Autosavant: What Saab Needs Now - a Modern-Day 96 (and a Miracle)

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by MonaroSS

I'd like to see them get back to their styling roots; as with this 900 Turbo version I chopped off the latest Opel.

Wow! Great job!

Needs a fish bowl windshield anmd a giant rubber spoiler, though, LOL!

/loved my '82 900 Turbo

[jzEllis]

Originally Posted by DetroitIron

Saabs suck. They've always sucked. The only Saab that didn't look like a four-wheeled turd was the Sonnett. Mechanically, it sucked, too. Why GM bought this red-headed stepchild was and will continue to be a mystery to me.

i hate to admit it, but he's spot on, and i LOVE SAAB's. even when they were real SAAB's they were lil more than quirky college professors cars and appealed to engineering nuts. generally speaking, NOBODY in the general public likes the "quirkiness" of SAAB's. nor do they appreciate the innovativeness of SAAB.

funny tho, cus i bet if you looked at the sales #s of SAAB since the new 9-3 and the like; i bet the certainly sell better than the quirky ones of the past.

honestly i don't think ANYONE has any idea what to do to 'save' SAAB. i mean come on, how do you save a marque that was a bit player to begin with?

[GM-Joe]

I also think Saab needs a 91 off the Cruze platform and sell it in the 20's; something that will take some high-end Civic sales.

[Bravada]

generally speaking, NOBODY in the general public likes the "quirkiness" of SAAB's.

O RLY? I get a totally different vibe. A lot of people admire Saabs, though many either didn't find a Saab to fit their requirements/budget, or didn't find Saab compelling enough to buy over a BMW, Mercedes or the like.

[mcmlxv]

Do a little research on the net regarding SAAB reliability and you'll come to one conclusion: SAAB quality and customer service has slipped badly under GM's leadership.

A friend of the family is a SAAB tech and he warned us not to buy one. Numerous associates at work have had very expensive, premature failures of major components in their 9-3s.

Of course SAAB needs to return to basics. A 96? Perhaps. But it won't matter if it's crap.

GM owes the Swedes an apology.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by mcmlxv

Do a little research on the net regarding SAAB reliability and you'll come to one conclusion: SAAB quality and customer service has slipped badly under GM's leadership.

When 9-5 first debuted, it had consistently led its market segment with best quality and fewest defects.
It still ranks at or near the top.

9-3 on the other hand has a ton of bugs and gremlins.

[GM lover]

I am so tired of people saying that GM ruined SAAB. SAAB was already in turmoil before GM took them over because if SAAB was doing so well before, GM would not have been able to buy them out. When SAAB introduced the Opel based 9-3 it received 26 awards from 94-98. So obviously consumers liked it.

[jbernie]

Originally Posted by GM lover

I am so tired of people saying that GM ruined SAAB. SAAB was already in turmoil before GM took them over because if SAAB was doing so well before, GM would not have been able to buy them out. When SAAB introduced the Opel based 9-3 it received 26 awards from 94-98. So obviously consumers liked it.

How about we say that the 9-3 under GM hasn't been as good as it should be for what they try and sell it as. The current generation 9-3 was apparently horrible in reliability for the first 2 years, things are much better now but your customers should not be the beta testers for a few years to get the bugs out.

Then again the same can be said for Mercedes Benz & BMW and all the high tech whoopie doo gadgets they have been throwing into their high end models, though BMW saw the light and didnt make i-drive standard on the 3 series.

My 06 9-3 Aero: issue with drivers door, issues with pinch protection failing (windows/sun roof), drivers seat squeaks way too much, two recall items, Pirelli tires didnt get to 17,000 miles, one temp sensor failed and the engine fan would go high speed non stop and continue for ten minutes after ignition off to try and cool the already cool engine even if only driving short distances.

I should be hitting 22,000 miles soon after 28 months. It is a nice car, but it certainly could be better.

[svx92]

Originally Posted by jbernie

How about we say that the 9-3 under GM hasn't been as good as it should be for what they try and sell it as.

My 06 9-3 Aero: issue with drivers door, issues with pinch protection failing (windows/sun roof),.

(2005)I too have had issues with the pinch protector- top down and I go to put up the windows before getting on the interstate and the pinch protector keeps sending the windows back down. And I have a buddy with an 04 Aero sedan- the tire inflation system routinely picks a random tire to say its flat even when overinflated. Best was it altenated the message among all four tires. But my prior car (BMW 328Ci) the passenger windo occiasonally wouldn't drop a 1/4 inch before opening (frameless doors) and the sunroof refused to close one day-so every manufacturer can improve

[ZillaZ]

I've had a new 9-3 for a few months now and I think it's very attractive and it gets a lot of looks... especially at night with the halo light bars. For those who think it's ugly, have another look:

[jc7222]

Originally Posted by mcmlxv

Do a little research on the net regarding SAAB reliability and you'll come to one conclusion: SAAB quality and customer service has slipped badly under GM's leadership.

A friend of the family is a SAAB tech and he warned us not to buy one. Numerous associates at work have had very expensive, premature failures of major components in their 9-3s.

Of course SAAB needs to return to basics. A 96? Perhaps. But it won't matter if it's crap.

GM owes the Swedes an apology.

I own a 9-5 with a 144k with NO major problems. None! Zippo!
How can Saab do anything when GM is hell bent on selling Cadillac to the world?
I still believe that Saab could do more for GM than even Cadillac.

[kylepo]

Originally Posted by johnny smallblock

What SAAB's needs:
New 9-5
9-3 MCE
9-4x
Aveo rebadge (kidding, kidding!!!)

no what they need is a Lambda

[96_impala_ss]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Oh come on!!

The car GM needed 5 years ago is a new 9-5!!!
There is no excuse for a car to remain unchanged for 10 years!!! NO EXCUSE!!!

Tell that to Ford.

[Bravada]

How can Saab do anything when GM is hell bent on selling Cadillac to the world?
I still believe that Saab could do more for GM than even Cadillac.

Right on!

And yes, GM can do the right thing. The previous 9-3 and the 9-5, when it was new, were VERY good cars for their time, and much more interesting than what Volvo had back then.

[Gm786]

I really like Saab. I wish GM could keep the division but that's obvious wishful thinking with these trouble times. If the division was to stay with GM, they would without a doubt need to in my opinion either redesign the 9-3 or at least give it a new interior, redesign the 9-5 and put it on the new Epsilon II platform, and most of all lower the prices of the vehicles because they are overpriced. Everything I just stated is probably just wishful thinking because Saab's up for sale anyway.