Saab.

No suprise. The company has been in trouble for years, even prior to GM control. It has been starved of investment and latterly has lost much of its character.

With GM going down the tubes I cannot see it lasting.

Car industry execs (my brother is one) anticipate at least one more European manufacturer will go under, unless a national government chooses to effectively nationalise it (and we all know what that did for BL).

My money is on Seat getting ditched by VAG, and JLR being in the mire (again) very soon too.

Bruce

Hope that I'll still be able to get spares for mine.

moving too far up market without premium product is a receipe for disaster.

Jono

It would be great if they could go back to being a real car maker again. Fingers crossed...

steve (Saab driver & fan)

quote:

It would be great if they could go back to being a real car maker again. Fingers crossed...

They stopped making decent cars after the 99 & 900 turbos. Too much power, poor chassis. Shame.

James

I like my 10 year old 9-5
I just wish the seat would go back a teeny bit further, and the steering wheel adjust a tiny bit more
SJ

quote:

I like my 10 year old 9-5
I just wish the seat would go back a teeny bit further, and the steering wheel adjust a tiny bit more
SJ

You could try using a big hammer.

Very sad, although they have been becoming less distinctive in recent years.

Mind you - they are the only car maker who can build anything this bloody cool:



Jonathan

Or are they the only plane maker that also makes undesirable cars??

Tony

well as they have been owned by GM since about 2000, they are an ex-plane maker, a bit like Bristol Cars really

Barrie

Gosh, I'm surprised how little sentiment there is on here for what was I think one of the very few distinctive car-makers that build cars normal people could afford.

Seems to me that the original 99 and 900 were superb cars - a friend's Dad was the lead engineer on the 99 Turbo but GM failed to recognise that you couldn't just badge engineer something as distinctive as a Saab. To be fair I think Ford did a much better job with Jag/Landie/Aston than GM managed with Saab.

I hope that in some ways the fact that it is the megacorporations that are being hit hardest in the current recession might mean a return to companies like Saab becoming independent again so they can get on and do what they do best.

Jonathan

quote:

To be fair I think Ford did a much better job with Jag/Landie/Aston than GM

That may be true, looking from the outside, but neither did a good job, which is a pity, as like you, I don't believe that everybody wants a look-a-like car.

The other reality, is that the market for the "owners" product (Ford, GM) fell apart, they have to re-trench, and whether Europe likes it/ admits it or not they are not European companies, therefore the re-trenchment is into their main home market brands (GM, Ford, Mercury etc ) and their home country.

It's logical and inevitable.

IMHO

Barrie

I am from Sweden, and I think that SAAB made one big mistake having so few car models to choose from. If they had produced a small car and changed the 9-5 and 9-3 sooner, that might have worked.

My uncle owned a series of Saabs in the 1970s and 80s. I have owned 4 since the 1990s, inclusing a new 9-3 sports saloon. Although recently they look better [more distinctive] they lost their individuality. Both model ranges being ordinary 4 door saloons or estates. I own a 10 year old 9-5 that I am happy with and it is to all intents and purposes the current 9-5. A 'new' 9-5 is a very unlikely purchse for someone wanting a new car, it is an old model. The other huge problem here in the UK is that their value once purchsed falls incredibly fast. It made owning a new Saab for me a very expensive choice. I like being individual, but there are more sensible ways to achieve it. If Saab survive they need to go back to their earlier ethos. Small volume quality products that offer a real alternative to the ordinary. Yes, maybe even a small car - but a different one. Who can imagine what that would be like?
atb
SJ

I have a totally ungreen Saab 9.5 Aero circa 2001. I bought it 2nd hand with 150,000 Kms on the clock at a very reasonable depreciated price which has not dropped much more.

I love the comfort of the extras such as cruise control, auto sports gearbox, a/c and heated / fan cooled perforated leather seats that came for virtually nothing since at that age extras have little consequence to the 2nd hand price.

The car has tons of life left in it yet and inspite of how old it is there is a timeless look to the body style which is fine and anyway once your in it you can't see the outside can you?

Of course not the majority motivation for buying( ie new reg, latest style, brand new 'feel')....shame really.

...just hope the spares will be around until it has to go to the scrap yard.

regards
Geoff

I currently have a Saab 9-3 aero convertible. I think it is the best looking of the similar price Audi/BMW/Merc four-seater convertibles, and it has the most comfortable ride of them. It is not the fastest or best handling. As a laid back cruiser it works very well.
Nobody hates you for driving a Saab. I didn't think this mattered to me until I changed a Saab for an Evo.

We currently have two Saabs - a 9-5 Aero estate which is rather pokey and a 12.5 year old 900Turbo GM that I have owned from new. The story gets sadder in that I bought my first Saab in 1971 a 96, then a 99, then a series of 900s with and without Turbos and then a 9-6 Estate with a chipped engine management system and now the Aero - so I guess one could say that I am satisfied with them. I have driven many other rental vehicles but only a couple have tempted me in any way and that was more to do with the location and terrain than anything else.

I regretted the passing of the true Saab and the arrival of GM bits and bobs, the final insult came the other day when I bought a pair of wiper blades and they came in a box that clearly had GM written large on it and then the model names of Cadillac and Saab 9-5.

Why did I stay with Saabs - whenever I went to look for a new vehicle the packaging of the vehicles was too complicated - just give me a nice vehicle with a useful set of toys - instead I would have to go thru a tick list selecting the various items. With a Saab it was a lot easier it was a choice of "cooking" middle or top end. It has got more tedious since.