I say go with the shortened Delta II platform. The ability to share parts will make it less expensive to produce and less expensive for consumers to buy. On top of that we would get it alot sooner as most of if would already be developed along with its big brother 9-3.

BUILD IT ON THE DELTA II PLATFORM PLEASE!!! I WANT ONE NOW!

What you said about past sales of 9000 vs. C900/NG900 and 9-5 vs. 9-3 is true. However I do believe that SAAB has done enough soul searching in the past 3-4 years (in many ways attributed to dismal flops of product portfolio and marketing) that they’re now trying to stay “ahead of the curve” from technology, innovation and root philosophy standpoints. The Haldex XWD was a good example where they didn’t simply adopt a “me-too” AWD system just to keep up (or is that a few days behind ?) with competitors like Acura, Audi, BMW, Subaru, VW and Volvo. And the concepts showcasing the BioHybrid and BioPower technologies tell me they are willing to take more risks than in the past 10 years or so.

And from what I’ve read about the coming 9-5, it sounds like they were committed to make it a “game changer”. That is, not merely competing with current competitors but leaping a few steps forward. The recent 9-X BioHybrid and 9-X Air seems to tell me they’ve got some wild ideas cooking back in Trollhattan/Russelsheim. The problem still seems to be implementation and timing. SAAB really needs to step up to the plate and get into 4 to 5-year production cycles, no more no less. Cars in this segment get stale awfully quick as we all know, and quickly become laughing stock in the eyes of the automotive media and eventually the public. Hopefully increased production synergies with GM Europe will improve the situation.

I don’t think the 9000 ever outsold the 900 and I don’t believe the 9-5 ever outsold the 9-3. Between late 2009 and 2012/13 (between the debut of the new 9-5 and the new 9-3) I believe Saab’s wellbeing is going to depend on 9-5 sales and to a lesser extent 9-4X sales. If you think it’s hard to sell a 9-5 now, imagine how hard it’s going to be to sell a 9-3 in 2010/2011…

I think Saab’s sales predictions for the 9-4x are too ambitious. I’m guessing the new 9-5 will outsell it two to one. To many people, Saab’s just aren’t SUVs and those things are currently on the nose in most places anyway. Unfortunately 9-3 sales will decline very steadily between now and when it’s replacement arrives and if that happens to be 2013, I doubt if the 9-3 will even make up 20% of total Saab sales by then.

If Saab creates it’s own platform for the 9-1 it will probably take even longer to arrive than the new 9-3, perhaps 2015? So much is riding on the new 9-5. Perhaps Saab’s whole future?

Jiminy Crickets !!! That means the Epsilon-I’s 9-3 will be 10 years old when its replacement arrives. What the ?!? I thought SAAB is shortening product cycle time. We can’t do another 10-yr old 9-5-style product cycle, esp. on the primary volume model.

Please someone tell me there’s other good news between now and 2012/2013 !

A looker! Serious competition for the 9-X

Heck, one of Saab’s biggest conflicts with GM was when Saab decided on their own to modify the Epsilon-based 9-3SS so that it couldn’t be built anywhere but in Trollhattan. This upset GM so much and cost so much money that it delayed other planned models (probably leading to the cancellation of the 9X and 9-3X Saabyurk mentions above in his comment) and killed the NG9-5 they had on the drawing board at the time.

As we all know, smaller cars have to be sold at a lower price than larger cars, meaning there is less of a profit margin in smaller cars (explaining why the American auto manufacturers stuck with the cash-cow SUV for so long). Therefore, the 9-1 needs to be produced as inexpensively as possible to maximize the profit margin between what it costs to build and what they can sell it for. I believe taking advantage of economies of scale will play an integral part in this, so I believe it’d be better if they adapt an existing GM platform to underpin this car. Of course, the independent Saaber in me would like to see a truly unique Saab, but maybe this is something they do with a bigger Saab they can sell for more money, not their smallest car.

Wow, production on the 9-3 has now been pushed-out to 2012 or 2013 (I thought we were hearing 2011 previously. Time to update the TS timeline, Swade!)? So the current “worst-case scenario” would see production begin in early 2013 for a MY2014 (or a MY2013.5) vehicle? The current 9-3 would be 11 years old by then, the same age as the current 9-5. Sure, they can do another refresh down the line, but that’s just putting lipstick on a pig and we’ve seen how successful the most recent 9-3 refresh (and the 9-5 refresh for that matter) has been looking at the sales numbers. Saab buyers are NOT stupid. They know what they’re getting. They don’t just wander into a Saab dealership. They research what they’re about to drop $30K+ on. I would HATE to be a Saab dealer right now (no offense, Saab dealers reading this).