What it's Like to Drive with Night Panel in a Saab!

Night panel is one of the strangest and quirkiest features about Saab, and although I touched on it in a previous video, I wanted to go more in depth on it. So, today I wanted to try something new, and bring you all a POV style video. It took a bit to set this up, but I'm happy with how the camera angle turned out. I would like to do more of these style videos in the future, and if you liked it, make sure to give a big thumbs up :) As always, thanks for watching!
Outro song: • Brandon Jonak & Pep.B ...
Merchandise: www.redbubble....
Email: [e-mail]
Instagram: @Auto.Autopsy
Twitter: @AutoAutopsyYT

[@atticstattic]

The instrument panel on that car gives me goosebumps - it's like being in the cockpit of fighter jet!

[@AutoAutopsy]

It's a great experience!

[@diogocabritaster1]

SAAB was aeroplane manufacturer

[@DFWsCars]

That's actually really helpful. Surprised more companies didn't integrate that.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Very good when you're traveling on a road with no lights!

[@erebostd]

Because most of us drive an roads and don't fly in the night sky... It's a quite different use case...

[@McclaudEagle]

I frequently use nightpanel and it really is useful as I've noticed it does significantly reduce eye strain. That said, eye strain isn't too much of a problem anyway as Saab chose the least irritating colour for their dashboard lighting.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Good point!

[@the80386]

the least irritating is orange. it's warm and easy on the eyes long term. that's why submarines use it.

[@anaholik]

80386 And BMW ^^

[@generalrodcocker1018]

Kalle E and audi

[@bra55ic_gaming]

great for road trips when your eyes are strained

[@AutoAutopsy]

Exactly :)

[@mikaelpersson5981]

It's not very useful when you have a lot of street lights all around. If you go out in the country side it's a whole different matter and for the very dark Scandinavian winters, night panel is a very nice to have.

[@rupunzel6299]

Not just eye strain, this feature is much about reducing visual and ergonomic loading on the driver. The concept and idea comes from aircraft design where ergonomics holds a very high design value. One of the most significant factors in pilot performance is distractions from unnecessary information inputs. By limiting the information presented to the pilot (in this case, driver) the pilot can focus on flying instead of being distracted by normal operation of the aircraft. This is essentially why and how Saab's night panel works. Originally featured on the NG900, there was no pop the speedo back on at 85 mph, it turned off the other illuminated gauges and interior dash lights until night panel was dis-engaged. If something was not proper, the indicator light would come on. This action would easily draw driver's visual focus to the indicator due to the high contrast of the indicator against what is essentially a dark back drop.

[@ltviktor]

whats even better is auto dimming interior and exterior mirrors :D

[@BKeaton]

I am so happy I found this channel. I'm getting my own 2003 Saab 9-3 next week. These cars are amazing!

[@AutoAutopsy]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy the videos :)

[@simonvs5401]

Try to buy 2005-2006 models, almost free of problems if you haven't already bought the 2003

[@chapolomas4581]

Hows the car?!!

[@BKeaton]

@@chapolomas4581 I crashed it only a couple months after I got it 😭😭😭

[@dodgydave1053]

@@simonvs5401 is this legit?

[@luke4800]

saab are so underrated and unique. its really awesome how the dash looks like airplane instruments as they also use to make planes.

[@AutoAutopsy]

agreed!

[@tomtomek2642]

this is what all new cars need today!!!!!!!!

[@rgallen6782]

Even though night panel was a Saab invention, it's not the only manufacturer that uses it. Citroën also employs it in its higher-end models (like the C5). It's worth to note that Citroëns, just like Saabs, have always stood out as being quirky and unique.

[@AutoAutopsy]

I didn't know!

[@panaintecalin6123]

I'm in love with this feature, my eyes are getting tired from lights on long night rides, and this is definitely one ,but not the only, reason I choose SAAB!!! This feature together with self tinting mirrors helps a lot to feel safe and comfort from all lights inside and out.

[@AutoAutopsy]

It awesome :)

[@Mangotrond]

I find it very useful, using it on a non-lit road in the night, its very comfortable on the eyes

[@AutoAutopsy]

So do I :)

[@TrisGV]

It's actually helpful, reduces glare on the windshield, does actually reduce strain on long trips, works for me at least!

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yep!

[@Muniz918]

NightPanel can also be set to illuminate the entire speedo all the way to 160 in the settings on the SID. =)

[@AutoAutopsy]

Cool!

