Today I read that the Saab 9-7 is a Chevy Trail Blazer in disguise, but over $10,000 more for the disguise. The 9-2 is a Subaru Impreza commonly known at the Saabaru, fewer features, but at a higher cost. It has been a great brand, but it may well be that the glory days of Saab are past. Treasure those older models; you may never see them again.
Tom '87 Turbo Conv.
Tom,
This is nothing new. This has been in the news since 2004.
No big deal. It's a market Segment Saab/GM wanted using the term "Badge Engineering"
We're all over it.
The 9-3 SS and 9-3 SportCombi along with the 9-5 flagship models are also more True "Saabs" today comparatively.
The old Saabs are still good.
Don't worry about it.
A new "Hatchback" will be available in 1998
Please take a look at the videos at
SG
Can't speak to the 9-7, but the 9-2's are going out the door at firesale prices (or were, they're probably mostly gone now) that were possibly lower than the Subaru dealer was getting for the similar Imprezza.
I toyed with the idea of a 9-2 (briefly... very briefly) but once I heard they were discontinuing the model decided I did not want any of that white elephant.
Tom, (Malt Hound), or whatever your real name is. :)
The 9-2x is running again for 2006, but in the base model only (no idea why here)
I think that the 06 model IS the last model, so you are correct.
SG
Can't say I'm over it, but it is def'ly old news at this point. I guess I'd say "accustoemd to the idea of it".
Heeheehee...Ryan, I think you mean 2008. ;-)
- tex
Are you enjoying the Saab videos?
Which one is your favorite?
SG
That would make the model quite unique and interesting to own?
Ummm, it's Fred. Tom was the first guy.
Are you sure about that?
The 9-2x is usually selling for less than an Impreza due to all the Employee Pricing BS.
The 9-2x is vastly superior in terms of appearance and roadholding to any Impreza model. The rest of the car is virtually identical, interior, etc. But the suspension and front/rear fascias are so much better it is definately worth more than an Impreza. The price puts icing on the cake.
Perhaps not a true Saab. But a great car.
The 9-7x is a vastly superior automobile than the TrailBlazer.
It has more power, much better styling and suspension. Not to mention interior quality touchy-feely stuff. $10 000 more it is worth it, have you driven a TB?
The 400 horsepower TrailBlazer SS is interesting though. It uses 9-7x suspension apparently.
Maybe you can shove the 400 horsepower engine into a 9-7x, 9-7x Viggen?!
I think the weakest point on the 9-7x (aside from the fact that it's not a true Saab), is the fact that they kept the chintzy GM standard 4-speed automatic. A 4-speed is hardly modern and highly inefficient.
- tex
This is a GM 4-speed automatic. GM automatics are the best in the industry. Having driven many exemplars of their units over the years, I can say with confidence that the inefficiency you speak of is rather minimal. To use an example, a full sized Impala with a 3.8 litre engine, a 4-speed automatic will get 30 miles per gallon easily, on regular fuel. My 2.0 litre Saab with a 5-speed MANUAL is hard-pressed to achieve that.
And the "gear wars" today are getting stupid. 6 speeds can be an efficiency gain, but 7 or more is less efficient, since the engine just spends all it's time waiting for shifts. CVT are different story.
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