Saab 9-4x concept VS Saab 9-4x

Posted on July 21, 2008 by swade

GM released a small-ish and disproportional image of the Saab 9-4x last week. Small-ish and disproportional it may be, but it gives us that all-important point of comparison against the vehicle we have seen for real – the Saab 9-4x concept.

Turbin’s given the new image a little nudge to get it back into perspective and he’s also dug out a concept picture with the vehicle set at a similar angle.

Here they are. Click.

Bear in mind that this is most likely an Aero version of the production vehicle that we’re seeing here. The base model will probably be dressed down a little and I can tell you know that the base version will have 18-inch wheels whilst the Aero will have 20-inch wheels as standard.

This image of the production vehicle shows Aero-X style turbines, which even the concept vehicle didn’t have. I’d be very surprised if it turned up with these wheels. The wheels on the 9-4x concept have been seen on several test vehicles and I’d suggest that these are more likely to be the wheels seen on the production model.

This Aero version is certainly showing plety of bling and muscle. The silver paint on the production version emphasises the bulge of the wheel arches, almost to a point where I’d suggest that a white car might be preferable. Other exterior bling can be found on the foglight surrounds, rear view mirrors and side vents.

Although we never got to see them in action, the concept car featured light pipes that tracked from the external top corner of the light cluster, down the indicator lenses and along the base of the headlamps. It’ll be interesting to see if the production version features this sort of setup, or if it follows the 2008 Saab 9-3 lead and has the light pipe across the top of the lamps.

It’s quite obvious that Saab’s promise of staying very true to the concept vehicle has been realised in this image of the production version. On the outside, at least. We’ll have to wait a little while longer before we see how much of that beautiful interior has made its way into the production version.

My thanks to Turbin for putting those two images together. It’s certainly some good food for thought. Although I find it hard to get excited about SUVs or crossovers in general, I do remember leaving Detroit with good feelings about the Saab 9-4x. I suspect that those who are looking for this type of vehicle will have a lot to look forward to.

For the summary article on the Saab 9-4x concept, including features and specs a ton of pictures, click here. Bear in mind that that’s the concept vehicle, though. The production vehicle will look similar, but will come with V6 petrol engines only in the US, and a combination of petrol or diesel engines in other markets.

Friday Snippets

Posted on July 18, 2008 by swade

GM head honcho Rick Wagoner showed off some of GM’s future offerings a few days ago, including the Saab 9-4x. The image that went around at that time was small and got very blurry when enlarged.

A new version of the image has popped up at Edmunds and whilst still not print quality, it gives a much better idea as to what the front quarter profile of the production car will look like. It’s not much different to what we’ve already seen in the concept car, to be honest. The greater interest will be in the back, where they’re sure to tame down those tail lights.

Click.

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I got a few emails overnight about this one: Mercedes Benz to Introduce Fully Turbocharged Lineup by 2010.

I’ve been saying for a long time that Saab should have established ownership of the Turbo segment ages ago. First BMW brought out their 335i and now Merc are going to go full-on into it too. I guess everyone is.

It’s pleasing to see some Saab defenders in comments there (Go David!)

It’s good to see Saab emphasising turbocharging in their recent advertising. They really, really need to hammer this home.

And speaking of that…..

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Saab History has noted that SaabUSA have made some modifications to the “Recycle” TV ad that was featured here last week.

The voiceover, which repeated the script three times in the initial ad, has been edited to cut it down to two repeats (it’d definitely have potential to get on your nerves showing six times an hour during the Tour de France coverage) and the tagline at the end has changed as well.

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Andy Rupert is the voice behind the “Release Me” video, a former Saab 900 owner (and I know deep down he really, really misses it) and as of a few months ago – a Volvo sales guy.

With the recent featuring of “Release Me” in the video widget (see the right sidebar), the song got a new lease on life, especially at Andy’s workplace, where they managed to entertain themselves with some high-volume repetition and a Volvo adaptation.

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There’s been a bunch of recent Turbo X reviews come in:

* You can click here to download Go Auto magazine, an excellent Aussie publication, which has a review of the Turbo X based on the same session as the one I attended at GM’s proving grounds here in Australia. If you only read one of these reviews, make sure it’s this one.

* Drive.com.au cover the same event:

The test drive finished with a burst around the dirt circuit, where the Turbo X demonstrated a higher degree of sure-footedness than the front-wheel-drive Aero we were benchmarking it against.

A lap of the dirt track at rally car speeds with Johansson behind the wheel shows just how capable the Turbo X can be in skilled hands.

* Walkerton.com, from Canada, give a great insight into the good old days of Turbo in the X-review:

Count one, two, and then bang as the boost came on. You had to anticipate this rush because there was a phenomenon called torque steer.

Those were the days…..

Potent and sexy, the only real problem with the Turbo X is that only 100 are allotted to Canada and most are already spoken for.

* Autoweek have a “short stint” as well:

Most impressive is how it handles rounding turns. The all-wheel-drive system and sport-tuned suspension do a great job of keep the car planted when attacking corners. There are some signs of understeer when you push it hard, but for normal to semispirited driving, it provides all the grip you need. The stiffened suspension isn’t too harsh, either, for day-to-day motoring.

