What I miss most is the instant torque when you step on the accelerator. On my new Saab the turbocharger has to spool up before I have any power and that takes a second. It's most noticeable when I want to dart into traffic but the car just putters along or a second or two.

I'm just whining (Or whinging if you're in the UK). Next May when my daughter has been driving for a year I'm going to look for an XKR.

 

Sorry, Sam.

I completely understand. I now, accidentally, have 3 toy cars and 2 must go. Terrible, terrible situation!

Hope you are doing well!

 

Damn Sam. I'm sorry to hear your Saab isn't a Jag.

I've seen some really good prices lately... you may be in luck soon.

 

Get an R...and then do a video of Avos' Twin Screw upgrade....now that would be awesome!!

 

That's good news, Sam (that you are already planning for the XKR).
My first car was a '71 99LE. My 2000 XKR is a definite improvement.

 

Good news on the XKR

Recent SAABs were simply reskinned Opel/Vauxhall Vectras; there's nothing wrong with that, but they'll never be 'special' like a Jag. Early models were also renowned for turbo lag.

Prior to my XKR I had a brand new Golf GTI Mk6. In many ways it was superior to the Jag, but it had no soul or character of any sort. I sold it after a year.

 

Rev;

When I suggested a couple of times that you just get an XKR I didn't mean you should go cold turkey until you got one and dump the XK8.

You have perfectly underlined my longstanding preference for supercharging over turbocharging though. You get the power right away and all across the acceleration curve.

Sorry you had to sell after all of the work you had to do to get your front end sorted but Saab's have their virtues too and this will give you time to find exactly the R that you want.

And I think White XKR has already offered to let you test drive his.....be sure to have take off clearance when you floor it.

Good luck with your 'withdrawal pains'.

cheers,

jj

 

Sam,

How does a turbo Saab hurt your insurance premium any less than a normally-aspirated 10-year-old XK8 would here in North Carolina?

When our daughter was a newly-licensed 16-year-old driver back in the early 1990s, we put her in a 5-year-old Honda CRX and signed notarized documents with our State Farm agent promising that it was the ONLY vehicle in our 5-vehicle household she could or would drive. Case closed. Our SUVs, trucks, and sports cars were never affected by her being a new driver with that Honda. Perhaps the rules have changed in the past 20 years, but you may want to shop your car insurance around to just be sure. It certainly would not hurt....

 

Oh but Sam you won't miss it once you've driven an XKR. Men are fickle creatures and once you press that 'S' button and kick the thing down the love of an XK8 will last - about 4 seconds.
But please stay faithful to the rag top and the pre 2006 body shape.
Of course with a blower there's even more to go wrong so more videos!
There's got to be a way round the insurance thing - I know nothing about US law but maybe a company could own the car with you as the only driver if Jon89's idea won't work?

 

According to my insurance company (USAA, whom I trust) they could not exclude my daughter from the Jag because of North Carolina laws.

 

To be honest, and I really hate to say this, I'm kinda enjoying the Saab. It's definitely not as enjoyable as the Jag, but the top has a built-in tonneau cover and I don't have to worry about exploding hoses every time I operate the top. I don't have to get out of the car to take of the tonneau cover if it starts to rain. There's room in the back for two more people.

I got an AWESOME deal on this car because it had a few little issues which I knew I could easily fix. (Plus the seller was advertising it as a convertAble and not getting many hits) So I've been busy making videos and posting them on the Saab forum. All of the issues with the Jag were fixed and I didn't have anything to tinker with.

Unfortunately for my ego, the Saab forum members don't seem to be impressed by my videos.

 

"Unfortunately for my ego, the Saab forum members don't seem to be impressed by my videos. "

You just haven't been able to take a good "bird-shot" picture of your Saab to post in your signature yet Hang in there, they just haven't had the chance to warm up to you yet.

Steve

 

Hi Rev, I haven't been following all the details with your xk8's new owner, I read you were making any excuse to drop by and see her by bringing the extra keys, etc... but have you run of reasons to go see the ol' gal?

Please be honest and let us know when the saab just doesn't have the new girlfriend feeling anymore, ok? We'd hate to think that you found a 'suitable' 'mini-xk8' replacement.

I'll be sure to post some nice pics of my recent detail...see if that helps or hinders the feelings of longing.

 

I found another excuse to go visit her. I came across the factory touchup paint in the garage. I called the new owner to ask if he wanted it. He said YES! Still haven't gone yet. He said he's been getting lots of looks.

 

Why don't you get yourself a nice cheap project car and spend the time fixing it up, plenty around cheap

I just bought myself another XK (probably let the wife drive this one ) a 98 XK8 convertible in Platinum Silver for £1500 thats about $2250, has a slight running issue

That gives me 4 XKs now...... Think I am gonna need a bigger garage!

 

I actually thought about that. There was one for sale about 2 hours from here for something like $3000. I actually posted the ad here on JF for others to see. I thought about it for a couple of days and then when I went to look at the ad again it had been sold. If I see an unbelievable deal I might ****** it up and just not register the vehicle while I fiddle with it. As long as it's not registered I don't need to insure it.

 

Sam: It would be great to have you back. You would be very happy with a late 100 series XKR. A lot less maintenance I would expect.
As to the Saab forum, do you suppose that most of the members are engineers, Birkenstock wearer type?/ or more the tree hugging , plastic shopping bag saver type? I can't imagine them not being impressed with your videos.

 

The reason that the Saab forum guys are not impressed with Sam's videos is quite simple. Sam doesn't speak Swedish....

 

lol

The newer convertible Saabs do look really nice. I had a guy who thought his was sporty though. He kinda had a look of fear in his eyes when he heard me stomp on the pedal.

 

Actually they seem to be the type who care more about the cool stereo upgrade, or cool LED lighting in the door handles, or cool fake carbon fiber stickers over the wood pieces in the interior, or the cool leather boot to put over your automatic transmission shifter to make it look like a stick, or how to add a blow-off valve to get that cool sound that will make people think the car actually has power.

They are heavy into the gadgets and add-ons, and light on the maintenance and troublshooting.