Later a 9-3, pre GM. Still the same flavor, but it was clear that the GM frame used was a compromise.

Saab is/was a niche, not Chevy.

Funny you compare Saab and BMW. Another comparison made is that of Saab to Audi. This is a great article put in winding road some time ago that covers the topic. Not much of a winding road fan now they screwed it all up as “Next Autos” (WTF does that mean?), but this is a good read.

http://www.nextautos.com/issue-24/a-tale-of-two-car-companies

Coming after a decade under General Mediocrity, it smelled like desperation and phoniness papering over a lame GM-ified product line.

“Born from Jets – Killed by Morons”. That says it all.

I have friends who work for GM-Holden. GM rotates a stream of mostly clueless high execs from the US, but fortunately the Holden operation is fairly strong and independent-minded enough that the Detroiters don’t reach their full potential for causing damage. It sounds like Saab wasn’t so lucky.

You should write a tell-all novel.

Dave M. : I would love for Volvo and Saab to hook up. Volvo could take the luxury end, Saab the performance. With hatchbacks.

I too really think that a Saab/Volvo hook-up could work. It would be similar to the Citroen/Peugeot hook-up. They could build cars on the same platforms, but the Saabs would be more aerodynamic and avant-garde (sort of similar to Citroen), while Volvo could utilize more traditional styling cues (similar to Peugeot, boxy but good).

Thanks for the great tale.

Now, when the market seems to be moving toward the powerful, economical, safe, great-driving, everyday, utilitarian car…ie Saab, it looks like their days are numbered…OR their liferaft has been released.

Just back from the Chicago auto show…god, there is ALOT of unsalable CRAP out there. (You know who you are)

GMNA…you douchebags have sold me exactly ONE new car…an 03 Saab 93 with a TURBODIESEL that gets way over 40mpg on its 2&1/2 tank runs to SFLA at way over 55mph. Easily the best Saab Ive owned, sure you could have sold thousands. Thank you very much and GOOD FING RIDDANCE!

Still scads of pre-New Generation 900s scuttling around up here. That late 60s safety-car look is damn elegant. Even after thirty years.

Poll question– Masculine or feminine or moot point?

I’ve had a raft of saabies, all costing less than a week’s pay and running for years. Satch Carlson showed us the way, up thar in the Yukon.

Loves me some 9000, today. It really is the bestest looking and driving. When 9-5 wagons start showing up for $500, well, I may allow my head to turn.

this is the story that tells it all.
It is the story about about people not knowing their customers.
It is the story about thinking in metalheaded stereotypes.
It is the story about driving a brand against the wall.

It’s safe to drive like that – in a Volvo. Maybe. The Volvo story is still pretty open towards the ending.

For Saab marketing, there are other priorities now – at least I hope there are.
Let me name just three of them:
Understand your brand!
Know your customers!
Move your mind — and move it fast!

My favorite car commercial is by Lexus. You can search it on Youtube with keywords: lexus moments.

Car is like at the very end, but I think it makes a really strong impression on me.

Great article, sir. :)

On the innovative engine front, weren’t Saab working on a variable compression turbo for awhile? Talk about Holy Grail, but darned if I would know how to go about building one with any kind of reliability, for less than a fortune. I can just imagine some frostbitten, pipe smoking, sweater clad Sven trying to get that one past a roomful of GM bean counters.

Man, if they do manage to stay in business, and build something neat like they used to, I’ll probably buy one for my next daily driver. Just make it a hatch or wagon, keep the beltline low, seats comfy, a-pillars upright, tires tall and reasonably narrow, and give it some decent suspension travel. And if driveline development is just too expensive sans GM, look into licensing some turbo tech and dual clutch technology from BMW. 4/6ths of a 335/535 engine driving the front wheels, sounds just about right for a Saab; and would allow the Bavarians to make a few bucks from a not particularly price sensitive demographic who wouldn’t otherwise be caught dead in one of their cars, no matter how good they make them.

As a side note, my indy wrench, 25 years fixing Saabs, regards the 9000 as the best they ever built. He currently maintains a half dozen customer cars with 250K+…my 9000 with 120K is the runt of the litter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m71m-LBqFQ

Telling is that said engine (the B235) has been making near that level of power since the Viggen debuted, and in an engine that traces it’s lineage back some years–heck, the B234 was pushing 230hp in the early 90s.

I’ve always wondered why GM didn’t adopt and improve the Saab H engine, but instead chose to push the Ecotec. No, wait, I haven’t wondered: unlike Ford, which took the best of Volvo (and Mazda) and used it to improve it’s own stuff, GM shoved the worst of it’s nature into Saab.

Ford may have cribbed from Volvo, but GM infected Saab and left it to fester.

They are strong, proven engines that have propelled my 9-5 and 9000 (in B234 form)for 200,000 virtually trouble free miles. Hopefully the Ecotec can achieve that level of long term durability.

Well, as the owner of a B205 Saab with a nice streak of varnish on the inside, the “reliable, trouble-free” part stopped about 1998. Before GM took, oh, four or five years to fess up to it, these engines were sludge magnets. If you’re buying a Saab of this vintage (1998-2003, 9-3 or 9-5), get a mechanic to inspect it for sludging, and be aggressive about oil changes. And use synthetic.