Bye Bye SAAB :(

[Mr_Accord]

SAAB Bankrupt

I was actually looking at an 07' 9-3 Aero recently. I don't know if I would want one now, since the future availability of parts is unknown...

 

[45ACP]

I thought this was old news?

This even happened with Hummer. New investors never finalized.

Also happened with "Chery" http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_23/b3936033_mz011.htm (link never happened, AFAIK.)

Im still surprised Fiat is here. Alfa Romeo (GM) still isnt.

 

[Popinski]

That's very unfortunate. SAAB was my favorite European car company. I loved their designs.

 

[bmwjohn]

FIAT was effectively GIVEN Chrysler. FIAT, not GM, own ALFA ROMEO. FIAT was quoted as saying some up market cars in US would be called Alfa's instead of Chrysler, supposedly because of better reputation. This would be true in Europe, but not here. ALFA'S are nice cars but, like US makers, were hampered by political goals that superceded the car production goals that buyers seek.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
FIAT was effectively GIVEN Chrysler. FIAT, not GM, own ALFA ROMEO. FIAT was quoted as saying some up market cars in US would be called Alfa's instead of Chrysler, supposedly because of better reputation. This would be true in Europe, but not here. ALFA'S are nice cars but, like US makers, were hampered by political goals that superceded the car production goals that buyers seek.


I really want to own a 164LS Quadrifoglio.

i forgot about the whole Fiat/Alfa thing.

I also want an 80s Maserati.

It looks A LOT like the 1997 and 1998 4-door M3.

Im one of those that you can show me an old bomb of a car and ill say "I'll take it!" because i know i cna fixi it up absolutely however i want to.

 

[Mr_Accord]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
That's very unfortunate. SAAB was my favorite European car company. I loved their designs.


Same here. Loved the look of their cars. Wonder if their value will drop even more or rise

 

[carwreck]

My favorite SAAB and only SAAB I own...93B distributed through Woolworths in the 1960s for $ 0.79

 

[NHGUY]

The nutcases that bought new SAABs this year (they should have known better) are going to be loving the lack of warranty coverage and no parts/dealership service support.People wouldnt buy Studebakers back in 66 due to all the rumors of their near demise (which did happen),why in this day and age of informed consumers would someone drop 30-Large for an orphan? Its not like all the talk hasnt been in the news.SAAB owners (this year anyway) must be media-shy,dont have the internet and dont believe in rumors.Well,believe it now!

 

[VNTS]

No big loss, not like the recent Saabs were that great and we have lost more important nameplates like Ponitac, Olds, and Plymouth.

I would assume the recent owners could still get service and parts at other GM stores and aftermarket, like Saturn owners.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP


I also want an 80s Maserati.

It looks A LOT like the 1997 and 1998 4-door M3.


Looks like a LeBaron to me.

 

[Mr_Accord]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
The nutcases that bought new SAABs this year (they should have known better) are going to be loving the lack of warranty coverage and no parts/dealership service support.People wouldnt buy Studebakers back in 66 due to all the rumors of their near demise (which did happen),why in this day and age of informed consumers would someone drop 30-Large for an orphan? Its not like all the talk hasnt been in the news.SAAB owners (this year anyway) must be media-shy,dont have the internet and dont believe in rumors.Well,believe it now!


I heard GM is still providing warranty to buyers who bought a new car in the last year or so.

 

[Mr_Accord]

Originally Posted By: VNTS
No big loss, not like the recent Saabs were that great and we have lost more important nameplates like Ponitac, Olds, and Plymouth.


Really...those three are higher on your list of important brands

From the word of mouth I've read around the net the latest(since 2006) Saabs were very good.

I would take a Saab over a Pontiac, olds and especially a Plymouth(You can polish a turd, but in the end its still a turd aka Chrysler)

 

[VNTS]

THose nameplates were more important to most, GTO, Road Runner etc
I cant remember any Saab being Car of the year??

