Category Archives: Saab 9-4x

Saab 9-4x

Saab 9-4x still in testing

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Amidst all the current turbulence, Saab are continuing to road test the Saab 9-4x SUV.

Let me tell you two things I know about this vehicle.

1) Despite the traditional Saab-lover reluctance towards SUVs of any type, this is still a required vehicle for Saab. The segment is alive and well in the US market and Saab would benefit from being amongst it. I really believe they’ll do a pretty good job of it, too.

2) The 9-4x looks pretty darn good in black!

Left Lane News have acquired some spypics of the 9-4x in testing in Michigan, presumably in northern Sweden – Doh!!. Click through to see them in full, but here’s some sneeky peeks.

It’s probably just a product of the background blending so much, but the upward angle on the rear deck spoiler looks kinda awkward to me.

There’s a horizontal there as well, but it’s just that the angled piece looks so dominant in that shot. I’m sure it looks more composed in person and with different colors.

The Saab 9-4x is set to be delayed slightly from the original planned release date. And of course, the current turmoil with GM and Saab could see things shift again, but here’s hoping this one hits the floor as soon as possible.

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Saab 9-5 and 9-4x delays – a dealer speaks

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Seeing this was posted in comments, I assume it’s OK to reproduce on the front page.

We’ve had notice about the fact that the Saab 9-5 and Saab 9-4x – two vehicles that Saab dealers need desperately – are going to appear late due to GM’s current crisis. This comment from a US-based dealer puts some flesh on those bones:

GM, in an IDL (read: internal) broadcast told us on Monday to not expect to see the new 9-5 until at least first quarter of 2010. And the 9-4 is pushed back a full year until third quarter of ‘10.

Our big debut this model year will be the 9-5 Griffin. Whoopee! The model we sell one a month of dressed up with a rear deck spoiler, different wheels and matte chrome headlight surrounds and grille. Wow…be still my heart!

We are for all intentions a one model car company……to the best of my knowledge a first in automobile retail history,with the possible exception of the Ford Model-T.You can get the 9-3 in other colors, however, which gives us a leg-up on the “T”.

Aside from almost taking comment of the year status, this is the sort of timetable news we’ve been waiting to hear. It hurts, but you’ve got to get the truth out there.

The next thing to find out, if only for the sake of Zippy, Robin M, Golfhunter and Etienne, is whether the 9-5 will still show in Geneva in March next year as originally intended. Those guys have already made their plans. I have a feeling that with the new model release date being a full year away from the 2009 Geneva show, Saab will probably alter theirs.

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Something interesting that I read today…..

This appeared in Crikey, an Aussie corporate and media watching magazine (which, incidentally, was started by a mate of mine from school, Stephen Mayne. My one local claim to being close to fame, aside from knowing Richo).

Crikey have some dot points at the bottom of an article on GM’s current debacle. On of them in particular caught my eye:

In its own history, GM reports: “By 1920, in the midst of a nationwide economic crisis, GM was on the verge of financial collapse. The crisis marked the turning point in General Motors’ history. New men were asked to assume leadership of the corporation. A new concept of management was forged and a new concept of product emerged.”

Is history about to repeat?

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Winding Road spot the Saab 9-4x

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Winding Road magazine (or Next Autos as they’re now called) have published some up-close-and-personal images of the Saab 9-4x in their latest digital issue.

There’s not much we haven’t seen already, but the beauty of these is their clarity and the close nature of the images. There’s only a few layers of strategically placed tape between you and the car.

One image here. Click to enlarge.

Click here to see the rest of the images at Winding Road.

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And if anyone’s got a clue where these were taken, I’m curious to know. Dunno why, I just am.

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Thanks Gripen for the heads-up

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Jan-Ake Jonsson: We are finally GM’s European premium brand

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That headline reads pretty nice, doesn’t it?

That’s my dream: to see Saab truly given the vehicles, resources and treatment to make that claim truthfully and boldly.

Jan-Ake Jonsson has been speaking to the German pulication, Automobilewoche. Following is my cleaned-up version of the Google translation. I’ll share a few thoughts about the Saab 9-4x afterwards.

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Saab: Gains by U.S. production and premium prices

Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson plans to bring the Swedish GM subsidiary back into profit. In an interview with Automotive Week, Jonsson explains how the production of the SUV 9-4X in Mexico can help. The long-term annual sales target is 175,000 new cars.

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Munich. Saab is currently the problem child of General Motors in Europe. The model program consists of two series. One of them, the Saab 9-5, is already virtually unchanged since 1997. According to Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson, the resurgence plan that started four years ago will begin to bear fruit in 2009. “In the coming year we will introduce the new 9-5 and 9-4X. That means the restart for Saab,” Jonsson said in an interview with Automotive Week.

The SUV 9-4X could especially see the profits needed for developing the brand – if the segment of large premium off-roaders stops collapsing. Saab will try with the so-called Rightsizing approach to win customers for the 9-4X. Saab’s powerful, turbocharged four-cylinders follow the downsizing principle to find a buyer. A two litre, four cylinder engine from Sweden is designed to run on E85 and produce up to 300 hp.

The 9-4X will be buit in a Mexican GM plant. “This allows us to keep costs in dollars, which we export to Europe at a higher profit,” said Jonsson. Moreover, the 9-4X will be on the level of rivals BMW and Mercedes. “Finally we are the European premium brand of GM,” stressed Jonsson.

