Spyker put in one last bid to GM in a last attempt to save Saab. They say they've removed the hurdles that stopped GM from going through with the deal before. They've got one day.
Spyker put in one last bid to GM in a last attempt to save Saab. They say they've removed the hurdles that stopped GM from going through with the deal before. They've got one day.
It's good to see that someone has a vested interest in trying to save this company. GM has already seen the death of Pontiac and Saturn due to their own mismanagement and botched deals, I'd probably swear off of them forever if they let this go down.
When brands like Merkur, Saturn and Eagle go to the big junkyard in the sky, it's sad but not as devastating as storied marques such as Oldsmobile and Plymouth. The worst, I would argue, was Pontiac. They were building exciting, interesting, unique models and they still had life in them. They were on the cusp of a comeback if GM played its cards right. The press loved the G8 and the Solstice, enthusiasts loved them. That's why that one hurt. Plymouth and Olds are missed largely because of their name, legacy and nostalgia. The Prowler got punted to Chrysler, and everything else between the two was just a copy. Pontiac had history, but it also had a future.
Pontiac did have a future, and two bright stars in the lineup. Sadly though, it was too little too late, and the rest of the line was saddled with platform sharing and utter mediocrity. Personally, the loss of Plymouth didn't do a ton for me, as all I had seen from that camp other than the prowler, was a bunch of badge engineered cars.... nothing truly outstanding or remarkable. Were they around now, I'll fully expect to see the Cuda. Olds... was kind of the same way. Lost direction a long time ago, and had a lot of sales cannibalized by Buick, who had a LOCK on the old man market. Olds would have been the perfect venue to bring heavy retro styling into the GM line..... were they still around. Merkur died simply because no one understood it. How many people knew what a Sierra was, and how many of those cared? Saab is a bit of a personal one for me, as some of my best automotive memories come at the hand of an 86 900 Turbo.... man that car was fun.
SAAB was dead for me when GM decided they'd rather build more Opel clones. Not that Opel doesn't have some great models, but I wasn't interested in another GM car. What I wanted was a modern version of the 900 or 9000.
Come to think of it, a 9000 with current safety upgrades would be a modern car. I thought they were a little ahead of their time.
I'd KILL for a modern interpretation of a 900 Turbo, hatchback, pseudo whale tail and all.
mndsm wrote: I'd KILL for a modern interpretation of a 900 Turbo, hatchback, pseudo whale tail and all.
Kill, heck. I'd even consider paying for one. 
I worked for a racing buddy's indie SAAB shop once, and drove a bunch of 900s. How I got out of there without owning one, I don't know..but I think I'll fix that one day. Saw a guy in an original SPG about two weeks ago at a gas station-I had forgotten just how Darth Vadar you can get with one of those.
I'll take mine black, please..
Wow, the one with the 9000 tri-fans is amazing. I'll have one in black also.
Uhmmm...
WTF IS IN THE MIDDLE ONE?!?!? I WANT IT. It looks scary.
once I get back to work.. an SPG is on the top of my list of things to buy
Jack wrote:DirtyBird222 wrote: this sucks, the new 9-3 really gives me a hard on every time i see one.Get a Malibu. It's very, very similar, under the skin. Jack
Minus the TT v6 with all wheel drive.
now.. do I get a red SPG or a black one? All those cars I have owned.. and not a single red one. (the ti comes close)
93celicaGT2 wrote: Uhmmm... WTF IS IN THE MIDDLE ONE?!?!? I WANT IT. It looks scary.
That one's got some interesting mods done to it. Once, on the internet, someone posted to Saabnet's performance board that he made great power gains by fitting a non-turbo intake manifold to his 9000 Turbo. Trouble is, he'd also done a lot of other work to the engine at the time, so teasing out the manifold's effect -- if any -- is impossible. (IIRC, there was a before/after dyno sheet.) The gains are dubious: Why would a tiny company like Saab spend the time/energy on using two different manifolds if one was vastly superior to the other?
What the owner of the red convertible has done is bought into this internet myth and installed a humongous NA 9000 intake. The trouble is, the c900 engine is laid over 45* but the 9000 engine from which the intake came has a vertical orientation; consequently, the intake doesn't fit without cutting a huge hole in the hood.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of unproven and/or ineffective mods floating around the web for these cars, probably not unlike other marques...
PS Red SPGs was made in 90 and 91 only, in case you're looking for one. 90-91 were the fastest years for SPGs, too, but you add 25hp to any 160hp 16V Saab 900 Turbo -- 10hp more than the 90-91 SPG -- for about $20 and a trip to the pull-a-part. :-)
Ah ok, cool. Thanks for the knowledge.
I used to have a 9000 Aero, i WILL have one again.
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