This is a pretty decent looking car, agreed?
The Saab 9-2x was a decent looking car, it is still reputed to be a blast to drive and if the stats were tallied, it would probably take and hold the title as the most reliable Saab in history.
It’s a pity GM made such a mess of it.
Whilst a great mechanical package with a reasonable exterior, the interior execution was convincingly non-Saaby. There were a lot of people whose interest might have been piqued by a smaller Saab who gave the idea away fairly quickly.
It didn’t help, of course, that the car was pretty much lampooned as a classic exercise in GM badge engineering by the media. It killed the car and tarnished the brand, a fact only admitted to by some senior Saab executives a year or so after the 9-2x was discontinued.
The irony now, of course, is that an early Saab 9-2x Aero is still a very desireable piece of machinery. It’s better looking than the standard Rex of the time, with all the standard WRX bits and a few STi bits thrown in as well.
As I wrote back in 2005 – the best WRX that money could buy was available at your local Saab dealer (in the US and Canada only, though).
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One of the interesting things, both then and now, is that there really is some sort of ‘spiritual’ connection between Saab and Subaru amongst the people.
And one of the problems for me is that I don’t get it.
I know that both chose their own paths early (FWD/turbo, AWD/boxer), both have been a little funny looking in the past, both are/were considered as utilitarian type vehicles, both have a decent safety record.
But I drive the two and I just don’t get how jumping from the Saab to the Suuby could be a satisfying transition. I want to get it. I want to understand and believe me, I’m completely open to the connection.
I know of at least one regular at this site who traded his Saab 9-3 SportCombi for a Subaru, and interestingly, a few people in comments last night mentioned that they’d go looking at Subarus if Saab couldn’t get their act together in reasonable time.
The Saab/Subaru connection has been noted many, many times in comments in the past, too.
I’ve driven plenty of Forresters through work and we have a 1995 FWD Impreza at home now (it belongs to Electro-Man, the 18y.o) and whilst it’s got a personality of its own and is a truly excellent first car for him, I can’t make any Saab connection at all, even if my brain can acknowledge the similar paths and ethos of these companies.
So……….
To those who have figured out this elusive nexus, please fill me in. There’s got to be something about these two companies that makes sense, other than a well executed 9-2x.
It’s a pity they didn’t get that right, eh?
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