saabs need more than a facelift at this point

agreed…. how about life support?

Why did they just put a 9-5 front fascia on? Nothing new aside from diff projectors

It better not have eyeglasses.

Or… given the recent posts about the possible Chrysler/GM alliance, it could be the new Chrysler Something-Or-Other.

I think that this would be a little to soon for that collaboration. I think saab’s body design is beautiful with their current models. what I think they’re missing is a more sporting drivetrain.

LOL: Love the mismatched wheels. This just show how much attention they pay to detail. No wonder GM’s development efforts usually result in disappointment

Put it to sleep: anything that have never made money since inception does not deserve continous heart transplants.

So much complaining…Saab has always been a niche brand that has big appeal to a small group of drivers. Some people want a decent car without blending in with the obvious choices of BMW or Audi. It’s similar to the appeal VW used to have in their price bracket (sure a Camry will hold up longer than a Passat, but you won’t doze off driving the Passat).

So good for GM, with their limited funds, to show a little love to Saab, even if it is just a nose job. The car was nicely styled, but needed some aggression up front, and it appears to have found it.

An even bigger improvement would be to reduce the number of buttons on the dash from its current 7 billion down to a more manageable number, like 3 billion.

Buenos, you are right about that! Saab did redesign the dash for 2007, but I have not seen yet if it helped with all that clutter.

take her out back and shoot her. seriously GM give saab the respect it deserves, give it a new platform and a complete redesign of all the models all at once plus a halo car like the saab sonet. make saab strong again and a real competitor to volvo.

the new saabs look good people. They are well balanced and very brand conscious designs. The interiors need to be further updated. The drivetains need to be more sporting. But the car’s body design is well executed.

yeah mikefx toyota sucks! hahahaaaaa

Ok-ok… If you really want to keep quirky SAAB a SAAB then bring back a 3cyl, 2-stroked, freewheeling tranny’d, two door painted Flesh color – where you put the key in the floor with all the sand, chip salt, coffee spills and dog hair. ..otherwise you got another GM badge-job ..bad job ..botched-job

Saab has a definitive following…it would nice if someone else acquired Saab, and GM let them go.

^^^ agreed.

GM is paying attention to SAAB. Right now, SAAB is developing an awd system with Haldex. A black turbo version of the 9-3 is on its way. A new small suv is being designed to replace the Saablazer. There are rumors that a small hatch 9-1 will be built on Delta 2. The next generation 9-5 and 9-3 will be the first cars on Epsilon 2. Things are happening over at SAAB. We, unfortunately, do not get to see the fruits of the labor just yet.

This car is the automotive Joan Rivers

Hey A4, Toyota makes nice cars, but their primary owners keep back issues of Consumer Reports around for constant reference.

its about time for a 9-3 update. I think the rear lights on the convertible are way oversized.

Now, lets see what the sedan’s rear lights look like….. i’ll be waiting for the future post by LLN.

Come on LLN…… two posts today??? Get ur lazy asses out of ur cafeteria, get on ur computers, and find something quick. I want more spy pics, GM sales tanking stories, more new Fairlane spy pics, and etc etc!!!

S-60 HOW ABOUT IF THEY PUT THE XBOW UP FOR THE 4TH TIME THIS MONTH.

Consumer reports tries to convince people that you don’t get what you pay for.

This is a horrible boring blob like all other saabs. The body shape reminds me of those roundish Celicas from the 90’s. The tacked on kit in the front doesn’t really improve things much.

yeah yeah and thats why i hate them
carsarecool…. last i checked the current 9-3 is turbocharged and it comes in black… sooooooo… yeah

CTS driver– haha, yeah, im so sick and tired of XBOW posts.
Really, to me, there’s only ONE post made by LLN for today!! I’m sooooo frickin’ bored today!!!!!

this is for those who wear tweed jackets with elbow patches that have a ‘wild’ streak.
I don’t think the world would miss it. IMHO.

Black turbo is the nickname for a new 9-3 model that is coming out soon.

