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      02-22-2012, 11:11 PM   #55
jmsent
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kmarei View Post
Its a shame what GM did to Saab (or what Ford did to Volvo)
My dad used to have a Saab 9000 in the late 80s
Damn well built car, owned it for 4 years, nothing broke on that car.
I recall a time when Saab was compared to BMW and MB and Audi
Then the American bean counters bought them, and treated them like the bucks, pontiacs etc
I,e a single model with some different tail lights and call it a different name
And spent very little on research or development
I hope BMW saves them and they make a comeback
I keep reading how GM ruined SAAB. But if SAAB had been a viable company they wouldn't have ever been acquired by GM. When GM bought them, SAAB was out of money, and was still selling ancient models. The pre GM SAAB 900 dated all the way back to the 99 with a few modifications. They had no money to develop a new generation. The 9000 was never a pure SAAB vehicle, with its platform sourced from Alfa, as I recall. These cars were quirky to say the least, the dealer network was terrible, and they were falling further and further behind. Yes, GM failed to keep SAAB going in the long term, but SAAB was in big trouble long before GM came along. As for BMW saving them, I really don't see the point. BMW's reputation is far better than SAAB's in virtually every respect, SAAB's sales have never been very large, and their dealer network is in shambles.
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