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It's another step closer Posted by Saana88 [Email]  (#207)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Saana88) on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:53:32
In Reply to: Swedish Envy, turbocon86, Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:48:44 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Having worked at a Brykk dealer from 1999-2005, I understand what you are thinking. I took quite a few trade-ins and lease retuns (Saabs) back across town to the Saab dealer. First they finally woke up to front wheel drive with the 850, then made it a little more attractive with the S70, then they made it aerodynamic (minus lots of rear seat room) with the S60, then they made it safer and more affordable with more comfortable seats and something you could find (readily available) with the '04 S40 with good gas mileage and a choice of good engines to boot. The C30 is a little more of a niche car than that, but it is an S40 in different skin, which is a good thing. I've seen wrecked S40s that have taken a beating with everyone coming out of it pretty much okay, which is all I expect from my 900s should the situation (hopefully not) require. Volvo's design and engineering teams seem to have survived the parent comany's buyout more intact than those at Saab, which is a shame. Just now the bugs are starting to become clear at Volvo: the Fjorders want to make more money and the Volvo people want to keep their customers and avoid cutting corners. It's still a mixed bag with Volvo. The buyout undoubtedly gave us the model range seen today, without it there would probably be no US 30/40/50 series, and the XC90 would have been even later. At the same time, I think some tough decisions were made because some parts have gotten significantly cheaper. Nothing major- Volvo's engines are still made to the same high standards that Scania built mine to, but I think it's incredibly ironic that Volvo (latin for 'I roll,' originally a wheel bearing company) gets 43,000 mile repair order items like, "Customer states right rear wheel no longer spins." My view on this is that at least those questionable-quality parts are all replaceable.
My mom's S70 is unique- one of the 3% of model year 1999 that came in with three pedals. Ever so slowly, thanks to the 40/50 series, that number is now up to around 8%. I thought I'd never see the day.
All new cars need to go on a diet. Everyone wants all wheel drive (immediate increase in weight by 10%) and when they wonder why they're getting 21 miles per gallon in a passenger car, there you are. Everyone wants power seats and windows and mirrors and a sunroof and booster seats and all that stuff that adds up. My AC-removed '88 four-door manual is somewhere around 2650 pounds (mass) and that's a benchmark I still use. Even with an old, not-so-efficient motor I can still clear 31 miles per gallon all summer. What's the difference? That's what 550 pounds does to you. Heck, my 900 has roof rails and lots of window trim out in the slipstream and more ground clearance and her original (220k) wheel bearings. Definitely a diet.
If something awful happened tomorrow and I had to bury my Saabs and get a new car, it would probably be a lopsided competition between (are all the marketing people looking yet?) a C30 and a Wabbit and a Prius and some tiny city car like Fit, Yaris, Aveo, or even a Focus hatch.
Here's why I would easily narrow down the list:
Prius: no clutch, extra weight from generators, "environmental care" goes out the window when the batterie$ have to be replaced costing who knows how much, uncomfortable seats, no need for a hybrid in higher-speed driving, poor handling (search YouTube for "comedy handling car") nowhere to put my bike, and overall blandness.
Focus: I don't like having to change wheel bearings and CV joints that often. Drum brakes (on the base model).
Fit/Yaris: I'm 73 inches tall, and the usual rotten non-linear clutch engagement, no torque, significantly lower than average collision protection, poor handling, general blandness, nowhere to put my bike, long-term reliability in question.
Aveo: having to buy things (car, parts, etc.) from a Chevy dealer, even though the car is just a jazzed up Suzuki, lack of collision protection, nowhere to put my bike, 73 inches tall, handling, drum brakes.
Now down to the toss-up: Wabbit versus C30.
Pluses for the Wabbit: decent feature list including (gasp!) disc brakes with ABS (and some hydraulic assist concept...), decent crash protection from multiple angles, I fit in it, and honestly it's friggin' cheap. 15k. Not baaaaad!
Minuses for the Wabbit: I'll have to see if the interior is too plasticky and if the build quality is all right. If only power windows weren't standard. Not enough ground clearance to drive in the snow. A six-speed would require the seven grand increase to a GTI, which brings in blue instrument lighting and the "golf ball" shifter, both useless.
Pluses for the C30: I know where they break, more comfotable whiplash-protection seats with better head restraints, side curtains, nose-thumbing rights with my father, whose dream-classic car is a P1800ES, available with a six-speed manual (eventually, I'd have to order a stripped-down T5).
Minuses for the C30: Too many teensy buttons in the console, overly-dependant on computers to control everything, keys are $170 each, not enough ground clearance to drive in the snow, kind of mushy bushings and suspension setup, expensive parts, $25k if you exercise lots of restraint, and that annoying "custom build" charge.
To get a 9er-3 similarly equipped would involve $30k and has (new for '08!) some buns-ugly taillights and those annoying chrome rings around everything on the front of the car that makes it look like a freakin' Saturn. Too much, too expensive, too bad. Saab doesn't make an entry-level car anymore because trying to compete down low would mean going out of business. What a shame.
, Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:53:32 <-- Viewing This Message
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