Category Archives: Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan

Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan

Saab 9-3 to be built on Delta – from the horse’s mouth

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RE-POSTED

I’ve bumped this back to the top as a) it’s big news, b) it was posted on the weekend so there may be a bunch who missed it, and c) there’ll be a follow up piece later.

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It takes a big story to interrupt a wedding anniversary, ja?

First, the news:

I’ve received notice from a member of the Djup Strupe collective inside Sweden – and this comes straight from the horse’s mouth – that the next generation of the Saab 9-3 will be built on GM’s global premium compact architecture, presumptively called Delta II.

This architecture will be used for a number of GM vehicles, the highest volume-seller most likely to be the Opel Astra, and the Trollhattan plant in Sweden is one of four European plants recently chosen to build vehicles on this architecture. The other plants are in the UK, Germany and Poland and the production of vehicles on this new architecture is scheduled to commence no earlier than 2010.

There’s been no word on the timing of this new 9-3, but given that this decision could only have been taken quite recently it’d be safe to assume 2011 at the very earliest, more likely 2012.

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Second, the opinion:

The biggest concept vehicle reportedly based on the Delta II architecture so far is the Opel Flextreme which measured 4550mm. The current Saab 9-3 is 4647mm in length. With the current Saab 9-3 already having compact rear seat legroom, it’s going to pose a challenge for designers to preserve cabin space in the smaller package.

The one thing this will definitely do, however, is separate the 9-3 and the 9-5. With a new Saab 9-5 coming on board late in 2009, it will be positioned as the definite flagship model with this more compact Saab 9-3 beside it in the model range. Importantly, the new smaller 9-3 will also be easier to “rightsize” – Saab’s terminology for getting a smaller engine into the car with more power but reduced emissions.

I think this is a great decision. I feel quite confident that the Saab 9-3′s designers can pull off a great interior layout, which is going to be the only major concern with this architecture. It means the car can be smaller and lighter, more sporty, and leaves the new 9-5 plenty of space to play to the larger-car crowd with a bigger range of models than what we might have previously thought.

The other truly fantastic news in this is that there’s a very good chance that the cars will be built in the Trollhattan plant in Sweden. I can’t stress enough how important it is for Saab to retain a significant manufacturing presence in their home market. It’s not definite, with three other European plants capable of working with Delta II, but it’s quite possible.

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And a chronology of the reporting, just for the record….

May 6, 2008 – More talk on the next Saab 9-3 was posted here at Trollhattan Saab. It was the first report in English on the subject of the new 9-3 being built on Delta and possibly at Trollhattan.

May 7, 2008 – Next-gen Saab 9-3 to be produced in Sweden was published at Motor Authority and contains basically the same info as I had in mine.

May 8, 2008 – Saab 9-3 Shrinking was reported at Autocar and contained essentially the same central piece of news with some extra fodder for filling.

These reports all cover the story out of Germany in the last week that the production of the Saab 9-3 had NOT been confirmed for Russelsheim as was previously assumed. That added fuel to the growing story that the 9-3 was being considered for something other than the Epsilon II platform.

What we have here in this story is the first confirmation from inside Saab that this is indeed going to happen – that the next generation 9-3 is going to be built on the compact architecture.

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More talk of the next Saab 9-3

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UPDATED – new translation of the original article, with thanks to Albert!

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There’s been mumblings here previously about the possibility of the next Saab 9-3 being built on the compact Delta platform instead of the next generation Epsilon II. See the following links for the background:

In short, those articles cover the possible decision to make the next Saab 9-3 on a compact vehicle platform, the same as will be used for the next Opel Astra. Currently, the Saab 9-3 is built on the larger Epsilon platform and it was assumed that it would be produced on the new Epsilon II platform eventually, in Russelsheim, Germany. The new Saab 9-5 will be produced on this platform starting in 2009.

In the article noted above as “the Saab response”, Saab’s PR manager in Sweden, Eric Geers, confirmed that they were looking at the compact Delta platform for the 9-3 as a means to reduce weight and better meet emission requirements. He pointed out that the vehicle architecture is just a modular basis for the vehicle and that vehicles of varying sizes and specifications can all be made from the one architecture.

That’s the history.

Today there’s been another article appear in Hendelsblatt, in Germany, that all but confirms that the Saab 9-3 will be built on this smaller architecture. The report states that the next Saab 9-3 will be built in Trollhattan rather than in Russelsheim.

The Trollhattan factory is soon to be re-tooled for the Delta platform in the near term and will be producing the current Epsilon 9-3 and the new Delta vehicles concurrently. It seems this will continue until the current 9-3 is phased out and the new version moves to Delta as well. New Epsilon II vehicles such as the Saab 9-5 will be produced in Russelsheim and the withdrawal of the Saab 9-3 from those plans will leave Russelsheim with a fair amount of excess capacity.

