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I did read Automobile magazine a few days ago and they had an article about Saab's future plans; they said that a 9-5 hatchback has been confirmed (for 2009), along with a next-generation Opel Astra based 9-1, and a 9-4X crossover based on Lambda, I believe. (not too sure on that last one)
I have heard nothing on a hatchback remake......
A new SUV in August would make no sense unless the 9-7X was axed.
Rocky
I think they're laying low until the new 9-5, refreshed 9-3 (the 9-3 will be out in August) and from what I've read in Automobile magazine, there will be a 9-1 and a 9-4X, so if all that is true then I'm sure they have their hands full.
I'm interested to see when the 9-7X will be axed. Saab has probably learned its lesson that rebadging doesn't really work for them...
Rocky
"Saab, the Swedish automaker that earned its wings from aviation, is celebrating its diamond anniversary this year with a number of special activities and events."
Saab 60th Anniversary Display in GM World (Straightline)
The 9-4x is still a year away to the best of my knowledge.
A great read folks......
Rocky
Spy Shots: Saab 9-3 sedan with no camo
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/04/spy-shots-saab-9-3-sedan-with-no-camo/
Like I said I'll take either or..... :surprise: :shades:
-Rocky
Thanks,
Rocky
lol. I'd be willing to bet against those claims. :shades:
-Rocky
Needless to say, I do like the 08 9-3 so far, but we'll have to see where GM decides to go on price.
I wonder when the 9-1 will finally be unveiled, and where it will ultimately be produced. I'm pulling for Trollhattan, but Russelheim, Germany makes sense also, given that Saab is using more Opel material...
Saab's new USA General Manager is a 48 year old guy with more SAE 90 grease in his hair--I guess they call it Gel these days-than a college kid on a big date, whose last job was Buick General Manager. Knowing how Detroit thinks, this has got to be seen as a major demotion for him and indicates to me how much importance GM puts on the assignment. This is like the Pentagon sending the Commanding General of the 82d Airborne to run the Kansas National Guard division.
Our new GM, the keeper of the Saab flame, was asked if the Saab heritage was in good hands and if he can resist pressure to use more GM parts in Saabs. He says he can resist the pressure by using "under the skin parts and global architecture". Sounds like badge engineering to me. For those of you who don't recall, the British automotive industry went away in a hurry due to lousy cars, high internal labor costs, and little product differentiation.
He confirmed that 40% of Saabs US sales are in the six New England states. Exactly like Mack Truck: a mature, regional brand with little appeal beyond the vocational (e.g., refuse hauling) markets of the Northeast. Saab is a brand under serious attack because new, stronger entrants, Suburu from the bottom and Volvo from above, have entered the Saab "space".
That Saab, the original winter car (does anyone recall the OEM front cover that you snapped in over the front of the grill--like on a Class 8 truck-- on Saabs?) doesn't have an AWD option by now is criminal. Afterall, Suburu is all AWD all the time and Volvo is about to embark this fall with their new '08's with their THIRD generation of AWD wagons. In fact, Volvo has had AWD for more than 20 years and these guys can't even call Haldex and order up a similar system? Its nuts.
Good luck, Mr. Shannon. Maybe you could entice a private equity firm to take Saab off GMs hands and Jag off Fords hands and market it as the Northern European alternative to the Germans?
-Rocky
AWD makes sense though. Why Saab didn't do this 10 years ago bothers me...
Well GM, is finally listening and I believe the future of Saab, will be a great one based on what I've read. I really think theiris a market for Saab,as they are still quirky and can compete well against European auto's. Saab, still has that safety image andwith gas prices rising a Black Turbo sounds better than a gas guzzling V8 :shades:
Just my $0.02
-Rocky
I wonder whose AWD they are using? Haldex? Someone else's?
I believe they are using Haldex's AWD system, under the name XWD.
That's what I believed also pal.....
blckislandguy, just Google 2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible and you will find info talking about it......
-Rocky
-Rocky
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=121967
-Rocky
Because nothing says swedish heritage like a big honkin Mericun V8 under the hood. lol, what a joke. :sick:
The Envoy used higher grade materials throughout compared to the trailblazer and that is what the 9-7X is based on.
Still stupid.
I have mentioned previously that sometime in the next year or so my wife and I want to get a convertible of some sort. Now we have a SAAB dealership in our autogroup and the 9-3 is a good convertible so I figured I would take a look at their inventory. They still have four NEW 2004 9-3 Sedans in stock. All of them were invoiced in April of 2004 so they are well over three years old. Yikes SAAB is in even worse shape then I thought. How much would you pay for a nearly four year old 9-3 sedan?
link title
Brand new 2004 leftovers, wow. :surprise:
So I don't doubt that a new 2004 model exists on lots outside the NE.
Give all the rebates and such on the 07s what do you figure they'd sell teh 04s for? :confuse:
Lutz: GM Has No Plans To Let Go of Saab (Inside Line)
Maybe we’re all a little quirky up here but we like it that way.
Saabs were not luxury cars around here until the eighties. They were just practical.
They came from a place that understands cold weather, icy roads, high output defrosters, heaters, salt induced rust, and the need for front wheel drive.
Volvos were always considered more luxury than the Saab and also more impractical as they were rear wheel drive and not good in snow.
The fact that Saab’s are, and always have been, good in snow is the single biggest selling point for them around here period.
Outside of this area Saabs are somewhat popular in upper Michigan, Colorado, and the Dakotas for the same reasons as New England snow.
The rest of the country cannot relate to the features incorporated in the Saab for this climate so they label them as quirky with odd options.
There’s nothing weird about a heated seat when its’ 20 degrees below zero out or winter mode in an automatic transmission which keeps the wheels from spinning when shifting.
Up here we still don’t understand why anyone would buy an SUV or any four wheel drive vehicle in a place that sees no snow but they do! Go figure!!
I have driven everything from Range Rovers to Yugo’s in Maine winters for the last 30 years and nothing, save for a four wheel drive, handles better in snow than a Saab. And yes we own a four wheel drive Toyota pickup incase it gets really nasty out.
We have owned Saabs since 1983, Two 900’s a 900 S, a 9-5 sedan, 9-5 Wagon and now a 9-5 Aero sedan. We have never had one of those cars break down for any reason what –so- ever.
Sure they need to be maintained though no more than any other car. I had a no-start due to an old battery once though that’s hardly the car’s fault.
I once drove a 1984 Saab 900 sixty miles through an average of eight inches of snow on an unplowed interstate during a blizzard to pick up my mother at an airport in Bangor, Maine. We had no trouble at all except figuring out where the road was at times.
Sure Saab has produced some lemons. We all stayed far away from the 9000 series as they were not the Saabs we were used to. Our premonition was well founded as the 9000 series had a terrible reputation for all sorts of mechanical problems.
.
We don’t shut down the schools and businesses around here for a small storm of six to ten inches of snow.
Most cities south of New York have trouble with two or three inches of snow. If they drove Saabs it would be business as usual!
Can Saab Survive? (Inside Line)
I can't name the dealership because I work for the same auto group and that is not allowed.
It is in CT though and one of the oldest SAAB dealers in the country if that helps. Not sure if they are demos or not but they were still listed in the NEW car side of Reynolds and Reynolds so they were new cars.