Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
The British market that we all remember is all but gone in reality but some of the names carry on. Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls Royce is gone and now under foreign control. Bentley is as much Audi as Saab is GM and no one even suggests it should be dropped. The Mini- Cooper is BMW every inch. These are name plates that meant something and to be honest Saab meant nothing to the majority of buyers let alone enthusiasts of the world. If you were going to put a black line through names just because they lost their identity many more than Saab would be gone.
...and your point is?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Some of the old company will always exist it just has to evolve into the giant automotive melting pot. But even in this melting pot there is some name identification. Just look how many times a whole company was bought just to get the name Jeep. Maybe you are right. Maybe companies like Saab, Jaguar, Bentley, Cooper, Nissan, Mazda should have been allowed to die. Then we could lament their passing and remember them being much better vehicles than they were in real life. But it does seem like it would be a waste of a lot of jobs and factories. So to me I think it is better this way.
This
"The point is that cars have become more of an appliance than they once were."
is not something I will probably ever celebrate as long as I live, even if it keeps auto workers employed and obsolete brand names "current".
And unlike the Saab case, I feel that despite the ownership changes over the years, the Jeeps sold today still share enough Jeeplike characteristics with their ancestors to make the name valid. Now the people-movers DCX intends to market under the Jeep brand in the next few years may yet negate this comment. But as of today, Jeeps are some of the most offroad-worthy vehicles sold, in stock form.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Huh?
I owned an '86 9000 turbo that was always breaking down and spending a lot of time in the shop. Now that might be your idea of fun, but it certainly wasn't mine. That Saab was possibly the worst car I've ever owned; I unloaded it as soon as the warranty was up.
Bob
What I meant was that back in those years, when I was much younger and less mature, I liked seeing the older Saabs broken down on the highway. Now, as a college senior, I personally think that's an inconvenience for the average everyday driver. Was your '86 9000 a 5-speed or automatic? I've driven a few 9000s and they seemed quite fun to drive (when they were running that is).
Problems? Well, we're going back at least 15 years or so, so my memory isn't all that clear. But I do remember a leaking windshield that took 6 trips to the dealer to fix, numerous electrical problems including flicking the high beam switch only to lose the headlights altogether—great fun on a dark country road. I just remember every time I brought it in for the normal scheduled service, there was always a laundry list of other issues that needed to be dealt with.
I knew once the car was out of warranty, it would be very costly to maintain, so I got rid of it. Not only that, but the constant hassle of bring the car in for service gets old very quickly.
It was a 5-speed manual. Great fun when it worked properly. Unfortunately that was rare. The only other cars That I've owned that were as unreliable were an Austin Marina and a VW Quantum, with the Audi 5-cylinder engine. I must have ticked off the the Euro Car God somewhere earlier in my life...
Bob
Speaking of Subaru, I really hope they don't turn into another cloned GM 0% for 72 brand. We've got enough of those brands already. Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC Truck, Buick and Saturn.
But what I'm trying to say is that most of the time, the deals posted by luxury car companies (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lexus) are mostly lease deals.
And financing or paying cash doesn't always work for everybody either. Everybody just has different needs and for everybody, there's a different item or service that fits them best.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Articles/articleId=104347
Oh well, I guess it isn't any screwier than a Saab based on a Chevy truck.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/73510e88-6375-11d9-bec2-00000e2511c8.htm- - - l
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1fe2bf3c-6337-11d9-bec2-00000e2511c8.htm- - l
The link above is basically the same article with two additional paragraphs.
Decisions always appear clearer in retrospect, of course, but Toyota and Honda have grown internally, almost exclusively.
This is like the third mention I have seen in news about GM of the possibility/likelihood of closing the Trollhattan factory. I bet it will happen. And after that, regardless of what vehicles are available ten years from now with the Saab badge on them, Saab will cease to exist.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Unlike the J-Car the 9-3 is a fine automobile but like the J-Car it's just too small to be a Cadillac. The CTS is as small as a Caddie can credibly get, at least in North America (I doubt the brand has any juice in Europe).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Look at how many brands GM has to revive - Saab, Buick, Pontiac and Saturn.