Saab was just a niche nameplate for people who wanted over priced quirky cars. I see them in the junkyard where I live all the time. There are/were a couple yuppie import dealers near us and so there was a small following, not my style in cars. My cousin has a 2001 ragtop. He had to replace head gasket at 50K, and the hydraulics on the the top. He said never again would he buy another Euro car, too much $$$ to fix.
Cost him like 1500$ to fix the top which was stuck in the down position. Waited two weeks at the dealer to get parts.

Originally Posted By: Mr_Accord
Originally Posted By: VNTS
No big loss, not like the recent Saabs were that great and we have lost more important nameplates like Ponitac, Olds, and Plymouth.


Really...those three are higher on your list of important brands

From the word of mouth I've read around the net the latest(since 2006) Saabs were very good.

I would take a Saab over a Pontiac, olds and especially a Plymouth(You can polish a turd, but in the end its still a turd aka Chrysler)

 

[CivicFan]

Good cars. I wanted to get one a few years ago.

Unfortunately for them and the people who would have bought one, they did not do much of investing in new cars. Brand new cars looked as if they had interiors and exteriors from the 90-s. You can only go so far based on your reputation and character of your cars without trying to stay modern.

It will be a shame if SAAB disappears. It seems like whatever GM has touched has withered and died.

 

[greenjp]

While we're trading anecdotes, I have a 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero, it has 157k miles on it and has been quite reliable. A few repairs but nothing worse than our old Saturn SC or Honda Civic. Parts are affordable and DIY is easy. It was the nicest car that met my needs for the price I wanted to pay when I bought it. Outstanding combination of performance, utility, comfort, features, etc. It looks nice too.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 9-3 or last gen 9-5. The 9-5 was made for 10 years and the 9-3 for 8 I think, so parts availability is unlikely to be an issue. There are Saab specialist independent mechanics in many areas so service expertise doesn't need to be an issue.

Very recent buyers may have some warranty concerns, but I expect anyone who bought one in the last year did so at a tremendous discount and got a lot of car for their money.

jeff

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: 45ACP


I also want an 80s Maserati.

It looks A LOT like the 1997 and 1998 4-door M3.


Looks like a LeBaron to me.

Id take a TC, sure, but i meant this one.

Or a Bi-Turbo. I like this one too.

 

[sleddriver]

I purchased a '85 SAAB 900T 4-door, 5-speed new after landing my first engineering job out of college. Very innovative for its time. Nothing else looked like it. Fellow SAABers used to flash their headlights at me. I didn't get it at first. Loved the heated seats, performance, gas mileage, versatility and simplicity. Drove it for 14 yrs, accrued 256,000mi. Lots of fond memories, particularly long road trips and driving through the Canadian Rockies.

 

[Spazdog]

Saab has been dead for awhile.

GM took these quirky but practical Swedish hatchbacks and turned them into high end versions of their own 04-08 Malibu and Saturn L-series.

Saab was the company that completely re-worked the problematic Triumph Dolomite/TR7 engine, turbocharged it, and made it fairly reliable.

In the '70s, Saabs were often better performers than comparable BMWs

And the hatch! There was a picture circulating with a huge riding mower sticking out of the back of a Saab hatch. Can't find it now but that's something you won't see in a made-over Malibu sedan.

Here's one that allegedly held 50 rolls of sod:

The re-sculpted Saturn L-series cars had some Scandinavian design features, but to me, they weren't "real" Saabs.

The 9-2X is a good car, but it is a Subaru. Not a Saab.

The 9-7X? Really? Not a Saab. I'm sure the Trailblazer is a very nice vehicle, but it is not a Saab.

 

[BGK]

If you have a Saab, I hope you leased it; if you think their resale was bad before, it will be even worse now. Btw, where will people take their leased Saabs back to return? If there are no dealers and GM isn't behind them, seems like a bank will end up with the cars.

 

[cchase]

I'm looking forward to plummeting resale values, if it happens. Love Saabs and would scoop one up in a heartbeat. They're excellent little cars, even the "rebadged GM's" that seem to be taking a lot of heat in this thread.

For all of those that feel that GM ruined Saab, take a look at how many cars they sold annually before, and after GM took control. People might not agree with the direction that GM took the company, but they did sell more then Saab did on its own.

Yes GM did remove a lot of the unique, quirkiness of the old Saabs but they also made a lot of improvements.