"Latest Saab 9-3 retains distinctive personality, performance"

Managed to get a "quirky" in there too - can't have a Saab article without that word!!!

We then have "This Swedish manufacture". The Scandinavian origin is also heavily emphasized in the UK TV commercials. But Saab models are all going to be made in Rüsselsheim, Germany along with Opel cars!

johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@siz-478245729575-efitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Well, apart from the Opels which'll be built at Trollhatten...

That doesn't make sense? I have heard that the Saab based Cadillac BLS will be build in Trollhatten.

johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@siz-478245729575-efitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You want sense from GM? Anyway, my c900 was built in Finland.

"Saab based"? Well, yes, it's a Vectra C, as is the 93.

It has been for a couple of years - but Trollhatten's going to be gutted and refitted for the next Astra - which will be built at Trollhatten, Ellesmere Port (UK), Gliwice (PL) & Bochum (DE).

[...]

That next Astra will of course spurn the ugly Saab 9-1. But then BMW 1 series is also ugly, so Saab has to reflect that :-) Anyway, Saab 9-3 is selling well, that is my impression from the cars I spot on the streets.

It IS built there. Or was at least. Did they ever manage to sell any sensible quantity of them ? I've been trying to find numbers for ages without much luck. It bombed on launch and hasn't been much seen since. It was a truly daft idea, no surprise there.

Graham

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

I seem to recall reading that they've sold less than 40 in the UK - all ones which have been kicking about since the 2006 launch - and are quietly dropping it.

I just read they've introduced a 'wagon' version.

Elsewhere another article said Cadillac sold 2000 'units' in Europe last year. It wasn't clear if that was all models though.

Graham

It looks close to the Saab 9-3, but with sharp creases. It also has the same turbo engines, but is softer sprung. A pointless car for the European market.

Being lumbered with the Cadillac badge was the final straw. It's not as if it's a brand that your average European is likely to aspire to.

Would it have done better as a Chevrolet maybe ?

Graham

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

Since Chevrolet is "GM's global value brand" - value being used in the same sense as "Tesco stripy" - and is the badge now stuck onto Daewoos, I doubt it's quite what they're aiming for with the BLT...

Neither is it a car the average Caddy buyer would want. Yet another stroke of brilliance by GM. They consistently take brands that have a following and throw a car under the badge that has characteristics no one who buys that badge wants.

There's a reason they lose money year after year.

At least it's not associated with white haired Floridians and a reputation for building barges.

I doubt many in the UK know it's a 'value brand' anyway (aside from Daewoo having being renamed Chevrolet). They're more likely to look at the Corvette and think 'Ooohh' !

Graham

Or they're are usually trucks? Chevy trucks have this very prominent Chevy cross on the front.

Not something you'd see in the UK. There's no real market for 'trucks' here.

Graham

Yes, a strange difference to the US market where trucks are the thing to have, apparently. But trucks have high fuel consumption due to drag, and we pay over twice as much for fuel.

Is it strange ? Why would the average person even want a 'truck' ?

Graham

Dunno, ask the US citizens here why they wanna pick-up truck, many of them have one.