Saaburu - Subaru, Saab and GM

[LC Brian]

New Saab 9-2x incorporates Subaru AWD and the boxer engine..... just
for everyone's info....

http://www.saabcentral.com/features/9-2x_index.php
http://www.modernracer.com/history/saab92xaerohistory.html

 

[Dave Null Sr.]

New Saab 9-2x incorporates Subaru AWD and the boxer engine..... just
for everyone's info....

I took a close look at one last week. It is of course a WRX with
a SAAB facelift.

 

[Richard Kilpatrick]

New Saab 9-2x incorporates Subaru AWD and the boxer engine..... just
for everyone's info....

Old news. Incorporates? That's like saying that the Opel Kadett
'incorporates' the gearbox and floorpan of the Vauxhall Chevette...

It's a Subaru with a silly grille.

Richard

 

[CW]

What's funny is that Saab seems to be taking a lot of credit for what
is a Subaru WRX with Saab styling cues. Even some Saab enthusiast
sites describe it as being "based on the WRX chassis and engine" which
doesn't really describe it accurately. The 9-2x is simply a Subaru
WRX wagon with new skin. I do like how it looks though.

CW

 

[LC Brian]

Saab doesn't have any kind of AWD, nor a low cost entry vehicle so
they had to do something. Or should I say, GM saw to leverage their
assets. I don't think it will fool any real Saab enthusiasts but it's
interesting. Somthing to ruminate on anyway. I was actually browsing
around for alternates to Subarus when I came across this.

 

[DH]

Typical example of GM screwing up the companies it controls. SAAB has a long
history of selling front wheel drive cars with a Scandanavian twist--the old
two stroke cars, the fiberglass sports car, the V4 engine, a bunch of newer
turbo cars, not to mention their socialistic "team building" factories,
their rally successes, and their generally "oddball" image.

Now what GM will do is stick a SAAB badge on a Subaru and try to sell it as
a SAAB. Just like they do with Chevy and Pontiac and Buick. It won't work,
and it's this kind of short-sighted thinking that makes GM the way it is...

 

[John Opezdol]

Now what GM will do is stick a SAAB badge on a Subaru and try to sell it as
a SAAB. Just like they do with Chevy and Pontiac and Buick. It won't work,
and it's this kind of short-sighted thinking that makes GM the way it is...

They will most certanly sell like pancakes. Just like WRX did in 2001 and
still does.
There is a ton of snotty yappies in the US who would not consider a non
European
car. And WRX is a steal no matter how you slice and dice it.
Even if you add leather to fry their asses in summer and freeze them in
winter.

 

[Sam Hain]

I took a close look at one last week. It is of course a WRX with
a SAAB facelift.

as a Saab fanatic for many years, and current WRX wagon owner, I'm
just wondering what the heck is the point of this car? To get an extra
$5k to $7k from a consumer for the "privelege" of having a Saab in the
driveway vs a Subaru? Are they trying to put a hatchback back in the
lineup, and give Saab fans long desired AWD by rebadging a Subaru? GM
is about the most clueless auto company there is, and seem to not have
a clue what to do with Saab since they bought them.

 

[Jeremiah]

(e-mail address removed) (Sam Hain) wrote in

as a Saab fanatic for many years, and current WRX wagon owner, I'm
just wondering what the heck is the point of this car? To get an extra
$5k to $7k from a consumer for the "privelege" of having a Saab in the
driveway vs a Subaru? Are they trying to put a hatchback back in the
lineup, and give Saab fans long desired AWD by rebadging a Subaru? GM
is about the most clueless auto company there is, and seem to not have
a clue what to do with Saab since they bought them.

yeah i guess you could equate it to the volvo v40 or land rover
freelander. I don't see Saab enthusiasts trading in their 9-3 and 9-5's
for it, nor do i see Scoobie enthusiasts giving it a try...

i'd take my 89 Saab 900S over any of the new models anyday, if it still
ran and hadn't been parted in a junkyard in FL for the past 5 years.

 

[Richard Kilpatrick]

Now what GM will do is stick a SAAB badge on a Subaru and try to sell it as
a SAAB. Just like they do with Chevy and Pontiac and Buick. It won't work,
and it's this kind of short-sighted thinking that makes GM the way it is...

Don't blame GM. Saab have done this before. The 9000 is a rebadged and
mildly reworked (in later models) Lancia Thema/Fiat Croma. There was a
Europe-only model, the 600, which was a Lancia Delta of all things. And
lets not forget that the present and previous 9-3, and the 9-5, are
based on Vauxhall's dynamically challenged Vectra platform (and in the
case of the present 9-3, look suspiciously like a mid 1990s European
Vectra/Cavalier)...

Richard

 

[CW]

Well, if GM can't churn out a winner on their own --at least for a
price they can afford--they can't lose by using a WRX to rebadge. I
think the $5-7k costlier tag estimates are way off. I think the 9-2x
will start at $26-27k which will be very popular with a lot of
yuppies. In fact, when I told some of my work colleagues that I just
bought a subaru WRX, many of their faces were instantly grimacing or
puzzled--very funny, actually. I think the new 9-2x could very well
run away as Saab's best commercial success in their current lineup.