That is a handful for any company, let alone one that hasn't shown much savvy in reviving a dying brand, or even halting the decline of its sliding market share.
The chances for survival of the 4 you listed, from best to worst, are Pontiac, Buick, Saturn, and Saab, IMO.
You can rebadge an Opel Vectra, add leather, and call it a Saab. The days are already gone when being a Saab meant anything in particular, but cars with Saab badges will be sold for some time, I think.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
They were about 5 seconds away from "Tubesville" before GM took them over, I mean they had nothing .. dealers were either dropping or doing a "pass" on the idea of a new sign at their store ...
At least now, they have a chance with a huge advertising budget, a new awareness to the buying public, a large dealer group (finally) some new techno deals and much better styles .... the question is, whether or not GM grabbed them too late and they missed the market, I wouldn't want to be throwing those dice ... we will see ..
Terry.
In retrospect, GM would have been better off not making any acquisitions, merging Olds and Saturn , and putting all its resources into continuous improvement of products and processes. I guess that's why hindsight is golden.
CAR
SLIGHTLY SPORTY CAR
CUSHY CAR
DENT-FREE CAR
PREMIUM CAR
PRETENTIOUS FOREIGN CAR
TRUCK
have I left any out?
they could just call their cars by numbers, '1' for compacts, '2' for midsizers, and '3' for full-size cars. Wonder when PRETENTIOUS FOREIGN CAR, excuse me Saab, will get a full-size car. Think of it, you could rebadge a Bonneville as a 9-8.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
NOT SO PREMIUM BUT OH SO PRETENTIOUS FOREIGN REBADGE OF A CUSHY TRUCK?
So when is the 9-7x coming???
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Hell they didn't even figure that out that much with the 9-2x.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
You may be right that there was no reason to keep it alive when GM first bought them but it was GMs money and it may still allow some profit. GM bought Saab because it was for sale, pure and simple. Not much different than Chrysler and Desoto.
(9-2X, 9-7X)...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/business/22saab.html?
LOL, he should shut up and build us some real Saabs.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
At least the 9-3 doesn't look like anything close to a Malibu.
But, Badge Engineering does work sometimes. I bought an Infiniti I35 that looks a lot like the previous generation Maxima because underneath, its basically the exact car, right down to the Beam suspension.
Those two models DEFINE badge engineering. And the 9-7 is no different. The 9-2x was exactly the same - a WRX with a Saab badge for $thousands more.
The 9-3 is not quite the same - here Saab actually had engineers develop a car using only the platform of the Malibu/Vectra, from what I understand. I really hope the 9-7 doesn't sell at all, not because I hate Saab, but because maybe someone over at GM would wake up finally.
In the meantime, it would be interesting to see Saab get sold again so soon, with half its models half-baked GM (and GM partner) reskins.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
And the only reason they didn't get a rebadge of one of those from GM is that GM itself was late to the party on this count, with the Equinox deemed too small and nothing larger in the GM pot (except the SRX, and oooohhhh, that's a Cadillac, can't share that!). You would think they could have stretched the Equinox or something, and made it worthy of the Saab badge, with a third row seat to boot. But that would have required actual vehicle development, something GM is not prepared to invest in for Saab at this point.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Which is? Hopefully you mean more than just a ignition key on the floor.
Bob
SAAB should also use the "9" designation to denote "pure" SAAB products. GM derivatives such as the 9-7x should be denoted by a "5", for example - 5-7x. Subaru maybe by a "7" - the 9-2x becomes a 7-2x, 9-6x ==> 7-6x.
SAAB should take advantage of the financial backing by GM, but distance themselves significantly from the GM product line. The SAAB 9-7x, may be a little late to the game, but her real challenge will the the sky rocketing price of gas. A higher MPG crossover, like the Mitsu Endeaver and Highlander would have been a better pursuit.