not surprising given that a exterior designer is well-versed in euclidean geometry.

Dan

Reply to
Dan

Hmmm. A vector is a much later concept, but useful for geometry. Linear is used for algebra, e.g. linear algebra, linear equations. However, at that level I would expect a bit more than euclidean geometry. But in any case I suspect that they use CAD packages with most of the mathematical functionality well hidden below the surface.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

"Johannes H Andersen" skrev i en meddelelse news:40D5672B.3F17FA66@sizefitter_lkmertolehinginweaeskr.com...

Hi Johannes.

Can I move you to delete all the text you're not replying to - in your replies? So that only the sentence you're actually making a comment to is left. As it is now, one has to scroll 3 - 400 lines down, to read your comments.

Thanx.

M.v.h. Henrik

Reply to
Henrik B.

[...]

Oops, I did it again. Sorry Sir I shall try to remember that.

Reply to
Johannes H Andersen

So, we would have the "9~3 Functional" for a base model, the "(9~3 Integral" for the mid model, and the "9~3 Googolplexial" for the top of the line.

:-)

Reply to
Bob

Well, how about not "all", but "all but just enough to set context", like this?

Reply to
Dave Hinz

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