Imagine my surprise when I saw this driving down the road in front of me the other day:

Being an ’11 reg, I got all excited, thinking that it was somehow a sign that the always-interesting car manufacturer had survived bankruptcy.

Then I read up, and learned that SAAB was indeed dead.

But if they kept building cars until at least 2011, how come the latest reg I normally see on British streets is ’58?

But if they kept building cars until at least 2011, how come the latest reg I normally see on British streets is ’58?

bankruptcy

Probably because they weren’t selling many cars

Saab was sold to Spyker, and much of the dealer network tied with Vauxhall disappeared. the new 9-5 based on the same floorpan as the insignia didnt really sell… The last generation 9-5s where a real tour-de-force of what SAAB could do. would love one: 2.8 v6 turbo… 300Bhp, AWD with lots of toys as standard on the Aero model. But they couldnt be diagnosed by a Tech2 (like the previous cars) so my Saab indy said he wasnt gonna go to the expense of getting in a reader.

A guy in the village has one of those ^^ it looks like an oversize barge waiting for a tug.

Blooming horrible.

What does the stereotypical Saab driver buy now? I feel they disappeared just before I came into the perfect Saab owner age window for a Guardian reading liberal artsy design type. I even bought the black turtleneck all ready.

I feel they disappeared just before I came into the perfect Saab owner age window for a Guardian reading liberal artsy design type. I even bought the black turtleneck all ready.

This!

BMW 130i M series ?
Audi Sline (whatevs)
Ford Mondeo Estate in grey
Fixie..
Nissan Leaf.

What does the stereotypical Saab driver buy now?

An impractical Volvo I believe.

What does the stereotypical Saab driver buy now?

as having owned 5 Saab 9-5s over the last 10 years… 4 estates and 1 saloon.

we currently have 1 9-5 saloon, that’s just had the engine and gearbox out of an estate we had at the time (saloon has 190,000 on the clock and had an issue with the autobox, the estate had rusted around the spare wheel well) hopfully the saloon is good to go for another 100,000 miles.

but to replace the estate we’ve gone for a Jag XF sportbrake.

It’s a shame they died, I think towards they end they were one of those brands people liked the idea of it, but then when it came to the moment when they were about to spend £20k/£30k on a brand new car… they’d hesitate a moment and buy the more obvious BWM/Audi/Merc, they were always more popular as a used car, once half or more of the value had been eaten by someone else.

GM never seemed to make platform sharing work like VW has, I was surprised to read just not they’ve lost Vauxhall too, owned by PSA now.

Yep, Volvo- they are looking super nice again these days and now have added eco credentials 🙂

GM effectively put the brand up for sale in late 2008, and started winding down dealerships from then. Went through all kinds of wrangling with different potential owners, ultimately with a very shaky deal to sell to Spyker – with GM still supplying engines and other bits. They made a few cars including the 2nd gen 9-5 (which was ready to go just prior to all this) before going bankrupt.

I know at least one UK magazine had one as a longtermer and were bemusedly having to call the administrators over and over to get the thing out of their car park.

had two, old style 900S and in-between gen 900S.
Liked them, slightly different, cavernous boot (in the old one at least), was sad to let go of them both (2nd one is still running, just, I think). We hemmed and hawed and ended up with an Octavia estate, not as outstanding and a lot of the features I was used to on 1996 900S weren’t present on our Skoda (e.g. using engine heat to keep washer pipes warm, even down to “washer level low” warning light). but suitable replacement in as much as its a car for getting used and kit chucked into that runs nicely, rather than a disposable item or an executive vehicle kept pristine and washed weekly!

So rather than announcing the death of long dead musicians/celebrities, we are now announcing the re-birth of car manufactures than haven’t been restarted?

I love Saabs.

Mine, pictured below, is a 93X. Like the 93 Sportwagon but raised by about 40mm. Great car, loads of room and equipment and a 1.9 twin turbo diesel giving 180 bhp.

I was watching an old episode of Peepshow last night and in one scene there was a black 900 T16 S in the background (i am a Saab spotter!). Oh how my DNA whistled…

I always wanted a Saab 900. Nearly bought one back in the 20th century but realised that I could not afford the oil and petrol costs. Got a Renault 19 instead. The petrol and oil bill would have been cheaper and the driving more comfortable than the endless bits and pieces the Renault needed. Plus, more of the car would have worked.

I liked the weirdness of Saab’s styling. And the brilliant layout in the cabin.

My dad had a 900i for many years so have a bit of a thing for saabs, it didn’t use much oil anyway. Sold it at 220k miles and we’d see it up and down the road for a few years after, think it only ever broke down once from cracked leads. Main problem was the low down ignition gathering crumbs etc and heaven forbid you spill your drink down it. A mate had a J reg 900 turbo recently and it was good fun, fantastic noise, but it was starting to age badly. Would like one of the really old ones, can’t remember the models but I used to have lots of Saab posters on my wall when I was wee.

Colleague had a gen 2 9-5 just as Saab went pop.. when it arrived it had horrible ride quality as they supplied it with 19″ wheels, when it had 18″ fitted it transformed the ride.

