Finally, new Saabs, but have the customers grown tired of waiting?
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45,627 Posts
Yes.
We, the lovable Saab customers, have grown fed up with inferior product, imitation Saabs, and the inability for Saab to progress with the market.
Who the **** cares about a CUV?? A big, non-sporty CUV??
The 9-3 and the 9-5 is where the improvements need to come from. Instead, we have a 10 year old car and a tasteless compact sport sedan.
It really is too late.
And WTF does "cloudy plastics to evoke Swedish ice" mean? To me, I get the image of cataracts. Who the **** is designing for Saab?? Is it still that Asian dude?? Gotta get rid of that guy!!!
And there should be NO REASON why Saabs can't be rigged for BioPower across the board from day 1!!
Why spend the time with a gas only engine? BioPower is the most adaptable engine!! USE IT!!
And there should be no excuse for Saab to NOT have a DSG transmission NOW. License it. GM really needs to cure itself of the NIH syndrome!!
And after all that... no word on Saab's world class safety?? Anti-submarining seats? Door handles that are capable of holding the weight of the car? SAHRS-II? Advanced airbags? Safety cages? Re-Axes? Or did ALL of this fall by the wayside???
We, the lovable Saab customers, have grown fed up with inferior product, imitation Saabs, and the inability for Saab to progress with the market.
Who the **** cares about a CUV?? A big, non-sporty CUV??
The 9-3 and the 9-5 is where the improvements need to come from. Instead, we have a 10 year old car and a tasteless compact sport sedan.
It really is too late.
And WTF does "cloudy plastics to evoke Swedish ice" mean? To me, I get the image of cataracts. Who the **** is designing for Saab?? Is it still that Asian dude?? Gotta get rid of that guy!!!
And there should be NO REASON why Saabs can't be rigged for BioPower across the board from day 1!!
Why spend the time with a gas only engine? BioPower is the most adaptable engine!! USE IT!!
And there should be no excuse for Saab to NOT have a DSG transmission NOW. License it. GM really needs to cure itself of the NIH syndrome!!
And after all that... no word on Saab's world class safety?? Anti-submarining seats? Door handles that are capable of holding the weight of the car? SAHRS-II? Advanced airbags? Safety cages? Re-Axes? Or did ALL of this fall by the wayside???
This from a man who screwed Saab product over the course of 8 years.
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as always... well said mgescuro
SAAB is too far damaged ... new product was needed years ago... two mild MCEs and the rebadging of other brands (Subie hatchback and the Chevy Trailblazer) has not helped the brand at all.
A true shame, SAAB could have been a good brand if GM had spent the time and resources.
SAAB is too far damaged ... new product was needed years ago... two mild MCEs and the rebadging of other brands (Subie hatchback and the Chevy Trailblazer) has not helped the brand at all.
A true shame, SAAB could have been a good brand if GM had spent the time and resources.
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269 Posts
I know the following statement quoted from the news item has been a point of discussion around here....."Transmissions will be six-speed manual and six-speed automatic across the range, and GM is working on a twin-clutch automated manual".
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45,627 Posts
Yes. But BorgWarner and Getrag has had the technology for years.
Why does Saab have to wait for GM's incomprehensibly slow engineering team to go build one??
Saab certainly didn't wait to get a 6-speed automatic. They were the first ones at GM to have it.
Saab is a European car. Most of the Euro brands have it.... then Saab is dead in the water in its home market because its American parent is too slow to respond to market trends.
The entire VW corporate lineup except Bugatti has it.... Nissan... Ford.... BMW.... POrsche.... Mitsubishi.... Volvo...
What's the real holdup, other than corporate politics??
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6,150 Posts
WOW! I mostly agree with Mgescruo three times today, twice in one thread! Amazing, I know!
:
Anyway, It has been painfully long to get ANY new product to Saab. I have wondered for many years why GM first bought 50% and then the rest of it if they were going to starve it for product. Saab has had more concept cars than real cars! I have liked the concepts, but by the time they hit the dealerships, if they ever do, they will be old news! The touchups aren't enough.
