Fredrick Reinfeldt doesn’t care about saving the ship, only the people on it.
I care about those people having an identity, and about them being saved.
Fredrick Reinfeldt’s government would prefer to see Fiat take over Saab. I’d rather not see that happen, and here’s one very good reason why.
Fiat may be planning on bringing Dodge vehicles to Europe…..branded as Alfa Romeos. As a former Alfa owner and a remaining lover of the Alfa heritage, I can barely think of anything more unpalatable.
It’s looking more and more like GM in a fancy suit. No thanks.
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There are more spyshots of the Saab 9-5 out testing this week.
In Colorado:
And somewhere else (Dutch website)
It’s looking good, still.
Can’t come quick enough.
Thanks to various parties for links!
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The weekend cometh.
I believe it might be a holiday weekend for you US Saabers, correct?
Anyone got any particular plans of interest? I’m going to get my hands a little dirty playing with the MX5. New interior bits have arrived so I’m going to bling it up a little.
I know it’s low on their priority list, but an MX5-like Sonett would be such a thrill. Simple, tossable and fun.
Related posts:
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Dodge’s rebranded as Alfa Romeos?!?! Has someone at Fiat HQ been taking crack cocaine? Thats like rebadging a Lada as a BMW. I am speechless!! Fiat and GM should join up as they both seem to have some pretty odd ideas. Having said that at least GM was trying to cram a half decent car (Cadillac) down Euro-drivers throats. A Dodge rebadged as an Alfa? Good god!
Nice pictures! I want to see more interior shots though!! I assume everyone has seen the ones that popped up on Saab History a few days ago?
Zip, at least Ladas were RWD vehicles and were easy and cheap to fix. Actually, all Ladas as we know them were based on Fiats.
Which reminds me… Bad Fiat. BAD! Stay away from our Swedish brand!
Saw them. Lots of glare. Couldn’t really tell much from them, I didn’t think.
What are those things attached to the wheels? btw I had a lada, let’s just say that I would’nt buy one anymore
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Interesting sunroof in pic 1. No idea what is attached to the wheels- brake monitors?
Independence Day started at 10 am Thursday morning when most Wall Street traders left for the holiday weekend, legal holiday is Friday, July 3; actual holiday is July 4. Auto driving projected to be down again this year.
Was considering day road trip into Vermont’s Green Mountains on the 4th, but started a super-antibiotic, and, so far, kind of like having a Dodge muscle car whack me twice a day. Not advised to DUI.
Does Sergio think EU wants a V-8 U.S. muscle car? Maybe – Eastwood’s ‘Gran Torino’ was huge in Italy, France, Spain, and U.K.
Fairly exciting to see 9-5 spy shots in both Colorado and somewhere in Netherlands? on the same day. I swear the wheels are different!
Never had Alfa and probably never will, but still like the Brand. What a shame even think of badging Dodges as Alfas! Shame shame shame!
Wholy smokes.. I´m seeing more and more c900 on the new 9-5. Must be the heat or something…
Very nice 9-5 pictures. Can´t wait to see it in person.
The real shame is that Dodge itself is a storied brand.
The Charger… The Viper… The Ram… Whether you like U.S. muscle cars or pickup trucks is a separate thing. But you can’t call black white.
The Detroit Three really screwed up. Really really really.
Fair call, Kroum. Dodge fans are probably just upset about that as I am from an Alfa perspective.
Just watched an INXS video. I wonder what Michael Hutchence would look like in a Saab? Probably just as deceased as he does now.
Am wearing Laser Red socks today. Now on “Here I go again” by Arctic Whitesnake.
I love Youtube.
Yeah None, I was thinking the exact same thing when I first saw these. It has to be some sort of panoramic roof or something. I Can’t wait to see how this thing operates. If Fiat thinks Dodge’s will sell in Europe, then I for one am very glad they didn’t get control of Opel and Saab.
Dodge fans must be upset since the day the Caravan was introduced. But… Arctic Whitesnake?
Oy mate, it that David Coverdale’s Canadian cover band?
For the record, I’m watching Armin van Buuren on You Tube right now.
The Internet is a wonderful thing.
@ck1x: the Opel dealers do not seem too happy with Magna/Sberbank. The Opel dealers tried to buy 15% of the deal and were turned down. They don’t think Magna knows anything about selling cars.
@Kroum – I do not think Ford screwed up, just GM. Chrysler is collateral damage.
I hear JAJ wears Baggy Trousers. It’s Madness, I tell you!
about the pictures at the Dutch website: old pictures (I think they are from the Spanish outing).
Swade, I think you have a point that saab should make something like an MX-5 competitor.
There is a good opportunity there now.
From what I know I draw the conclusion that production of the now “old” Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT/Daewoo??? has now halted. And it probably never will start up again. So that leaves some production facilities unused. Saab could buy that for very little money and use the Opel GT as a starting point to develop a car worthy of the Saab badge (better handling, better packaging etc) and with a real Saab look. Could be a nice image builder if executed properly.
Chrysler make minivans and muscle. They ceased to be relevant in any other segment many many years ago. Their own fault, I’m afraid.
Anthony Lo has got cat class and he’s got cat style.
My dealer told my that the NG9-5 should get a panorama sunroof like Peugeot, Subaru etc. That might be that one.
Those things attached to the wheels may be for measuring the spinning – in all wheels because of XWD? Just guessing.
Anyone see a little Citroen DS in that second picture? Maybe I am Crazy.
Chris
I think some of the big carmakers will never ever learn. Sometimes the so-called “professionals” in the car industry should hand over the business (at least strategy) to the “amateurs”…
@Swade: You know what is better than Youtube? Driving in the MX-5 with the roof down, the Hi-Fi playing “Need You Tonight” or “Kiss The Dirt” really loud and me singing with it. Would have been a pain for everyone else, but I never did that in the city or with a passenger onboard.
There is a very good chance I would ditch Saab for an Alfa 159 if it ever made it to the US… A REAL 159 that is… not some Dodge rebadge Satan’s baby thing.
could the cables be them calibrating the sensors, and the speedometer, etc.
I think it’s a great chance for Dodge and Alfa. Such cooperation may eventually even become almost as successful in Europe as Cadillac.
The FIAT executives turned out pretty smart lately. Remember what bunch of crap they produced? Then, after GM was so disgusted that they payed FIAT more than 1 bn USD just to get out of this wreck, FIAT lanced one attractive car after the other and gained back much of its lost market share.
Maybe they are just thinking aloud at FIAT, but I do not think that they will do such a stupid thing as rebadge Dodges as Alfa in Europe. European buyers are very “workforce aware”. An Alfa is only an Alfa if developped and built by the “correct” workforce.
Come on. Italians will NEVER do something like that with their own brand. If you’ve ever been in Italy or know some Italians then it’s easier to understand.
mark is right, the story is a 5 course meal based on a small pin…
That profile pic of the 9-5 gave me a big smile. I’m happy it doesn’t appear to have a huge A6-like snout.
Is this the first time the new 9-5 has been in the US? I wonder why….
Rumors in Swedish media now that Opel is going to China…
Not too surprised by the rumours. BAIC were said to be improving their offer whereas FIAT were just leaving theirs on the table.
Would GM sell to China, though? I’d have a hard time seeing that happen.
Depends… I’ll guess that GM (as in the case with Saab) want Opel to live on for at least 4-5 years so they can collect license fees for the current technologies. I have a hard time believing that Magna or this other RHJ can handle Opel in a way that is profitable for GM. And I don’t think they want to sell to Fiat since that would in the end hunt them on the US market. So yes, I think selling the current technologies to China and getting license fees for a few years would be a nice deal. I mean, we are not talking about cutting edge tech, and it will take time before Chinese brands will be serious competitors on the US market.
Swade, how is selling a US-sourced Alfa in Europe all that different from selling a US-sourced Mercedes or BMW or Honda?
These will be new Fiat platforms, not leaf-springed 13MPG Hemis.
@hipchecker: those 9-5s had Michigan plates and were doing high altitude testing in Colorado.
re: Opel: The dealbreaker reported in the media was that Magna was refusing to allow GM a buyback for Opel control, probably a wrinkle once Sberbank had already announced they had no intention of holding their 35% very long.
GM, by all reports, developed their position in China very well. Why not have BAIC replace Magna/Sberbank? They have j.v. in China with Benz. The bigger question is whether the German governments would allow BAIC in if they think it will bring GM back as majority owner.
Tough choice: the Russians or GM?
Am surprised nobody mentioned this. Imagine the nightmare scenario where Fiat starts re-badging Alfa Romeo’s as Dodge in the US market. Someone keep Fiat away from Saab even if yo have to get the Swedish mafia to bump off “Mr Fiat”!!
Those things attached to the wheels are probably some sort of wheel motion sensor, could be a rotary motion sensor but it could also be a wheel movement sensor (which is a small accelerameter to measure suspension travel and such).
As for the roof, besides a panoramic roof, it can also be a sun roof with solar cells. The front section could be the transparent sun roof section which can be opened and the rear section the non transperent solar cells. The solar cells can power the cars ventilation when the car is parked, just like with Saab EV-1 back in the eigties.