[@DerekChabrow]

this is probably the most funky thing to have on a car, used in Saab planes in WWII during bombing raids. It helped to dim lights to prevent the plane being sighted by the Nazi anti-aircraft artillery

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yep, thanks for the fact :)

[@volvo1354]

Derek Chabrowski how could Sweden have bombed any country during WWII ? they were a Neutral country.

[@koosmotormuis]

My Saab has driven 280,000 km. The windshield too. There are small holes in it. Stone chips. In the city, with a lot of ambient light, together with rain, that gives a lot of flicker. It's dangerous and exhausting. So I need a new windshield. Until then I turn on the night vision. I immediately (!) feel the pressure of my eyes drop. In the far north, Sweden and Norway, drivers turn night vision on to enjoy the Northern Lights even more.👍🤓🇳🇱🌷

[@johngordon9889]

That was the best feature when I had my 9-5. Thanks for the video.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@1in7.8b]

That start up sounds nice.

[@AutoAutopsy]

ILYSM

[@mcdonaldsfreewifi2100]

Nightpanel is great feature for focussing on the road at night.

[@DerekChabrow]

and it does actually come in handy when you're driving in very dark conditions and want to keep very focused on the road. For example, it prevented me from hitting a coyote while driving thru the desert in Arizona where it's just pitch black, if i had a glare from the cockpit lights i probably would not have seen it trying to cross the road. But the Saab engineer that put that into Saabs was actually thinking of driving in snowy conditions at night. That's where this feature is most helpful.

[@AutoAutopsy]

You're in AZ? I you live in Phoenix and are familiar with Pecos road (the portion currently being converted into the 202 extension), I use it on there all the time!

[@robin212]

I want to use nightpanel but at the same time i enjoy my pretty green lights in the cabin

[@AutoAutopsy]

its a good feature!

[@CarDietrich]

I love night panel. I wish all cars had it

[@AutoAutopsy]

It's a great feature :)

[@cipmars]

It's more of a party trick, but it helps on long night drives. I had a SAAB 9-3 YS3D (the previous model) with a 2.2 diesel. It was really noisy but in more than five years and over 100.000kms I only had to clean the EGR once, change the air flow meter and a window regulator. Of course, regular oil and filter changes and the brake pads. It was a really good car.

[@AutoAutopsy]

awesome

[@nicolasc7696]

I have a feature just like this in a Citroen C4 Lounge and it’s very usefull while driving at night. More cars should have

[@AutoAutopsy]

Awesome!

[@xYounas]

I always use nightpanel when im driving at night when there is no road lights ofcourse. Really nice when you're on a highway driving a couple of hours. Too bad my aftermarket stereo shines bright like a diamond...

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah that's something I was thinking about...I guess you can't really shut those displays off...

[@fastmclaren71]

The best use for the night panel is when it's really foggy at night. Cuts the glare down.

[@lukasb9697]

I really love the Nightpanel and when its getting dark I swith on the nightpanel, even in Cities. Driving on rainy roads on highway is a lot more confortable with Nightpanel

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, it's great!

[@jonowee]

I work night shift, so I do a fair amount of mid-dawn night driving. I like Night Panel, but I only used it for the first handful of months. My problems with Night Panel is why Saab goes beyond just dimming or shutting the backlighting, and they wind down the dial hands to zero for unlit dials like fuel and engine temps. If Saab just left the dials functioning but unlit or reduced backlighting for essentials so we could check fuel situation with incidental streetlight ahead of time before it becomes an issue, I would be using Night Panel instead of the lowest backlight setting on all dials.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, i like to be able to see all of the instruments

[@lkgreenwell]

My 1958 Riley 2.6 Auto used to have what they called "infra red" illumination for the speedo and tacho - the needles and numbers just used to glow faintly, but legibly

[@AutoAutopsy]

Wow, that's very similar..cool feature for sure

[@russteenails4192]

The alternative would be to have the gauges illuminated in red. Some people find red to be easier on the eyes at night.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Interesting

[@DFWsCars]

very true- I've seen that on another company that had a few things to do with airplanes, BMW.

[@jakegackle7398]

Pontiac did that for years. Red interior lights. They really are easier on the eyes.

[@russteenails4192]

Yep. I own an '88 Pontiac Firebird. The instrument cluster is illuminated red.

[@trionic5]

Huh, my parents have a 2012 Nissan Rouge and the lights are orange/red. They also have a Veloster but the instrument lights are blue in that.

