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I reported on a story from the Dutch news service Telegraaf last week. In that report, based on a story from another magazine called Autovisie, they claimed that Saab will be showing a new convertible version of the Saab 9-X concept vehicle that made a hardtop debut at Geneva in March and won the Best Concept vehicle at that show.
The translation of the Telegraaf article came from Albert VDB, who has been kind enough to purchase, scan and translate the article from Autovisie as well.
They’ve included what I assume must be an artist’s impression of what the concertible concept might look like. It looks a little generic to me, and the lack of apparent room in the rear would be a point of concern. One of Saab’s god selling points for the convertible was that it was a practical four-seater. I hope they’re not doing away with that.
Repeat x10 – it’ just an artist’s impression
Here’s the article, with many thanks to Albert once again. Click to enlarge the scanned image.
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Coming September, Saab warms us for the next generation 9-3 with a 9-X Cabriolet Concept. A car that will be more compact than initially thought. Just like all other future Saabs.
The Saab 9-1 and 9-3 will be more compact than initially planned. “We want Saab to be not too big”, General Motors Europe president Carl-Peter Forster told Autovisie at the London motor Show. “That is why the successor to the current 9-3 will not be based on the platform architecture of the Opel Insignia, as initially planned. Instead of that, the next 9-3 will use the compact architecture on which the next Opel Astra is based.” This means that the new 9-3 will be built in the Swedish plant at Trollhättan. That factory now builds the 9-3, but will be transformed to the Global Premium Compact platform by Saab-mother GM at the end of 2010.
Forster’s talk raised questions. Will the future small Saab 9-1 then not be developed on the Astra basis as was mentioned earlier? THE ANSWER IS THAT BY THE REORIENTATION AT SAAB, THE 9-1 WILL BE ON A SMALLER PLATFORM. That of the Corsa maybe? “Yes, that could be very well imaginable”, Forster reacted. In addition to that he told us that Saab will use only four-cylinder engines for the 9-1 and 9-3, most of them with high-efficient turbo-technology.
In the meantime Saab approved the production version of the next 9-3. The Saab 9-X concept as shown at the last Geneva salon was a fairly realistic hint to the exterior and the dimensions of the future 9-3. This is striking, because Saab originally presented that 9-X as predecessor to a 9-1. Only after the Geneva show the beacons were moved at intercession of GM’s highest product boss Bob Lutz.
The next 9-3 will again appear in a variety of body forms. At the coming Paris salon – open to the public from 4–19 October – Saab shows a cabriolet version to the 9-X theme, so say sources at Saab.
Saab’s introduction programme in the meantime looks as follows. End of this year there will be an “Allroad”-version of the current 9-3 Sport Estate on the market. During 2009 we will see the new 9-5. An old-style big sedan and later a hefty wagon. This top-model will be built at Rüsselsheim at Opel, because the 9-5 shares a lot of technical elements with the new Insignia. The production capacity in Rüsselsheim is 270,000 units, from which 50,000 are reserved for the 9-5 from 2009.
In 2011 the 9-3 must be ready for production in the Swedish Trollhättan plant . In between (model year 2010) the 9-4X, a crossover that shares its basis with a comparable Cadillac, comes also. However this will run of the lines in Mexico. Around 2012 at last it will be the turn of the 9-1.
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Notes by the translator:
• This is a translation of an article in Autovisie nr. 16 of 31.07.2008. I have no author’s rights on this.
• The captal letter section was highlighted in red in the original article.
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18 responses so far ↓
1 Kroum
// Aug 4, 2008 at 11:32 am
This all sounds very promising. If most of it holds true, then in 2-3 years time Saab will have a very competitive lineup of fuel-efficient, “rightsized” performance vehicles in almost every segment of the premium market. And if moderately successful, we could even see some funds allocated towards the development of a halo car, a new generation Aero X.
On a separate note, nobody knows for certain how high or low energy prices will be 3 years time. We could well see oil drop to the levels from a few years ago, in which case the customers who now all demand fuel-efficient vehicles will at once abandon their environmental concerns and go back to the “no replacement for displacement” mantra. We have seen this happen before, something typical of American consumerism. (Part of that ritual is to “sacrifice” the domestic manufacturers by laying all the blame for building obese gas-guzzling SUVs, while simultaneously drooling over V10 powered sedans from Germany, and forgetting that manufacturers everywhere follow what consumers demand).
It would therefore be prudent of Saab to engineer in the possibility of all future vehicles to be equipped with larger displacement engines should market conditions change. For let’s be completely honest and remember how Saab was accused of backwardness when they had an all-4-banger lineup. “How do they expect to compete in the premium segment with turbocharged 4 cylinders?” “pistonheads” and “affluent” leasees alike were asking just three years ago, only to abandon their worries in praise for “performance and efficiency” offered by the Ubermenschen in auto manufacturing.
Saab needs to learn to compete in a hypocritical marketplace, or what some would prefer to call “dynamic business environment”.
2 Nico
// Aug 4, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I like the rendering, it has at least regular mirrors. I think Saab could use a solstice size convertible with a hardtop. As long as it keeps the rear lights.
Regarding fuel efficiency, I would be happy with lower gas prices here in the USA, just like everybody else. As we can’t see in the future, speculation is for the oil speculators. However, imagine filling up your car for half the price as it is today, I’d rather save that money and spent it elsewhere, then get a “truck” with half the mileage yet double the fill up.
At this point I don’t see the mini’s going away with 40 mpg, it’s what Saab needs most, especially in GM’s barn. It would out compete GM’s other brands.
