GM prepares to kill off Saab

NAIDANAC A said:
Yeah, but the thing is the Buick is hideous and boring compared to the 9-5. I mean it was at least in the right direction of design. So just badge engineer that and make something new. Even a bloody Malibu replacement...please.
Click to expand...

Buick-LaCrosse_2010_photo_23.jpg


Buick-Regal_2011_photo_08.jpg


Saab-9-5_Sedan_2010_photo_1e.jpg


The 9-5 is the most expensive, but to me looks the cheapest. As for exterior design, I think the 9-5 is somewhere between "boring" and "slightly unpleasant."
 
I dunno; it's sad to see them go but maybe it was their time. In a few years when we're all out of this mess and have sorted out all the energy problems there will be another time when people want quirky, fun, fast cars again and I have no doubts that Saab will rise from the ashes the same way Spyker or Mini have. We had a good run Saab and now we wait until you come back to us. I'm gonna miss you and all your crazy works.

Here's some memorabilia for us all.

Innovations

  • 1958: The GT 750 is the first car fitted with seatbelts as standard.[27]
  • 1963: Saab becomes the first volume maker to offer diagonally-split dual brake circuits.
  • 1969: Saab creates an ignition system near the gearbox, instead of behind the steering wheel like most cars.
  • 1970: Saab introduces a world-first - headlamp wipers and washers.
  • 1971: Heated front seats are introduced, the first time in the world they are fitted as standard.
  • 1971: Saab develops the impact-absorbing, self-repairing bumper.
  • 1976: Saab was the first manufacturer to produce a turbo engine with wastegate to control boost.
  • 1978: Saab introduces another 'world-first,' the passenger compartment air filter (pollen filter).
  • 1980: Saab introduces Automatic Performance Control (APC), and an anti-knock sensor that allowed higher fuel economy and the use of lower grade fuel without engine damage.
  • 1981: Saab introduces the split-field side mirror. This reduces the drivers blind spot.
  • 1982: Saab introduces asbestos-free brake pads.
  • 1983: Saab introduces the 16-valve turbocharged engine
  • 1985: Saab pioneers direct ignition, eliminating the distributor and spark plug wires.
  • 1991: Saab introduces a 'light-pressure' turbo.
  • 1991: Saab is the first manufacturer to offer CFC-free air-conditioning.
  • 1991: Saab develops its 'Trionic' engine management system, equipped with a 32-bit micro-processor.
  • 1993: Saab introduces the 'Sensonic clutch' and the 'Black Panel', later to be called the 'Night Panel'.
  • 1993: Saab develops the 'Safeseat' rear passenger protection system.
  • 1994: Saab introduces the 'Trionic T5.5' engine management system, its processor is a Motorola 68332.
  • 1995: Saab presents an asymmetrically turbocharged V6 at the Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
  • 1996: Saab introduces active head restraints (SAHR), which help minimize the risk of whiplash.
  • 1997: Saab introduces Electronic Brake-force Distribution
  • 1997: Saab fits ventilated front seats to their new 9-5.
  • 1997: Saab introduces ComSense; an alert delay feature that reduces the risk of distraction by briefly postponing lower priority alerts when the brakes or indicators are activated
  • 2000: Saab introduces Saab Variable Compression, an engine in which the compression ratio is varied by tilting the cylinder head in relation to the pistons.
  • 2002: Saab developed ReAxs System provides crisp steering feedback and contributes to enhanced driving stability in curves
  • 2003: Saab introduces CargoSET; automatic storage well retraction for the convertible, a two-step tonneau action for quicker soft-top deployment
  • 2008: Saab introduces Cross-wheel drive, an advanced all-wheel drive system with eLSD.
Click to expand...
Trivia

