If you've been hankering to throw a Saab through the slalom at the brand's Aero Academy, but you don't own a Saab, the gates have been opened to you. Saab has made the 2-day driving school at Road Atlanta available to U.S. drivers of every make. The cost for Saab owners is $495, good for up to a year after a 2008 Saab is purchased. The cost for non-Saab owners, and Saab owners who've had their car for more than a year, is a whopping $1,495.
Academy instructors are also racing drivers, and things are kept intimate with an instructor/student ratio of 1:4. The Academy splits 20-percent classroom time with 80-percent behind-the-wheel time working on handling maneuvers like the skid pad and slalom, "threshold" braking, lane change exercises, and an autocross course.
The cost doesn't include hotel or meals, of course. To enroll in the Saab Aero Academy, you can visit SaabAcademy.com or call 800.456.4728. Just don't expect to be doing this after two days with Saabs' instructors.
[Source: GM]
PRESS RELEASE:
Saab Aero Academy Now Open For All
DETROIT -- The exclusive Saab Aero Academy two-day performance driving school held at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., once reserved for Saab Aero model customers only, is now available to U.S. drivers everywhere. The cost is only $495 in combination with the purchase of a new Saab and $1,000 more without.
The intensive two-day course combines driver education with the thrill of piloting Saab Aero performance vehicles. It consists of 80 percent advanced handling exercises on specially constructed training tracks and 20 percent classroom time. Aero Academy instructors are professional race car drivers.
"The Saab Aero Academy is an important element of the overall Saab customer experience," says Saab Automobile USA General Manager Steve Shannon. "Improving driving skills and learning how to avoid an accident benefit American road-ways. Besides, pushing Saab 9-3s and 9-5s to the limits on a safe, closed course is just plain fun and we wanted to share that experience with as many people as possible. Bottom line, if you love to drive and want to sharpen your skills in a Saab, it's a must."
Aero Academy enrollees experience a skid pad where they learn how to control a car with proper steering, throttle and brake responses; "threshold" braking, which teaches how to apply brakes, improve reaction time and avoid brake lockup; a lane change exercise which is designed to improve reflexes and car control skills; a slalom course which tests timing, throttle and steering skills - all while avoiding the orange cones; and an autocross, a scaled down race track that tests cornering, braking, acceleration and skid control while using 100 percent of the cars' potential.
Saab Aero Academy instructors are active in open wheel formula racing, sports car racing, endurance racing and oval track racing. Instructor to student ratio is 1:4. More than 2,000 Saab owners have participated in the Aero Academy since it was founded in 1999 under the name "Viggen Flight Academy."
To enroll in the Saab Aero Academy visit SaabAcademy.com or call 800.456.4728. Customers who purchase or lease a 2008 Saab will receive a voucher good for $1,000 of the $1,495* Saab Aero Academy tuition. All participants are responsible for travel and hotel as well as meals not part of the program.
Saab is a division of General Motors Corp. Saab Automobile USA is the importer and/or distributor of Saab 9-3, 9-5 and 9-7X automobiles for Saab Automobile AB, Sweden. In 2007, Saab celebrates 60 years since first being introduced to the automotive scene as the vision-turned-reality of 16 aircraft engineers. Visit www.saabusa.com for more information.
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