Today the regitration for the “Pilots Wanted 2014” NG 9-5 meeting started. It will be held at the Saab Zentrum Kiel on the 13th and 14th of June.
The meeting is tailored for owners of the NG 9-5 and only they will have access to the full program of the event. Nevertheless owners of other Saab models are of course welcome to visit the event as guests without having to register.
The event is organized by Saab Zentrum Kiel in cooperation with saabblog.net. Registration, more info and the preliminarily programme (in various languages) can be found at saabmidsommar.de.
This looks a great event, hope you get lots of them there.
That’s my car NG 9-5 XWD aero in Diamond Silver!
hm…maybe it’s time to reconsider the cars i drive (FIAT 9000)…
NG9-5 is one of the most amazing Saabs ever built ! =)
A nearby dealer has several new 9-5s available starting at $25k. For someone planning to keep their car for many years it seems to be lot of car for the money but that assumes parts continue to be available. I don’t know how low the price will have to be to move these cars, but apparently the current asking prices still are not low enough to clear them out.
I agree! I have had mine for three weeks now!!
I agree! I have had mine for 3 weeks.
I was really hoping this was a Press Release that NEVS Saab Cars finally decided to pursue making the NG 9-5. Oh well, one can hope right?
Too bad one could do so here in Southern California.
I would like to get one,, parts and technicians may be a problem… So few sold here in America… How many techs really understand the car?… Since 2011 the big Saab dealer here really seems detached from the brand or at the very least if you need them they rake past Saab customers with outrageous service charges that are jacked up.. Sadly it upsets the few loyal customers who are forced to move on to new brands.. Certainly not a Saab service center who is thinking that Saabs return is imminent. Fortunately for me I have found small shops with owners who are savvy and knowledgeable of older 9-5’s and all 9-3’s.
If you go to a private guy, who understands past 93,95’s this 95 is foreign to them.
Real shame Nevs didn’t get the rights to this Variant… Gm retained all rights and is putting much of the Tech and influence into GM lines specifically Buick,
Also my understanding anything pre 2008 (Saab) was sold to the Chinese. The 93, 95 tooling etc.. I can’t remember the company…
Are you referring to Chinese state owned Shanghai Motors (SAIC)? Let me tell you something Doug—-I don’t have the first clue what the legalities of this would be—-but if they rebranded with an entirely new name (obviously couldn’t be Saab—-but let’s say they went with some generic name “Precise Motors, Inc.” and introduced the “PMi” brand to North America—-and it was the old Saab models made to meet current regulations with some basic interior and trim changes—-new names (Precise PR10, PR20 or something like that), PMi could move a lot of these dinosaurs to Saab loving Americans. Didn’t Yugo just sell an old Fiat here? And the Hyundai Excel—-was that an old Mazda? Hey, why not old Saabs, which would be infinitely better and find an enthusiastic audience?
Yup that was kind of where I was going.. Could happen at low prices. Real mess,,Really Saab was pieced off.. That is why its imperative Nevs/Saab needed the Phoenix, and that is still unclear what they have with IP rights My understanding is only some,,while GM holds portions. Not good…
The battle seems endless..
I am certain that there is a market—-not huge, but healthy enough—-for cars like those old Saabs. Or old Volvos for that matter. Even old Japanese platforms or American ones. The thing is—-the European designs, particularly the Swedish ones, don’t seem to trade on trendy designs or fashion. That’s why they would lend themselves well to be reintroduced. But honestly, even if some Chinese company had control over the early 90s Accord or Camry—-built it to be reliable and cheap—-they could move a lot of them. And I always felt that select old American models might see some success. If GM sold the basic ’78 – ’86 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, same basic body (the coupe) and sold it at a low price, conducive to having the design already done—-they’d find buyers. The thing is—-I don’t even think the strength of the Saabs would be entirely based on nostalgia like the Cutlass would be. I think SAIC could move these based on the goodness of the cars, with some nostalgia being thrown in. But something like a 900 hatchback—-the car is still fundamentally good—-still has the same utility that found so many buyers in the first place—-style is appealing, even when contrasted with the newest cars on the road. If the interior was reasonable—-they would obviously have to compromise on the quality of the materials that Saab used a long time ago to keep costs down. But a reasonably well done interior with a few things people like—-heated seats, a sunroof, decent stereo—-put that together with reasonably good fit and finish and paint—-if the price was perceived as a value, those cars would sell in the U.S. in good enough numbers to make it worthwhile attempting it. Again—-the costs to re-engineer for today’s emission and safety requirements are substantial—-but I would think it could be done for a lot less than developing a car from a sheet of paper, from the ground up.
There may be a limited market for former SAAB and Volvo models brought up to modern requirements (assuming that can be done) and produced in small quantities, but the cost of building them would not result in anything like a value car. They would be boutique vehicles and have to be priced accordingly..
Why would they be that costly? if they were built in China, wouldn’t the labor savings alone help make the cost competitive?
There would be no economy of scale and regulatory updates would be problematic. If not, cities would still be filled with Checker cabs.
