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The Los Angeles Auto Show has begun and despite the fact that Bob Lutz and a million other execs are missing, the Saab 9-X Air is there and on show.
If you’re in the LA area then I reckon it’d be well worthwhile getting there to see it.
This is the Saab concept car that has more excited than any other. It’s the best looking concept since the Aero X and more importantly, it contains a lot of elements that we’re likely to see in a future Saab convertible.
The LA Auto Show is on until November 30 at the LA Convention Center.
Here’s a few pics of the car in LA as picked up on Flickr. Keep scrolling down for an interesting little discussion point.
Don’t those lights look awesome?
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The Drive blog had an interesting discussion earlier today about hardtop convertibles.
Most manufacturers are moving to hardtops and I was overwhelmingly pleased to see the 9-X Air with a soft top. I’ve rarely seen a hardtop that looks natural. They almost always look a little stylistically awkward with the roof up.
Add to that the fact that a modern soft top is very well insulated both from noise and the outside elements and I can’t see why you would want to disguise the fact that your convertible’s a convertible.
Drive brought another concern into discussion today, using the Astra convertible as an example:
The neatness of the Astra’s roof, whether in situ or all clamped down, is enough to please even the most Howard Hughes-like obsessive-compulsive personality.
However, it’s enormously complex. On the way up or down, you can see an amazing assortment of panels, arms and levers that spin, swing and pivot like the phases of the moon on one of those bizarre and outrageous mechanical clocks housed in technical museums. The plethora of electric motors that you just don’t want to be responsible for in five or 10 years even extends to the boot.
Sure, soft-tops have to have motors in place as well, but the weight and stress on them has to be a lot less.
Awkward styling. Complexity. Little added benefit.
Make my Saab convertible a soft top, any day!
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11 responses so far ↓
1 Robin M
// Nov 21, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I’m for canvas too.
Its the storage of the roof as well.
2 Mag-X
// Nov 21, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I don’t understand hard top convertibles. Isn’t part of owning a convertible being able to show everyone else what they don’t have?
3 Tompa
// Nov 22, 2008 at 12:04 am
Canvas is the way to go. Could you imagine a say Aston Martin with anything other than canvas? Anything else on a Saab is as wrong.
Tompa
4 Joe
// Nov 22, 2008 at 12:18 am
In my country at least, the difference between having a hard top and a soft top convertible is around €1000 in insurance difference. Hard tops get cheaper insurance as they are less likely to be broken into according to insurers. to add insult to injury, the insurance will go sky high if it’s a soft top and you don’t have a garage to sleep it in.
I used to sell the Astra convertible, and i do agree, at some point or another you expect some kind rocket launcher to pop out of some panel as it is a very complex piece of engeneering. The amazing thing though about the astra is the leg room on the back seats. The other selling point for it was the fact that it had a loading button for the rear boot. Once you press this button the folded roofs goes up enough to be able to acces it, with the roof open it has around 150lt of space
5 van god los
// Nov 22, 2008 at 12:53 am
@joe : “In my country at least, the difference between having a hard top and a soft top convertible is around €1000 in insurance difference.”
What kind of country is that ? Countries like that should be declared illegal.
and 150l of space with the roof down .. that’s peanuts, the saab 9-3 conv has – from the top of my head – 250l of space with the top down.
Just for the record : canvas of course
more elegant, lighter, less complicated, lower gravity point for the car, …
6 Wulf (NW Michigan, USA)
// Nov 22, 2008 at 1:54 am
I thought I read that the 9-X Air was canceled for the LA Auto Show. Did I miss something?
Autoblog is reporting on the special edition convertible but nothing yet on the 9-X Air.
7 NineTwoX
// Nov 22, 2008 at 1:57 am
I disagree that modern soft-tops offer insulation that is on par to hard-tops but they definitly have improved. Some of things I dislike about soft-tops are that they stretch, fade, and crease over time to the point of it appearing unsightly.
8 Mike C.
// Nov 22, 2008 at 2:18 am
The Soft top is the only way to go. Who needs less storage, squeeks and noises and the added weight of the hard top panels. The cut lines make them look cheap. Mag-X, well said and you are correct. As a convertible owner, yes the car does show others what they don’t have. That said, I love everthing about the Saab convertible.
9 rpg (boston, mass usa)
// Nov 22, 2008 at 3:49 am
I won’t be surprised one bit if we see the lights/grille/front end design of the 9-X BioHybrid/Air on the new 9-5.
10 Saabseller
// Nov 22, 2008 at 8:50 am
Saab soft top is of the highest quality and takes a long time to fade, only wears out after about 10 years where it folds. Upside is it gives you a usable boot and a back seat. Greatest advantage is it is reliable, unlike metal tops that often fail. And yes, the metal tops DO fail…. Check out the ungainly profile of the Volvo cabriolet compared to the neat Saab 9-3 profile.
11 Boon94
// Nov 22, 2008 at 9:13 am
I think they were referring to the new Holden Astra Hardtop no the older soft top… If you check this video, you will see it is MUCH more complex than any soft top saab has been…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvkta9qMPsQ