I also agree that GM should sell SAAB. If there was any technology to be gained, as some have stated was the reason to keep Saab around, surely GM knows what that is by now! One could hope anyway!!
: Anyway, It has been painfully long to get ANY new product to Saab. I have wondered for many years why GM first bought 50% and then the rest of it if they were going to starve it for product. Saab has had more concept cars than real cars! I have liked the concepts, but by the time they hit the dealerships, if they ever do, they will be old news! The touchups aren't enough.
I also agree that GM should sell SAAB. If there was any technology to be gained, as some have stated was the reason to keep Saab around, surely GM knows what that is by now! One could hope anyway!!
When Saab gets the XWD models in the showroom (they aren't yet, I checked!), adds the new 9-4X, the new 9-5 (w/ AWD for the 1st time), and the upcoming 9-1:
They will have the chance to succeed. Until then its a bit early to pile on against a brand that wasn't given squat.
Besides, do you want Cadillac to soon be selling 4 cylinder models? No, you'd cry to Daddy moaning something about sacriledge. Let Saab continue to market the 4 bangers w/ turbos to battle the Europeans. It is where they fit in the picture right now.
On a personal note, I drove 2 Saabs last week out of curiosity. 29mpg Hwy EPA in a 9-3 is something to be considered. Enjoyed the manual and wagon options too. SO different than a CTS too. Take one for a drive...it sounds like most of you haven't.
They will have the chance to succeed. Until then its a bit early to pile on against a brand that wasn't given squat.
Besides, do you want Cadillac to soon be selling 4 cylinder models? No, you'd cry to Daddy moaning something about sacriledge. Let Saab continue to market the 4 bangers w/ turbos to battle the Europeans. It is where they fit in the picture right now.
On a personal note, I drove 2 Saabs last week out of curiosity. 29mpg Hwy EPA in a 9-3 is something to be considered. Enjoyed the manual and wagon options too. SO different than a CTS too. Take one for a drive...it sounds like most of you haven't.
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7,881 Posts
NO! I'm pumped for the new wave of Saab and can't wait to pick up either a new 9-1 or 9-3 when I graduate. My sister also might be picking up a 9-4x.
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45,627 Posts
You jump on the brand because it wasn't given squat!!
You can't assume Saab is going to do well now because it has new product. It has languished for far too long. All the potential buyers have moved to Volvo, Audi, and Acura.
That's where they fit YEARS ago... until GM had the wise idea that a V6 would do well too... and a grumbly V8 too...
The only Saab I haven't driven is the 9-7X Aero.
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9,174 Posts
I know I got tired of waiting for the new 9-5...
So I just leased a 2008 for 27 months.
This will be my 6th Saab!
Looking forward to the new 9-5 in 2.25 years!
Also - I keep track of the MPG figures for my car:
After 44,254 miles, my manual transmission Saab 9-3 averaged 28.947 MPG. 50/50 City/Highway.
So I just leased a 2008 for 27 months.
This will be my 6th Saab!
Looking forward to the new 9-5 in 2.25 years!
Also - I keep track of the MPG figures for my car:
After 44,254 miles, my manual transmission Saab 9-3 averaged 28.947 MPG. 50/50 City/Highway.
I agree - people do not care - but at the end, that is just an opportunity to make a splash and make the new Saabs into the "second coming" - their rarity adding to the cool factor.
"rebirth" launches seem to work well as they get people's attention.
Igor
"rebirth" launches seem to work well as they get people's attention.
Igor
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45,627 Posts
To be honest, it's going to take an Audi quality interior with a better design aesthetic than the Volvo to come close to "forgive and forget."
And right now, I don't believe that's going to happen.
"Cloudy Plastics" gives me no hope whatsoever.
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3,565 Posts
I couldn't agree more!
