Russelsheim plant quality

When the beancounters of GM went into Saab, it was the beginning of the end for "saab" quality cars You may as well but a GM/Vauxhall now

Or buy, even ;)

Wot? Members only. Membership £125+VAT/Year! - No way.

Hello Guys, GM at this juncture is in a worldwide quality control improvement upgrade. The CEO has made improvement to the quality in all GM vehicles as the major goal of the company over the next few years, and it has begun to show. The Chevy Malibu Maxx (a Saab derivative) has received several very good reviews, Cadillac is in a renaissance, and its SUVs are among the highest in quality with the Saab 9-7 being very well received by the press (Royal Ford [not a Ford dealer, but a real person] of the Boston Globe basically said it was one of the best SUV's GM is making). As a brand, GM has been has shown some remarkable progress in its quality over the past two years, but still has a distance to go. I believe Money magazine, or it could have been Forbes, had a very good article about GM's future goals, problems and possible solutions.

In regards to the quality of car marques in the US, a good chunk of the major European makers are pretty low on the list (Mercedes was pretty much at the bottom), the Asians are mostly at the top (Toyota holds the crown), and the US brands are spread through out the middle (all the US marques have been slowly improving, Chrysler the quickest). It would seem that VW/Audi, Mercedes, Porche and BMW are all having some sort of quality issues over the past few years. Volvo appears to be the exception. Check out JD powers for the list.

As to Saab, they are like any other marque, they have good product builds and bad product builds. For every good Saab story I have heard, I have heard a sob story. My mother had a 1988 Saab 9000 and it was really fun to drive when it wasn't in the shop- 2 transmissions, numerous break jobs and a host of other issues. I have had a 1986 900t for the past six years and only have had to maintenance until this year, and it was a doozy- over $4000 dollars so far (I had to replace the entire break system except for one break line, the exhaust system from the back of the manifold back, including the turbo, and there were eight separate rust holes in the floor. Hey, the car is twenty years old in February) The car has had one ongoing issue of electrical shorts, that is to say, frustrating at the least. I am currently running three electrical bypasses on the car.

This is a Saab lovers posting board and we all love the brand. It is too easy to blame GM for every little problem Saab has since '94. Remember that Saab has a history as a "quirky" car - that means it has "issues" in the past, both good and bad, before GM came along. Before GM bought Saab, there was a good chance that it could have become another AMC, MG, Fiat or Renault - out of business or a small, unimportant regional player

Jeremy

So Saab will be sold along Daewoo cars, such as the puny Daewoo Matiz? Now renamed as Chevrolet Matiz? Just passed a Daewoo, sorry Chevy Matiz the other day, driven by an OAP. She duly drove for 500 yards on the motorway hard shoulder before turning off at the next junction. Luckily, I spotted the problem so that I didn't collide with her when I turned off at the same junction!

So are you saying that (GM) Saab does not need to be better than 'average'?

I definitely disagree that there could be a connection between "quirkiness" and "issues". Saab has in the past pioneered innovative solutions that were better than previous solutions, that is Saab has advanced the motor car: E.g. dual brake circuits, better turbo charging control systems, stronger bumpers (fenders) on C900 and 9000, interior seats and ergonomics.

How can one promise such a thing? If quality can be promised, why aren't all cars near perfect?