Saab 9-5 (presumably) coming soon to LA

I also figured that we'd be seeing the NG9-5 at the Boston show, and I was planning on going there to see it. It especially made sense to me seeing as to how they've already shown it at the similarly irrelevant Miami show.

Let's hope that Saab has enough NG9-5's to be two places at once!

That is true, since the vast majority of cars have worse economy then specified by manufacturers.

But it's still a problem, since many markets prefer cars with lower CO2 emissions.

Zippy, +1 on BMW CO2 figures. And if SAAB ads a S&S to the 9-5 they will be able to match the Beemer.

To me the new Beemers look the same, is like being able to buy the 3-series in L, XL and XXL.

Base petrol engine is an straight six with 201 bhp(523i). That one matches the 9-5 2.0T cceleration, but is somewhat faster in top speed.

SAAB 240kph Beemer 238 kph
SAAB 7.9 sec Beemer 7.9 sec

They only have to get those economy values right

SAAB 8.4 l/100km beemer 7.6 l/100km + 25% = 9.5 l/100km ;-)

I think SAAB only problem is the A6-Gearbox they have paired with the 2.8T Engine, its almost a second slower in the sprint and the economy is 11.4 vs 8.5, ok the Beemer is now AWD, but on the other side you can't buy the SAAB as a FWD only with that engine.

A6 gearbox and weight... new F10 530d weighs 1715 kgs... I suppose that 535i is very close to that number, which makes it around 300 kgs lighter then the porky 9-5 2.8 V6T XWD. OK, for a fair comparison we should compare the Xdrive model, but even with the added weight of the XWD(around 70 kg), it's still waaay lighter then the 9-5.

to compare economy we should wait for first comparisons, until then it's clear that BMW has the upper hand on paper. But sadly, most buyers will just take a look at stated figures in the brochure and see just how much faster and more economical the 5 series is and go with that.

I was afraid of this. The new gen 5 series is a mean machine clearly a cut above the 9-5. And the new A6 is also just around the corner. With 9-5 not coming in showrooms until spring next year, SAAB is loosing precious time to attract buyers. I expect the new A6 to come in even stronger then this 5 series, and it could mean trouble for the 9-5, which, as you already now, was targeted at the current A6 primarily.

I guess that is the price of GM's bad policy concerning the cancellation of the '05 9-5 which was based on the Premium platform(alfa 159). Now the new 9-5 is getting outdated and it's not even out yet.

Dare I say it, the BMW even looks better than the 9-5, at least on the outside. They've nailed the classic BMW long hood, short trunk proportions and while the design isn't quite as clean as the old E39 or E34, it's definitely a major improvement over the E60. The bangle streaks actually work on this car, and the only slightly awkward aspects of it are the busy taillights and the Euro Pedestrian safety bullnose. The NG9-5 looks as boring as a camry by comparison, especially with it's huge slab sides and that bloated beltline.

Add me into the "I have a hard time seeing the NG9-5 steal any sales from this car" crowd.

The simple fact is that BMW has done so well over the past 20 or so years, with each model comfortably outselling it's predecessor, that it can afford to sell cars like the F01 that have more expensive bodywork and better mechanicals than the competition thanks to sales volumes and profit margins. Companies like Saab simply cannot develop cars with nearly the level of complexity and features as BMW's and have any prayer of matching BMW's pricing. But then again, BMW's situation is just a perk of being successful in a business where success can easily beget success if you have half a clue what you're doing.