Saab RIP?

[AnthonyG]

The buyer for Saab has pulled out of the deal, probably because the EU wouldn't let the Swedish govt pay for the bailout.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8377076.stm

 

I imagine GM want to just shut it down, although compensating the dealers might be something they don't want to pay for.

 

They might try and find a Chinese buyer, I reckon ultimately Saab will go the way of Rover.

[VWPowered]

bugger

[Lankytim]

Shit, I thought saab was a good seller? Are they not making money?

[VWPowered]

dont think they did after they became vectra's in drag

[ashmicro]

I read the interview with Christian von Koenigsegg in CAR, and I must say I thought he was full of shit.

[Mr Lobster]

Not entirely surprised, the Koenigsegg (sp?) thing always seemed a bit unlikely to me. Shame though but I suppose the trouble is that the cars just aren't as good as the were in the past and they're not selling enough of them.

[Rocket88]

I recently drove my bro-in-laws 3 year old 3 litre turbo Saab convertible. If that's indicitive of the rest of the range, they're in real trouble!

[AXrescuer]

dont think they did after they became vectra's in drag

I have a GM900 and would have one any day over a Vectra new or old!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Given how good the top end Insignia is supposed to be, I would image an Insignia based 9-3 would be a very decent car. Saab hasn't got a bad image and the name still counts for something - normally a spacious and decent riding 'prestige' brand without a wanker image. Saab is definitely saveable but the Chinese will just fuck it over. Remember how they were 'definitely going to buy Rover' and didn't?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

They did did they not? They just played the waiting game till the Phoenix Phuckwits' regime imploded then bought the lot for buttons. I think they were pretty savvy there. Word is theres gonna be a new 'proper' car coming out of Longbridge late next year as well.

[Mr H Sceptre]

Drove past Longbridge last week a couple of times. A sorry sight, whats left of it is really run down & certainly doesnt look capable of hosting car manufacture.

[Timewaster]

Drove past Longbridge last week a couple of times. A sorry sight, whats left of it is really run down & certainly doesnt look capable of hosting car manufacture.

Isn't there a dribble of chineese MGTF kit cars coming out of longbridge destined to sit in a field for all eiternity?Or did they just make 2 dozen. One to fit in each showroom?

[Cavcraft]

MGTFs are in production. Graham Walker (of Reliant Scimitar fame) in Chester are selling them new.

[myglaren]

Daughter #3 has a Saab 900 2.3 cabriolet ('96 I think, -'R' anyway)*

 

Prior to that she had an earlier ('H') 900 2l 16v Turbo-S that was significantly better in everything but the interior trim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*On my way to and from work I pass an identical car, almost the same registration, just a couple of digits difference, but it is a 93?

[Station]

dont think they did after they became vectra's in drag

They share a lot of stuff, but it appears to be higher quality. Lower arms are alloy (opposed to pressed steel). Shame GM couldn't pull their heads out of their arse and cancel all their shitty American brands that nobody sane buys.

[Tayne]

.

[pogweasel]

The technical term was the 'Dame Edna' facelift....

[alfetta]

To be fair, The GM 900/9-3 was never really a vectra in drag, it was actually a calibra/cavalier platform - the only part used was a modfied floorpan...I find the GM900 a better day to day proposition - the classic turbos were pretty agricultural to drive and ate gearboxes...And at least they still have the hatchback, unlike the new ones...

[Milford Cubicle]

Wasn't the Vectra B itself based on the Cavalier platform? I don't really understand the hatred of some Saab fans towards the later models, they've probably never driven one.

 

I like the look of the new 9-5, I hope they get the chance to build and sell it - though with that 99/C900-style glasshouse, it might be a bit dingy inside.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yeah that new 9-5 looks great I reckon, I dunno if it will have any interesting features but it certainly looks the part.I feel mega sorry for SAAB, i know industry 'convention' says they dont have the volumes to be a profitable car company, but I struggle to believe that alone is the end of it. I reckon if someone with a bit of vision got hold of it they could make an interesting and profitable product, perhaps taking other folks engines/floorpans and putting their own signature on em rather than engineering them from scratch. Like Lotus' re-engineering of the Lexus V6 to use in their Evora. Or like a Rover 218 SD Turbo!Maybe though, I am just unhappy at accepting that as time goes on, the variety and diversity of vehicles available to buy will continue to decline until everyone ends up with the same car but with different colours, wheels and interior plastic finishes depending on which 'marque' they buy it from.

[Guest]

I think the thing about "X car being Y car in drag" is a negative statement that gets thrown around all too easily nowadays.

 

Cars can be based on other ones and be radically different, look at the old GM J-body - all sorts of ace-looking cars came out of that, every body configuration imaginable, with most of them looking nothing like the others. Good example being the differences between say the MK2 Cavalier, Daewoo Espero and Cadillac Cimarron - I reckon you would be able to swap a few mechanical bits between the Cavalier and Espero, possibly swap the doors between a Cavalier and a Cimarron, but bar that you're looking at three totally different motors.

 

Platform-sharing isn't a bad thing as long as people put the effort in to tool it up to their needs, have different panels, engines, interiors and the likes. If a new Saab uses the floorpan off a Cavalier, what does it matter really? Cavaliers were alright and a floorpan is a floorpan, you're hardly going to lie underneath it admiring the footwells. If all the mechanical bits fit around it and it passes the NCAP crash tests, what's the problem? Probably costs loads to develop an all-new floorpan for no huge gain, so you can see why they'd want to use one off the shelf - bet the only reason they bother knocking up new ones is because otherwise the press will catch on they'll start calling it "something or other in drag" and it'll hurt their image (see Jag X-Type).

[myglaren]

I was hoping that they would put the Aero-X into production.

 

I think it is the same engine that the Bristol Fighter-F uses.

[r.welfare]

Maybe I am biased having driven one for a year, but I reckon that the 9-3 (prior to the 2008 facelift) saloon is a seriously handsome car, and not bad to drive at all, regardless of the Vectra connotations. Unfortunately it has a reputation for less-than-great reliability for the diesel, and the residuals are terrible, which probably puts off the traditional Saab buyer. They've sold loads (to the lease companies), but at huge discounts - the one I had was seriously cheap to lease compared to the competition (it was £330/month IIRC, vs. £450 for a comparably-spec'd Audi A4, or £500 for a BMW 318d SE). It was actually cheaper than a base-spec Mondeo to lease, even with the higher Benefit In Kind the Saab attracted due to it's list price being £7k higher! And the ads in the Sunday papers offering them at half list for a year old job with less than 10k on the clock says it all, really.The current 9-5 was handsome prior to 2006, pug-ugly now, and is desperately old. The 9-3 is into it's seventh year of production now as well. The new 9-5 looks great, but I wonder if it's too little, too late. I hope not.