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And finally……some ~~Japanese~~ Chinese towing images that I got via email. Unbelievable.

Thanks to Ying for the correction!

AMS forecast Saab 9-3x in Paris, 2008

Posted on July 14, 2008 by swade

UPDATE at the bottom

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Auto Motor and Sport magazine, the Swedish version, are predicting that Saab will show off the cross-country style “Saab 9-3x” at the Paris Motor Show in October 2008. The use of the 9-3x name is not confirmed.

Auto Motor and Sport claim that the vehicle will debut in Paris and will be on show with Saab’s 2.0T engine, making 210 hp. They say that the vehicle will be available early in 2009. This may well be the showcase model for Saab bringing XWD to it’s 2.0T engine line, a first in the 2009 model year as it was previously only available with the 2.8l V6.

The modern “9-3x” has been spoken of in these pages for some time now and was informally confirmed in discussions I had in an interview with Steve Shannon in Detroit back in January this year. It was one of the original vehicles planned right from the inception of the Saab 9-3 more than five years ago, but was cut from the program when GM reined in Saab’s spending around the time of the 9-3 launch. Now, with the addition of XWD to the Saab repertoire, the vehicle is back on the menu.

The original 9-3x was a three-door concept car that Saab unveiled late in 2001 – this is not that car. Snippets that we’ve heard about the vehicle, so far:

The report that brought in those snippets also claimed a viewing at the London Motor Show, which starts on July 23rd, however I haven’t heard anything further on this. The Vauxhall/Opel Insignia will be GM’s star at that show.

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Effectively, it comes down to Auto Motor and Sport talking up Paris in October and Djup Strupe mentioning (some time ago) that it would be London in July. AMS’s info is much more recent, but Djup Strupe’s always been pretty reliable in the past.

Either way, we should be seeing the vehicle in the next few months – which is a great thing.

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The summary I saw of the AMS article also had the following info about the 9-4x and 9-5:

In September 2009, a new 9-4X model with 300 hp will be available. Possible competitors will be Audi Q5, Mercedes GLK, and Volvo XC60. After summer 2009 Saab 9-5 will be published with 160hp up to 260 hp depending on the choice of several available engines. New hybrid engines and ethanol engines of the second generation won’t be available before 2011. General Motors developed a “clean diesel” engine with 250 hp, 550 Nm, and 40 % less NOx emission. It will be available for Saab 9-5 and 9-4X

I find it difficult to believe that the 9-5 will be kept to 260hp, especially given that the 9-4x will come in at 300hp. It may be that on release the 9-5 will be kept to that point, but I’m sure there must be plans for a higher output model in the pipeline.

That’s just me thinking out loud, though, with no info to confirm anything one way or another.

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UPDATE

Sven has posted in comments that AMS Germany are saying the “9-3x” will appear in London, which is contrary to the AMS Sweden information. That article, however appears to be referring simply to the 2.0T XWD versions of the 9-3 that we already know are coming to the range in 2009. It doesn’t refer specifically to this “allroad” version that we’re anticipating (thanks bk_aero).

To be clear, I should state again that I haven’t been able to find a link for the AMS Sweden article yet. My information comes from a GM Europe media brief (a summary of GM-related reporting that they circulate internally as a pdf document).

Screenshots of that brief follow. Click to enlarge:

The header page:

The page relating to the AMS article:

Saab 9-4x interior comparo

Posted on June 27, 2008 by swade

My countrymen at CarAdvice are featuring some Saab 9-4x pictures today. There’s not a lot that we haven’t seen before, though I think one of the profile shots might be a new angle. It makes the car look quite large-ish, too.

The one that got me digging through my archives was the interior shot. If you think they’re just slapping any old console into the test car, I’d suggest you look again.

Here’s the interior of the test car as shown at CarAdvice:

And here’s the interior of the concept car from Detroit:

Click either of them to enlarge.

As you can see, the interior they’re running in the test car is very similar, in design terms, to the concept interior. A few pointers:

- The shape of the console is the same as the interior. Note the trim starting at the gearshift that sweep to the side and up the console. The shape of the shift is the same as well.

- Door trims carry the same shapes.

- Gauges carrying the same shapes and chrome trims.

- Vents carrying the same shapes.

I suggest to you that what we’re seeing here is very close to production trim, indeed. What remains to be seen is whether or not they’ve been able to develop any of that iceblock material to production standards for inclusion in a high-end version of the trim. And if so, what that might mean for controls, etc, given that the concept controls won’t see production.

My bet?

Any overtures about the iceblock fascia being close to production ready were wishful thinking (that I fell for, by the way – hook, line and sinker). At best we’ll see a stick-on trim in the Aero model that may or may not resemble the concept.

With all that said, though, it should be noted that the 9-4x had a very nice layout in Detroit, so there’s high hopes for the production version. This shot shows us a sea of grey plastic, albeit a well organised sea of grey plastic. Here’s hoping there’s something there to break up the grey a little when the real car comes around.

The interior’s so important to so many people. It’s where you spend all your time with the car, so it’s got to be good.