[@focused200]

i wish my car had a feature like this we do have country roads an my interior lights are bright. great video man

[@AutoAutopsy]

Thanks :)

[@generalrodcocker1018]

does not every car have a dimmer?

[@joellofquist2537]

I heard it was to keep your eyes from getting distressed from all of the lights. I use this often when I'm driving at night and long drives and what not it actually helps

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, so do i! It's very useful in that way

[@joellofquist2537]

Auto Autopsy I get tired when all the lights are on

[@jacobbaird9361]

Wish my Alero had this. I'm a delivery driver and on nights when I close my eyes get so strained. I mean i live east of Phoenix so there's all the street lamps but just dimming the lights when i go down the stretch of Elliot past Ellsworth that's all dark makes a slight difference that does help

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, it's helpful on roads without streetlights

[@sidthescenic09]

Wow, that is a unique feature. Love it.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Thanks!

[@patriotbarrow]

My Citroen has that function. Very useful.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Cool, unsure any other cars have a true "night panel"

[@SJSOmar]

U should install interior lights like inside the air vents and under the dash looks nice I have it in my grey Saab

[@AutoAutopsy]

Link to where you got them?

[@SJSOmar]

Btw I think they added nightpanel because green gives off more lumens than say red or blue in the RGB and if they added red or blue for the buttons it would look odd

[@AutoAutopsy]

Interesting!

[@Audsmallet]

I love night panel mode on my 9-3 aero ... but I find it more distracting then having everything illuminated lol...

[@AutoAutopsy]

Lol!

[@stephenchamberlain1507]

Ithink its a great idea,on the {motorway} highway its great if your sat there for 3-4 hrs ,,i have worked on ship for years and its the same on the bridge of the ship ,,you want it as dark as possible inside so there a better and clear view out the windows ,no reflections to distract you ..use mine a lot ,,Also i heard if your saab has been tuned,in night mode,if you floor it the boost gauge will light up as you enter the Red ,,mine does ,,cool

[@AutoAutopsy]

Mine doesn't do that :( Sounds cool though

[@stefanmodigh7897]

Does cars now in 2019 have this? Had a Saab 900 95' and the Black Panel was a awesome feature. Made the driving expreince on dark highways much more comfortable, especially during the winter months in Sweden where it gets really dark.

[@AutoAutopsy]

nope, I haven't seen anything with them! :(

[@fortune300]

WTF? No usage? I find it really great to turn off most of the light in the interior when traveling on longer trips on high way. Makes the trip even more relaxed.

[@AutoAutopsy]

I agree! I usually use it on roads with no lights

[@jakegackle7398]

If you have trouble seeing in front of you because of the interior lights, then you need to upgrade to brighter headlights. Xenons work much better. On a sidenote, I wish that you could change the interior color from go green to basically any other color. The green was different than other cars, but I might have preferred red or blue instead. (when I had my Saab)

[@AutoAutopsy]

I don't have an issue with seeing in front of me, my headlights are very bright.

[@AutoAutopsy]

But yeah, the green isn't the prettiest color in my mind, but it's certainly different

[@SinisterShelby]

I had no idea!

[@AutoAutopsy]

It's pretty neat!

[@abedileroi9808]

Gotta love Saabs

[@AutoAutopsy]

:)

[@nickamarit]

POV is a bit too shaky for my liking... I like a front-facing in-car camera view with the camera suction-mounted in the middle of the car (from the rear window).

[@AutoAutopsy]

Thanks for the input

[@buddyanddaisy123]

Supposedly, RED is the best for night vision-yet only two mfgs. (BMW and Pontiac) ever used red. i prefer a orange yellow tint.

[@AutoAutopsy]

I don't like the green THAT much, and would personally prefer blue

[@judsonmoore1655]

Man, now I miss my Saab

[@AutoAutopsy]

:(

[@thezaalls]

How did you mount the camera? I would like to make a pov drive of my saab but im not sure where and how to put the camera. Also, exhaust sounds great! :D

[@AutoAutopsy]

I duct taped a mount to a hat lol. Headstrap provides a horrible angle

[@thezaalls]

Ok, thanks

[@Farrell0208]

Phoenix? road signs look familiar.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Most of this was in Tempe, so yeah basically!

[@pazuqa123456789]

Hello, I bought a Saab 9-3,2007,4 months ago and i have a problem with it.Whenever i remove the key from contact it is like i don t ,the radio, the dashboard and all the lights are still on and i think this is the reason why my battery die so fast.I was also at auto services and they have no idea why this is happening.Does anyone know what is the problem?

