[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I think you're right in that the average (US) consumer is not comfortable with turbo technology. They've all heard the ads millions of times by the OTHER manufacturers spouting off about how much lag there is, and the seemingly relentless automotive press going on and on about how unreliable turbos are.
I agree turbos have come a long way in the past 10 years. Lag really is a thing of the past! As for reliability...well I would say Saab nailed that one way back from the beginning, though certainly completely nailed it when they added intercoolers and water cooled turbocharger bearings. The turbo will be the very last thing to fail on my car, I suspect. 278k miles on the original turbo and going strong!
The thing that really gets worn faster in turbos are the transmissions, motor mounts, clutches sometimes. It depends, of course, on the driver, but you don't sell a sports car, or any car with 200+ HP/torque and expect people to drive it like a grandma. It looks like Saab has finally gotten a reliable automatic transmission though, and we all know that's what the VAST majority of the American public want, so that's a giant step in the right direction.
I agree, that if VW can feel comfortable touting the advantages of a turbocharger, specifically, very high performance and excellent fuel economy, then I think Saab certainly should! I think Saabs are the best kept secret in terms of the best combination of performance and fuel economy.
My '87 9000T got 31 MPG before I added a Jacobs ignition (now gets about 34 MPG), which is better than my '79 Honda got on the freeway, and that car had about 1/3 of the hp/torque! Of course, the Saab can get worse around town... if you drive ALL city, could be as low as 21 MPG, whereas the Honda really never got below 23-24 MPG. Pretty lame spread between city and highway if you ask me. :) Now on the other hand, I had a '81 Datsun 310 for a few months while my Saab's tranny was waiting to be rebuilt. I drove the crap out of that car (got it for $500), and could NOT make it get less than about 30 MPG, ever. This was all city driving, and often times it would get more like 33 MPG..
Anyhoo, had enough tangents for one post I think..
Aaron Gilbert
posted by 207.202.17...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |