Saab, R.I.P

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I've had two, back when they were still considered quite a 'posh' car to have.
I then lost interest when they basically became quirky Vauxhalls.
I've no desire to own a Vauxhall, even by association.
 
I've never owned a Saab, nor ever remotely wanted one, but somehow I'll miss them.

Well I have. I bought a Saab 99 Turbo back in 1978 when turbocharging was in it's infancy. Not only was it an incredibly fast car at a time that most "ordinary" cars struggled to exceed 100mph but it had features that were unheard of at the time like heated seats and windscreen washers.

The starter key was on the transmission tunnel and when you switched the engine off you had to put the car in reverse before you could take the key out and that was a far more effective deterrent for car thieves than any steering lock.
 
a sad state of affairs , though part of me is glad that it isnt headed towards china , far to much is heading that way for it to be healthy for the rest of the world ......
 
Owned a 2005 Saab 93 1.9TiD 150bhp for about 4 years, had nothing but trouble with it.
It was a love/hate relationship, but its sad to see them go.
 
Their new shape Saab is lovely looking too!
 
I had a Saab 95 Turbo Estate which I loved as it was fast, had a huge boot, all the mod cons....but then the engine ran dry of oil thanks to Saabs stupid design and I had to put a new engine in it.......then it happened again 18 months later.

I'll not miss them!
 
Well I have. I bought a Saab 99 Turbo back in 1978 when turbocharging was in it's infancy. Not only was it an incredibly fast car at a time that most "ordinary" cars struggled to exceed 100mph but it had features that were unheard of at the time like heated seats and windscreen washers....
I remember those. They were a sensation at the time, but IIRC turbo lag was pretty horrendous. Didn't they replace the famous Carlsson 96? But they did show the way, before F1 & Audi took it up seriously.
 
They were a sensation at the time, but IIRC turbo lag was pretty horrendous.

True. You had to plant your right foot about a second before you actually wanted to overtake
 
True. You had to plant your right foot about a second before you actually wanted to overtake

There's still some modern cars like that.
My Alpina D3 had bad lag, you had to learn to plant your foot slightly before you needed meaningful drive in that car too.
 
I too had a Saab 99 Turb, but fitted with the 16V 200 BHP lump. Brilliant in a straight line when you had time to wind the turbo up, but a horror in corners. If you booted it too soon, the power came in a big lump before you were ready for it, too late it would bog down and a Metro could breeze past !

I also had the 900 that was the first of the Vauxhall based cars. It had the 2.3L normally aspirated Saab engine and ran so sweetly.

Loved the cockpit design and space, hated the exterior looks, wierd offset pedal layout and dreadful fuel economy.

A mate has a fully blown 95 Turbo with 280BHP. Now that is fun, but an average 17MPG just tootling around hurts a bit !
 
Saab did the best seats ever, IMO.
And I liked their night driving instrument option.
Where everything bar the speedo was switched off.
If your fuel started running out, the fuel gauge would light up.
 
Sad to see them go. Again, never had one or any inclination to own one but it's always nice to see somebody on the market who's a little bit different from the norm.
 
gken74 said:
but then the engine ran dry of oil thanks to Saabs stupid design and I had to put a new engine in it.......then it happened again 18 months later.

I'll not miss them!

You ran a car out of oil twice in 18 months, I wouldn't say that's a problem with the design, more lack of maintenance
 
Owned a 2005 Saab 93 1.9TiD 150bhp for about 4 years, had nothing but trouble with it.
It was a love/hate relationship, but its sad to see them go.

Had one for three years as a company car and it was virtually faultless over 60000 miles. My dad bought it and its now got over 90000 miles on it and has only had minor issues.
Prior to that I had a 9-3 hatch for three years 60000 miles and that was good too- in fact quality was much better on this than the newer car.
 
Had one for three years as a company car and it was virtually faultless over 60000 miles. My dad bought it and its now got over 90000 miles on it and has only had minor issues.
Prior to that I had a 9-3 hatch for three years 60000 miles and that was good too- in fact quality was much better on this than the newer car.

My list of problems...

The EGR valve broke TWICE,
The swirl actuator broke,
The alternator broke TWICE,
The front coilspring snapped,
The top suspension bush disintegrated,
The air ciculation button on the dash broke,
The rev counter wouldnt drop below 1,500rpm (even with engine switched off).
Countless amount of trouble with onboard SID (Saab information display), easily rectified though by undoing the battery for a half hour.

I did about 18,000 miles a year.

I had a DPT chip on mine, that give about 175bhp, loads more torque and 54mpg.
It went really well, and handled great, but was my only car ever (in over 25 years of driving) that i took out AA cover on.
 
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My sister has had a 900 and 9000, each well over 10years, with no problems whatsoever, in the tough conditions of Sweden. Best seats in the business.

GM should be ashamed full stop, they don't know how to run a company, and letting them file chapter 11/write off their debts and start over again, but not letting SAAB have a proper 2nd chance, is a disgrace.

wasabi
 
My sister has had a 900 and 9000, each well over 10years, with no problems whatsoever, in the tough conditions of Sweden. Best seats in the business.

GM should be ashamed full stop, they don't know how to run a company, and letting them file chapter 11/write off their debts and start over again, but not letting SAAB have a proper 2nd chance, is a disgrace.

wasabi
Errr ...

GM offloaded SAAB because it was a dysfunctional division haemorrhaging money with products nobody wanted. It was part of why GM was in trouble.

And they didn't write off their debts: Chapter 11 gives temporary protection from creditors whilst the debts are restructured. But they still have to be paid.
 
At least we're all agreed Saab's seat designer won't struggle for a job.:D
 
rather sad me thinks. I always thought Swedish cars were the best in Europe,but since the Americans took them over they seemed to have lost their soul and become like any other Audi or BMW type car - dull and dreary
 
rather sad me thinks. I always thought Swedish cars were the best in Europe,but since the Americans took them over they seemed to have lost their soul and become like any other Audi or BMW type car - dull and dreary

I don't think you could ever call Volvo or Saab 'exciting' compared with BMW.
Different, maybe.
But lagging behind BMW in driving enjoyment, probably since day one.
The simple fact of the matter is that if they produced viable alternatives to Audi/BMW, people would buy them.
But anyone buying a Volvo/Saab is buying one knowing their car isn't as good.
Volvo have an interesting hybrid coming out, but exciting to drive....?
I doubt it.
 
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I don't think you could ever call Volvo or Saab 'exciting' compared with BMW.
Different, maybe.
But lagging behind BMW in driving enjoyment, probably since day one.

Not so. Back in 1978 when I had my Saab 99 Turbo my colleague had a BMW 323i and whilst both had similar performance levels on paper my Saab was much more fun to drive than his Beemer
 
Not so. Back in 1978 when I had my Saab 99 Turbo my colleague had a BMW 323i and whilst both had similar performance levels on paper my Saab was much more fun to drive than his Beemer

In your opinion, of course.
And is it a fair comparison?
Given that the 99 turbo was the 'top of the range' model, wouldn't a fairer comparison have been the M3 of the time?
 
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