The New England Auto Show has been on this weekend, finishing up today on the 6th December. In many ways, this is Saab’s home show in the United States, being in Boston, right in Saab’s US heartland.
Mark McCourt, who normally spends his time writing for Hemmings magazine, went along and was kind enough to send in some photos and thoughts with regard to the Saab stand at the show.
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I was impressed with the design of the sedan, both inside and out. The exterior lighting detailing was particularly striking, as was its C-pillar and trunk treatment. My only reservations were with some of the plastics that were used on panels like the doors and with the rear seat headroom.
I’m six-foot-three, with a 34-inch inseam, so while I’m fairly tall, I don’t have a freakishly long torso. I found that if I were to sit completely upright, the top of my head was mashed into the headliner near the rear glass. I also had to duck to get a clear sightline out of the rear side windows. And this was in a car without a sunroof! I don’t understand that, as my father’s ’03 9-5 is quite head-roomy in the back seat. I suppose this is becoming more and more common these days- the price we pay for style.
The woman that we spoke with at the Saab stand before the show opened to the public seemed well apprised of the company’s current situation, and even told us that she met the Koenigsegg folks at the Frankfurt show.
After the show opened, we walked through the other exhibits (and made fun of the horrid BMW 5 series GT styling), and went for an elevated perspective on the Saab stand, where we noticed some real interest being paid to the 9-5. This, on a random Thursday mid-afternoon… perhaps it bodes well for the car’s appeal to its target demographic and beyond.
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