An updated translation from the original artical in German is as follows:

GM draws back production job from Opel.

The Opel-mother company General Motors (GM) has made a course correction with the production plans for Europe. The company plans apparently to give the production job for the next generation Saab 9-3 to the family plant of the Swedes instead of to Rüsselsheim.

FRANKFURT. According to information from business circles, the GM Board is expected to deal with the issue in June. With that the automobile manufacturere is giving the precedence to a badly filled aout Trollhättan Saab plant in preference to the Opel family plant in Rüsselsheim, that was originally planned to build the car.

To compensate the GM management around GM-Europe’s boss Carl-Peter Forster considers to give build jobs based on the Astra platform or the Chevrolet Epica to Rüsselsheim, it is said in the company.

A spokesman for GM Europe (GME) would not comment on the plans: “Our management cannot comment to the production site of the future Saab 9-3 at the moment.” The management although has just made clear commitments to order volumes to the works. To this the manufacturer will keep itself, said the spokesman.

In 2005, the Rüsselsheim factory promised that the future Saab middle class car would be made there. According to information from business circles the car company is planning now, however, to build the successor to the Saab 9-3, which is expected on the market in 2012, no longer on the old Vectra platform, but on the basis of a new compact car platform.

The works council chairman of the plant in Bochum, Rainer Einenkel, had already announced in the specialist magazine Auto, Motor und Sport “,that its location would apply to the model. Bochum is one of four future GM Astra plants in Europe and would be able to build the next Saab 9-3 also on this basis. But the U.S. company seems to prefer to fill the capacity at the plant in Trollhättan with the model, where in the future – according to business circles – the planned Saab 9-1 small car is expected to be built.

One year after the decision where to build the most important for GM model in Europe, the Astra compact car, the race for the manufacturing site for the current smallest model Saab is internally as good as decided. Open, on the other hand, is still with which cars GM management will ensure the production capacity and models in the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim.

Opel company works council chairman Klaus Franz said recently that he assumes that GM will keep to its assurances. “We have a signed contract with the management, capacity and the volume is definitely ensured,” he said. GM had promised the works council in an agreement in the autumn of last year to produce up to six GM models in Rüsselsheim by 2012. Currently in Rüsselsheim only the middle class models Vectra and Signum are produced, that will be replaced by the Insignia from November,

GM restructures further with this its production plans for its European operations after the reassignment of the important Astra production in the works Bochum, Gliwice and Ellesmere Port.
Only last week the company, that writes its books deep in the red on the home market, had announced investments in a total of 9 billion Euros in its core brand Opel until 2012 and announced a guarantee for the Astra plants, including Bochum until the year 2016.

Once again, I’m going to write to Saab Sweden and seek a response to what appears to be a measure of progress on this issue.

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The possible threat here is that the Saab 9-3 could be too close to the proposed Saab 9-1 idf they are both built on the same architecture. The move to Delta would definitely make a marked difference between the Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5, however, something that hasn’t been around since 2002.

Eric Geers remained confident when I last heard from him (again, the link above) that the Saab 9-1 would see production. I guess the challenge here is to make sure the 9-1 and the 9-3 are remarkably different vehicles.

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Thanks very much to LML for the article

The most glowing Saab 9-3 review I’ve ever seen

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I need to look at some of the other reviews these guys have done to see if this is for real. Maybe they absolutely adore every car they drive? Maybe they’re just happy to be alive and have jobs that get them on television, driving cars and stuff.

I don’t know.

But this is one very, very positive review of the Saab 9-3. We run that car pretty hard here because we’re familiar with it and even more, because we want so much for it to do well.

The fact is, though, that it’s a pretty darn good machine. I could live with a 2.0T with no complaints at all. Would I like a better interior? Yes, but I could live with it and not complain. Quite happily.

This review is from some a program called Miles Around. I don’t know where it shows, but it tells me two things. 1) you’re never too tubby for television, and 2) there’s some people out there who really like what the 9-3 brings to the table. And so they should.

One thing that rings true from this – not enough people take the chance, or the time, to put the Saab to the test. That’s a strong message to Saab’s marketing arms, if you ask me.

Enjoy.

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Saab 9-5 and 9-3 future model news

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Behold the second GM vehicle to be shown that will use the Epsilon II platform – The Buick Invicta concept.

This was revealed in Beijing overnight. Bear in mind that it’s a concept vehicle, but it is said to be pretty close to the final product. One would suggest that the rear roofline might be a tad higher and slightly less glassy on the road-going version.

