GM is destroying Saab!!!

[Ion Pulse]

Saab will finally be releasing an in-house car in Spring 2005, the 9-3 SportsHatch which is a trendy lifestyle estate aimed at the Audi A4 Avant and Lexus SportCross. It looks good for this car especially with the new Fiat Multijet Diesels on offer.

[edonis]

Originally Posted by Maserati_chic

Ion Pulse
i work at Saab or to be more exact Saab-BAe . and i have never heard abut Peugeot gone buy Saab. but GM want to move the factory to eastern Europe to save money .

but of course i can be wrongh

GM won't move the factory to eastern Europe, but perhaps to Russelheim in Germany where GM already make Opels. However, this decision isn't made yet, and the Swedish government is trying to make some deals with GM so they'll be staying in Trollhattan.

I'm glad I won't be seeing the bastard 9-2X here, although it doesn't look all that bad compared to the ugly Impreza. Rumors are that Saab will make a 9-6X (in cooperation with Subaru Tribeca) which will be a proper Saab, not just a quick re-do... Futhermore, a 9-3 Estate/SportWagon is due any moment now. A 9-3 Coupé wouldn't be impossible either, if they just used the Convertible and made a metal roof and so forth.

[Ion Pulse]

My initial thoughts on the 9-6X were bad, as i thought it would be similar to the Subaru version(like the 9-2X) but they will only share major components(under the skin) not interiors and body parts. Rumour has it that Saab is working on a totally new in-house car, to be styled similarly to the 9X concept car, it will be a off-roading coupe. Probably to be called the 9-4X, this will be a strictly niche model and won't see the light of day untill at least 2008.

[vector 220]

Originally Posted by Tomsriv

I think it looks better than the current WRX, but not as good as the bug eyed WRX. Anyways, I think Saab and Volvo ruined themselves when they switched to front-wheel drive. Before they were fuel efficient sport sedans without the snob appeal of a BMW. Now they are just another car.

Joking, right? There has never ever been a SAAB produced with RWD. Back in 1947 when the areoplane manufacturer SAAB started to make cars it was a natural choise to make tha car FWD. Since then a lot of manufacturer has switch to fwd including volvo.

For more informatioen: http://www.saabusa.com/saabjsp/about/heritage.jsp

[rdollie]

To be more accurate Volvo is FWD or AWD with all of their current models.

Originally Posted by vector 220

Joking, right? There has never ever been a SAAB produced with RWD. Back in 1947 when the areoplane manufacturer SAAB started to make cars it was a natural choise to make tha car FWD. Since then a lot of manufacturer has switch to fwd including volvo.

For more informatioen: http://www.saabusa.com/saabjsp/about/heritage.jsp

[vector 220]

Originally Posted by rdollie

To be more accurate Volvo is FWD or AWD with all of their current models.

Correct. I was only showing that before it was popular to make cars with FWD volvo only had RWD. Now, when "every" manufacturer making FWD it´s nothing special. But in -47 SAAB was the only ( I think ) one offering ONLY FWD cars.

I still think SAAB should stay with it's 4-cylinder engines and FWD as standard and offer 4WD for those who think tehy need it. The 6-cylinder engines has less power and need more petrol than the 4-cylnder ones.

By putting V8, RWD and an american design to it will not make it a succesfull SAAB. If it sells well it will be a sucessfil car, and just a car.

[VAD0R]

Perhaps this will make you happy. I first layed eyes on it at the NYC Auto Shows, I think it looks very nice and true to Saab, at least in my opinion. It also says in the article that other 93 will have Saab exclusive 2l 210hp turbo 4s with fwd and awd being an option for only the wagon.

[vector 220]

Originally Posted by VAD0R

Perhaps this will make you happy. I first layed eyes on it at the NYC Auto Shows, I think it looks very nice and true to Saab, at least in my opinion. It also says in the article that other 93 will have Saab exclusive 2l 210hp turbo 4s with fwd and awd being an option for only the wagon.

Yapp, this car feels like a real SAAB. But I’m afraid that this is the last one. When GM told the world that the next generation of the 9-3 will be produced in Germany there was no surprise. But they told nothing about the design department that is to be closed in only a few months.

When design no longer is done by SAAB, the inheritage of the brand is lost and so will the reason to by a new SAAB be as well.

The car I’m currently driving is probably the last Swedish car I’ll ever buy. When SAAB is dead I really don’t care. I'll just by a car for the need of transportation.
Some will wonder why I'm not in for Volvo instead. For me and most of the Swedish population it’s just container.

After thew present SAAB it will probably be a Japanese car, a car with no soul. Then I have a car, just a car...

[rdollie]

Not sure if I agree completely. While most Japanese cars really do drive like appliances Subaru's do have a distinctive 'soul' so to speak. Of course I do agree a Saabaru is not a real Saab. I also disagree with you on Volvos of course. I'll take a Volvo R over a Saab Aero anyday (heck even the T5s give the Aeros a run for the money) and since Volvo outsells Saab in every market I know of where both are present (including Sweden) it seems most people don't view them as mere containers.

Thanks.

