Not much i think, it is a fine automobile.

But many people, myself included, are not to keen about GM's way of
treating this swedish marque and it's heritage of making characterful,
safe and technically advanced cars.

I think they are not making a real effort, the new 9-3 is a
good car, but they are also rebranding Subaru's and Chevy's and thus
reducing it to yet another label, like everything is interchangeable.

"That begs the question: what makes a Saab a Saab?  Is the location of the
factory that important?"

We shouldn't criticise GM for being BIG or successful at what they do. A lot
of people wouldn't be able to afford a car at all if it wasn't for them and
their like....

But the way their business works - (mass production and economy of scale)
doesn't always suit the often quirky, awkward values and beliefs of the
brand names they swallow up. And it doesn't represent my personal image of
Saab as quality and individuality....

I drive a 2.0 '93 9000CS. It has 132,000 miles on the clock, and I fully
expect it to do twice that much. I hammer it up and down the motorway, (80
miles a day) without complaint. It always starts in the morning. The leather
seats are extremely comfortable. And there's hardly a spot of rust on her
(10 year anti-corrosion treatment). My wife drives a Ford Fiesta. It's only
6 years old. It's riddled with rust, tempremental.. And two of the doors
won't open from the outside...

So, is the location important? I'd love to believe that Saab workers in
Sweden were more passionate about their jobs than the same assembly line in
Detroit or wherever... but what we all love about Saab, and debate at length
in this NG, is the quality, integrity and quirkiness of the design...  and
that may have already left the building, wherever it is, a long time ago...

(Sorry guys - guess I shouldn't have finished that bottle of wine)....

This could be the start of a long debate.  But here goes:

GM dictated that Saab should use as many common GM components as
possible to reduce cost. Note that I did not say reduce price.  The
purpose of a business is to make money and you make money by reducing
cost and keeping or increasing the price. The big complaint against this
policy is the quality of the lower cost GM components.  The GM Saabs
earned a troubled reputation because of failures with electrical
components - the shared common GM components. I have a Classic SPG 900T
and all of the electrical components work just fine, as does the SPG
components :-)  I have a GM Saab, which has been in the shop for a
faulty ignition switch, half the dash lights had to be replaced, power
seat relay failed, radio failed, and a battery cable failed - all in the
first 40 days. I am hoping this is it. Then there is the debate about
the DI cassette replacement rate - but in all fairness other companies
are having issues with DI cassettes.

The rest is a matter of opinion.  I like the body style of the Classic
because you have fewer and smaller blind spots.  I like the size of the
cargo area in the hatchback design and the ease of loading and
unloading.  The Classic hatchback has no lower lip, you just slide heavy
objects in and out - no lifting required.

This is exactly my feeling. A consolidation of GM in Europe sounds very much
to me like some lines will be chopped ... Do take heart though, Jaguar did
survive the British Leyland fiasco!

So long as the keep the museum in Sweden ... I'd hate to have to travel to
Detroit to see old SAABs :)

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S
http://saab.go.dyndns.org/

Before I bought my 9000CSE, I had 3 Vauxhalls ( which I much liked ). GM's
closed the Luton factory now of course too.

Corporate blandness seems to be the name of their game.

Graham

Sweet, I was wondering about APC for it.  I'm torn between leaving it
all original, and making it more current-ish.  Probably will settle on
"mods that don't involve cutting or welding or wrecking of parts are OK".

Actually, I'm going to own the car, and a cow-orker of mine is going to
insure and drive it.  Solves a problem for several people; the guy I
bought it from isn't paying storage fees any more, my cow-orker gets to
use the car, and I don't have to know that a nice 99T got auctioned off
or shredded or something.  I'll post pics at some point and announce
'em here.

Dave Hinz

Belgium I am positive about, and Norway I thought was the source of at least
some of the bodies.  Mid 1970's, model 99.  I'll check on the Norway part.
I remember that the VIN is structured as 99741012345 for instance, where
it's a model 99, from '74, next digit of 1 is Trollhatten, I think Belgium
was a 4 in that digit.

Dave Hinz

They also built some sedans in Finland.

For example was my 1986 SAAB 90 built in Finland and so was all other model
90s. I know that some 9000s and also the last 99s (1984? -->) were built in
Finland.

For the moment are all 9-5s and 9-3s (excluding the convertible) built in
Trollhättan, Sweden.

/Bengt