Jonsson also sees good sales opportunities for Saab hybrid models. “We will offer such vehicles. But because the cost of the technology is still very high, these cars can not shift from user-pays,” said Jonsson.

Overall, Jonsson sees Saab selling around 175,000 cars per year, “then we can achieve a good profit.” In the past year, Saab in Europe sold nearly 88,000 units.

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Now, about the 9-4x.

Many of you may remember that I’ve forecast several times that the 9-4x will have a six cylinder base model. That info comes direct from the source. A Saab document.

However, as I’ve also mentioned several times before, that document was for the US market. Jan-Ake Jonsson is talking here to a European publication, speaking of European models.

But, the document I’ve seen was a preliminary document, sent to me early this year. Fuel prices (which have now dropped again, the credit crunch; both could have played havoc with the plans made back then.

For the moment, though, I’ll still back the document I saw. 4 cylinders and diesel for Europe, and a 6 and a big turbo 4 for the US.

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Thanks to Albert VDB!

Saab 9-4x nude and other snippets

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In case you haven’t seen this around the various automotive sites yet, the Saab 9-4x has been spotted testing once again.

It seems to be the same photos on all the various websites, so I’ll just recommend one at this point: Tekniken’s Varld.

As you can see, there’s not much masking going on here at all. Saab seem to be quite settled with the notion that this vehicle is now a 95% known entity and people are going to see it out and about. Saab might also consider it a good distraction that stops people hunting so hard for the next generation 9-5.

Anyway, it’s looking pretty good. I like the stance in this photo and the rear view (go to the Tekniken’s link) looks fantastic.

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There’s a subscription-only entry at just-auto.com that I’d love to read. The headline is: SWEDEN: Saab eyes bespoke small car platform and the byline reads as follows:

Saab is exploring a new go-it-alone platform for its proposed entry-level 9-1 model, managing director Jan-Ake Jonsson told just-auto.

If you’ve got access, please let me know.

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I was a little puzzled when my RSS feed for GM’s FYI blog showed that the Photo of the Day was a Saab 9-X Air. They extract the Photo of the Day from Flickr and how could someone post their own photo of the 9-X Air on Flickr when it’s not been showed to the public?

Turns out it’s a photoshop of the 9-X Air, with the Flickr guy applying some of his own color to the vehicle.

He hasn’t done a very good job of it, but it does make for an interesting perspective nonetheless. If anyone has the photoshop skills to do it properly, here’s some source photos of the 9-X Air that you can use.

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Memo to Volvo:

All the horsepower in the world and all the grip you can give it – none of this will change the fact that the rear end of the Volvo C30 is totally impractical and almost useless.

And utility is generally considered to be a trait of Swedish automobiles.

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Thanks to various people for the 9-4x links via email. Too numerous to name.

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Saab 9-4x leaks (as if you didn’t know)

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I’m back online sporadically after almost 2 days driving on Vancouver Island. We’re in a Buick Rendezvous, which has been a revelation. More on that later. And wait until you see what I drove this morning!

But that’s not what this is about. For those who’ve been living under a rock for the last 24 hours (or if you’ve been away from your internet, like I have), the website of Saab Chile accidentally posted images and some specs for the Saab 9-4x.

Here’s a sample of the colors available, but the full palette is over at Jalopnik.

The Saab Chile website is no longer hosting 9-4x details. In fact, the entire site consists of just an “under construction” page. I accessed it via Saab Global just to be sure that it was genuine.

One interesting part of the exercise has been that the Chilean website posted the engine as being a 2.0 turbo making 245hp and around 400Nm of torque.

This differs from the specs that I’ve heard, which featured a normally aspirated six cylinder engine for the base model and a turbocharged six for the Aero. I’m interested in finding out which market the Chilean site’s specs related to. The specs I posted were for the US market and come from the highest source you can imagine.

Wait and see, I guess.

And with all that over and done with, what do you think of the looks?

I think it’s looking OK. Better than OK, actually.

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Thanks a bunch to all the people who flooded my inbox with the news :-) Sorry I couldn’t get to it sooner. Darn holidays!!!!

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Continued 9-4x Spy Shots (obligatory)

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Well, I think that we all have a pretty good idea about how the 9-4x will look by now. However, if you want to see what the current 9-4x test vehicles look like with lots of black tape on them, read on…

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Jalopnik has simply the front end posted (see below), but the Car Connection has a handful of full-length snaps that look much as you’d expect.

From Jalopnik

From Jalopnik

If there are surprises here, I’m oblivious. Please fill me in.

AMS score 9-4x spypics

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Auto Motor and Sport in Sweden have unearthed some new Saab 9-4x spyshots today. Click through to AMS to see the full size shots.

Click to enlarge

This interior shot shows much of what we’ve seen before with the dash vents and instruments remaining faithful in their basic form to the concept vehicle. The dash materials seem to be different, however, and more generic. I also note in this shot that the seat doen’t look like a Saab seat with the active SAHR headrests (see the AMS shots for the seat detail).

The car is wearing the usual padding disguise, the same wheels we’ve seen previously and it seems to be towing some sort of trailer with some unknown equipment on it. Load testing?

As mentioned before, click on through to AMS for all three photos, which are so huge I’m amazed the internet is big enough to hold them :-)

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