I Went To Trollhättan And All I Brought Back...

[Paul Dupart]

 

 

I've had a GM 900 and three 9000's including an Aero. They were far from a perfect car and each and every one has not only emptied my bank account but also max'd out my overdraft. But boy, would I love another tomorrow!

 

Great photo's, thanks!

[madwelshman]

9000's are the last of the true Saabs really. They were launched pre GM, but GM influenced in later years.

I have to say, I had a 1997 Saab NG900 (New Generation) 2.0i. I bought it for £200, did a few bits on it, serviced it and used it to go to Holland for the Saab International in 2009. The car returned late 30's to the gallon and was lovely and comfy. So I'm not saying the car's once GM were involved were no good, just they lost there Saabness and I prefer the earlier ones.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though.

[Sudsprint]

I agree. Newer Saabs are just re-badged Voxalls.

I'm not saying they aren't any good, they just aren't the same as they used to be. Some will say that's a good thing, but I disagree.

Not true.

 

My daily is an NG95 Aero which is not a Vauxhall.

[brickwall]

Yeah, but is that not a shiney? More or less the last year of Saabs life?

[brickwall]

...and is it not the same as a Saturn or sumit?

[madwelshman]

Not true.

 

My daily is an NG95 Aero which is not a Vauxhall.

 

Are you sure about that? The floor pan is a stretched Vectra item for a start.

[Sudsprint]

Are you sure about that? The floor pan is a stretched Vectra item for a start.

Platform sharing is inevitable in the modern age but to call all modern SAABs rebadged Vauxhalls is wide of the mark.

[madwelshman]

They are basically. The later ones probably had more Vauxhall to them than Saab. Yes they still had some Saab quirkiness, but they are so different from pre GM Saabs.

Mostly Vauxhall engines and bearboxes. (1.9 diesel being a Fiat item).

 

I'm not trying to start an argument, that's not what I'm after. You can call me narrow minded as well if you like as I'd never buy a GM car after what I personally blame them for doing to Saab, but that's just my own personal opinion and unfortunately, I do feel very strongly about Saab and what happened to them.

I do understand and agree that their demise was partly their own fault, but I also feel that the only reason that GM bought into them was to rape them of their technology and knowledge. Once they had the info they wanted, they just pushed them to one side to slowly die.

As I say, that's my own personal opinion though.

 

Sorry if anyone has taken any offence at anything I've said.

 

Will

[carlo]

It seems so hard for any company with individuality to survive in the past twenty years though doesn't it.  Maybe Subaru buck the trend?

 

Almost seems it's the luck of the draw as to who takes you over.  BMW buys Rover = death knell.  GM buys SAAB = death knell.  VW buys Skoda & Seat, both marques thrive.  And then there's mainstream companies like Peugeot who limp along and end up focusing on certain markets. like China.  I didn't even realise Volvo was wholly bought out these days.

 

It's all rather sad really for the average Autoshitist. 

[Sudsprint]

None taken. My dream garage has a 99 Turbo.

 

And what Vauxhall did was a disgrace. But the NG 95 is a flawed beauty and pointed the way for the next generation. Such a shame.

[Lord Sterling]

Sweet, what a great place! Is Trollhatten a place where Trolls wear hats or summat?

[barefoot]

What does ems stand for?

And some of the beige stuff at the museum bears more than a passing resemblance in the grills to a Renner 16!

 

More interesting than I expected, thank you.

[Vantman]

What does ems stand for?

 

Electronic Manual Special----From the book,Saab.The Innovator.

[mouseflakes]

 

Dunno what you mean!! lol

 

 

LOL at the photo gaff! I think you'll find that's actually a still from 'Cool Runnings' - the Erik Carlsson biopic starring the late and much lamented John Candy.

[Stroller133]

I've had my 56-reg 9-3 for 4months/7k miles and think its great. I try not to think of the vauxhall connections, but when sitting in the car it easy to fogert imo. The dashboard subtlety curves towards the driver - I only notice it now when a driving cars with straight centre consoles or when in the passenger. The front seats are the best in any car I've owned by a long way, both to look at and sit in.