IMHO…. Saab can lick my nutsack

The new nose is less attractive than the current one. Just change for changes sake. And a little too batmobile at that

Saab’s are not competitive anymore.

OMG! the flying vagi-na returns….

Blech…every Saab looks the same now. There is no Diversity! The 9-3 looks exactly like the 9-5!

The Jimmy Durante of cars…

Well egbert, that was a well educated post. Thanks!

Boxter2.7L……they look the same..just like every porshe, mazda, nissan, bmw, mercedes and every other car company.

But notice that Saab’s are particularly bad at, well, everything:

9-3: Relatively unreliable, relatively unrefined, not as sporty as the competition, not as luxurious as the competition, only thing it has is a cheaper base price, which comes along with a cheaper interior.

9-5: Doesn’t fit any specific category. Too big/not sporty enough to compete with the 3-Series crowd, not luxurious enough/not expensive/still not sporty enough to compete with the 5-Series crowd. The 9-5 shouldn’t exist anymore, they need to replace it w/ a real midsize sport/lux sedan competitor to go against the likes of the 5-series, A6, E-Class, etc. Right now it’s a confused car, in a market of its own. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t sell..not sporty, not very luxurious, not that great looking, not a great deal!

9-2X: Lame. An expensive rebadge of a good Subaru. I personally really like the Impreza/WRX, and that’s how I want it, as an Impreza/WRX, no need to spend thousands more on this overpriced, carbon copy example, though I’m sure the price is probably lowered now that they’re BOMBED.

9-2X: The most degrading vehicle in all of Saab’s history as an automaker. A rebadge version of one of the most awful SUV’s to grace our roads, the Chevy Trailblazer. Possibly what makes this all the more worse is how the Trailblazer is cloned 4 more times across other model lines, you counted right, FOUR. That’s right folks, there are 6 versions of this terribly antiquated, gas guzzling, unreliable SUV around for all of the suburban morons to choose from. This is possibly the most offensive clone of all, as the Saab “”designers”", and I use that word loosely here as they can hardly be called such, attempted to work a little “Saab style” into this truck based poor excuse for a vehicle by putting the key in the center armrest area…by making the air vents “Saab shaped”, by putting a different shade of fake plastic wood in the interior, by grafting on a Saab-esque nose…etc etc etc. These are all just pathetic aesthetic changes to a truly outdated SUV, tiny changes that are supposed to make the consumer think they are buying a real Saab SUV, kind of like how the XC90 is a real Volvo SUV, but in reality this is just another awful rebadged clone supplied by the General himself, and what a TERRIBLE rebadged clone it is.

Do something new Saab, and do something good, not just a noselift.

My bad, the last Saab I mentioned there I accidentally titled “9-2X” again, when really I meant to put “9-7X”

^ I agree with ya Lambo, the 9-7x shouldnt have happened in first place. I saw it coming cuz u know, GM has a love for rebadging and all.

GM needs to sell SAAB off and the buyer to make SAAB as SAAB like it used to be!

Thanks A4!

the 9-2X is dead already

and as for the 9-7x… as crappy as it is, its the best use of the GMT-360 platform that GM had. Certainly beats the hell out of an Envoy.

I actually own a 9-7x and can say without a doubt, that it is the most practical SUV I’ve ever had. It might not fit with the line, and I’ll be the first to admit that rebadging this late in the game is a tired cop out, but I really do enjoy the final product. Even with the V8 in it, it still manages to be very quiet, tows well, rides better, doesn’t EVER need service, and looks decent doing it. Just goes to show you that even in low times, Saab can still pull off a solid execution. I guess what I’m trying to say is that every car company is going to have it’s ups and downs… it’s just how they make it though those times that defines the company. In the past we’ve seen Chrysler outsell it’s parent company Mercedes (making that the first time such a thing has ever happened), only to go down the ****ter in the years to follow, and now be on the brink of sale. I think GM in the past has tried to reign down on Saab and force it to do things their way. Lately, however, we’re seeing designs come out that are truly unique and cutting edge (Aero X, new platforms for the future 9-3 and 9-5, as well as a totally new SUV), and GM take a more “fill Saab’s pockets” approach. I’ll admit I might be a pretty hardcore Saab rah rah, but that’s only because I’ve seen what they’re capable of, and have faith that they’ll make it though this slump they’re in.

