I think a 9-1 model is a good idea for Saab, GM needs to make them more relevant. I forget they exist sometimes. But the Delta platform is aging a bit, I’m thinking they should’ve waited for the next compact platform.

Rebadged Opel Vectra? With the key hole in center console.
These fools need to do something drastic or just die off, like the tweed sport jacket wearing, pipe smoking professors that drive them.

Vectra is Epsilon, isn’t it? I think this is supposed to be closer to Astra.

No, worse… it’s probably an Astra with a relocated keyhole. (Delta platform, remember?)

A Saab 9-1 to compete with the Mini and Volve C30? Hmm sounds interesting… Will be interesting to see what this looks like when it comes out. Yeah Saab does need to come out with some more products to stay in the public’s eyes indeed. I like the re-designed 9-3. I can’t wait for the Turbo X to be out. Seeing that the 9-2 has been dead since 06 and I don’t think the 9-7 is going to be around much longer I think Saab needs some more vehicles (but not too many). What I think Saab really needs is a two door coupe something based off of their Aero X concept. I loved that thing when i saw it at the NAIA. I just don’t know what platform they would use for it. The Kappa or maybe even a corvette chassis?

After Saaburu failure Saab needs to get back to its roots. Perhaps re-designed 9-3 caught some new converts to the brand (I would not know sales number), but radical departure from 900 and 9000 product image could not be acceptable for those who love Saab. Perhaps 9-1 will be the feisty hatchback reminiscent of 900 in 80s. After all Saab and hatchback use to be synonym. Sadly enough Saab was synonym for reliable as well.

‘Iconic’ is interesting. Volvo reached back to the P1800 for inspiration on the C30. Probably the most interesting historic Saabs are the Sonetts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Sonett
And yeah, they definitely need a hatchback in the line-up, not just the Sportcombi’s

Saab also needs to bring back the Viggen model.

nice one global, i really the sonett, what a cool little car that must have been.

yeah thanks for providing that link on the Sonett global_lightning. I agree with with you too on the hatback being needed. It’s funny too that you mentioned the Sonett because I thought that Saab had a little two door roadster back in the day and I couldn’t remember what it was called.

Just like I mentioned towards the bottom of my post two more before this I think Saab also needs to bring a two-door roadster or a bigger 2+2 door coupe. They had something going with their Aero X concept. then after reading the article on the Sonett I thought that maybe Saab coming back with the Sonett based off the Kappa chassis could work. However I think the Kappa is too small and since GM already has the Opel GT roadster and Vauxhall roadster in Europe, and the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice in the U.S another Kappa clone wouldn’t be the best thing for Saab, they already get enough re-badged vehicles enough and that’s not a good thing for them. But if they could come out with something that would either be on a stretched vette platform, or maybe even Zeta like the Camaro and offer a sports coupe to compete in the luxury coupe segment that has Saab quality, matching performance but is priced beneath the competition, I think they’d have a real success on their hands instead of a Saabaru failure.

Whatever they do with Saab I hope it has nothing more to do with trying to ‘mainstream’ them. SwerveEarly is absolutely right in that they need to do something- well maybe not drastic- but at least pull them back in the right direction. I don’t have any sales figures to back this up, but I surely recall seeing a lot more of them on the roads in the early/mid nineties. Whether or not that’s just because they stood out more back then I don’t know.

Free Saab!

CTS, global, Sonett had Ford twin carb engine. It was pain to work on as oppose to Volvo twin carb. Uncomfortable would be a complement even compared to Opel GT. Looked cool no doubt. As Borat would say it did have a chick magnet. I don’t believe Saab will take that direction, but 90,900 and even original 9-3 would be good start to please die hards who cant buy current “me too” any longer.

A Corvette-based Saab Aero-X would be VERY interesting. They could do all kinds of things that right now the Chevy guys would get killed for (twin turbo V6, anyone???).

Hmmm….. a 400hp twin turbo V6….. hmmmmm… Oh great now I have to put on a new pair of boxers….

I hope this is a real Saab, not a rebadge of a more pedestrian make

johnnycanuck: good post at 107p on the 5th.

Saabs were not about power, but about ability to drive on really bad roads, later they learned to handle well in auto cross. Power was not object of admiration, although when in 80s turbo was bolted on it was because cost of V6 was out of reach for designers (and probably even in Scandinavia roads got better). I was racing them in college for rally team; great racer.

This is good news for Saab. The brand has been starved for products for quite some time (I don’t count the 9-2X or 9-7X since these were rebadged Subaru and Chevrolet products that were available in limited areas - mainly North America if I remember correctly). They desperately need to see some expansion to their lineup. GM just needs to make sure that any added products have unique designs and features that shout “Saab!” I have faith that GM has learned from its rebadging fiascos with Saab that a Saab vehicle must be unique and relevant to the brand. I don’t think we will see any rebadged Astras or Cobalts in Saab’s lineup any time soon.

I also agree that a modern day Sonett would be a great attention magnet for the brand. It might get some customers who have forgotten about Saab or never considered Saab to think about the brand.

While I think that GM could be handling Saab a LOT better, I must say that anyone who thinks that the 9-3 is a Vectra with a floor-mounted ignition is dead-wrong.

The 9-3 may be BASED on the Vectra, but it shares ZERO body panels and - at least in the US - ZERO powertrain components. The two cars also have completely different styling, interiors, wheelbases, etc. Can anyone tell me what DOES interchange between the two?