I was once a huge Saab fan - loved my '82 900 Turbo. Where is the successor to the famous 900 Turbo of the 80s? Where is the hatchback?
The 9-3...well, if I wanted a conventional sedan, I would have bought a BMW. I want the practicality of the old 900 along with performance, FWD (or AWD), and the leading edge of safety. The magic at Saab went away a long time ago. They used to be unique versus mediocre.
There are very few Saab fans left. Or Saab dealers, for that matter (I have a Porsche dealer near me, and a Hummer dealer, but the nearest Saab dealer is thirty or forty miles away). So far, for all models, Saab only sold 10,196 vehicles for the first five months of the year (down 19.3%), and 2,148 in May (down 25.2%). With those numbers, I frankly don't understand how they keep the lights on, at least on this side of the Atlantic. I mean, the Toyota Corolla alone sold more in one week than Saab sold so far this year for all models.
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1,119 Posts
Perhaps I might get my first ever lashing from Mgescuro here, but I think SAAB Should stay with GM, and furthermore that it can be saved.
1. All SAABs should be cars, or car-based.
2. AWD needs to be at least an option (if not standard).
3. There must be a turbo option on every line.
4. Biopower across the board.
5. All models need to be on modified gm platforms to differentiate them from other global GM products.
6. All SAABs need to be designed in Europe, for Europeans, and then shipped globally without changes.
Finally, the SAAB product lineup:
9-1 (coupe and hatchback only)
9-3 (coupe, convertible, sedan)
9-4 (4dr crossover based on 9-3)
9-5 (coupe, convertible, sedan)
9-6 (crossover based on 9-5)
Okay, I think I'm done for now...
1. All SAABs should be cars, or car-based.
2. AWD needs to be at least an option (if not standard).
3. There must be a turbo option on every line.
4. Biopower across the board.
5. All models need to be on modified gm platforms to differentiate them from other global GM products.
6. All SAABs need to be designed in Europe, for Europeans, and then shipped globally without changes.
Finally, the SAAB product lineup:
9-1 (coupe and hatchback only)
9-3 (coupe, convertible, sedan)
9-4 (4dr crossover based on 9-3)
9-5 (coupe, convertible, sedan)
9-6 (crossover based on 9-5)
Okay, I think I'm done for now...
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2,263 Posts
Wow 5 posts in 1 page, is that a GM Inside new record lol, but seriously good to see someone so passionate about there fave brand of car, i always liked SAAB cars, thought they looked great, given now everyone is looking to smaller capacity motors with turbos GM has stuffed up hugely by not leveraging SAAB's expertise in this area. They could have easily used SAAB and Cadillac to implement higher cost technology and used the higher profits to pay for the development costs before moving them down the GM range to the cheaper cars.
Maybe you could get MonaroSS to pass on your comments about SAAB to Mr Lutz and see what he thinks, would be great to see his response.
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45,627 Posts
I want Saab to survive. I am no longer convinced that GM is the right company to do it.
I agree here.
Turbo STANDARD.
I agree here.
I would love that, but I'm not totally convinced GM's going to do what it takes to differentiate Saab, simply because Saab doesn't have significant sales. ie ... it doesn't plug into their spreadsheet.
I agree. but economics as they are, it won't happen, particularly since Sweden isn't part of the Euro zone.
I would like Trollhattan to continue building Saabs.... and Saabs only.... But... yeah...
No need for 9-6.
No need for 9-1 coupe.... It should be a 3 and 5 door hatch or fastback.
9-3 needs a Viggen to rival M3.
9-5 needs a Viggen to rival M5.
I have no hope that 9-4X, SRX, and a future Buick will be significantly differentiated in powertains, design, and look.
And speaking of 9-5.... the wheelbase of the new 9-5 is gigantic!!!! How large is this friggin car gonna be anyways!!!???? Saabs have always been efficiently packaged. The interior better rival a 7-series in size!!
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