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Yes, this car can do wonderful things on the racetrack. That's just fine. But I don't drive through Road Atlanta on the way to work. When I hit a bump at 30mph and the car starts to veer into the lane next to me, that is unpredictable. When I fight the steering wheel to keep it in a straight line on uneven pavement while cruising, while braking, while accellerating, while turning - no matter what the speed - that is unpredictable. Why does it matter if the car is *capable* of being corrected? Are you trying to say that it is impossible to produce a performance car that is also drivable? Are you saying that automotive technology hasn't improved since the days of muscle cars? Performance cars should perform well in all aspects, including everyday drivability - find me a single piece of literature from Saab that says they are willing or that it is even necessary to sacrifice predictability, drivability or safety just so you can handle a tight corner.
It is an easy argument to say the handling characteristics of the car are a result of its performance tuning, and that its owners should be willing to accept a loss in drivability to get that performance, but that argument just doesn't wash. Those who believe this are blinded to simple fact. First, other manufacturers can make cars that handle just as well as the Viggen, but are perfectly drivable and predictable. Second, the problems owners complain about are fixable with no loss of performance - in fact, everyone who installs the Abbott kit claim even better performance, along with greater drivability and predictability. Third, it goes against everything that Saab stands for to produce a car that sacrifices drivability and safety for anything else - every word on its web site, every piece of literature it produces, every press release they send out praises the virtue of balance, of real-world performance, of safety, and of control. Fourth, unless the entire automotive press is entangled in an evil plot to destroy Saab, we have to believe that at least some of the critics just might know what they're talking about. I have yet to read one article, not a single one, that doesn't blast the Viggen for its unpredictable handling characteristics, even when praising the car for other reasons. And I have yet to see one of those articles reproduced here without the same tired parade of fanatical bias.
The point is that we shouldn't have to spend our own money to fix a problem that Saab could easily have eliminated in the first place. No, the Viggen isn't a horrible car - it's a great car in many respects. But face it, this car has a dog of a suspension, and Saab should shell out the money to fix it.
, Fri, 1 Dec 2000 12:52:17, Fri, 1 Dec 2000 14:57:38
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