[Merlin_83]

Has anyone noticed that Jason looks a lot like Adam Sandler?

Anyway, I need to chime in here. My parents owned three Saabs, two 96's, and a 99. Then when my parents divorced in the later '70s my father's girlfriends bought a 1983 Saab 900 Turbo, I used to 'borrow' that car when I would go over and house sit when my father and his treacherous girlfriend were on Club Med escapades.

I would drive around San Luis Obispo, pretending to be the owner - oh, and I didn't even have a driver's license either, oopsie. Anyway fast forward to me driving that same Saab 900 Turbo on the wide-open stretches of the midwest - where I was driving it when visiting my father - I have to say the Turbo was superb and sublime in its quirky and very torque-rich power delivery. It was a hugely better car than my poopy old '77 VW Rabbit.

I still check BaT for Saab 900's - they released the SPG model in '88-'89 - that is the one to own

And to Jason's point, the Saab's especially the Turbo's were cars way ahead of their time in design philosophy and super, duper fun to drive.



Cheers,
Merlin

[coonz]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Very nice car, the V60, one of the nicest estates going. I'd certainly take one over the latest 3 series. The auto box isnt great but it compensates in many other ways.

I had mine mapped with Volvos in house software. Pre map it was 6.5/10. Post map its 8/10. I would rate the BMW 8AT 9/10.

[Techno 9000]

Originally Posted by Merlin_83

And to Jason's point, the Saab's especially the Turbo's were cars way ahead of their time in design philosophy and super, duper fun to drive.

You make an interesting point, the later B234 engine having in cylinder knock detection via the spark plug from circa 1993. I remember BMW stating many many years later that this was a first when they had it on the newly launched V10 engined M5, not so.

Anyway, the 9000 was rather tuneable and I would gladly tool about in a well sorted one today.

[omasou]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Found myself reminiscing about a Saab I once ran for three years in the early/mid 90s after reading a post about how modern dashboards are increasingly resembling iPhones and the like.
My Saab had the best switchgear, ergonomics and driver cockpit of any car I've owned, I reckon. It was also sweet to drive, propelled by a powerful (for the time) turbo petrol engine. Unfortunately, my employer dropped Saab from the list when it came to renew so it was a one off experience.
What a pity they folded. They made some lovely looking, rapid cars in their time

Not a Saab aficionado so I hope I get the numbers right. My understanding is that the Saab 900 was the model that made Saab and created their cult following.

My first and only Saab was a 9-3 convertible. I absolutely loved the car. Like you mentioned it was and is the only car that I have owned where everything was in it's proper place and proper reach. The seats were beyond comfortable. You could really tell that the designers were very familiar with designing jet fighter cockpits.

The problem I had was the convertible top (supposedly designed by MB) was a complete and utter failure and I could not trust it. Seemed when I really needed it to close and lock it wouldn't and the manual override had to be reset by the dealer. The mechanics tried and tried to align it but had no experience w/the new body style and ended up creating huge gaps between the windows and top.

Ultimately, I had to get rid of the car b/c I was flying a lot and could not afford to leave the car w/the top ajar while I was away. Which left me the choice of leaving the top up whenever I had to go to the airport. At which point why own a convertible.

I really miss the seats and cockpit. It was the best of the best.

[MugatuJag]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

My dad drove a 2004 Saab 9-5 for several years. It was the first European car in our family and felt absolutely nothing like other GM products at the time, which was an extremely good thing.

I always found it ugly however the 9-3 from the time was really beautiful IMO and still looks great today.

The Saab 9-3 that came out in 2003 is a great looking car. I remember back in like 2008 I almost bought a 2003 manual 2.0 turbo for $5000, They still look very modern, especially the refresh in what 2007. Honestly though I couldn’t justify it over a B6 Audi A4 pre-refresh, one of my favorite all-time car designs up there with the Audi A4 B5 and E60. The 9-4x was also a really cool looking car, I haven’t seen one on the road for years, they didn’t sell that many but they were totally unique and I would drive one in a heartbeat, unfortunately parts are probably rather expensive even though they did Share some GM parts. I believe the engine was shared with the Cadillac SRX?

[Alfisti]

Refresh was 2008, i still drive one as shown on the first page of this thread. 03 and 04 9-3's were terrible, quality was properly poor. Improved for 05 but 06 is where they really got it right. 2 years with that shape then the refresh in 2008.

Saab was far from perfect but they were absolutely ADAMANT that small displacement turbo charged cars were the future, and they would prove to be dead on right.

