2011 Saabs with no badges

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I didn’t know, so maybe you didn’t know either.

In the US, the 2011 Saab 9-5 is available de-badged as a no-cost option for those who like to go incognito.

I haven’t checked other markets, but I assume it’s probably available wherever you are, too.

I like badges on cars and consequently, I’ve never done a manual de-badging. Say it loud and proud, I say.

You?

Thanks to John B for the tip.

59 thoughts on “2011 Saabs with no badges”

  1. In Europe you can also de-badge your car at no cost, as long as you don’t want an Aero.

    On my car there is also only one badge, a Hirsh badge 😉

    • On a side note, I also lost the side Griffin badges below the turn indicator, which was a little bit disappointing, as I thought the option was without rear badges.

    • …. and that’s exactly the kind of thing I would opt for. No model badging at all, and then a tuning badge of your own preference.

      Eg: Hirsch, Maptun, BSR, Abbott… Etc.

  2. I did a manual de-badging on my 9-3x as the car stood in the sun and I could easily pull them off. Still there is always that nice little deer head on it.

    • With you mate. Take pride in what you have. Emblems are nice and a way to “freshen”
      a car up. And you really have cars to be proud of you lucky guy you.

      My old GM900 would look cheap without the 2.3 badge… Everyone would think I drove a 2.0i without it.. And I can´t have that, now can I 🙂
      Oooh, I have to get new Saab badges front/rear and a new 2.3 badge for spring cleaning. Cool

      And what about a Viggen without Viggen badges… That is a BIG no no.

      Cheers/Tom

  7. I think almost every car manufacturer offer ‘no-badge’. I love the clean back of the car. With an Audi you definitely need a badge to keep the models apart, I think Saab can do without a badge.

    • So true 😉
      Only thing is, Saabs are a bit of a rare sight in some parts, so I guess the badges are educational to the uninformed. I think the NG9-5 has rather too many badges and it probably does suit a less fussy rear view.

      My Viggen has an added Viggen triangle on the rear (without which it would have only the Saab-Scania roundel. I just want people to know they’ve seen a real, live Viggen 🙂

      Oh, and I added one in the centre of the air intake at the front, looks mean 😉

    • Audi you definitely need a badge to keep the models apart

      ROFL!
      I am all for debadging, as a form of decluttering, however when I was a kid I used to hate it, because I needed to look into the car (noserubbing we called that) to determine from the dash which type of engine was in there (like on Mercedes W123 , where could see from the max speed indicated on the speedo if it was a 200D or a 300E). So it’s a choice really, either you leave your badges off for a clean look, or you need to clean the neighbourhood’s kids nose rubbings from your driver window all the time 😉 .

  9. You guys think it’s possible to remove badges of a 2006, or will I get marks on the paint? I’d love to get rid of the “Aero”-badge on the back – I think the double-pipe sais it all 😀

    • New paint tend to slightly fade because of the sunlight the first year, so there will be a darker spot under the removed badges. But those will gain the same colour of the rest of the car in no time. My experience.

  10. My car was debadged when I bougth it. Now I have new number plates without the EU-logo (in Sweden you can choose if you want plates with our without the EU-logo). So now the number plate is pure white with just 3 black letters and 3 black digits. This in combination with no badges looks really clean and nice I think.

    • Are you allowed to cross the border with these plates, then? I know some countries (for instance in Germany and The Netherlands) are very strict on this and an old fashioned country sticker is not allowed anymore. Guess you’re not even allowed to continue your journey without the right license plates when the Police or ‘douane’ stops you.

      • I don’t know if it’s allowed or not. But I friend of mine has also got new plates without the EU-logo and he was driving in Germany last summer without any problems.

      • If you don’t have the blue strip on the side of the plate, you (legally) need a separate national identifier sticker – but they’re available magnetic rather than sticky – so just slap it on when you head over.

  11. I de-badged the 1,8t badge from my 9-3SS just because IT ISN’T A 1,8 !!

    Anyway in Italy is possible to opt for the total de-badged Saab when you order one. (with no additional costs).

    • On Other Saabs I’ve never removed any badge.. and on the 9-3SS “1,8t” I’m going to make a MapTun Upgrade and I think I will apply the MapTun badge.

  12. I’d debadge a high-end Mercedes or something ridiculously-spec’ed. Saabs are all fairly sensible, so there’s no point. It’s good to have it as an option though.

  13. I remember the good old 80:s (ELO) when it was popular to UP-badge your car with an aftermarket “Turbo” badge. Any car became a lot cooler (!) with a turbo badge. I’ve seen turbo badges om everything from from Volvo 121 “Amazon” to Mercedes S-klass.
    And all is Saabs fault. 🙂

  14. I have two reasons to keep the badges:

    1) They add something to the design, they break the monotony a bit, and
    2) Most de-badged cars here are Audi and BMW. Especially Audi, like it wouldn’t be hard enough to tell them apart with a badge already….
    That being said, 5 badges on the back of my 9-5 might be too much.