  • Saab cars are subjected to the moose test (aka elk crash test).
  • In order to increase production volume, Saab helped Valmet Automotive to start a car factory in Uusikaupunki (Nystad), Finland. Since 2003, Saab no longer manufactures any cars in Finland as the production of the 9-3 Convertible was moved to Graz, Austria.
  • A common feature of Saab car types is the use of the number 9 in the model numbers. Current models are the 9-3 and 9-5, both which are manufactured in Trollh?ttan, Sweden, and 9-7X, which is manufactured by General Motors. The exception to this naming rule is the Saab 600, which was a rebadged Lancia Delta.
  • All modern Saabs (except the 9000 and 9-2X) have a floor-mounted ignition. This is for many reasons, some of which follow: Saab believes this is a safer position in case of an accident. The driver's knee often jerks upward in a collision; the compact and dense ignition module on the steering column of many other cars has shattered many kneecaps. Saabs have bolstered dashboards for both front seat occupants. Also, the floor-mounted position yields more space, allowing modern Saabs to have a metal bar that rotates over and up into the ignition when the key is turned to the "Lock" position. This makes Saabs very challenging to hotwire. Ergonomically, the ignition's location next to the parking brake lever, gearshift, and seatbelt, saves time as all motions associated with startup fall right at hand and become second nature. Last of all, the ignition is located on the floor because, in the aircraft that inspired Saab automobiles, the throttle controls were all located on the floor. Originally Saabs also had the key located on the right side of the steering column, but when they changed from a column shifter to a floor shifter, the ignition key followed along, except in the Sonett III and 9000.
  • In October 1986 the Saab Long Run took place. Three standard Saab 9000 Turbos set 2 world records and 21 international records at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, USA. 100,000 km (62,137 miles) were covered with an average speed of 213.299 km/h (132.537 mph) and 50,000 miles (80,467 km) with an average speed of 213.686 km/h (132.778 mph).
  • Ten years later, in 1996, three standard Saab 900 (NG) Turbos driven by factory test drivers and two standard naturally aspirated Saab 900s driven by journalists set new world records on the same speedway.
  • In 1987, Saab created a TV advertisement called "Saab suite" (subtitled Ballet in 3 acts for 8 Saab 9000 Turbos). In the film, stunt drivers show incredible driving with stock cars, such as one-wheeled burnouts, bumper-to-bumper driving through a slalom, cars slaloming from opposite directions on the same course, two-wheel driving, sliding in full speed, and jumping over passing cars?all on a closed airport runway with classical music playing in the background. Click Here to view the video.

  • To commemorate its 40th anniversary, Saab formed a Performance Team in 1987, which laid on exhibitions of automobile acrobatics and formation driving. Initially this was done with Saab 9000s, as above, then later models, such as the Saab 900 (NG) were used. All of the team's members have previously competed in rallies, but what's unusual is that all 5 Performance Team members hold regular jobs at Saab: there are two engineers, a quality controller, a technician and the head of Saab's photo studio. The picture shows these vehicles on display at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Saab Aircraft Company, at Link?ping, in 1997. Click here to view one of their videos
  • Dating back to 1937, Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) created airplanes, introducing their first car, the Saab 92001, in 1947. Currently, Saab AB is separate from Saab Automobile (which is owned by General Motors), and is probably best known for its Saab 37 Viggen (the Viggen badge would be shared by a 9-3). This has led to a ad campaign, "Born From Jets," evoking the days when Saab produced both aircraft and automobiles.
  • In early December 2006, a Wisconsin traveling salesman donated his 1989 Saab 900 SPG (Special Performance Group) to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum after amassing 1,001,385 miles (1,611,573 km) on the original factory engine. This mileage was verified by Saab.[28]
  • Saab have compiled a database where they have analysed more than 6,100 real-life accidents with Saabs. The first recorded event was in 1948 where Julian Shermis had an accident.[29]
  • The Saab 900 Turbo was James Bond's vehicle of choice in many of the John Gardner Bond novels of the 1980s, beginning with Licence Renewed. In the second novel, For Special Services, the 900 was dubbed the "Silver Beast".[30] The car is Bond's private vehicle that he had outfitted with various gadgets by the real-life company Communication Control Systems, Ltd. (CCS). In conjunction with the release of Licence Renewed, Saab had a real "Silver Beast" created that was virtually identical to the specifications in the book. The car is currently located at the Saab Museum in Trollh?ttan, Sweden.
  • In an essay originally published in In These Times in November, 2004 entitled Have I Got A Car For You, writer Kurt Vonnegut recounts his experiences as the owner/operator of a Saab dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts and humorously claims that his criticism of Swedish engineering is the reason he was never awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature. The essay also appeared in the 2005 anthology A Man Without A Country.
  • A Hewlett-Packard CPU-support chip features a Saab 900 Turbo 16 Cabriolet etched into its structure.[31][32]
  • Saab drivers have the highest level of "psychological involvement" with their cars. They are more than 10 times more passionate than the average Volkswagen driver.[33]
Click to expand...
 
I've never heard a single person ever outside of these forums say that they wanted a SAAB.

9-5 Aero vs new Taurus SHO errr...
 
wooflepoof said:
I've never heard a single person ever outside of these forums say that they wanted a SAAB.
Click to expand...

