Well, the _first_ Saab has an "Auto Union" (now more or less the VW/Audi/Porsche collective) engine.
Yes.
Right, but the point is, with the possible exception of the Ford V4, all of these engines were saabified when put into production. And technically, the first i4 in the 99s wasn't a Triumph engine, it was the same engine that Triumph also selected. Minor nit.
I think thesedays with the 'glorification' of cars as a source of 'freedom', hatchback models tend to be very popular with younger people. It's very much a product of the marketting.
Sedans always seems to have been considered as a 'family' car, while hatchbacks are a 'personal' car. The fact there are a lot less people starting a family and more being single for a lot longer would be playing into the popularity of hatchbacks as well. Social trends are a key tool of marketters (not just in the motor vehicle industry).
Well, everyone has their own preferences. I just prefer not to have a sunroof but here in Australia that can be a good thing when we're the country with the highest incidence of skin cancer amongst the majority of the population which is mostly white European-origin non-indigenous people.
8-)Regards,
Craig.
:confused: I have been driving a saab since i started driving &
currently have an older 900 convertible that I can't ever see mysel parting with. Unfortunately, I also have a 2003 9-3.
I have had more problems with this one vehicle than I did with my las
4 cars combined. In the last 6 months, I have had 3 serious problem with this vehicle. Serious in the way of not being able to drive i and needing to have it towed to the dealership where it spends at leas a week to resolve the issue. In 2 of these situations the only thin that kept me from being in a serious accident was pure luck and th kindness of strangers. However, when I contacted saab assistance i learned that my safety wa not really a concern on their part but they were very quick to poin out that the saab garage would complete all needed warranty work return my car to me in a safe condition. -so I can wait and see wha else can go wrong. Saab used to be a very customer centered company & maybe it is jus amazing coincidence but i haven't felt like a valued customer since G got involved-- cami2
----------------------------------------------------------------------- cami27's Profile:
Arrrrrrrrgh!
Fiat Croma: 1100-1200 Kg. Saab 9000 1400-1500 Kg Fiat Croma: 1.6-2.0L 8V OHC Saab 9000 2.0-2.3L 16V
LOL !
Bizarrely - my tech's garage has a Fiat Croma regularly parked nearby.
No comparison !
Graham
I had a 1987 Fiat Croma CHT for 10 years, nice enough car though some cheap plastic inside. The 9000 was out of my range.
It's strange because there are others that have few if any problems with their cars. However, I sadly admit, I'm in your group on this. My car had numerous "little" problems, but as in my other post ("noisy wheel") states, I've been very fortunate to have diligent dealership support, and today I can say that the car is generally in new-condition.
Can you give more specifics?
This is true...your dealer should be your first line of attacking the problems.
Again, you can help things along by being a good detective yourself. Listen for clues. Car problems are almost always distinguished by their noise. Track down the noise: approx location, be able to accurately describe the noise (knocking, whistling, buzzing, humming, cracking, grinding, etc), and the conditions (environmental, road and car) when the noise is apparent.
Be friendly with your dealer, afterall they're your partner in keeping your vehicle safe and running well.
- tex
I guess I fall in the middle. I consider all but the 9^2 and 9^7 to be saabs, even now.
Keep in mind that GM is also trying to reduce the safety of the Saabs as well. The 9^7 SUV (Trollblazer, TrailBlaab) is anti Saab and less safe than any other current Saab. Keep in mind that safety is not only how well it absorbs energy in an accident, but also how nimble and controllable the vehicle is which allowy the driver to avoid an accident.
The 9^2 is an Subaru with saab refinements. The platform has not been enhanced for safety like a swedish designed model (at least to date!) The GM900 was compromised at best. I had one and got rid of it in a year. The C9^3 (98-02)was , purportedly better, though I have no experience with that. I have my family in a 9k and will move to a used
9^5 when it is time.I am not saying that Saab engineering is perfect, look at the T7 engines. Sludge and short life is a problem because of the inherent design problems AND the GM inspired long oil change interval. They have still not fixed the PCV issue which is a contributor. All they have done is extend the engine warranty as a show of goodwill. The soultion is to move back to a more T5 piston style which they are not doing as the engine is dead once the current 9^5 plays out. The NG9^5 will have the (seriously Saab enhanced) global4 and the learnings here may not apply. I really do not know as I have never taken one apart.
Lutz has said that the bleeding needs to stop and that Saab 'wasted' so much money on the redevelopment of the new 9^3. In his mind, the platform was perfect and should have been used 'as is' and Saab just needed to hang body panels on it and slap a leather interior in it and be done. Saab engineers, refined the platform for safety (steel supports where the general uses magnesium or AL for weight). Instead of seeing this as a positive development that they could incorporate in all other common platform models, they see it as extra waste. Ditto for the pendulum engine mount system developed for reduced torque steer in the face of 200+ hp in a fwd platform! even though the same block and platform are used in the rest of world and these developments could have been amortized over the product line for years to come. Ditto for the CAN system developned for the 9^3. The way I see this one is that it was to offset the added steel weight by reducing copper weight... You get my point. GM is still run by the bean counters and will continue to be run into the ground until it dies. Saab has already been killed. I know Lutz is a car guy, but he has very little control over that. Trollhattan will no longer produce any 'saabs' after 2008, wasn't it? The way I see it, buy a Saab now while you can as they will all dissappear when the 9^3 moves to Russelsheim. I really doubt that the general will allow 2 cars so dissimilar as the vectra and 9^3 to be made on the same line... My guess is that they dumb down the 9^3 to make it more like the Vectra instead of vice versa.
Saab used to have 'tech sessions' here in the US which were available through the Saab Owner Club. In these sessions, John Moss would cover in detail different systems or topics. GM has dismantled this. John is still employed by the General, but this goodwill gesture by Saab is gone.
buy your Saab now and cherish it as what we understand as Saab will be gone shortly.
KeithG
Tex wrote:
I loved the full metal sliding sunroof in my old old C900, so much that when I couldn't find a really nice late C900 to replace it (and couldn't afford a convertable) I looked to Jap cars but only those with full sliding sunroof. I like the Prelude, but had trouble finding a good import VTEC manual one, and the sunroof slid back external to the body.
Ended up getting a Celica with a proper tilt/slide metal roof that works liek the Saab one did and slides back into the body.
Keith,
I agree with almost all of what you said except that the 9^2 and 9^7 are Saabs. I currently own a '94 9k and an '02 Viggen. We are probably go> I guess I fall in the middle. I consider all but the 9^2 and 9^7 to be
Just be glad the 9-7 isn't based on the Blazer, which has the highest driver death rate of any passenger vehicle on U.S. roadways.
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