With so much going on leading up to the unveiling of the new 9-5 at Frankfurt, I though it might help to have a summary page with all the entries leading up to the big event. So here we go, from the beginning:

The first entry here featured a white 9-5 spotted in the streets of Trollhattan. It was widely panned as being too ‘Toyota Camry’.

Photo: Hans G Lehmann

The next entry featured two cameraphone pictures from the assembly line. These were actually the first pics seen anywhere, but weren’t picked up on this site. There were also a couple of shots from a distance in the snow. Again, these did little to inspire the masses. The full entry is here.

The third entry featured the black rear end of a 1.9TiD 9-5 in Sweden. The rear lights had the elusive magic tape in place, but that didn’t prevent the clear as day picture from being snapped and circulated. The entire entry is here.

This next entry was the first of the ‘spyshots’ to provide some hope in my opinion. The silver 9-5 that was whited out around the outside gave the first impressions of a new facelifted model with some agro character. The entry was also the first insight into the interior, a picture that photoshopped to kingdom-come, but turned out to be truer than we could believe. Read the full entry here.

In a return to the scary ‘Camry’ shot from earlier, there was this picture of the rear-end, this time sans-tape.

The next entry in the series was the first of the famed ‘Djup Strupe’ shots (my nickname for Trollhattan’s Saab insider). Again, from a cameraphone, these were the clearest shots seen at the time of the front end of the car. The full story is here.

Spy Stories III was another post based on photos by Djup Strupe. This post featured the interior and new shots of the rear-end, including the wagon. The full post is here

Saab 9-5′s were being spotted all over the place by this point and web magazines the world over were publishing all they could. A few shots like the one below appear when you click here

And yet again, when you click here

The first official pics started to appear around the end of August. Autoblog even posted a rumour that they were leaked by a staffer as a protest to the styling. Nothing is known about the truth in that story, but it certainly seems as if Saab’s hand was tipped before GM were ready. This was the first official picture and it was followed by more here, here and here.

It seems that my main fear has come to pass, the dumbing down of the interior. BC news-hound Saabken left this link in comments to an article from Autocar. The following photo is included:

The article is as follows:

With an all-new replacement not expected until 2008, Saab’s 9-5 will have to soldier on as flagship for the Swedish firm for some time yet. But to give it a chance, Saab has refreshed the eight year-old design with a new nose and tail and revised interior.

The most dramatic changes are at the front, which gets new headlamps, grille, bumper and modified bonnet. At the back, there are new tail lamps and a new bumper. Body-coloured door handles and new sill covers complete the look.

Inside the 9-5’s distinctive interior has been revamped with simplified climate controls, a new sat-nav system, new instrument faces, new door trims and a new steering wheel.

Details of the technical changes are being kept under wraps until the car’s debut at the Frankfurt motor show. However, Autocar understands that the suspension has been modified, including a wider track front and rear.

Power comes from the familiar turbocharged four-cylinder engines and a 150bhp 1.9-litre turbodiesel, the 9-3′s V6 turbo petrol won’t be fitted due to the extensive re-engineering that would be required.

The final touches are being put to the 9-5’s replacement, which will be based on GM’s Epsilon II platform and is likely to be built in Germany

There’s been a lot of negative comment still about the facelifted 9-5. I’ve warmed to the new exterior. I think it looks fairly aggressive in these photos and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it in my driveway.

I’m not too hot on the interior though. I’ve always thought that a well designed cabin was pretty much an essential as it’s where you spend most of your time with the car. This new interior is somewhat ‘dumbed down’ in my opinion – but that’s just me. The people that will have to be convinced are the often-sought ‘conquest sales’ – BMW and Audi owners. I’m not sure I see anything in the interior to woo them away.

Here’s a few more promo shots as well….

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As well as the last lot of pics, (click here or just scroll down), here’s the latest from Saab:

New Saab 9-5 Range: Progressive Design and Enhanced Driver Appeal
The new Saab 9-5 Sedan and SportEstate range will be revealed at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Building on the Saab’s core values of progressive design and sporty driver involvement, the new 9-5 incorporates new styling and improved handling characteristics.

It features all-new front bodywork, with a bold new ‘face’ inspired by the Saab 9X concept car and a fresh interior that includes an updated dash and trim.

Excellent chassis dynamics have been further refined, giving the driver even closer control with faster, more direct responses for sportier handling characteristics without compromising ride quality and refinement.

Under the bonnet, the Saab 9-5 is available in a unique range of engine choices – petrol, diesel and ethanol. The all-turbo line-up includes:

* a new diesel engine available in Europe,
* a Saab BioPower engine that can run on any mixture of ethanol (E85) * fuel and gasoline for the Swedish market, and
* increased power for the top-of-the-range Aero model.

Overall, the muscular visual impact of the new 9-5 Sedan and SportEstate reflects the enhancements under the bodywork.

The refinements to Saab’s flagship are designed to increase its appeal to customers who value modern, progressive design and a rewarding driving experience.

The new Saab 9-5 range is targeted for launch in Australia and New Zealand in the second quarter of next year.

UPDATE II:

OK. Earlier today I had posted what were supposed to be some interior pics. They were obtained from links on the official Saab press release, however it seems those links were dodgy. The interior shots were merely reproductions of the 9-3 SportCombi interior.

I wuz duped!

I’ve just checked the GM Media site again and these interior pics have been removed from the 2006 9-5 link.

I’ll be keeping an eye out and posting anything new that becomes available. I had become quite hopeful that they’d retained the rather distinct Saab interior as opposed to the interior we saw in the spyshots last month. It seems we may be in for some of that generic GM radio gear after all, but let’s wait and see. It’s not that the centre dash layout looks bad – it doesn’t at all in my opinion. It’s just that it may be quite commonplace among GM’s models, and that’s the bit that worries me.