That's because you live in Texas. Saab fans seem to be concentrated in Colorado and New England.

I grew up (in Colorado) really, really liking Saabs. It was only when I got older and started worrying about money that I realized that:

(1) for the price of a given Saab, I could get a vastly superior car from the German and Japanese luxury brands, and

(2) for similar specifications as a given Saab, I could get a VW that drove better and cost less.
 
LeMans GTR said:
I dunno; it's sad to see them go but maybe it was their time. In a few years when we're all out of this mess and have sorted out all the energy problems there will be another time when people want quirky, fun, fast cars again and I have no doubts that Saab will rise from the ashes the same way Spyker or Mini have. We had a good run Saab and now we wait until you come back to us.
Click to expand...

You mean like Hudson, Packer, AC, Riley, Triumph, Morris, Austin, Studbaker, Jensen, and many others?
 
Saabs are something different and indeed a breath of fresh air in daily traffic to see. Rest in peace...

800px-SAAB-Sonett-mk3.jpg
 
Last edited:
CraigB said:
Not sure about that. Mini had an iconic shape, Saab has had shapeless hatchbacks for as long as I remember.
Click to expand...

Shapeless hatchbacks huh? Kind of like a Mustang hatchback?

I have some old ads around here that I will take pictures of and post later. Definitely not shapeless at all.


We managed to sell down all but four of our New Saabs before this month so we are luckily in pretty good shape. We only have about 10 or so used Saabs so not bad there either.

Poor Saab of Milford one of our competitors on the shore has 129 Used Saabs in stock. :blink: :puke::oops:

Their UCM is probably committing Harki-Kari about now.


wooflepoof said:
I've never heard a single person ever outside of these forums say that they wanted a SAAB.

9-5 Aero vs new Taurus SHO errr...
Click to expand...

The old 9-5 Aero of course loses out to the SHO but the new 9-5 in Aero form with say a 380 hp turbo V6 and AWD err I think I take the 9-5 Aero.
 
Last edited:
Pedrocas said:
So, now that Saab has launch the new 9-5 and spent money developing the car and building it and all GM decides to shut it down? Makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the new GM, same as the old GM. I don't understand how they can be so stupid as to let millions, maybe even billions of $$$ just disappear without even trying to sell the company.
 
GRtak said:
Welcome to the new GM, same as the old GM. I don't understand how they can be so stupid as to let millions, maybe even billions of $$$ just disappear without even trying to sell the company.
Click to expand...

As has been said before, it is widely expected that the ignition key of the new 9-5 will be moved back to the steering column and the car to Cadillac.
 
Blind_Io said:
Just as we've seen the rebirth of companies like Ascari and Spyker, I predict that Saab will rise again.
Click to expand...

Since when was Ascari reborn? And the current Spyker has nothing at all in common with the old Spyker, they're just a car company from the Netherlands that has the right to the name.
 
bartboy9891 said:
Since when was Ascari reborn? And the current Spyker has nothing at all in common with the old Spyker, they're just a car company from the Netherlands that has the right to the name.
Click to expand...

Like Rolls Royce and Triumph Motorcycles?
 
I never have owned nor would I ever would have owned a Saab, I'm more into style than substance I must admit (a stylish Alfa over a reliable Saab for instance) but if there was something I'd like to replicate in other cars it'd have to be the front seats, absolute perfection imo.
Those who have one day traveled in a Saab leather front seat would know what I'm talking about. Never experienced better ever since.

2009-Saab-9-5-Wagon-2.3T-4dr-SportCombi-Interior-Front-Seats-1.png
 
More importantly, much like Ford with Jaguar, GM never really understood what Saab was about and therefore didn't really know how to develop it.. GM thought that Saab could have been a real BMW beater, for example.
 
Saab has been killed? :(

Never again will a car be designed wherein you destroy your fingers just trying to release the handbrake.
 
Mitlov said:
Rumors of an eleventh-hour Swedish government bailout of Saab, largely motivated by the desire to save the 3,400 Swedish jobs (out of 9.3 million Swedes...per capita, that'd be equivalent to 110,000 jobs lost in the USA):

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/19/report-swedish-government-to-meet-with-gm-officials-could-saa/
Click to expand...

As noble as that sounds.... it's a bad move for everyone.

The government will get f'd, GM will get more government money and chances are SAAB will still go under at a later date.

STOP BAILING OUT COMPANIES. IT'S NOT NATURAL!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top