I’d be very happy riding in a Checker cab. It’s hard to believe that we’re now riding in the back seat of a Prius and paying someone for that torture. I’d much rather be in a Checker, stretching my legs out and not squeezed into the person sitting next to me. Oh, but hey, we’re saving the planet.
I don’t know about saving the planet, but legend has it that with all that room available back there, many passengers put it to better use than leg stretching. Or maybe you were using a euphemism?
No, that sort of “better use” that I think you’re referring to is reserved for stretch limos or an 18 year old’s hatchback , not a Checker cab. But point well taken.
Angel 3cyl,, here is good read
http://www.infowars.com/ipccs-doom-and-gloom-global-warming-apocalypse-is-political-theater-not-real-science/
The Chinese company that bought the SAAB tech is BAIC (Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation). They bought the platforms of the OG 9-5 and the pre-facelifted 9-3. They claim to have bought the whole platform of the 9-3, but I remember reading a comment here that stated that they bought only parts of it. Don’t remember what “parts of it” meant. Maybe someone here could elaborate on that. BAIC also bought the 2.0 and 2.3 engines of the 9-5. The cars they are producing are sold under the brand Senova and are not just rebadged old Saabs, but totaly redisigned and partialy reengineered cars. You can Google “Senova D series” to see what it’s like. The D series is the first model of the brand, it’s based on the 9-5 platform and is alredy selling. Other models based on the 9-3 tech are expected soon. Speaking of reengineering, I’ve watched a few reviews of the D series and they all claim that the Senova is feeling very differently from a SAAB, putting more emphasis on the comfort in the ride and not on the sportiness. We have to keep in mind that the reviewers probably don’t have super rich experience with Saabs, but still we can say that BAIC has used the tech to build cars suiting their needs and not just some old Saabs with a Senova badge. Overall the D series gets good reviews, but I haven’t watched or read a lot of them.
I almost don’t want to delve into this too far Avelik—-I’ll end up upset that they aren’t exporting these Senova cars to the U.S., where I might be a buyer.
My personal belief is that Baic,, is Saab,, and many articles say the same thing,, OR Elude To it, as the Chinese Saab. To me one more dagger to the Saab Brand.
Now Angelo you know why bringing back the current 93 would be death for the Saab name to be recognized as a contender . Are you kidding me who would pay for it… Nevs is really screwed. How is this company going to make it with all this going on…
Nevs has zero brand identity,, zero ok… Nothing new nothing original and sadly nothing coming for years. A face lift 93 would be nothing short of Senova and Baic new 93 on the same platform..
Saab/Nevs is like orphans who lived in a home and got broken up, and no one knows who they are or what happen to them. No new Phoenix,, This Acquisition/business venture might be done before it really started..
This is really to sad. The brand is dead until sorry just the facts and perception. for any real car enthusiast. Nevs has no plans of separating them selves from this issue.. If I were truly trying or concerned about maintaining Saab heritage or image that would be the first thing, GET THE FREAKING NEW CAR DONE..
Marketing 101 but again this not the future Nevs is worried about. I really Don’t know what they are doing. Enough with my rant.
read this
http://www.carscoops.com/2013/05/year-of-saab-china-baic-motors-launches.html
Doug: I saw that article last year and I’d be a buyer for that car if it were sold in the U.S. at an average new car price. Well—-I guess I would need to drive it first, but it has the basic goodness of the same generation Saab 9-5 that I drove today. I actually like the looks of it too.
You may get that opportunity soon. Could be the closest thing you will get that has some Saab in it. Where does Nevs fit into all this in China or else where?. You have the answer?
From the May 2014 issue of Car and Driver, Page 26, article by John Phillips, this blurb: “That’s the plan? Saab’s new owner has restarted production of the Saab 9-3 Aero sedan in Trollhattan, Sweden. Sales will be ‘initially focused’ in China and will be ‘very modest’ with an output of 10 cars per week. The car resembles the last 9-3 built two years ago. That’s the plan? The plan for the return of a twice-baked Swedish meatball that now costs about $43,000 and relies on a senescent GM drivetrain? Of course, producing only 10 cars weekly, Saab will save hugely on shipping. Just hire Swedish college kids to drive the cars directly to Qingdao, where a lone Midas muffler shop will accommodate the entire inventory. The whole things reminds me of writer Paulo Coelho, as facetiously channeled by Craig Brown in Vanity Fair: ‘If you dance around a cauliflower, every now and then, from certain angles, and in the right light, it will look like the sun. But most of the time it will look just like a cauliflower.'” Some things to agree with here and some to disagree with, in my opinion. But it represents one perception of NEVS/Saab. If the owners of the company don’t drive the narrative by being more vocal, more visible, more informative—-Saab will continue to be the brunt of these jokes. If the magazine were granted interviews and/or saw real communication from NEVS, RE what the real “plan” is, perhaps the writer would be guessing less and reporting news instead of lampooning Saab. Because let’s face it, to the casual observer, this is a joke. It’s people who spend time daily keeping up with it who have better insight. And not even an automotive writer will spend as much time as we do trying to keep up with NEVS. NEVS needs to drive the narrative of this rebirth, if there is one.
Well Angelo I guess that says it all. The only thing I disagree on, is people who are pro active on this forum no much more than the outside world are you sure? LOL.