[Luckythirteen]

Still a few 900s locally, there's something ineffably cool about them. Like they don't have to try.

And I want to think there's Trollhattan troll hats too. Are there any?

[Asimo]

Great museum pics, great mad Welsh pics.

 

'Cos I am always drawn to the lame-duck models, I'll take a SaaB 90 please. (the late '80s, 99 front / 900 rear mongrel) Or maybe a two-door 900 saloon. And a 96 2stroke.................

[madwelshman]

What does ems stand for?

And some of the beige stuff at the museum bears more than a passing resemblance in the grills to a Renner 16!

 

More interesting than I expected, thank you.

 

As has been said, Electronic Manual Special and this was correct when they first launched that model as it had Bosch Electronic fuel injection, hence the 'E'. From early 1976 though, they changed to Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection for better reliability (and a few more horses 110bhp upped to 118bhp) as the EFI was proving to be a little troublesome.

[madwelshman]

Great museum pics, great mad Welsh pics.

 

'Cos I am always drawn to the lame-duck models, I'll take a SaaB 90 please. (the late '80s, 99 front / 900 rear mongrel) Or maybe a two-door 900 saloon. And a 96 2stroke.................

 

2dr 900, yes please.

90, mmm, even as a Saab fan, not really one I long for. I love 99's (as you can tell), but the proportions of the 99/900 combination in the 90 just doesn't do it for me.

96's, hell yeah, love them just as much as 99's. Doesn't matter if 2 stroke or V4, I think they're lovely.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo Sudsprint!!! Tell us a bit about life with your 9-5, I love those and they have mega shite kudos in my eyes due to their short lifespan and untimely end.

[twosmoke300]

Id love to try a NG9-5 .

[AnthonyG]

Is a NG 9-5 the one that came out in 2010? I saw one in Abergavenny, just after Saab had died.

 

I remember thinking "the owner's going to know the meaning of depreciation" - I think the cheapest was about 35k list, despite being based on a Vectra or Insignia. They only came in two specs as I remember from the brief test Autocar did on one.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I saw one being used as a taxi today. RESTECP!!

[madwelshman]

Is a NG 9-5 the one that came out in 2010? I saw one in Abergavenny, just after Saab had died.

 

I remember thinking "the owner's going to know the meaning of depreciation" - I think the cheapest was about 35k list, despite being based on a Vectra or Insignia. They only came in two specs as I remember from the brief test Autocar did on one.

 

9-5 came out in 97 and ran until 2010 when the new one that you're referring to came out.

[madwelshman]

It was facelifted part the way through its life (between 1997-2010) to what some refer to as the Dame Edna.

[AnthonyG]

Ah yes, gruesome plastic silver round the headlights, very stylish*.

[madwelshman]

Ah yes, gruesome plastic silver round the headlights, very stylish*.

 

Mmm, indeed. Some people love the styling of the Dame Edna's. I'm not one of them. The pre face-lift 9-5 is a nice looking car and I do like the look of those. They did suffer with major engine failure though due to the gauze on the oil pick up in the sump becoming blocked up. It's a very fine mesh and every service, it's advised to drop the sump and clean it and the gauze to help prevent this. I believe this affects the 1997-03 petrol models and they sorted it from 2004-on.

[rml2345]

That Saab museum looks like an excellent place to visit and along with the Volvo museum could be the centre of a brilliant holiday.

Saab Safari for me PLZ.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I saw one being used as a taxi today. RESTECP!!

So did I ,it must be the same one. The one I saw was silver and the reg was HU11LLL , I couldn't read the plate but assume it's from Hull ! It was going anti-clockwise on the M25 near Heathrow cruising along at about 55 mph when I saw it.

These were on my list as a work car and there's a few around ,mostly with decent specs for about£7/8k , but the underlying Insignianess put me off.

[madwelshman]

That Saab museum looks like an excellent place to visit and along with the Volvo museum could be the centre of a brilliant holiday.

 

I've gotta agree, I'd like to visit the Volvo museum as well as the Saab one.