GM sets end of road for Swedish brand Saab

[LeonOfTheDead]

Opel 9-5 will fail heavily in today's market.

Still better than a whole project trashed when finished.

[Ferrer]

Still better than a whole project trashed when finished.

I guess it would still fare better in sedan-loving America than here. In Europe no one will buy a big saloon that isn't premium.

[LeonOfTheDead]

I guess it would still fare better in sedan-loving America than here. In Europe no one will buy a big saloon that isn't premium.

Sure.
I'd sell it both as a Buick and as an Opel if Saab was to be dropped, trying to get as much sales as possible.
I think it's style is closer to Opel's, but Buick should be OK as well.

[Ferrer]

Also, isn't the Insignia about as big?

AFAIK it also has the same engine lineup.

[henk4]

Sorry guys, the 9-5 and the new Opel (if it comes) will be totally different cars, not a re-badging effort.

[LeonOfTheDead]

The Insignia is 4,83 meters long, with a wheel base of 2,74.
The 9-5 is 5,01 meters long and the wheel base is 2,83.

The differences are of 24 cm and 9 cm respectively.
About the engines, it's the same case with many other companies, just avoid the smaller engine in the larger model and add a more powerful one (perhaps with more cylinders) for the more expensive version of the same larger car. Done.

Between an E90 3er and an E60 5er there are differences of 32 and 12 cm, would be curious to know how it will be with both the new generations.

At Audi, the gaps are of 22 cm and just 3 cm for the wheels base (which explain why the new A4 looks so squashed).

At Mercedes we have a difference of 29 cm for as regards the length, and 11 cm for as regards the wheel base.

So far, the 9-5 is enormous, but it's about as larger than the Insignia as with the competion and their smaller sisters. The new E-Klasse is weirdly small, with just 4,87 meters of length. the new F10 5er is 4,89 meters long but has a wheel base of 2,97, the longer of them all.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Sorry guys, the 9-5 and the new Opel (if it comes) will be totally different cars, not a re-badging effort.

Why that?
I can see a new interior and front/rear would be necessary, but other than that I wouldn't spend much money on it, given it won't match the competition of the Germans no matter how good it is. Also, the previous flagship from Opel was a bit of a failure.

[henk4]

Why that?
I can see a new interior and front/rear would be necessary, but other than that I wouldn't spend much money on it, given it won't match the competition of the Germans no matter how good it is. Also, the previous flagship from Opel was a bit of a failure.

I think they are looking for a Senator successor, which was RWD.

[Ferrer]

The Insignia is 4,83 meters long, with a wheel base of 2,74.
The 9-5 is 5,01 meters long and the wheel base is 2,83.

I thought the difference was smaller. In fact the 9-5 is almost as big as the S-Classes and 7ers.

I will still fail though.

[henk4]

I thought the difference was smaller. In fact the 9-5 is almost as big as the S-Classes and 7ers.

I will still fail though.

probably not as a Buick in China though, where the brand is highly popular.

[LeonOfTheDead]

probably not as a Buick in China though, where the brand is highly popular.

And where people go mad for LWB versions of the A4, A6, 5er and so on, rather than just buying the larger model.

[f6fhellcat13]

Another lease of life (briefly).

Automotive News reports GM will restart some production lines in January including the 2010 Saab 9-5. So Saab's alive. For the moment anyway.

"We are preparing the wind-down process. At the same time we are open to options, to bids that come in. Therefore the deadline has also been dropped," Saab spokesman Eric Geers told Automotive News.

Saab will restart some production lines again in January for its new 9-5 model. "We have the orders and we have to deliver them as usual. We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again," Geers said.

GM was still in talks with potential bidders for its Swedish unit but Geers only named Spyker Cars and declined to talk about other parties.

Merbanco Inc., a Wyoming-based group, has been named in the media as another Saab bidder.

[LeonOfTheDead]

I didn't understand if they are going to build the new 9-5 for actual customers or for pre-production/press events/whatever.
As far as I understood there are a good quantity of orders for the 9-3 Cabriolet as well.

[jaromull]

Volvo cars were always prefered by even Swedish people before SAAB products, during last 25 years at least. But still the SAAB cars were ever sound and smart-looking designs, many of them quite un-orthodox ones...
Well, still I think that SAAB was killed by the GM high-brass policy and management. We can discuss the possibility of SAAB to shut down even sooner if it were not taken over by GM, but who knows..
It is very sad that so few traditional Europian car-producing companies remained Europian in fact...

[Ferrer]

It is very sad that so few traditional Europian car-producing companies remained Europian in fact...

There are still many cases of European car makers staying European, like VAG, Daimler or PSA. Some even have a stake in overseas car makers like Renault and FGA.