3 Smoke_Jaguar4
// Aug 4, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Take the Kappa platform, modify it for FWD/XWD, and call it the Sonnet IV. By breaking out the convertible, then the 9-3 and 9-1 could be solid sedans without having to worry about a topless version.
4 cj
// Aug 4, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I think it looks good.
Just one thing, i would not scream too loud if the new 9-3 did not come until 2011 or so. Remember that we are now entering into a slower period of the world economy. the US probably have 2 years of sub prime mess left before it starts to go up again. Its better to launch the good stuff when things are going up rather than down.
5 Markac
// Aug 4, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I find this a little disturbing “During 2009 we will see the new 9-5. An old-style big sedan and later a hefty wagon.” Looks like the 9-5 missed the new “We want Saab to be not too big” rationale. It also looks like the 9-5 doesn’t fit in with current thinking and could this possibly mean it might have a rather short life? I suppose that would make up for the current 9-5 having far too long a life!
There are some encouraging things to read in this article, but I’ve learned to believe very little that leaks out of GM and manages to get printed. If GM were a software company, they’d truly be a champion of vapourware!
6 Nico
// Aug 4, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Oh, and I wouldn’t mind a two seater, like the sonett I and II. Ahhh the possibilities.
I read in the New York Times today that the Turbo X gets 24 mpg on the highway. Well with my ‘01 9-5 wagon V6 I can still get 29 mpg (provided I keep to the speed limit).
Anyway, I wish we would be able to get these concepts in 1/43, just like the Aero-X. Just about the only other Saabs I own at the moment.
7 Kroum
// Aug 4, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Markac, the development of any given model takes half a decade. You cannot reasonably expect Saab to adjust a model that has been several years in the making a few months before launch.
8 Markac
// Aug 4, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Kroum: I wasn’t expecting the 9-5 to be adjusted. I was just stating that it no longer appears to match the direction that Saab now appears to be heading. Hence it may have a comparatively short life expectancy? This may or may not be a good thing.
Anyway mostly all we ever get from GM is smoke and mirrors and concepts that never lead anywhere.
It’s difficult to go by one news report when so many have been quite wrong in the past. They usually predict a whole lot and we end up with very little. I imagine it’s just their take on things anyhow.
9 Alex
// Aug 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm
^^^^^^ That’s a whole lot of truthiness right there
More importantly, I think that Saab needs to keep an old-fashioned big car in their lineup. I’m not expecting the new 9-5 to be HUGE huge, I’d imagine that it will be about the size of the current A6. That makes perfect sense, now that it’s looking like the next 9-3 will be ever so slightly smaller than the current one, and the cars should work nicely together in the showrooms.
Or to put it this way, right now the 9-5 is more or less the same exact size as the 9-3SS, I see this at home when I park my 9-5 next to my dad’s 9-3. The cars are so close in size that it’s a wonder how Saab manages to sell any 9-5’s at all these days given the disadvantage that it has in price and interior quality. So if you make the next 9-5 a bit bigger than the current one while making the next 9-3 a it smaller than the old one Saab will end up with a couple of cars that I think will complement each other quite nicely.
10 Adrian
// Aug 4, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Audi have replaced the A4 convertible with the A3.
BMW have launched a 1-series convertible “alongside” the 3 (for how long?)
An Astra-based Saab convertible would seem to be in line with those.
Will there be a Merc CLC-based convertible replacing the CLK?
Maybe the market isn’t there?
11 Swade
// Aug 4, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Important thing to remember here is that this story has only come from one source at this point. That’s why I put a whole bunch of question marks on the original story here on the blog. This is Autovisie’s point of view, but I tend to think we need something more, esp about the 9-X convertible at the Paris Show. I’m sure it’ll come soon.
12 marek
// Aug 4, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Well, the question is can Saab build a fuel efficient engines.
Mainly they haven’t been able done that, which is very sad.
13 Tompa
// Aug 4, 2008 at 6:51 pm
As the always far-sighted and intelligent Kroum stated: “We could well see oil drop to the levels from a few years ago, in which case the customers who now all demand fuel-efficient vehicles will at once abandon their environmental concerns and go back to the “no replacement for displacement” mantra“. This is all to true. I´m 100% for what you wrote Kroum.
Tompa
14 albert
// Aug 4, 2008 at 7:00 pm
To me the most striking part of this article was that C.P. Forster did say that a new 9-3 will only have fourcylinder engines.
Although that does not mean there will be less power available than today in the TurboX, it could mean that in some markets there could bean image problem.
Over here the V6 is practically non existent.
With fourcilinders up to 300 hp 99% of the potential customers should be satisfied though.
15 ctm
// Aug 4, 2008 at 7:07 pm
You all remember were you first saw this little car?
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2008/03/saab-9-x-convertible-cgi-fun.html
16 swade
// Aug 4, 2008 at 7:26 pm
My goodness, ctm. You’re right! I’d forgotten all about it.
Those sneaky little dutchies!
17 MarkS
// Aug 4, 2008 at 9:11 pm
It’s true…the market is fickle, but it’s also true that auto manufacturers CREATE the demand for products. It’s time for automakers to “rightsize” many of their products and to create demand for more intelligent designs regardless of where fuel prices go over the next few years. We didn’t learn our lesson in the ’70’s but it’s time we learn it now! Shame on us all if we don’t.
18 Bernard
// Aug 4, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Judging from recent history, it will take about 10 years of low fuel prices (or of fuel prices rising slower than inflation) for the US public to stop worrying about fuel economy. That’s roughly the timespan between gas rationing in 1979 and the introduction of the Ford Taurus SHO in 1989. I picked the SHO because it is the first performance family car of that era.
That gives Saab one or two generations of 9-3’s before they need to worry about making room for some porker of a V6 again.