[@AutoAutopsy]

I'm not sure how you can fix this issue long term, but for now you're just going to have to disconnect the battery on one end every time you turn the car off

[@buddyanddaisy123]

I have a simialr system-it is called a "Dimmer switch"-easy to use!

[@AutoAutopsy]

Cool!

[@gitaarmovies2003]

I've never used nightpanel because I have to see where redline is when accelerating...

[@AutoAutopsy]

It might come on if you near redline...that's a fun experiment to try lol

[@gitaarmovies2003]

Auto Autopsy yeah that's actually a pretty good idea :D

[@lethorion]

When you get close to redlining it should wake up the rpm meter. Basically, it can wake up any gauge if it is about to display important info. Like engine starting to heat to abnormal temperatures, rpm redlining etc etc.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, someone else commented telling me it will illuminate at 6k RPM

[@gitaarmovies2003]

Auto Autopsy isn't that a little bit late? Redline is 6,5k and if i accelerate full throttle the engine is at 6,5k before the needle gets to 6k on the dash.. (keep in mind that I have a manual so a rpm gauge is pretty important)

[@noahingersoll5499]

What kind of exhaust do you have on your Saab?

[@gcmarcal]

I have a Saab and I didnt know that

[@AutoAutopsy]

Go try it out!

[@AsloAso]

It would limit the level of distraction would is great

[@AutoAutopsy]

it does!

[@acalthu]

it's a useful feature, not a feature which allows SaaB stand out lol. You're driving on a dark road, all those lights can get too bright.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Definitely!

[@foxtrot2320]

i am thinking about buying a 2003 saab 9-3 2.0t as my first car but cant just afford it yet i even found a nice deal

[@AutoAutopsy]

They're very cheap cars, and you get A LOT of car for the money. Keep saving, you won't regret the purchase :) Just make sure it has good maintenance history and has been kept up well

[@gabecruz1045]

Auto Autopsy are they reliable?

[@AutoAutopsy]

I had a few issues in my first few months of ownership, but it has been great recently. Nothing serious

[@AIRDRAC]

except for the monday models (especially the 2.1 engine, which broke down a lot, but generally the old cars with the engine mounted longitudinally had some degree of reliability problems compared to the models from the mid 90's and forward - end even they can go 900.000+ km if serviced correctly) Saabs are extremely reliable, if cared for properly. Parts can be really expensive though, especially for the more exotic versions (Aero, Viggen, etc.), and turbos are also rather expensive too. We've had a few Saabs, and they all drove very far before being sold (not a single one has been scrapped, just sold in favor of a newer model), and they went roughly: '84 900 GL - 370.000-ish KM

[@AutoAutopsy]

If you're in America, the 2.0T is the only engine option if you get the 2003 model year. There's the Linear (175hp), Arc (210hp and my trim level), and Aero (210hp, the "sporty" model).

[@dgw7732]

what rims did you have added aftermarket?

[@AutoAutopsy]

18x8" www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=P3880355110BS&wheelMake=Sport+Edition&wheelModel=P3&wheelFinish=Bright+Silver+Paint&showRear=no&autoMake=Saab&autoModel=9-3+Arc&autoYear=2003&autoModClar=With+Metal+Valve+Stems

[@daniel27560]

mk4 vw have this 1999-2005

[@AutoAutopsy]

I haven't heard of that

[@daniel27560]

Auto Autopsy all mk4 vw have the lights and a switch to control the brightness

[@davidjackson3221]

🏁🏁🏁🎬👍

[@AutoAutopsy]

🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@Dylster501]

I saw someone once glitched it and turn it completely off. Also I posted a vid of dipping my Saab check it out and let me what you think?

[@AutoAutopsy]

That's certainly strange

[@aryamantheone604]

Most cars still dont have this

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yep, it makes saabs unique

[@offspringfan100]

It's bullshit if you have an aftermarket radio

[@AutoAutopsy]

Yeah, you can't really dim that

[@gp2040]

Lol. In this vid u passed my school. I live very close. Sorry not about the vid, just thought it was funny.

[@AutoAutopsy]

Lol all good dude

[@obeekrow7295]

FIRST

[@AutoAutopsy]

Woohoo!

[@dgw7732]

second

[@AutoAutopsy]

:)

[@johnmccarthy169]

Probably the best way to drive SAAB is to the junk yard.

[@AutoAutopsy]

That's a really, really bad attempt at a joke

[@jonasbickford7417]

Auto Autopsy lol your right.