[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I'm not bailing out on Saab yet. I will definitely need to drive a NG9-3 before I decide anything.
But they are in the most competitive car segment in the most competitive car market in the world. The $25K-40K sporst sedan price range is loaded to the gills with very good to excellent performance cars.
I do think Saab has to get more people into Saabs, and I agree that the old chassis is best left discarded. I just hope that what Saab offers is a good value proposition, and some of that depends on pricing. If they're offering a car with 175hp at a G35 price, that ain't gonna fly. I was a little put off by what I heard was S60-type pricing, since that to me is too pricey (although it will beat the S60 in performance and features at that price, the S60 is vastly overpriced for what you get -- but then again volvo has a raison d'etre: safety, comfort, and wagon hauling capacity. Saab's raison d'etre is purely theoretical right now).
My point wasn't so much that Saab needs to keep Saab-ness (which I hope it does but which isn't critical for this car); just that it needs to offer a reason to buy a Saab that is more than "well it doesn't offend anyone" thinking. Maybe that reason is value-for-money (but careful -- see 260hp G35's with silky v6 engines for $32K), or better handling/performance (preliminary numbers are inconclusive, but the 3-series, G35, Lexus IS300, and A4 are all nechmarks here, and I don't see Saab toppling them).
And I still think Saab (and BMW and Mercedes and Audi) are all too dismissive of the challenge posed by Japanese cars, especially in the US market where we have accepted the notion of a Japanese luxury car with open arms (and where boulevard cruisers are much more popular than tight sporty cars). benchmarking against the Euro-Big-4 is fine, but Saab had better pay close attention to what Infiniti and Acura are offering.
Anyway, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but I have doubts right now as to whether this car will be the breakthrough that will return Saab to profitability and longevity. I think it could be that car, but we'll have to wait and see.
posted by 208.200.185...
, Tue, 23 Jul 2002 16:54:09
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.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
