The return of Saab

[tones]

http://www.saabcars.com/en/news/3BBA6ED5385A6ACE

 

[julian2002]

I really hope that SAAB manage to rise from the ashes, they are one of those cars that I always wished I'd had a crack with.

A wonderful brand that tanked thanks to obstinacy and stupidity.

 

[Ozexpat]

How many more chances are they going to get ? They've had more comebacks than Dame Nelly :doh:

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

That article includes delivery of 9-3s, which IIRC were based on Insignia's, hardly a great base to start from, and now well over 1 generation behind. Just who do they think will buy them unless they're seriously cheap?

 

[tones]

That article includes delivery of 9-3s, which IIRC were based on Insignia's, hardly a great base to start from, and now well over 1 generation behind. Just who do they think will buy them unless they're seriously cheap?

I think the base was even earlier, the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra. This appears to be an exercise in getting production moving again, using existing facilities and models, as a prelude of things hopefully to come. I always had an admiration for Saab and its quirky way of doing things, and would have seriously considered one, had the company not fallen in a heap.

In addition, there must be a market for solid, well-engineered, no-nonsense cars (the sort of stuff bought by utterly boring people such as myself).

Saab's problem was not the products, but the fact that the company was simply too small. A company that builds a few hundred thousand cars a year for normal people (as opposed to wealthy buyers of exotica) is always going to be in trouble in the present market, in which there are already too many manufacturers, especially in Europe, all competing for a share in a shrinking market. And GM didn't have a clue what to do with Saab, so the result was disaster. Hopefully the Chinese will have more luck - and we await the electric vehicles with interest.

 

[Guest]

I like Saab, so much so I nearly bought one about 12 years ago, but didn't in the end, lovely seats and dashboard.

 

[anubisgrau]

Opel/Vauxhall was actually a perfect fit for SAAB, it kept the same level of unreliability as the old one....

Nice seats and dashboard, I agree :=)

 

[anubisgrau]

That must be something new. Saab 900 Turbo has always been one of the top contenders in unreliability surveys.

Btw, I think Saab decline hasn't started with GM. Saab 9000 was in fact the same car as Lancia Thema or Fiat Croma, AFAIK.

A big part of the unreliability of modern Saab has to do with a general unreliability of modern cars filled up with nasty software and electronics. Even BMW, Audi and Merc are not trouble free. Or just look at Volvo. I was utterly shocked with the friends experience with V50. Whatever you buy these days, with possible exception of a few Jap brands, there's no guarantee it won't screw you somewhere for no reason.

 

[Samantha]

....in the present market, in which there are already too many manufacturers, especially in Europe, all competing for a share in a shrinking market.

You comment here surprised me as I was under the impression that sales were still increasing.

I have just checked and below is the stats for world sales 2005-2013. A dip in 2007 when the recession hit, but growth since. Certainly I did see that in the UK, Sept sales were the highest month for many years and the UK market is in growth. I guess it is possible that Europe bucks the trend, but whole world and UK both in growth (also US in growth).

 

[Geoff101]

Btw, I think Saab decline hasn't started with GM. Saab 9000 was in fact the same car as Lancia Thema or Fiat Croma, AFAIK.

True it started out as a joint venture but actually the 9000 ended up with little in common with the other two. There have been a few articles about this and even the Top Gear piece was quite good.

 

[la toilette]

I've always liked Saabs so pleased that they may still have a future.

I have a 9-3 estate right now and it's actually not a bad car, just not anywhere as good as it should have been - too much GM nastiness as mentioned above. Great bodywork, looks really nice (IMO), comfortable and well laid out inside, but let down by a crunchy gearbox, poor leg space in the rear, creaky-squeeky interior and a very disappointingly crashy ride. Diesel engine is OK though. Can pick them up very cheaply mind, which is why I have one ;-) .

The new owners are gonna have to come up with a good new design though, if they want people to forget how badly GM buggered Saab up. Given their heritage, I'd want to see something that has some of the quirky Swedish influence, like the wrap-around windscreens in the old 900's.

 

[anubisgrau]

I'm guessing the Swedes used to dump all of the Friday-afternoon clunkers on the country that gave an unsuspecting World that marvel of technological prowess the Yugo... ;-)

not really, unless they tried to compete yugo on the US or australian market:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/saab/900/1993/

http://www.carsguide.com.au/motor-shows/top-10-worst-cars-17688

btw, at the time of saab 900 fame i drove something even more unreliable - lancia delta hf.

 

[Samantha]

lol at the 'individual reviews' rather than proper statistics. Especially reviews of 20yr old cars with 150k miles on.

 

[anubisgrau]

point taken - not that bad according to german TUV, but still not a reliability champ!

http://www.anusedcar.com/index.php/tuv-report-year-age/2004-10-11/263

fwiw, i've always adored 900 for looks and comfort and even wanted one after i dumped my delta HF. so totally understand the fascination, it really is one of the iconic designs....however i knew a guy who owned a saab garage here. one visit was enough to immediately skip on that idea...

 

[mmar]

I've had the 900 turbo and 9000 aero loved them both and they where perfectly reliable other than normal wear and tear and servicing both where faultless, which coulnt be said for the merc 190 cosworth I owned after which was a total nightmare, that said i may have purchased a duffer but it had half the milage of both the saabs sold it and cut my losses. Have since owned 2 volvo s60 T5 s and like the saabs both have been a pleasure to own and totaly reliable, my yearly milage increased a far old bit so the last T5 was replaced with a d5 that said i would have no issues recommending or purchasing another saab

 

[tones]

You comment here surprised me as I was under the impression that sales were still increasing.

I was thinking primarily of the continental European market, where German and French sales show tepid increases, or have even gone backwards:

http://europe.autonews.com/section/numbers

Strong sales increases in the UK have offset these decreases. France has particular problems as it has probably too many local manufacturers and, unlike the German rivals, too few export outlets. The French marques don't exist in that most important market, the USA. They have made occasional forays, but these tend not to last. Moreover, the former colonies don't take that many any more.

 

[Guest]

Simon writes his adventures in a 9000 here http://thejalopy.com/

 

[browellm]

I love Saab and it would be great if they did make a comeback but this looks like they found some unsold 9-3s in a field, resprayed them and put them on the back of a transporter.

 

[Ozexpat]

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