Sad day

in article C145D319.661% snipped-for-privacy@mickx.eclipse.co.uk, Mick x at snipped-for-privacy@mickx.eclipse.co.uk wrote on 01/10/2006 20:18:

Ah well ... The Audi A's are good cars. They feel very much like the SAABs of that ilk. Personally, I'd go for the 9-5 Aero (not one of the new ugly ones) over the A6 for style and driver feel, but each to their own.

What about getting a C900 for the weekend?

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S

:) If I had another garage.........

Nice to hear someone else calling the new 9^5 ugly. It really looks like a cheap Peugot from late 90-ies, when you see one in your rear mirror.

Funny thing about that - When I was driving my 1990 900 CAB, and I saw the "New Version" 900's nd 9000's, I said to the dealer, "Next time will be my first non-Saab automobile". I felt they had gone too far in seeking the general public, and were alienating their mainstream support. But with time, those

900's and 9000's, along with the first generation 9,3 and 9,5's (that looked just like them) became more acceptable, and in they end they seem almost as "pure Saab" as the older ones, even if we know that underneath things were changing (and in fact, I am now driving one of them). From the 2003 and onward, we know they are just Opel Vectras with Saab logos, and the latest 9,7's or whatever are direct mid-market Japan imports...

I have no doubt that GM has done what was needed to keep the Saab logo from disappearing altogether, but it is not surprising hat most "traditional" Saab enthusiasts will be hard pressed to find any reason to buy another.

GF

Already the 9^5 is to a large extent an Opel Vectra, containing a significant amount of parts with quality problems. The most sad story is however the engine, which is not a GM product, going from the excellent and durable engines in the C900 and 9000 to the B205/235 with all their problems. The 9^5 is my seventh and last Saab but it will be a tough job finding a car with the same seating comfort, driver environment and winter driving capabilities as Saab used to provide. However, when a car manufacturer no longer seems to understand that the main idea of owning a car is that you want to comfortably and safely go from point A to point B and not end up at point C or be stuck at point A, and instead spend their effort on fooling the consumers with various branding tricks believing that it increases sales, that manufacturer is in trouble (pooh, long sentence!)

I have the new 9-5 and altough I first disliked it (on picture), I really love the new make-up (my previous car was a 2002 9-5). As you American guys say: 'it grows on you' ...

"th" schreef >> >>

I do not like the new front end. Seems out of place with the rest of the car.

Dan

Renaat Mattheus wrote:

Good to hear - if you can, please keep us updated on your thoughts of pros and cons with the new model.

All the people around (family and friends, who are no Saab freaks :- ) ) me react very positive to the 'new nose' of the 9-5, whereas there were a lot of doubts about it in the local 'saab community'. I never got that much reaction on my previous 9-5, altought the one before that was a VW Passat. I think the Saab designers managed to do a good design upgrade on an old model, after all : I really liked that 'old' model. Altough this is not the reason why one buys a car, but many heads still turn around when I pass buy with the new 'chrome' 9-5. And to be honest: I like this :-)

I drive the 1.9 Tid and I had the Hirsch Update implemented (175 HP, 370NM) which is a very big difference with the standard power of this diesel engine. The new 9-5 drives smoother than my 2002 one and there is less disturbing noise inside. The interior also 'grows on you', altough it has the reputaion of being 'not typical Saab'. I have the Infotainment Plus package with GPS and Harman Kardon sound system, which really 'rocks' !

Conclusion : I really love my new 9-5 which offers a lot more 'style' than all the 'common' BMW 5's and Audi A6's which seems to be sols d like '13 in a dozain'.

BTW Here's a link to a picture of my Swedish baby :

Renaat

"Mick x" schreef in bericht news:C149E472.6DE% snipped-for-privacy@mickx.eclipse.co.uk...

Looks very nice in the black.

I like everything about the nose *except* the chrome around the headlights. That just looks gaudy to me. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And that ain't me...

In the beginning yes, but when the car gets 5-6 years old you cannot listen to music any more because you need to keep your ears open for new sounds indicating the next thing that is going to break: chains, turbo, gear box, headlight wipers, rear suspension etc.

Now I'm a bit exaggerating but this is the feeling I, and several Saab owners I know, have had with our 4 - 6 year old 9^5s.

To be honest again, I had quite some problems with my previous 9-5 (which was a 2.2 TiD). At some point I almost gave it up and went looking for another brand ( don't shoot me : BMW or Lexus). But I guess old love does not fade away that easily and I stayed with my Swedish one.

As I change car every 4 years, I hope to avoid all those problems. And I am already looking forward to the all new 9-5 in 2008? 2009? 2010?

"th" schreef >> All the people around (family and friends, who are no Saab freaks :- ) )

very true...

I love my C900's but they're getting too old really... An ng900/9.3 is actually looking an attractive option. (never thought I'd say that...)

plus I've owned several of pretty much every model of saab - an NG I've never tried :-)

It's horrendous. It got a genuine GM uglystick treatment. Garish plastic & chrome in all the wrong places.