I really liked the car and thought it was far better that the competition

When I came out of the RAF I needed a cheap runaround. Bought an R reg 99 from a Volvo mechanic for £500. It was yellow and had a beige interior. Reliable as heck, the only issue was the clutch went, this meant removal of the radiator and most of the cooling system.
A dodgy wheel bearing blew the hubcap off the front wheel right across the A55. Brilliant brilliant car. Worth a small fortune now..

11 would be near the end iirc.

Don’t forget the 11 was when it was registered not made.

When SAAB ceased making cars there were some (not necessarily many) unregistered cars in the hands of dealers. In theory there may even still be some and iirc you can register these direct with the DVLA providing they are still emissions/road safety compliant. What you wouldn’t get is a manufacturer warranty.

I had a 3dr 900i with a whaletail spoiler (looked like a turbo but wasn’t particularly quick – fabulous car though). Then I swapped that for a 9000 Carlsson that Abbott Racing had breathed on – a proper Q car! It did go through a lot of front tyres though 🙂
Now I drive a Volvo and Cooper S. Not sure what that means for my liberal turtle neck credentials.

I had basically forgotten they built the new model until I moved to Gothenburg – there’s a handful living in this city, perhaps unsurprisingly. I drove (and slept in) my first Saab on the weekend and very much enjoyed the ridiculous turbo lag… think a fast estate will be my next purchase

No one was buying new Saabs since they were depreciating like stones and it seemed obvious they wouldn’t be around long. the new 9-5 came too late after they had been trying to sell outdated cars with bad facelifts for too long really.

I had a 2001 9-3 and it was utterly dull and devoid of character and definitely felt very much like its GM siblings.

Currently knocking about in this which has a few tweaks and is now around 290bhp. It’s ace.

Used to have a classic 900 whaletail Turbo. Most comfortable car I have ever driven and though it was 3 door it had a massive boot. Very fond memories of it. Never really went wrong and we sold it on 185000 miles only because it was a pain putting a child seat in the back.

Tried to recapture the magic a decade later (last year before the dame edna) with a 9-5 aero and car was a total disaster from day one. Everything broke and cost silly money to repair Last straw was when they wanted a grand to supply and fit a faulty front xenon unit and that was a specialist indy and not main dealer. Shame as the car looked great and still had the comfy saab seats plus a bit of character.

What does the stereotypical Saab driver buy now? I feel they disappeared just before I came into the perfect Saab owner age window for a Guardian reading liberal artsy design type. I even bought the black turtleneck all ready.

Tesla?

Then I swapped that for a 9000 Carlsson

Ahh I used to want a 900 Carlsson when I was wee!

Bang Tidy!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Car-Saab-/292177113972?hash=item44071cf374:g:r6sAAOSwUIhZYUmO

beautiful cars

Woodster that 9000 Aero looks awesome fella. Hat doffed.

What year is it?

I had an aero HOT wagon for a while. It was all fun and games until you looked at the fuel gauge. Sweet baby jesus that thing could consume hydrocarbons.

I have a 9-5 3l ticket from around 2004. Super comfortable but a pitiful 180 bhp from a 3l turbo.

Looked into chipping it.. Apparently the engine itself is easily good enough for 250bhp, but everything else attached to it would disintegrate.

It’s an estate though, and the perfect car for biking. I can get 2 trail bikes and wheels in the boot.. under the parcel shelf

I miss my 9000 full turbo, the most comfortable car I’ve ever owned, & quite quick too.

The group that bought it from Spyker aren’t allowed to call them Saab anymore:

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/there-will-be-no-more-saab-cars

Real shame. 🙁

I think it’s perhaps a bit of a shame they never sold these in the UK, I can’t tell if it’s the best or worst SAAB ever, but a Aero one would have been cool (and very fast).

I have a SAAB 9-5 mk2 2.3 AERO from 2004 and it goes like warm shite off a hot shovel. Love it

Also cup holders…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMxsf7PA95E[/video]

P-Jay – that looks very much like an Impreza with a Saab front end attached.

alanf – Member

P-Jay – that looks very much like an Impreza with a Saab front end attached.

It sort of is, about 10 years ago when GM owned Saab and a bit of Subaru they ordered up a bit of badge engineering and yes it’s a Impreza Wagon with a Saab grill, but like Saab did with all their Opel based models in Europe they really went through the whole car and redesigned lots of unseen oily bits to inject a lot of Saabness into it – they’re supposedly better than the Impreza it’s based on – as usual for Saab not always in the way they make the meaningless stats in the back of car mags look better, but in real world day-to-day ways. It was supposed to be sold world wide as a sub 93 small car, but for whatever reason they killed it after 2 years.

I don’t think it ever got a properly powerful engine, just the 2.5 flat 4 with 170ish rather than the Turbo F4 from the WRX etc.

Woodster that 9000 Aero looks awesome fella. Hat doffed.

What year is it?

Cheers, it’s a ’93 K so quite early for an Aero. It’s no minter with 215k miles, but it’s great fun.