Have Saab reintroduced hatchback yet?

johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@size-85635457321546-fitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Ummm, Johannes... That very page says... "1998 model - The CD variant was taken out of production."

So that's hatch 84-92 - avg 27,000 per annum

Saloon, 89-98 - avg 12,464 per annum

Hatch, 92-98 - avg 29,087 per annum

OK, now somebody's found some real figures - yes, I'll cheerfully accept that the hatch was indeed selling more across the life of the 9k.

I'm also surprised that the facelift hatch sold more per year than the pre-facelift. I suspect that's because it didn't have any real rivals left as an exec-class hatch. Sales in '97 were certainly way down on '96, but that may just have been that it was so ancient by then.

No, it's an observaton. There is no supposition involved.

Graham

The P relates to the year of REGISTRATION not manufacture.

Graham

For 4 years ending 6 years ago.

Clutching at straws aren't you ?

Graham

I got the CD final production year 1995 from this site. I wonder if the CD was temporarily stopped but came back again?

That's about 3 1/2 hatchbacks sold for every booted version.

And I maintain that the CS is the better looking car too. Plus it's 6 inches shorter which is a blessing round here for parking.

Graham

Did you just get a clue by any chance ?

Graham

Eeyore ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Although the CD wasn't available for the entire life of the 9k. Just over twice the volume per year on average.

Well, not a fair comparison, you should only compare the years when the CD was sold alongside the hatch.

Yes, this is also reflected in second hand prices. On the face of it, it was not logical to make 9-5 a saloon. But I guess GM must have had an eye on the BMW market, as these saloons sold in large numbers, even at premium price.

Eeyore ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

The hatch sold twice as well as the saloon, despite having no real competition, whilst the saloon had plenty. Yes, I was wrong.

If you recall, though, the original point was regarding the market in general - the 9000CD/CS sales was a spin-off from that. Again, I'll admit I was wrong when you provide sales figures for the total market for exec saloons and hatches through the 90s?

Oh, and you'll notice that I've gracefully conceded that my hypothesis was wrong. We're still waiting for you to do that with the many points where you've been proven wrong, y'know. I won't hold my breath.

I doubt they sold many 1.8's....

The v6 was nice. I liked them, well equipped, roomy. as good as a 9000 for less money IMO....

he hangs out on uk.rec.car.modifications, say no more.....;-)

Yes, the top of range Scorpio model was a nice car. Later on they all became Scorpios to escape the granny tag.

big dom ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Indeed. I took an '88 900i 2dr on the Plymouth-Dakar. The boot's not quite as long as the hatch, and the lip's higher, though it still fitted a metric shitload in there... Two full size spare wheels, a 20l jerrycan (or was it two?) and a *stack* of other stuff.

Yep. Looks are the only real reason I can think of why anyone might actually prefer a saloon to the equivalent hatch. They really don't have any redeeming features to offset the loss in practicality unless you prefer the looks big-time.

The stupid thing is that a lot of the saloons I see around look like hatchbacks. The current 9-3 SS for instance, looks like they designed it to be a hatch and then the marketing department got them to move the hinges from the top of the back window to the bottom to keep the image conscious target market happy.

The fact that people continue to buy these hatch-shaped saloons suggests either that they have some kind of wierd brain disease or they're buying them in-spite of the fact that they're saloons rather than because of it.

Cheers,

Colin.

Colin Stamp ( snipped-for-privacy@stamp.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Shell rigidity, too. You've got a much smaller hole in the shell. Not quite relevant to the buying decision for a new car, though.

*DING*... You've got it... The target market is image conscious, and the image of a saloon is more upmarket than that of a hatch.

Probably. These are people who order nice shiny new (usually leased) executive company cars, paying shitloads of income tax on 'em... Dervy, you're the expert...

[snip]

LOL. Funny guy.

So yet again Y O U D O N ' T K N O W.

Speculation. Pointless posting.

The CD was available from 1988. So it had a 10 year run as opposed to 14.

That's about 2 1/2 : 1 taking product life into account.

Graham