Yet another Saab 9-4x sighting!

Posted on June 20, 2008 by swade

Another day, another Saab 9-4x sighting!!

You can’t tell from the car park, but this is not only another 9-4x sighting, it’s also another 9-4x-in-a-McDonalds sighting! They ought to be careful, this is going to be referred to as the McSaab if things keep going this way

this one was photographed in Ängelholm in southern Sweden in the last few days.

Click to enlarge, and the Swedish registration info follows…

Regnr: GWU412
Fabrikat: SAAB
Färg: VIT Fordonsslag: PB
Fordonsår: 2008 Fordonsslagsklass: I
Chassinummer: 5S3AT13U1AX0185EX
Senaste EU-regbevis del 2: 2008-04-07
Upplysningar:

Continue reading →

Saab 9-4x – you want fries with that?

Posted on June 18, 2008 by swade

UPDATE: While I was sleeping, more shots appeared on the webs to show that this baby was indeed in Germany, heading around the ‘Ring at high speed. Head on over to Jalopnik and Autoblog to get your fill.

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Autoweek.nl have just published a series of photos of what’s reported to be a Saab 9-4x. It’s wearing the usual cammo but does look similar to previous pictures – except this one’s white where others have been black.

The car in front looks like it has a Euro plate, but the 9-4x looks like it’s got the same Michigan plate as we’ve seen in prior photos. The location, therefore, is uncertain. American’s do like their drive-thru but then why the Euro plate in front?

Regardless, it’s good to see the test car out and about. There’s a few more pictures available at Autoweek.nl.

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thanks Jeroen!

The argument for a four cylinder Saab 9-4x

Posted on June 4, 2008 by swade

Saab’s first ground-up-built SUV (or crossover, if you must) is planned for release some time in 2009.

I can tell you quite categorically, as previously mentioned here at TS, that the debut range for the North American market will comprise a normally aspirated V6 engine making around 260hp for the base model, and a 300hp turbocharged V6 for the Aero.

Now, let’s switch focus for a moment and take a look at GM’s Light Truck (i.e. SUV, ute and crossover) sales for May 2008.

Buick

Buick Total: 3,027 this year vs 5,386 last year. Down 43.8%

Cadillac

Cadillac Total: 3,896 this year vs 7,450 last year. Down 47.7%

Chevy

Chevrolet Total: 90,106 this year vs 140,035 last year. Down 35.7%

GMC

GMC Total: 30,724 this year vs 48,336 last year. Down 36.4%

HUMMER

HUMMER Total: 1,843 this year vs 4,636 last year. Down 60.2%

Saab

Saab Total: 174 this year vs 433 last year. Down 59.8%

Saturn

Saturn Total: 10,852 this year vs 14,141 last year. Down 23.3%

I didn’t bother with Pontiac’s numbers as they were so minuscule. Saab’s were even more minuscule, but this is a Saab blog……

GM have just announced the possible sale of HUMMER and whilst they’re officially saying that all options (including keeping it) are still on the table, The Truth About Cars are claiming a leak saying that HUMMER is now dead. There’ll be no investment, marketing support, no model development.

Welcome to Saab’s world!!

Seriously, though, there is blood all over GM’s large vehicle showrooms. Out of the 53 (yes, fifty-three) vehicles listed in GM’s Truck statistics, only the Buick Enclave, Chevy HHR, Uplander and Topkick had positive sales figures in May 2008. Everything else was well into the negative.

Before you say it, I know that other manufacturers are doing it tough right now, too. It’s tough all over. And they lost some volume because of the American Axle strike. But for GM and the sale of recreational large vehicles, the writing is on the wall. The economy might cycle up and down but fuel prices are only trending one way, and that’s up.

Saab want to inject a 9-4x crossover with a 3.0 litre V6 into this scenario, with no fuel-efficient turbo four underneath to lure in the more economy-minded buyers (not to mention the Saab aficionados who’d prefer a turbo four-pot anyway).

Of course, in Europe, the 9-4x will most likely have both of these petrol options, but they’ll also benefit from two diesel options as well, and sales of those will go off like a firecracker!

The ‘economising’ of the motor vehicle purchaser during the next few years is going to hand GM a golden opportunity to make more from Saab than they might have thought possible, but only if they embrace the brand and maximise its potential.

Dropping a decent turbocharged four into the 9-4x as soon as possible after launch date would be a great start. I hope someone’s working on that option right now.

Saab 9-4x Engine specs posted in comments

Posted on May 27, 2008 by swade

A commenter called Saablover has posted some Saab 9-4x engine specs in comments. I should say, at this point, that I’m not aware of who Saablover is, and that I don’t recall any Djup Strupe info coming from Saablover prior to this.

That said, this information is quite consistent with other info I’ve received recently. The info is as follows:

Two of these – the gasoline engines – are ones that I’ve heard about specifically in recent times and I can tell you that all the numbers match what I’ve heard.

The 2.9 diesel is one we’ve heard of previously, but the 2.0 TiD engine mentioned there seems to be something new and a little different. Saab’s current four cylinder diesels are 1.9 litres. I haven’t heard anything about that previously.

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