With Saab’s stunning Aero-X Concept on display at the Geneva Motor Show this week, one might think GM’s Swedish brand is back on track. But columnist Robert Farago thinks the concept might actually be something of a memorial for Saab — “a striking vehicle whose beauty and imagination will never see the light of day.” Farago slams GM for its fixation with “badge engineering” — the practice of re-branding a car or car architecture for multiple sub-brands (Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, for example). Farago points to comments by GM’s Bob Lutz that will likely irk any Saab fan: “Saab is no longer an independent company that you could sell off as a unit,” Lutz said. “Now there’s a bit of auto industry theater for you,” writes Farago. “Bob Lutz proudly admitting that GM has killed its Swedish goose before it could lay a single golden egg. Yes, proudly.”
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03/01, 10:09 AM
posted by:
dan
absolutely the best article Farago’s ever written IMHO.
I usually loathe his wilder rants not specifically pertaining to driving a new car, but this one was great. I’m not a Saab fan. Aside from the 9-3 Viggen I saw a week ago, I can’t remember the last time I noticed a saab. the current 9-3 is an ok car, but the 9-3 convertible is proof that the brand is stupid. I mean really, who wants a car whose overhangs combined look far greater than the wheelbase? Aside from volvo 240 owners… and that whole “born from jets” campaign makes me sick the way those agile complicated craft are so clearly reflected in the 9-3’s broad, flat, mini-van-like inclined hood. gross. yeah, I’m sure fighter pilots love to pose in their fwd 2.0 liter sun-barge.
You can wax lyric about the impending doom of Saab, but the fact is that they earned it. The 900 was the last really weird saab. the 9-5 was perfectly respectable, excepting the 9-5 aero wagon, which was still pretty weird, except that everyone bought it in black, which has made it invisible, and thus forgettable. old saab owners are new volvo owners. What was the last really clever thing we heard about from saab? biopower? um, that’s pretty much an industry-wide proving ground right now, try again… oh, the nifty flip out cup-holder in the 9-5? they pretty much stole the idea from the SC300, but good try… the multiplate air conditioning vents? have you noticed they don’t work right? sure they point at you, but the flat, shallow array only creates turbulence. I’ll mourn the passing of pontiac when it comes, but not saab. all’s well that ends well, and I can’t remember the last time I gave a d*mn about anything “well” at saab.
That said, the aero-X would constitute new and cool, but the canopy isn’t produceable, saab buyers don’t even want vertical swinging doors as far as I can tell, and LED lighting and no buttons? last I checked, soft interior lighting with tons of buttons was the theme of the most desirable interiors of the world’s cars, see audi a8, bmw 7 series…. It’s not like Saab has an i-drive system to manage… give us some attractive hvac and stereo controls.
If they really want to work the airplane reference, how about a central driver position, a 1+2+2, like a mclaren f1 cabin but with a second narrower row… then you could do some nifty things with windshield and roof to show the driver’s “pilot” role. oh, and how about centralizing controls to finger-tip length, like in a honda s2000? That would be nifty in a 9-3. Farago’s right though… even if they did think of these things, how do you fit them onto a vectra/g6/malibu platform. Kill saab, sell the rights, let VW or BMW figure it out in a few years when they’ve accidentally hired too many designers and need something for them to try.
03/01, 11:21 AM
posted by:
Matt
Wow – where was this article yesterday when I needed it? I couldn’t agree more!
03/04, 6:51 PM
posted by:
pilot
Saab is all about quality ingeenering, look at what GM is able to produce today in term of quality, if you dont understand Saab is the BMW Mercedes of the North then you don’t have a clue at what a quality car is. Now regarding your aestheticals preferences who cares? you are free to drive a hideous F150 it’s up to you.
06/06, 1:03 PM
posted by:
Vashisht
Ya saabs are strange!!!! thats for sure…..what about the first mass production car maker to adopt turbocharging, or first to use direct ignition, or first to introduce light pressure turbo, or Automatic Performance Control…..or first to use asbestos free brake linings ….should i continue…….have you seen a BMW getting a double pack award from EuroNCAP..wake up man……i have nothing against BMW, but if you wana spend money buying a BM and u see 5 like your car at the first stop light, then be my guest…….
Some makes cars…others makes history