Possibly the greatest overlooked quote, ""In fact, I think the Swedish engineers and designers worked very hard with the Fuji people to make it into something that is very close to a real Saab." - Bob Lutz.

Someone should inform Bob close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades...

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Uh, is that $11k markup before or after GM's recent price reduction?

Are there any Saabophiles left to appease, or have they all left since the original 900 was replaced by the GM platform version a decade ago? $50 is going to be small change compared with the rebates it's going to take to move this doorstop.

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"The Trailblazer and Envoy are not hugely different except in interior and exterior character, and that seems to be enough."

What is Lutz thinking? Saab became what it was because it sold cars that were DIFFERENT from any other car on the road. My first car was an 86 900S and nobody in school had anything like it. You knew where it was in a parking lot. To change some sheet metal, move the ingnition, put a Saab badge on it, and charge $40,000.00 is suicide. I fear Saab is going the way of Eagle, Plymouth, and Oldsmobile, badge engineered out of business.

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Yes starlightmica, most Saab fans left with the early 90s redesigns. Some of us hope they can revive themselves with less "GM-ness" Ford did it right with Volvo. They shared parts that nobody really notices (platforms) but left most things alone. I've never seem a turbo 5 cylinder in a Contour but you can practically interchange the motors of a Cobalt SS and a 9-3.

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Speaking as someone who's driven and enjoyed a couple 900s, especially the cushiony seats, heating, headroom, and general quirkiness, I think RIP is unfairly maligning the current 9-3. It drives a heck of a lot better than almost all of the competing white-box FWD sedans, and probably doesn't deserve to be called a Cobalt.

The 9-2X may be an Impreza, but it's a nice port of a very good car that's been cursed with a s***ty interior. Unfortunately, for the 9-7 GM used a POS donor car...

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There really isn't that much of a Saab following anymore. The internet fan sites aren't very many, or well done. I feel that the current 9-3 is the best Saab ever, but because it's not eccentric enough, no one buys it. It's hard to build strangeness, and so this brand's demise is inevitable as far as I'm concerned.

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The majority of the Saabophiles are under the snow in the New England states. Why left-wing nut professors preferred Saabs is beyond me. Any common sense would have indicated that even Volvo made better cars back in the days.

Can GM turn Saab around? It'll take a lot of money to devote to building great cars (that are as good as or better than competition) that people want, and running brilliant marketing campaigns. Saab needs an appealing high-volume car that gets attention in the public and the press, which the 9-3 failed to do.

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Your comments: I had a SAAB 9000CD Aero and later a SAAB 9-3 Areo. The 9000 was an outstanding car. I put 180k miles on it and had not a single problem during its entire life. The 9-3 was a different story and worst of all the service at the dealer ship was just a horrible experience after GM took over. Just one example; It took them 3 weeks to get a replacement part for the automatic antenna!

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The 9-2x seems like a nice car, but I feel it not really a saab. I was going to buy one but had second thoughts for some reason. It just bothers me that all they did was stick a Saab logo on the hood and made some interior/exterior touches. They should have at least changed the the side class near the rear of the car, put a real saab dash in along with ignion, and many would have been even more happier.
As far as the 9-7x, I feel like kicking Lutz (or PUTZ) in the balls. Who wants a Chevy?
Hopefully, these cars will be replaced soon.
I waiting to see what the 9-6x looks like. It will be based of the Subaru Tribeca B9.
I hope that Saab gets 2 billion from GM just as what happen with Fiat and be able to reestablish themselves as a SAAB.
Mt only hope is what is to come in the next servral months. The SAAB 9-3 Combi station wagon,and the forthcoming 9-5 will hopefully keep the torch lit in the meantime. Lutz better not blow it out.

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This is a disgrace taking a rather mediocre GM midsized SUV (GM has had plenty of time to make a decent midsized SUV and still haven't) and turning it into a psuedosaab. What an insult to Saab enthusiasts! And to make matters worse, GM has the nerve to charge an extra $11K for the honor of rebadging a Chevrolet (oh, they did spend $50 to relocate the ignition key) to make a Saab. I hope this thing fails miserably (though GM hasn't had a successful car launch yet in the past few years - C6 not withstanding).

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You know, all these "I'm soooo mad they re-badged a Chevy as a Saab SUV because I'm a Saab enthusiasts" comments are confusing me. I didn't know that the 9-7x replaced the 9-3 and 9-5. Becuase it doesn't. No one is stopping you from buying the more distinct Saabs (9-3, 9-5). Saab is just doing what any business would: Try to increase intrest and bump sales. So fellow Saab entusiats, I would be be praying the 9-2x and 9-7x sales sky rocket so Saab can have more creative freedom.

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Saab's creativity emerged from the fact that they were an aviation company that knew little if anything about making cars when they started. This apparent disadvantage actually gave them a clean slate to work with and the evolution of Saab cars with all their quirks and innovations was the result.

Fast forward 50 years or so and you have a died-in-the-wool mass producer trying to maintain the image, but with no real basis for doing so. Increasingly, the only thing typically Saab about new models (9-7x, 9-2x) is the marketing campaign. The 9-3 is a great drive and may be regarded as the last real Saab to come from Sweden. (I think there's enough real Swedish input to count it that way.)

Bob Lutz's recent comments about 'adding Swedishness' shows just how much he doesn't get it.

BTW: I've got one of those rare enthusiast sites. Drop in any time.

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