-rdo

Originally Posted by vector 220

Yapp, this car feels like a real SAAB. But I’m afraid that this is the last one. When GM told the world that the next generation of the 9-3 will be produced in Germany there was no surprise. But they told nothing about the design department that is to be closed in only a few months.

When design no longer is done by SAAB, the inheritage of the brand is lost and so will the reason to by a new SAAB be as well.

The car I’m currently driving is probably the last Swedish car I’ll ever buy. When SAAB is dead I really don’t care. I'll just by a car for the need of transportation.
Some will wonder why I'm not in for Volvo instead. For me and most of the Swedish population it’s just container.

After thew present SAAB it will probably be a Japanese car, a car with no soul. Then I have a car, just a car...

[vector 220]

Originally Posted by rdollie

Not sure if I agree completely. While most Japanese cars really do drive like appliances Subaru's do have a distinctive 'soul' so to speak. Of course I do agree a Saabaru is not a real Saab. I also disagree with you on Volvos of course. I'll take a Volvo R over a Saab Aero anyday (heck even the T5s give the Aeros a run for the money) and since Volvo outsells Saab in every market I know of where both are present (including Sweden) it seems most people don't view them as mere containers.

Thanks.

-rdo

Right you are. Volvo sells much better than SAAB. I grew up with plenty of Volvos. (Everyone had them) So even if Volvo has changed the look and felling quite a bit, still that boring feeling of the car can’t be washed away. For me that is.
I'm sure Volvo can produce good cars. But the soul of it is still just really boring to me. Their history of good and fun cars started just around the year 2000. Or a year earlier with the T5 as you mentioned
When SAAB showed the 99 Turbo in the late 70´s they really kicked some ass. And with there 9000 model in -84 SAAB was in the top in comparison.

Today the have a struggle to compete, thanks to some bad decision made in the late 80´s and the beginning of the 90´s

Well, we will see how this ends in about 2-3 years I think.

I do agree completely about subaru.

[Jaguar D-Type]

The 2006 Saab 9-3 SportCombi looks decent.

[vector 220]

Originally Posted by Jaguar D-Type

The 2006 Saab 9-3 SportCombi looks decent.

Yes it does. I visited the dealer 3 weeks ago and sat in the 9-3 SportCombi.
NICE!

[mbunakeith]

as an employee (in a remote way) of saab, i have to agree that saab was rescued by gm back in the early 90's. saab couldnt afford the engineering to make a profitable car. they were barely surviving on the 900 and 9000 models. the 900 body style was around for too long and they knew it. the 9000 ran from 86-98!!!
a lot of saab purists scorned the "new" 900 in 94 as a gm car. in my opinion, it is the best car saab has made and probably ever will. at least the saab engineers were able to create it, unlike the newer saabs. it is the easiest car to work on ever, very reliable, and can be made very fast.
as the progression (or regression) of saab came inevitable changes. as of now, there is only one saab made in sweden, the 9-5, and that will be out of production in near future. (conv. made in austria, 92x in japan, 97x in ohio, sport combi in germany). as bad as it is for saab citizens and workers, it is a good move for gm because it gives them a greater variety in products and it makes them cheaper to build. ask volkswagon about not having many cars not made in their homeland. the newer generation saabs are not the same machines the small, inefficient company made years ago. they lack the "feel" of a true european car. they are way overcomplicated and over-engineered.
as for the 92x...it is not a saab and never will be. i have driven every model. it has no interior room, poor acceleration, poorer safety rating. why is the ignition in the steering column? i still think the wrx is overated in every way. the only exception would be the sti, which runs circles around a "regular" wrx. the 92x was a quick expiriment to get an all wheel drive saab on the road. it hasnt caught on here and will proabably fade as a mistake.
as for the future of saab...who knows. it wont have the heritage it once had, but maybe gm will let the new generation of saab become its own player. i still think it has the potential to become a great brand for gm, giving it can stay different enough from a cobalt or a saturn.
i also agree that a t5r will spank any saab. incredible car all around. i have to give volvo props for that car.
is a saab an incredible car? maybe. is it a super-fast supercar? no. i know that my wifes 9-3 5dr will spank a bmw 540 all day. it will also get 33 mpg at 85 mph. i love it and think it is the best practical car ever. it has way more class than any toyota, honda, or buick (practical) and will beat any of them on the street. where else can you find a 200 bhp car for the price? the soft value is credit for those that really like them.

[howdydooit]

Think of the 9-2 and 9-7 as place holders. Look at the Cadillac Catera... and now look at the CTS. Caddy is printing money with that car, and they had record sales with it the month before the "employee pricing" kicked in.

Hopefully Saab made out ok during that promo. When Saab replaces the 9-7, I will be first in line (already have a Rainier) and I think Saab has the potential to be revived and a great brand for GM. I think GM has the right strategy - it's just how fast can they execute it, and how well can they do it?

[MonsterBengt]

if SAAB had built a combi version of the 9000, and maybe a combi version out of the older 9-3.. then the situation would be different.. 7/10 saabs I see here in sweden is a 9-5combi. Whats really sad is that the only saab without center ignition, the 9000, is the most profitable this far