One funny story is in the design of the 9-3 was GM saying the ignition DAMN WELL BELONGS ON THE WHEEL COLUMN. Saab guys said no, it belongs between the front seats. Gm guys says Americans like cup holders there, Saab guy says you know what, swedes like cup holders too, so we put one in the dash (this always amuses people new to the car trust me}.

Saab's position has always been that keys on the wheel column pose 2 significant risks, 1) they act as excellent impaling tools in the drivers knee in the case of a big accident and 2) IF THE IGNITION MODULE FAILED THE CAR WOULD BE UNCONTROLLABLE TO UNSKILLED DRIVERS

Saab got it's way, and a few years later GM was on the hook for the failing ignition fiasco because heavy key ring clusters were causing ignition modules to fail and you know the rest as it is history.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Refresh was 2008, i still drive one as shown on the first page of this thread. 03 and 04 9-3's were terrible, quality was properly poor. Improved for 05 but 06 is where they really got it right. 2 years with that shape then the refresh in 2008.

Saab was far from perfect but they were absolutely ADAMANT that small displacement turbo charged cars were the future, and they would prove to be dead on right.

One funny story is in the design of the 9-3 was GM saying the ignition DAMN WELL BELONGS ON THE WHEEL COLUMN. Saab guys said no, it belongs between the front seats. Gm guys says Americans like cup holders there, Saab guy says you know what, swedes like cup holders too, so we put one in the dash (this always amuses people new to the car trust me}.

Saab's position has always been that keys on the wheel column pose 2 significant risks, 1) they act as excellent impaling tools in the drivers knee in the case of a big accident and 2) IF THE IGNITION MODULE FAILED THE CAR WOULD BE UNCONTROLLABLE TO UNSKILLED DRIVERS

Saab got it's way, and a few years later GM was on the hook for the failing ignition fiasco because heavy key ring clusters were causing ignition modules to fail and you know the rest as it is history.

Amusing. The majority of cars produced in America, Japan, and Europe used (and some still use) a steering stalk ignition/integrated-lock module for the better part of 4 decades. Failure rate of the module type and resultant accident rate is statistically not relevant taking into consideration the billions of miles driven with the design. GM's recent issue was far more sensational for political purposes rather than state-of-change in vehicle safety design. Saab's design was just simply less expensive to manufacture.

[Darth One]

I never had a Saab but i want to mention that Saab owners are some of the most passionate enthusiasts about their quirky brand. And no egos, just pure friendliness - i haven’t seen anything like it in fans of other marques

My former boss is a retired SVP for a Fortune 50 co, lives in a $25m house on the ocean - only drives Saabs

[3798j]

Originally Posted by Darth One

I never had a Saab but i want to mention that Saab owners are some of the most passionate enthusiasts about their quirky brand. And no egos, just pure friendliness - i haven’t seen anything like it in fans of other marques

My former boss is a retired SVP for a Fortune 50 co, lives in a $25m house on the ocean - only drives Saabs

I must agree. Every May, Carlisle Productions holds their import show (Carlisle, Pennsylvania). The Saab marque for years has the most number of vehicles in attendance and it's obvious their gathering has the most fun displaying an incredible array of models. These folks are dedicated.

[MugatuJag]

Yes that was one of the reasons I didn’t buy the early first generation I remember reading and researching that the reliability was poor, but they were extremely safe, up there with Volvo at the time. And that is hilarious about The ignition fiasco…. Just think if GM had moved there ignitions to the center, Saab might still be around as the recall and compensation for the 51 deaths totaled $4.1 billion. Quite the twist that Saab actually could have saved GM money if GM just took a page from Saabs design lol

[MugatuJag]

They truly are, and I still see Saab only specialists granted there was a lot more back A decade ago. And just like your CEO friend, my parents own their own business but they never wanted to drive nice cars to work because they did not want to flaunt so they Would Always Drive Volvos lol

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by 10"

There was a time my ultimate dream car was a Saab 900. I still want one, but am afraid I won't be able to maintain it well. Amazing cars with so much character

I did get a Volvo 850 at some point, which was great but horribly unreliable

Depending on where you're located there are still a few VERY good Saab specialists around. One in Chicago I used to frequent was SaabTech, for example. Seems like most large cities have one garage to work on them, and they're relatively cheap to maintain.

[Alfisti]

Beacon Motors in Toronto is pretty good and 10 minutes away for me so all good here anyways.

[BEM-S4]

In case anyone is looking for a wagon, you'd be hard pressed to find something nicer than this...

https://www.topgearchicago.com/detai...4y3013177.html