Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 04:40:50 GMT From: "pablo" <pabloNnopsamsimplyhombre.net> Subject: Re: I like the new 9-3 !
"Four Weis" <mweinopsamcom> wrote in message news:3E30B873.8E9DEB3Enopsamcom... > I think we have heard this same opinion before. The new Saabs are nice, but > too expensive and the competition is tough these days. Not that I have made the hardcore head to head comparison, but it seems to me the Saab is priced very competitively against the BMW and Merc and Audi, and might be somewhat above the VW, and clearly above the Japanese product. Whether the engineering merits truly justify the pricing premium al the way up to the Merc is one thing, but what is clear is that Saab, for a very long time now, has been seeking the premium brand perception, and clearly the road from here if their strategy and survival pan out is to climb even further upscale. Incidentally, I had an interesting old vs new Saab encounter this morning at the gas-station. I pulled up in my '02 9-3 convertible next to a mid-80s 900, which I must say looked mighty fine and very well-taken care of. Of course we acknowledged each other as good Saab connoisseurs should, and as the other owner went through his quick ritual I admired the way the hood pops up on those cars and such, and after a while he just said to me something to the order of my car being brand new and his having 230k miles on it... and I just immediately said "it's the way it's supposed to be, and I intend to keep my car just that long!". And as he drove away, I wondered... yeah, it's that legendary longevity-mixed-with-other-quirky-traits of those Saabs that in the end made me buy mine, but.. do they still make them like they used to? Will my car really be there like that one I saw today, after over 15 years and over 200k miles? Don't get me wrong, I am aware you have to do your homework to make your car last, but I hope the factory also did its homework and hasn't altered the brand DNA too much, because my reason for buying a Saab was truly to own it for a looooong time. I'll take care of it - and hope it is still build to take care of me! As to the upscale thing - I am somewhat amazed by the fact my current 9-3 SE convertible has drawn far more comments from complete strangers than the car it replaced, a brand new Jag XJR, and even the gorgeous XJS convertible prior to that one, combined. It is odd because I got rid of the XJR due to my embarassment due to the ostentatious nature of it, given the change in economic climate since I purchased it... and yet now I own a car which is roughly half its price that seems to get far more attention. But at least the attention is part of a contrarian chic movement that I seem to sense is adding to Saab's recognition (if not necessarily upscale luxury image) here in California. I think if Saab truly succeeds in its corporate goal of successfully challenging the default teutonic choice, that chic component will vanish. Isn't it odd how we Saab owners seem to oppose wide-spread recognition and success of Saab as a company...?! :-) ...pablo
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