This Buick is for China only at this stage, though I can well imagine some in the US saying why don’t you sell it here?

This comes hot on the heels of the official pictures of the Opel Insignia being let loose late last week. Again, the Insignia will be built on the new Epsilon II platform, the same architecture that will be used for the Saab 9-5 next year.

The big question is whether or not either of these can tell us anything about what’s coming in the next Saab 9-5. I guess they can hint at proportions and sizing. GM’s penchant for sharing parts (check out the similar grille openings on those two, for example) might suggest that the Saab could be similar in some areas, though hopefully the sheetmetal is completely different and the only common touches are hidden away.

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I heard from one Saab dealer over the weekend that the 9-5 could be due for a September 2009 release – and that’s here in Australia! If so, that would indicate a sooner-than expected arrival in other parts of the world.

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Albert has sent through a translation of an AutomobileWoche article, once again talking about the uncertainty surrounding the next Saab 9-3.

I’ve written about this before and it seems this story just won’t go away. I think some questions for Saab are in order here.

Exclusive: OPEL plant worries over utilization

The OPEL plant in Rüsselsheim worries over its utilization. The until 2018 contract (wherein GM assures the existence of the factory) has not been ratified. Among other things the GM management has not committed itself whether the next SAAB 9-3 will use the architecture of the Insignia.

Contrary to earlier statements of the works council, the utilization of the Opel factory in Rüsselsheim has not been secured yet. There is still no definite decision whether the Saab 9-3 will be built in Rüsselsheim, so say GM-sources to “Automobilwoche”.

With that it is just before the ratification of the “Standortsicherungsvertrages” uncertain whether the 6.000 employees can keep their jobs in the long run. “Some details are still open” a manager from GM Europe confirmed to the newspaper.

The 9-3, the best sold Saab-model, could be built on the Global Compact Architecture from GM. The Rüsselsheim plant is not laid out for this architecture. Because of this could not only the Saab entry-level model 9-1, but also the originally planned for Rüsselsheim 9-3, been built in the Swedish Trolhättan. With that, about 80.000 units would lack to the full utilization of the German mother-plant. Until now only the production of three variants of the Insignia, of which about 140.000 a year are planned, is sure. The maximum capacity in Rüsselsheim of 275.000 cars cannot be reached by that.

Long decision process.

Another battle point is the outsourcing-possibilities in areas that are not directly linked to car production, said a GM-employee. In the German facilities there are about a 1.000 jobs in danger by this. It is discussed for instance to outsource the security service ore the works fire brigade.

The long taking decision process around the 9-3 could also mean that the Swedish middle class limousine will come late to the market. Originally the production start was determined for 2010. “By now it will nearly be 2012” a GM employee said. The chairman of the works council, Klaus Franz, told already in November 2007 that the future of the plant was secure until 2018 but took this back later on. According to Franz the successors to the 9-3 and 9-5 as well as a crossover as a substitute for the wagons of the Swedes would be built alongside of the Insignia – all on the basis of the new Global Midsize Platform.

The 9-3 could well be headed for a 9-5-like timeframe, a decision that would surely hurt the brand in the next five years.

Canadian day-by-day road test

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Just a quick note….

Canadian Driver are conducting a day-by-day road test on the Saab 9-3 2.0T. This is the reviewer’s first time in a Saab, so it’ll be interesting to see how things progress.

Day 1 was merely introductory and not much was missed. You can read about it directly under the text for Day 2. Again, not much driving on day 2 (you’ll read why) but the author manages a good overview of the interior.

As you can see from the photo, our tester is going to get to drive the 9-3 in the conditions it was born for. Thankfully, it works well in the dry, too.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Saab 9-3

Tuesday Snippets – possible Saab recall alert!

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If you’ve got a 2006 or 2007 model Saab 9-3 Aero then you might want to give some thought to your brakes. Are they working OK or have they had you wondering.

It’s not a recall as yet, but the Detroit News report that it’s being looked at:

General Motors Corp.’s Saab 9-3 Aero sedan is being evaluated by a U.S. safety agency after officials received five complaints of a loss of braking power, Bloomberg News reported today.

The probe may affect 49,932 vehicles from model years 2006- 2007 equipped with a 2.8-liter V-6 turbo engine, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site today. One low-speed crash related to the alleged defect was reported, with no injuries, the Washington-based agency said.

“We’re cooperating with the agency” in the investigation, Alan Adler, a GM spokesman, said.

They might be co-operating with the NHTSA but I don’t think they’ll co-operate with this agency. Nevertheless, I’ll fire off an email to SaabUSA and Sweden tonight.

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Chrysler could be going belly up!

