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An SUV: Not sure I'm ready for this!! (kind of long)
Posted by Derek Shaffer (more from Derek Shaffer) on Sat, 22 Apr 2000 22:39:48
At the last auto show I went to, I glanced off to one side at one point and
was starring right into a Saab grill on an SUV. I gasped, but quickly realized
it was a false alarm -- Ford had just stumbled onto Saab's look with its
ever-evolving grill designs for its trucks, and I was only starring at the
front of a Ranger (next year's Rangers again have a new grill design, so they
will no loner resemble Saabs').
Now, I just got the May issue of Car & Driver, and was shocked again when I
turned to page 36 (the 'Information Dirt Road' column). This time it's for
real - Saab is planning an SUV based on the Pontiac Aztec/Buick Rendezvous
platform (don't you just love GM's model names?). The picture shows basically
a 9-5 wagon pumped up a foot or so.
I've somehow managed to breathe easily for almost ten years now about GM's
partial ownership of Saab, but this has me reconsidering. IMO, GM has not
prevented Saab from building cars with (almost) all of the benefits that have
made them great, and has if anything enhanced the development of the newer
models. I feel quite differently about SUVs, however. They perform worse,
consume more gas, and do not offer more interior space (unless you get into
Suburban/Expidition territory). Their benefits of off-road capability and
ruggedness are ones that few people ever need. IMO, most people who buy SUVs
buy them for their trend appeal rather than for their practicality -- not the
type of buyer I've always associated or wanted to associate with Saabs.
I think an AWD model, maybe in the style of Suburu Outback or Volvo Cross
Country would make a lot of sense, but I can't imagine anything built on a true
SUV platform ever being a true Saab. Sure, they may sell more units this way
(unless gas prices remain as high as they are now), but is it really worth it?
I'm dying to know what my fellow Saab nuts think about this.
-Derek Shaffer
'91 9000T 121K
P.S. This C&D issue also featured a comparison of $40K sedans, including the
9-5 Aero. The thing pulls .86g on the skidpad! It finished behind the Audi
A6TT, BMW 528i, and Lexus GS300, but the write-up was very positive overall,
and quite consistent with the opinions of most of the saabnetters who have
written about it.
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