Every additional cm of snout means either I would find less parking lots, or have suffering children in the ever smaller rear seat compartment. Does the A6 have any more interior space than the 9000? If not, it’s 20 cm of wasted space and not complying to the concept of right sizing.
Though it looks more elegant, of course
The only Mercedes and BMWs built in the US Are those primarily targeted for the US market, so that it made sense to have them built there. I would not be surprised to learn that even BMW and Mercedes were overwhelmed by the sucess these SUVs have in Europe (or at least Germany, with the X5 and ML).
I don’t think the A-6 snout is more elegant. IMO it makes the car look a bit out of proportion. I think the 9-5 will end up looking just about perfect!
Sometimes I might be too critical of Saab, so I want to take this opportunity to say that the profile of the 9-5, even with the disguise is very attractive. Very “Saaby”. I hope when it comes out there are people who truly love how it looks and some who hate it. It seems like those Saabs are the best.
I don’t know how much the 9-5 will sell for, but I might just be interested in buying one when they go on sale. I never thought I would be. Only time will tell.
One of the posters on German SAAB-Forum http://www.saab-cars.de discovered the following article in a local newspaper:
http://www.ln-online.de/regional/luebeck/2617194/Erwischt%3A_Ein_Erlk%26ouml%3Bnig_auf_Probefahrt.htm
@saabista63: a test model 9-5 filling up near Lubeck? on it’s way to a barge that will then be hijacked by pirates in the Baltic Sea, a news story that would break through to 24/7 cable coverage? (pirates in the Baltic holding a Saab hostage would give new meaning to Rescue-Saab)
Hehe, they think it’s maybe a new Saab…
johan even though i would hope your solar cells theory is right, i have a hunch its not. that is a corporate gm panoramic sunroof, which i experienced in my cts loaner. only the front section opens or folds back, but the rear piece cannot. what i didnt like was that it was just covered inside by a outdoor looking piece of cloth, which shows to be similar with the recent 9-5 interior pics.
I think the new snout looks ok on the A6, at least it’s memorable, but to me the A6 always sort of looked like the Audi afterthought. design energy into A4 and A8, then make the A6 something in-between.
I parked my 02 9-5sc next to an 02 A8 the other day. was surprised at how boring that car looks now (esp by comparison) because I did like it when it was new.
Looks as if the Audi design, though generally quite good (I do like it, really!), gets a bit long in the teeth lately. I dont know where you live, but here in Bavaria, close to Ingolstadt, you see zillions of them; all looking more or less alike since three generations. Yawn.
With the latest iteration, they now look so similar that I really have problems distinguishing the models. Double yawn. The only very notable exception imho is the A5, and particularly the A5 convertible. This Walter de Silva happens to be my favorite designer of today.
thank you Jon Winding-Sørensen of BilNorge on July 4, who covers the silence about Saab except for JAJ’s “prayer for help” and “cold shoulder” of Swedish government. The real pleasure is the photo of an endless line of ethereal 9-3s in Trollhattan getting the final check? You can eat off the floor of that assembly line!
http://www.bilnorge.no/artikkel.php?aid=34202
try to ignore the web ads for Subaru Impreza 4-door hatch.
about that extended sunroof, is it possibly borrowed or adapted from the 2008 concept shown in Geneva and new York?
“…9-X BioHybrid taps that power source, too. A large solar cell in the car’s glass roof charges the hybrid system’s battery pack …”
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/03/saab-biohybrid-concept-grabs-attention-at-ny-show.html
BTW, Saab needs to tackle their healthycar.org rankings. too much outgassing of chlorine from some interior components. Do not scoff: absence of obvious outgassing was a top 3 reason I bought my 900 in 1987 instead of the plastic interior Accord.
Here’s a link to a picture I found of the 2010 CTS. I’m not so sure that these are exactly the same. As the proportions are very different. Where Caddy’s looks like a fixed glass the Saab version does not. I’m hoping that this is some sort of panoramic roof as I really liked the way the original G6′s opened was very cool!
http://www.autoclub.com.au/uploaded_images/cadillac-cts-2008-728675.jpg
@saabista63: Funny thing they blurred the driver and the registration plate on the first picture but didn’t bother on the second one. A quick check with the Swedish registration authorities says it’s a Holden. =) Don’t know if any of the info is correct, but it’s listed to have 191 kW and an automatic gearbox. In the additional information it is stated to be a test vehicle.
I wonder what an independent SAAB would register there testcars as?
Agreed Thyl, the A5 is an immensely good looking car.
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