At least if Saab rebadges an SUV they pick a tried and true success story in the world like the GM-350 chassis. The new Land Rover LR2 rides on a European Ford Focus chassis. Try rebadging a focus into a Land Rover. Are you f*cking kidding me?

AND lamborghini… the 9-5 competes with a car like the S60. It must be a swedish thing to make these “middle” markets.

Aero X derived design? Sorry, I don’t see any resemblance between this car and the highly regarded concept car. Who are they kidding? Saab wasted a nice oppurtunity to reinvent their best selling range and this is what they do with it. Too boring and lacks excitement. I wonder why they bothered to revise the 9-3 when it looks just the same with the outgoing model. They did a better job on the nose of the revised 9-5 but failed to install the twin turbo v-6 to their flagship sedan.

saab used to be awesome

Yeah, SAABs used to be great cars back in the ol’ days…Back in the sixties…

A4- But the S60 is supposedly a vehicle that competes w/ the A4, 3-Series, etc. Which the 9-5 most certainly does not compete with

A4-Also, while the 9-7X certainly is the best use of the GMT-360 platform, that’s hardly saying much. That’s like saying this apple is a little less rotten than that apple, etc

the 9-7x is the biggest piece of junk GM has ever produced

yeah but the S60 blows too so at least they have each other

and egbert i guess cars like the Aztek were a better use of GM’s time, eh?

Isn’t the 9-7x basically an Envoy with the key between the seats?

On a side note…I’m sure some of you guys also check out Edmunds.com Inside Line. Anyone noticed absolutely no changes to the site for about a week now? What’s up over there?

Ricardo Head: Exactly, that’s what I pointed out in my post up there about all Saab vehicles, the 9-7X is an Envoy/Trailblazer with makeup on, and some lame “Saab cues” worked in, like that key placement, such a feeble attempt by GM, really lame

How much longer can Saab keep sucking GM cash to sell cars here, must cost a fortune to keep dealers open and ships transporting the cars. If GM let Saab go to sink or swim, I wonder how it would do. Could Saab swim, and I mean not just staight to the bottom but kind of float around for a while……like a dead body.

On a side note…I’m sure some of you guys also check out Edmunds.com Inside Line. Anyone noticed absolutely no changes to the site for about a week now? What’s up over there?

Comment by MikeFX, posted on February22 at

Think thats bad go check out road and track, the best they could come up with is a comparison on dhl/fedex/ups delivery trucks.

Could Saab swim, and I mean not just staight to the bottom but kind of float around for a while……like a dead body.
lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get Real: Don’t you mean Honda Element?

Oops, wrong car company. Toyota is eating everyone’s lunch, and dinner and refrigerator. They then ate the local Kroger, they are to be feared. How does Mr. Wagoner sleep at night hearing the sound of crunchy eating going on all around Detroit?

Just reading this blog reminds me why I like Saabs. Nobody else does. Only those that really like them understand this.

I understand.

akzero: The current Saab’s are no longer real Saab’s. They’re GM marketing ploys, they’re rebadged Subarus, rebadged truck-based trash, they have lost their position of offering niche, uniquely different sporting luxury cars as an alternative to your typical BMW, Mercedes, or Audi. They’ve lost serious appeal. I think we ALL understand that.

a

For me, safety comes first, I have a 2007 Saab 93 and I absolutely love it! There are barely any buttons left on the dash compared to the 06. The only upgrade I made was the killer 17″ double 5 spoke wheels. It is conservative looking but an absolute beauty. No more asian cars for me. Don’t get me wrong, they are extremely reliable (like my honda accord!) but asian cars still looks and feels cheap (truely what i call visual polution). Nothing beats the confort of a European luxury car! Oh yeah, 260 pound of torque at 2000 rpm…