One of their parts suppliers has filed for bunkruptcy after Chrysler cancelled a contract with them. That’s Chrysler’s perogative, I guess, but it becomes a big problem when that supplier holds your tooling and won’t let you get your hands on it to shift it to another supplier.

Supplier Plastech are claiming that the tooling form part of their business assets under protection and the whole shebang is set to go before a bankruptcy judge asap. The whole debacle has already halted production at four Chrysler plants, and is tipped to spread if not resolved quickly.

The big question is whether the resultant withdrawal would help GM, r would the wider nervousness amongst suppliers start a domino effect that disrupts other US manufacturing.

filed under what makes GM sneeze causes Saab to catch a cold

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Sometimes you get a case of internet serendipity. Such has happened this morning with separate stories coming to my attention with regard to US-Canada pricing of motor vehicles.

This is not a new issue and has been raised here before. Back in November, GM Canada announced a round of incentives that were part aimed at closing the gap between prices. I don’t tknow if they’re still in effect, but as you’ll see, $1,500 ain’t even coming close to making things right anyway.

Web link #1 – Toyota have just announced a price revision for Canadian vehicles that is an attempt to “reflect the new normal”. They’re not the first manufacturer to do so, and hopefully they won’t be the last, either.

And the big one – web link #2 – is a new website aimed squarely at comparing Canadian and US prices for motor vehicles. You can select the manufacturer and model line and look instantly at the comparative prices.

I’d suggest all aspiring Canadian Saabers take a look, copy the link and send it to Saab Canada with a three letter question.

WHY?

A full article on this whole issue (recommended reading) at The Truth About Cars.

Is this US XWD pricing??

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I don’t think I’ve seen a press release yet that tells me what the pricing for XWD will be on the 2008 Saab 9-3.

It’ll be standard on the Saab Turbo X, but an option on the Aero version of the car and available around April of 2008. A few people have been trying to get pricing details from dealers, but with little success.

Ryan D was one such prospective XWD customer who was told by his dealer that they didn’t have pricing available as yet. But their dealership website might be telling a different story…..

XWD pricing

That’s $2,645 – and it’s a bit more than expected. XWD was previously thought to be a $2,000 option.

Interestingly, there was no option of the eLSD on the build site, so whilst this is a good indicator, I’m not sure we’ve got the full story just yet.

Brian Nesbitt roll(ed) in a 9-3 Aero

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The Boston Globe has an interview with Brian Nesbitt, Vice President of GM Design North America.

Toward the end, Nesbitt is asked by Globe reporter, Royal Ford, what he’s driving:

I had a Saab 9-3 Aero for the summer. I test drive a lot of the stuff we’re dealing, and right now we’re kind of in the 2012 time frame, so now I’m driving next-generation Enclave, next-gen Acadia, next-gen Escalade.

Well, at least he had one for a while. It’s important to get these movers and shakers from GM into these vehicles so that they can see where the strong points and weak points are.

He also had a few things to say about Saab’s target market, which were interesting:

That’s what I love about working for GM today, because there are so many brands to target to different customers. I mean, there’s Hummer, with extreme mission equipment. With Saab, we target upper liberals, small engine displacement, appearances that originated out of the Nordic region, all those play together to portray an image and a value system that upper liberals appreciate.

I….kinda……really……really……hate that sort of thing.

The cars were built a certain way for a reason, whether it be practicality or safety, or whatever. He makes it sound like their designing Saabs just to suit a particular demographic.

“This is Joe Saab-buyer, and he will be attracted to X, Y and Z”

Therefore, apply X, Y and Z to chassis “E” and all will be right with the world.

The problem is that the market, especially the American market, can be so fickle. And what if you get the definition wrong? He’s pushing Saabs at ‘upper liberals’ when polling here amongst Saab readers indicated that the minority of respondents were left-leaning, politically. Perpetuating the stereotype at a cost to the integrity of the car’s a dangerous business.

Perhaps I’m taking his response the wrong way here, but it sounded a lot like formula-driven planning. I worry that marketing is structured the same way.

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It’s great to see that Nesbitt has a familiarity with the brand and has been driving around in a 9-3. We need GM’s brass to be familiar with Saab on a day to day level.

I just hope they’re getting it right, and getting the right insight.

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Royal Ford has also put together a list of vehicles that’d make good acquisitions in 2008.

Amongst them was the Saab 9-3:

A classic for New England drivers, this Saab features an all-wheel-drive system that, combined with stability control, made it virtually impossible for me to toss it off a test track in Sweden. Simulated ice, wet corners, gravel, nasty potholes, sudden lane changes – they were all no problem. Expect to pay from the mid-20s to the high 30s.

He’s a great appreciator of Saabs in all the time I’ve been checking out the motoring press, so it’s good to see Saab making his list once again.