Thread: Car Talk
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-12-22, 01:37

Quote:
Originally Posted by Quagmire View Post
I would say it failed as I totally forgot about the 9-3x.
Apparently, it hasn't gone on sale in the US yet? It's not on Saab's US site.

That's weird, because it actually seems like a very US-facing product -- all it is is a lifted (1.4 inches IIRC) 9-3 SportCombi with two-tone cladding and more standard features (yay roof rails!), but it's a "crossover," not a "wagon." That's very important. It seems designed to escape the stigma wagons have in the US while offering a very (let's face it) car-like crossover, which is what some people want. Yet the US didn't get it (yet?)...huh.

Saab's real relaunch, of course, would have been the new 9-5, Saab's new flagship with a new design language and their first 9-5 update...ever. (The current model dates back to 1998.) Along with that would have been the 9-4x, based on the SRX platform but a more significant (and successful) badge job than either the 9-2x and 9-7x. A really new sedan and a real crossover...just what Saab needs to be relevant again. If I were Saab's new owners, I would actually skip the 2010 model year and launch the 9-5 and 9-4x in the US at NAIAS in January as the first 2011s.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong

Last edited by Robo : 2009-12-22 at 01:48.
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