The demise of Saab

[scotgc]

Last Sunday night Clarkson and Co "celebrated" the Saab marque and highlighted many of the innovations introduced by them, notably the 900 Turbo. I thought it was quite a fitting tribute and it highlighted the Swedish approach to being taken over by a multi-national company (GM). Sadly their dogmatic approach to refuse common GM components and therefore in their eyes create a bland image was their downfall.

It was suggested that Saab owners were the most loyal to the brand and that many of them held professional job positions. I see many of us owned other brands but can't recall seeing Saab among them, maybe we will soon be joined by former Saab owners. It would be interesting to gauge their opinion when comparing the two makes, maybe they would miss having to select reverse gear in order to remove the ignition key?

[GMad]

I saw TG too and also owned a 900 Turbo (along time ago) and I'm not even an architect, which apparently alot of Saab owners were/are.
But it's true to say they were largely responsible for thier own demise! Lets face it, even supercar companies are owned by the big few nowadays.
Accountants run companies (all companise) these days, not passionate or excentric people

[darbs]

my friends mum (norwegian) had a 900 turbo, and the main thing i remember about being in it was that she was obsessed with making sure the handbrake was off. she used to check it every 2 minutes!

[irishcarfan]

Originally Posted by scotgc

Sadly their dogmatic approach to refuse common GM components and therefore in their eyes create a bland image was their downfall.

I don't think 'bland image' was Saab's concern, more that they knew and recognised the parts GM were giving them were total crap, and felt duly obliged to correct them.

The Top Gear piece was pretty good, but it glossed over a lot of things. For example, the Alfa 159 was developed by Saab, and was supposed to be the new Saab 9-5, but at the last minute, GM didn't give them the cash and created the Dame-Edna facelift instead. The Subaru Tribeca was co-developed with Saab, but, again, GM didn't give them the cash. The 9-5 (10-) was supposed to be launched in 2008, but again GM didn't give them the cash...

So, in the end, GM pulled the plug in 2008/9, saying that Saab was losing them money. By then, Saab was soldiering on a two model line-up, one of which was over a decade old, the other not much younger. How on earth was Saab meant to survive on that?! It's probably lost now, but Saab were actually selling pretty well during the 00's - and had they had the new 9-5 and SUV in the lucrative US market, things might have been different...Who knows?

There are two sides to the story, of course. Saab was in trouble when GM took them on, but, when they did take them on, they made Saab operate with one hand tied behind their back - then flogged them.

So, who is to blame? Saab or GM? If it was Saab, then what happened to Pontiac? What happened to Saturn? What happened to Hummer? The fact was that GM was in trouble. Not just Saab.

Many believe that GM decided to concentrate on their 'staple' brands, Chevrolet et al, and that the rest were cast aside, for the good of the others. Saab was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Constantly.

Btw, the 'wobbly' convertible got them out of a hole in the 80's - that was a big thing, surprised TG didn't bother to mention it..!

Obviously I love Saab. We've had a few. The whole story breaks my heart and I curse the Swedish Government for their treatment of Volvo and Saab - two marques which arguably did more ambassadorial work for Sweden than any other! Instead they want to build... windmills. Who needs industry...

Who needs politicians more like. Off for a drive in our 9-5

[ExMercR]

I had a 9-5 Aero (250bhp) back in 2001. It was a great car - supremely comfortable and very quick. Quirky, of course, but really nothing to worry about.

It is a pity that Saab went to the wall, I was looking forward to trying their new SUV...

[stu0710]

I moved to Volvo from my previous SAAB 9-5 2.2 TiD estate which I had for nearly 7 years and 140000 miles in which it never missed a beat. It was supremely comfortable, huge and very well built. It wasn't the best handling car in the world and it had an ancient rattly diesel engine but it was a joy to own and I miss it a lot. The best thing about owning a SAAB however was the few small 'old style' pre-corporate GM dealers who were still about and who provided fantastic service. I was lucky to live near one. I remember taking my car in there the morning of going off on holiday when the induction vacuum hose split, they hadn't got one in stock and did a temporary fix using an inner tube and puncture repair kit which lasted another year! However for some time before they went under parts were getting hard to come by and the writing was on the wall. I would have loved one of the new 9-5's which IMO is a great looking car - better even than the Jaguar XF, but couldn't bring myself to part with money for a car with a limited and uncertain future, plus I couldn't wait for the estate version. I got an extra discount against my Volvo at the time for trading in a SAAB as they were obviously keen to mop-up the loyal SAAB customers. The garage who supplied mine had a 70% plus customer retention rate - fairly impressive these days. It's a shame to see such an iconic brand driven into the ground by GM.

[Harvey1512]

I thought the TG review was not as generous as it could have been. The 1980's and 90's Saabs were lovely cars and very desirable. They were certainly not bland and offered character and quality in a single package. I remember seeing an old TG with Quentin Wilson extolling the virtues of Saabs as a second hand buy as they lasted for years and thinking I would love to own one. Unfortunately by the time I was old enough, and earned enough, to buy one GM had taken over. Suddenly the switch gear quality dropped and attempted cost cutting became evident. Saab may have been dying but GM put their foot on its throat and made sure. Who is to say that with better handling Saab could have turned around as Volvo and Jaguar have done?

[675rrr]

Ive just sold an 2008 9-3 bio ethanol model maptuned to 220 bhp

One of the best cars ive ever had, very comfortable and finished well.

And its unique not a poxy mondeo or a renault scenic!

Come back and make a decent Suv and ill be back

[Westyman]

The last 96 V4 was my favourite. A friend had an early 900turbo and was most impressive.
I bought my first Volvo (of 7) in 1986 because the Saab dealer pi$$ed me off. If time 😊

[Orca2]

The demise of Saab was a tragedy, they built cars with integrity sadly it is tough to sell quality in this world of cheap disposable everything. I personally think the green lobby have it all wrong on cars, the least polluting vehicles on the planet are ones with longevity ,most of the greenhouse emissions associated with motors are involved in their initial manufacture. Such beautifully built cars too, you still can't pick up a really cheap Saab convertible for a low price.