SaabsUnited.com

If you’re a daily reader here at TS then you may have reacted like I did when you saw the headlines all over the automosphere today saying that the Saab 9-3x and Saab 9-5 would be coming in 2009.
That reaction would be “what took those sites so long?”
Yes, GM did issue a press release in the last 24 hours about global sales in which there was a line about the Saab 9-3x and the new Saab 9-5 appearing this year.

In addition, Opel sales in Russia increased by 49 percent, while Saab increased 68 percent in 2008 compared with a year ago. The Opel Insignia won the prestigious European Car of the Year Award – a first for Opel in 22 years and a strong statement about GM’s global midsize vehicle architecture. Important launches for GM this year in the region include the Opel Insignia Sports Tourer and Astra; Chevrolet Cruze; and the new Saab 9-3X and 9-5.

This is the first time GM has come out openly and stated it, but both model schedules have been talked about here in recent timea, particularly in the wake of interviews I did with Eric Geers from Saab Sweden late last year.
So the good news is that new Saabs will be on display in 2009. The better news is that unlike many Saab display cars in recent years, you’ll actually be able to place an order for them.
Let me come out and say (again) what the press release doesn’t tell you – the Saab 9-3x will show at Geneva and the Saab 9-5 will show at Frankfurt later this year. You’re hearing that from me, not from Saab, so it’s based on educated guesswork, but please believe me when I tell you that I’m pretty well educated.

Clive M was the first guy to place an order for a Turbo X here in Australia. He’s pretty passionate about the car, passionate enough to convince someone to customise the message his Turbo X shows at start-up:

He’s also passionate enough to put together some thoughts about a road test that was published here in Australia in September last year.
The test was featured in The Australian, a broadsheet newspaper here that’s smack-bang in the heart of the demographic that Saab would like to reach. You can read the review (if you dare) by clicking here.
This all goes to show how wrong a motoring journo can be, as well as showing (again) that having the automatic version of the Turbo X as their press car was a wrong move by Saab Oz.
Clive’s thoughts:

The second photo is a shot of my Turbo X Sid showing 8.8 Litres/100km part way through a 2.5 hr country drive averaging 100 Kph. In fact, at the end of the trip it was down to 8.3 l/100.

The significance of the second photo is that the journo for The Australian newspaper car reviews recently went beyond reasonable accurate comment on the Turbo X, or should l say probably Saabs in general, including these pearls of wisdom:
* the car was black
* the brakes were inadequate
* the fuel usage was 16l/100km
* the car was noisy
* the suspension was hard
* it had turbo lag and wait for it ……
* the best one was the car had torque steer!!
l will take the last one first. How does the XWD Turbo X have torque steer when the complete XWD system directs power proportionally in a nano second across all wheels? You cannot even induce torque steer in this car.
The high litres per Kms you get when you absolutely nail this beast constantly with full screaming revs which of course all sane and thinking people do when driving in the city, and hey yesiree the Turbo X is black (actually he got that one right ).
The brakes are fantastic – l know as l worked for a number of years with a international brake manufacturer. And gosh golly gee, the suspension is actually set up for performance not marshmallow soft like his office chair.
l usually don’t take all that much notice of some journo who has been given the job of reviewing cars after a few years in the restaurant reports or travel section and hates the job, however l will make an exception this time.

It just goes to show how important it is to get the press car right. As mentioned, The Oz newspaper is one that’s read by many of the people that Saab would love to reach as customers. To have the car (inaccurately) panned as it was in that review was a dagger in the heart of that model launch.
Clive’s experience also goes to show that ownership of a vehicle is a very different thing to a guy getting it for a few days (or even just hours).
We have car reviews because people want to read them. Unfortunately, we don’t always have car reviewers who take the ownership experience or model variations into account. And like the torque steer case noted above, we have car reviewers who can be just flat-out wrong.

From the NAIAS:
Reuters have a deeper report on the press conferences today at the Detroit Auto Show, and more specifically, how they relate to Saab. I covered this initially when the report broke earlier today, and I should mention that this is the same reuters report that sees Bob Lutz show his true contempt for Saab.
From the Rueters article:

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, meanwhile, told reporters that GM was also still seeking a buyer for Saab.
Sweden’s government has ruled out buying stakes in Volvo or Saab, but has offered credit guarantees of up to $3.1 billion (2.05 billion pounds) to its struggling auto industry.
GM Europe Chief Carl-Peter Forster said GM had been approached two or three months ago by an investor looking to acquire Saab.

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