    • ……….. Audi, BMW and MB drivers debadge their 1.8l versions and hope they get misstaken for top of the line versions to that they can impress the neighbours…….!

      I keep my AeroXWD badges and feel the pride of showing off what Saab is capable of putting on the market! With this I believe many people will realize that Saab does not only make bread and butter vehicles …………..

  16. Badges can attract not only the unwelcome attentions of low life elements (who not only steal the badges but damage the paint too) but grime. Polishing the body leaving traces of Autoglym or whatever between letters of the script is a pet hate of mine (Tip tip: use cotton buds!). SAAB bonnet/boot emblems in days of yore had a less than endearing habit of losing their enamel and I must have changed dozens over the years but that is wandering off topic onto a related issue! I’m in favour of the limited use of badges because my opinion is that too much = clutter and too few risks anonymity (I want people to know which SAAB I drive)

  17. I like it clean and de-badged, in general. Still, Aero is such a cool logo, and that has to be balanced, left-right with the 9-3 (or 9-5) characters. Also think it is much cooler top de-badge a top of the line model, than the entry version….
    Still, as with Aero, I would never remove a TurboX or Viggen decal, just for educational purposes…

  18. Debadging a 9-5 Aero, especially he Dame Edna version and the 2002-2005 doesn’t take away the fact that the car can be easily identified as an Aero (the exhaust gives the game away) – only the last 2009-2010 cars is it more difficult to differentiate.

    Saab nuts can tell an Aero from a non-Aero, the badges mean naff all to others…If you have a hirsched 2.0T or 2.8V6 what’s to stop you going for a 1.4T badge from a Vauxhall Astra 😉 Would make life interesting at the lights

  19. Two things … First, badges are a real part of identifying the brand. In Saab’s current rebuilding reality, and with many people on the street who aren’t aware that Saab has survived the GM jettison, the badges help to communicate what the car is and every positive impression has the potential to drive a new customer to the showroom. Here in Chicago, I have only seen one new 9-5. I drove one when my 9-3 was in the shop recently, and everywhere I went, I was asked about the car!

    Second, and it might just be me, in driving the new 9-5 for a few days, I really missed the Griffin in the center of the steering wheel. I looked around the car, and the only Griffin was the electronic graphic on the infotainment center.

    I REALLY MISS MY GRIFFIN!

  20. My convertible is de-badged – just has the Griffin front and rear – and was done free by my dealer.
    My twin exhaust and rear spoiler says all that needs to be said… 🙂

  21. I always have debadged cars. I keep the Saab Griffin badge, of course, but the model and motorisation on the back have to go. I personally find badges rather childish. It reminds me too much of the ostentatious badges you have on designer jeans and all that ego stuff.

    • Unfortunately they are the same great Saab quality as the hood and trunk emblems, i.e. the laminate starts peeling off after a couple of years.
      I’m still trying to find a source of 3D decals to put on the Viggen badges, the badges themselves are just too expensive.

  23. I think the badges should be a dealer installed item at the time of sale…one could have
    a choice between;

    a.) No badges – debadged…will require no body indentation where an emblem will be missed..

    b.) Classic saab number badges ie..9-5, 900 etc

    c.) Griffin badges; choice of classic or super angry griffin

    d.) Prancing moose badges

    e.) Spyker Propeller badges (kidding)

  24. One of the things that made the original SPG so cool was the lack of badges and side rub strips that all of the other US market cars had. Just another one of Uncle Bob’s great ideas.
    I always thought that removing the badges made the car look a lot cleaner and really highlighted the design of the car.

  25. Most of the de-badged cars driving around here are ricers (i.e. kids in cheap Japanese cars with loud exhausts). Don’t want to be associated with that crowd.
    SAAB and PROUD of it!

  26. Love my Aero badge and “what it means”
    If I had a 9-5 SC I woould debadge it though-as they just look a little to cluttered and low down on that nice back end!

    Agree de badging a low spec model to make it look better than it is…is uncool.

    debadging the higher end models= classy.

    I’m just not that classy 🙁

  27. One of my few complaints about the rear of the 9-5 was the amount of badges, if I replaced my current 9-5 with a new one I was going to investigate having them removed. Glad to see Saab recognized the beauty of an uncluttered rump.

  29. The debadging idea is terrible down the line when used car dealers and sellers get involved.

    A few weeks ago a 9-3 Linear convertible was put on our local presteige lot and had no badges. The salesmen were trying to tell everyone it was top spec. It was very basic and clearly not Aero. Once I bought along my sales books for the convertible they were sorted and the 9-3 Linear Convertible was sold for NZ$27,000 in one week.

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