We have three cars at one in our garage, all are now no longer in this country or on the way out. Amazingly they are a 2007 Saab 9-3 Convertible, a 1999 9-3 4 door hatchback and the 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6. On and I am doing searches for Jensen's on the web. I am insane.
About Saab though, it is ridiculous that the idiots at GM were unwilling to wait until Spyker did their due diligence. I am pretty sure that GM has never done due diligence on anything so they don't understand the value of it.
I hope something happens that allows Spyker to still acquire them. They were always a niche brand and Spyker gets the niche brand concept and could build the brand back into what it was. So what if they only sell 40000 cars a year. Scale the company for that kind of production.
Jalopnik thinks otherwise:
http://jalopnik.com/5429863/born-from-jets-the-five-greatest-saabs-ever/gallery/
Where there's smoke, There's a Saab!
It looks like GM may actually decide to sell Saab's after all.
I know where there is a sonnet 2 sitting waiting for sale, damn you! Just needs some fiberglass work. The guy who owns it even has a mercedes slc.
My only experience with a saab is getting the alternator out of a 9000 for a high output conversion.
A sonnet 2 is a rare car and cool. I think that the jalopnic guys made some bad choices in their worst list. I am always amazed at the reviews people give case that they have ne'er driven.
I hope that the company is saved, we need some smaller brands in the marketplace. Agree? Disagree?
That was the worst list? I thought those were the coolest cars saab made!
If the company has enough fortitude and intellectual property it will live, but if there isn't anythin left after getting cast off from GM they may eat it.
Actually the car I saw for sale is a sonnet 3 not sonnet 2. Still a weirdo in the auto world.
Nah, the coolest one is the Sonnet I: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Sonett#Sonett_I
I'd still love to have a Sonnet II or III. But I think I'd need a place with a barn first or need to do a Steve McQueen and live in an aircraft hangar.
Wow! Been trying for an hour to get in(on) this post! I drove a '70 Model 96 for a couple years out in San Diego in the late '70s. Great car is spite of its 'kinkyness'. Sure had fun clawing ourselves up the roads to Big Bear! Not flashy by any means and the performance was barely 'performance', but the handling and funky 4-on-the-tree shifting made every outing an adventure. I learned to live with the free-wheel thingy though I never liked it...engine braking was nonexistent so the state of the brakes was very important. All in all the car was just a little to fragile for much heavy flailing mainly because the tranny was designed for a 20-horse Renault! Actually I was just afraid I'd break it and spend a fortune fixing it.
I talked to a saab guru John of Largo florida about a rear window of a sonnet 3 he might have . We talked of the grm challenge and maybe having 2 car effort at the event . He has a couple of sonnets , his son is running the saab repair biz somewhere in largo/ St . Pete area .
J.P. Garage
8996 130th Avenue
Largo
(727) 584-7147
Located in Tampa Bay area. Shop is family owned and operated. (John Plankey
is owner) Has built and raced SAAB's. (John owns a very nice Sonett with a
16V engine in it!) Works on and has parts for older SAABs, ie: 95, 96,
Sonetts, etc. as well as newer SAABs. Not only do they work on SAAB's,
they also own SAAB's. Good place to do business.
Submitted by Alan Fein
WilD
Reader
12/28/09 10:56 a.m.
Andy Reid wrote:
I hope that the company is saved, we need some smaller brands in the marketplace. Agree? Disagree?
I agree. My wife drives an '07 9-3 and some people say it isn't a "real" SAAB, but it is a nice car and fun to drive. It looks really sharp, is comfortable, and the turbo four plus six speed manual trans make it both fun and economical to drive. When we were shopping for the car, it simply seemed the 9-3 offered a lot of bang for our buck. We have been happy with it so far and my wife really loves it. It would be a shame if the brand completely disappeared.