 

[Walt Kienzle]

Well, if GM can't churn out a winner on their own --at least for a
price they can afford--they can't lose by using a WRX to rebadge. I
think the $5-7k costlier tag estimates are way off. I think the 9-2x
will start at $26-27k which will be very popular with a lot of
yuppies. In fact, when I told some of my work colleagues that I just
bought a subaru WRX, many of their faces were instantly grimacing or
puzzled--very funny, actually. I think the new 9-2x could very well
run away as Saab's best commercial success in their current lineup.

Did you ever figure out why they were making those faces? Maybe they don't
know what a WRX is. Most of the general public never figured out what a SVX
was and to them, WRX might be "just another one of those 'X' cars". In
fact, many might not know an Impreza or that it is a Subaru.

 

[LC Brian]

Were the lettes SVX the initials for something? I always understood
WRX for World Rally Cross (X)

 

[LC Brian]

When I wrote the post I couldn't tell from the pictures that the 9-2x
was a rebadged / reskinned Subaru. I thought they had made a new car
with Fuji parts, obviously I was mistaken...

 

[Kevin Brewer]

From what I have heard the 9.2X Linear (2.5 liter non turbo version) will
start at $22k and the 9.2X Aero (2.0 liter turbo - WRX version) will top out
at $30k. The interior will be nicer and a higher quality in both models.
and should go on sale July 1. I'm not sure how many Subaru people will be
interested in it but current Saab owners should be, as a second car or a car
for their kids etc. It should also bring in new younger people to Saab who
don't have Subaru or Saab now and have always wanted a Saab. If the price is
close which would MOST people want to own a Saab or a Subaru?

 

[Jeremiah]

Were the lettes SVX the initials for something? I always understood
WRX for World Rally Cross (X)

Umm...the SVX was a Subaru produced for a relatively short amount of time
(92-97). It was an attempt to get into the luxury performance class. But
its a VERY heavy vehicle(3600 lbs) and Subaru gave it weak rotors which
warped rather quickly. There are still a good number on the roads though.
Its a cult car these days.

 

[CW]

I don't think official prices are out yet but if the prices that you
list are true, I think saab is making a big mistake pricing it too
high. The overlap with the 9-3 sports sedan ($26-32k) will be
particularly problematic. Moreover, I think prospective buyers will
need to have a hard look at whether the 9-2 is worth some $4-5k more
than the WRX (which will be no secret). From what I've read, the dash
will get some "aluminized accents" but the quality of the rest of the
vehicle will be the same. Not sure if leather and sunroof are
optional or standard but those are two things not currently offered on
the WRX Wagon so that also may be a draw (exterior differences aside).
I for one would not be paying $5k more unless the sunroof and leather
were thrown into the mix.

CW

 

[Walt Kienzle]

You are correct about the announcement of official pricing. A dealer told
me that will be announced on March 15. I was checking with him because I
can get a GM employee discount on a Saab (hopefully on this model too), but
not on a Subaru.

 

[Nick Danger]

Don't blame GM. Saab have done this before. The 9000 is a rebadged and
mildly reworked (in later models) Lancia Thema/Fiat Croma. There was a
Europe-only model, the 600, which was a Lancia Delta of all things. And
lets not forget that the present and previous 9-3, and the 9-5, are
based on Vauxhall's dynamically challenged Vectra platform (and in the
case of the present 9-3, look suspiciously like a mid 1990s European
Vectra/Cavalier)...

Good point. It's not just SAAB. Lots of companies have done this -
especially the smaller ones. When they've wanted to get into a new line of
vehicles but didn't have the resources to design and build an entirely new
model, they just rebadged someone else's product. For me, this is an ideal
solution. I've been driving Subarus longer than many of the people in this
NG have been alive, but my wife, for reasons of her own, refuses to drive
anything Japanese, and there's nothing from the American companies that
comes even close to meeting our needs. She still talks wistfully of how much
she loved her 1986 SAAB 900, but she knows that AWD is essential, so we
ended up settling on an Audi A4. When it's time for her next car (probably
in a year or two), the 9-2 will be an easy sell for her. I would rather get
her a WRX, but she'll never go for it. But given that that is not an option,
the 9-2 will be the next best thing. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to
bring it to my Subaru dealer for service. It always seems like with the
European dealers, you need to make your appointment three months ahead of
time and then they keep the car for two days. With the Subaru dealer, I can
call up and tell them the date and time I want to drop the car off (even if
it's tomorrow), and then I go to the bookstore next door and browse for a
couple hours and the car is ready.

 

[y_p_w]

Good point. It's not just SAAB. Lots of companies have done this -
especially the smaller ones. When they've wanted to get into a new line of
vehicles but didn't have the resources to design and build an entirely new
model, they just rebadged someone else's product. For me, this is an ideal
solution.

Well - there's a lot of cobranding going on, especially among marques
with ties. Think VW Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne. The Ford Escape,
Land Rover Freelander, and Mazda Tribute are more or less the same
vehicle. Honda rebadged a couple of Isuzus as the Passport and the
Acura SLX. GM has sold any number of Japanese designed vehicles
because they didn't want to devote their own resources.

A lot of European luxury car buyers want to think they're getting
something that's specially "European". How do you think BMW 3-series
owners with automatic transmissions will react when they find out
that "BMW" transmission is made by GM? I remember reading a BMW
owner complaining that he had to use an ordinary Dexron III ATF
in his "fine piece of German engineering". He seemed to think that
his car deserved something really special because it was a BMW.