In fact, the car is so different from the Vectra that Cadillac decided to base their BLS on the 9-3 version of the platform, NOT the Vectra version.

The 9-1 can’t come soon enough. I’m chomping at the bit to get the next Saab hatchback. I have an ‘89 900 that won’t last me forever.

They’d better have some super-uber hot chicks at the platform or nobody will look twice at Saab.

Well, ok, university professors will look.

One of my neighbors just bought a C30. It’s *ahem* ‘intersting’. The interior is straight out of the S40 while the back-end’s lines are ackward. Overall it reminds me of the ‘96 Honda Civic hatchback I drove for 11+ years with a nicer interior and double the price. [Disclaimer: one of my cars is an S60]

On the 9-1; I’d like to see the production version. As long as it not a rebadged Cobalt it should be a good product. The new Saab production manager came over from Buick (his projects are now making it to market); he specifically cited the 9-2 and 9-7 as blunders. The 9-1 and 9-6 are the first steps in turning the brand around, along with a new 9-5 which should have been redesigned 5 years a go.

What’s next? 9-0?

Saab is the perfect brand to come out swinging. Corvette based Aero is a brilliant idea.

a 9-1 on the delta platform? How unfortunate.

torsion beam rear suspension on any car that isn’t straight up just an economy car is LAME.

If they made a new Sonett they’d probably just base it on the Solstice/Sky platform.

I would love to see real Saab coming out instead of re badged Subaru and Chevy. Dropping ignition slot between seats does not make a Saab. 1.4L 4 will not pass CAFE, I would guess GM will use existing mill that passed. Would make sense 2.0L with direct injection without turbo.

Sounds good, i hope it has tail lights like on the 9-3 wagon.

Wow … there’s quite a bit here to deal with:

Per the 2/1 “update” — Saab didn’t “originally announce” anything about London … it was a blogoshphere rumor that was reported as fact - and debunked repeatedly at trollhattansaab.net. Geneva was apparently always the target.

Per comments on the platforms:
9-3 is on a HEAVILY modified Epsilon platform … so many modifications were made, that GM actually got “upset” with Saab originally, because it meant the Trollhattan factory could only build Saabs … but when GM decided that Europe needed the Caddy BLS, they chose to use the Saab-modified platform because it was far more rigid.
9-1 will be a Delta platform (again, modified by Saab to deal with some of the generic platform’s shortcomings), and will also be built in Trollhattan, as production of the next generation of 9-5 and 9-3 move to Russelheim (sp).
The last comment I have is about the Solstice/Sky platform, and I’m not 100% on this, but I have heard from a couple of sources that this platform is currently strictly a Left-Side Driver only, so Saab could not use it until the next generation, when RHD options are available (several important markets for Saab are RHD.)

I think it’s exciting to see Saab receiving new products. Hopefully, the new products will reestablish Saab’s character and image as well as expand the brand. I can’t wait to see the 9-1.

The image does not tell me much, but I like the concepts in the back. It adds to the mystery & throws a lot of hope in there that this Saab wont be so …bland.

Why Saab?

HELLS YEA!

A 9-1 with the “X” means it has AWD right? That’s a nice advantage compared to the competition.

That some teaser image: my toes are curling from ecitement

…my nipples are hard like frozen swedish meatball

‘X’ in the name means “crossover” like the 9X in the picture, whereas a small ‘x’ means “cross wheel drive”.

whoa cool

Sometimes I wonder how Saab fits into GM’s portfolio? But that’s beside the point. This is obviously a step in the right direction for the brand.

i like it so far.

*yawn*

I suppose it’s slightly nicer looking than a tablecloth, but if they price this thing like Volvo did the c30 like grandma’s tits is a chicago windstorm.

this thing might be good.

A 40-year old Saab 96 wagon is ‘iconic’?

Not much I can say looking at the photos, but I’d really like, and hope, that Saab has lost it’s GM influence (9-7X, the chrome trim around the 9-5, etc.). Seeing how small this is, and it’s overall design so far, I doubt it will, but it’s still an unfortunate possibility. Simply put, turbo, lots of acceleration 40-70 mph, no over steer and a few other things, will put Saab back in the niche it always had held.

Look at the spaceing between the door line and the weel well! This thing has the look of a RWD KAPPA based model NOT a Delta! If it is Delta then there is a GOOD LOOKING future for Delta models that will be FWD but will not look FWD!—-INTERESTING!!

More important, compare the proportions of the front and rear overhangs, the wheelwell placement, and their separation. Then compare it to the Solstice/Sky…
A rear hatch would take care of the Kappa’s notorious storage problem, while Saab could use the RWD layout as a start for XWD. Then throw in the Solstice GP’s turbo 4…

I just got limp! It’s not Saab I knew and loved. It’s not a Saab it is a wagon!

Teaser images suck, but I agree with carguy70, this does fit the image a RWD car. Kinda has the look of a BMW Z3 M coupe.

There is no way that is a FWD car.. I would guess a closed version of the Solstice/Sky like others have suggested. Perhaps SAAB is unveiling TWO iconic shapes?

Ohh take off that top!

Nah, I’m really trying to like this…but no. No. When is Saab so ****ty these days, I wonder?

I meant why is Saab so ****ty? I still wonder.

They’re not really that ****ty after all, but they sure ain’t what they used to be: Desirable…

I know you SAAB owners think your the ****, but wait to the New 2010 Super-Sho Taurus comes out; then I’ll put you in your place where you belong see nothing but my tail lights