Comments on: Friday Snippets

By: Jeff K

Jeff K — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:41:25 +0000

9-5 TTiD Combi. Please.

By: Saaboy

Saaboy — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:49:41 +0000

HEAR HEAR to TTid in the USA

By: sam

sam — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:20:35 +0000

As long as diesel is 50 cents a gallon more than premium fuel, as it is currently, I don’t see diesels becoming a popular choice for autos in the USA. The price premium over gasoline and higher cost of the motor pretty much offsets the increased efficiency you get from diesel, IMHO. Of course, there is a subset of the automotive public that will buy diesels regardless of the cost advantage, so maybe it is worth catering to them. But it doesn’t make sense to engineer and certify a diesel for the US market unless you can recoup the investment by offering it in a large variety of GM models, not just in Saabs. Sorry, I just don’t see diesels as the savior of GM or Saab.

By: 1985 Gripen

1985 Gripen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:26:39 +0000

Steven, you are correct in that Euro 5 is a long way off from Tier 2 Bin 5 requirements in many of the most-populous U.S. states.

In Europe they pay much more attention to carbon dioxide emissions whereas in the U.S. it’s biased toward limiting oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. Euro 5 NOx emissions are higher than the U.S. requires.

However, the German manufacturers are getting around this by making their vehicles Tier 2 Bin 5-compliant by installing NOx catalysts (as in the case of the sold-out VW Jetta TDI and the Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTEC) and/or urea injection (as in the case of the Mercedes SUVs on their way for sale in North America).

I would think with The General’s vast resources they could piece together a team of engineers to add a NOx catalyst and/or urea-injection system to the exhaust of the TTiD (and other GM diesels available in Europe). But then again, they couldn’t even provide their own diesel engine for the TTiD (it’s a FIAT engine) or the Cadillac CTS (it’s a VM Motori)…

By: seth

seth — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:01:08 +0000

I would love a TTiD 9-3. I would run out and buy one tomorrow, if they were availible in the US.

By: sam

sam — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:33:07 +0000

Thanks for keeping up on the leasing issue with GM, Swade, as the availability of a reasonably-priced lease deal will determine whether my next car is a Saab, or something else. I appreciate all the work you put into this site.

As for sales figures, you need to put it all in context. All the manufacturers are hurting at the moment. Just this morning I read the tales of woe from Nissan and BMW, as well as the big loss from GM. Last week it was bad news from Toyota.

By: swade

swade — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:07:09 +0000

Sounds encouraging, Zippy. Bought a 9-5, then?

By: zippy

zippy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:00:15 +0000

Ouch thats gotta hurt. I think GM left Saab on the back burner for a little too long and its beginning to show. The new 9-5 should have built 4-5 years back when they had some kind of premium platform that was to be shared with Alfa Romeo. The renderings of the ’10 9-5 are, imho, very promising but Saab really do need to get that new 9-3 out asap.

Regarding my personal dealings with Saab, I have some very good news to share with you all and I will be sending Swade the details when the deal is done.

By: Ned

Ned — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Yes, Automobile was a bit harsh on the Turbo X. Car and Driver reviews it in a “short take” in the September ’08 issue, and are slightly more positive. They especially liked the “nicely balanced handling,” saying “the Turbo X has a taught feel on the road, and if you press it hard it rotates nicely when you ease the throttle near the cornering limit.” But they didn’t like the “pogo-like hop on certain freeways and the occasional harshness over severe bumps.” Nor were they impressed with the acceleration. They seem to question the value proposition as well.

I’ve driven the Turbo X on some challenging back roads, and I also liked the handling. The steering seemed fine to me. However, I know what the Automobile writer means about the “soggy” feel — it feels heavy compared to a straight FWD Aero, and lacks that sport compact tossability. Its limits are higher, but the feel is different. I had no complaints at all about the shifter, and I didn’t notice the overly tall second gear, but I’m not surprised because my 9-5 Aero has this. But my biggest problem was the boomy exhaust noted by Automobile. At around 2,200 rpm, the whole car seemed to resonate with a bass frequency that drowned out everything else. I wouldn’t want to live with that on a daily basis.

So in the end I’m with Alex on this. While I really like the Turbo X, I’m not surprised at some negativity, especially considering its price. The 9-3′s aging platform is difficult to mask.

By: SaabLance

SaabLance — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:22:33 +0000

Report from the sales frontlines:Dealer in major Mid-Atlantic Metropolitan market….current 9-3 Turbo-X inventory @13 UNITS!!!. Five Auto.Trans,Four 6 speed Manual Trans. Sedans. Two A.T.,Two 6 speed Manual Trans. Sport Combis. Turbo-X Units delivered to date: ZERO/ZIP/ZILCH/0!!!!! Sales for this dealership regularly in the 250-300 unit range over last 5 years. Draw your own conclusions.