Saab 9-3 2009 News

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Then, early Saturday our time, a Swedish court gave it three months to find a means of keeping the company afloat while an administrator negotiates with creditors.Saab's managing director, Jan Ake Jonsson, says Saab is seeking to create a fully independent business."What would happen during the reorganisation phase is more preservation of cash and making sure we have the financials to go through it. Exactly what that means is too early to say."How very confidence inspiring …One feels for the workers, dealers and thousands of various job descriptions whose livelihoods will exist no longer when the Trollhattan marque eventually succumbs to the inevitable.Honestly, though, does anyone believe Saab deserves to survive?Can anyone – except perhaps the ever diminishing number of clueless and chronically dizzy types who mysteriously continue buy them – say with sincerity that they care a Viking’s frozen digit for Saab?The 9-5 is so hopelessly obsolete, so thoroughly behind the times, driving it is the equivalent of wearing spats. To the beach. The numerical designation might as well indicate its year of origin; the 9-5 belongs firmly to the previous century.Next to that the 9-3, with its near-decade old Vectra underpinnings, is positively effervescent. But with at least a half dozen sounder and more desirable alternatives for every one of the barely numerable variants in the line-up, the 9-3 is also very possibly the most futile car on earth.And as for charging $90K for the top model, on what planet – or more to the point – in which era do these people dwell?The only possible thing Saab could do to justify its continued existence is to make an entirely new car. A proper new car, that is, as opposed to minor embellishments of two decomposing model lines.That’s not going to happen, at least not in a hurry. Saab is wedded to a decaying US former auto giant, whose embattled execs want nothing more than a quick divorce. And Saab can’t afford to live on its own.The contrast with compatriot Volvo is glaring. But while Ford remains attached to life support, its Swedish subsidiary has at least continued to produce new, competitive and even – in terms of its fusty image – exciting new models, a la the C30 T5 and XC60. So Ford will eventually find a buyer for Volvo, because it’s making cars that you’d cheerfully spend your money on.Whereas Saab … well, the best thing it could do is to stop making them altogether. Please. 

The new 9-3X all-wheel drive wagon follows the proven path pioneered by the Subaru Outback and joins a legion of new Euro softer-roaders battling in the recreational lifestyle market.The jacked up, chunky Swede debuts at next month's Geneva Motor Show and could hit local Saab showrooms next year.For the downtrodden Saab brand locally, GM Premium brands director, Parveen Batish, says the 9-3X is not too little too late."I don't think so, I think the brand is moving forward and we've been talking about other cars and they will come," he says."Things have been tough but we can see some light."The cues we've seen from some of the concept cars are a real eye-opening in terms of where the brand is going."Last year Saab sold just 1158 vehicles locally, mostly 9-3s.The 9-3X and its bigger, still secret 9-4X off-roader, could be a sales savior.Batish says the 9-3X does not go into production until towards the end of the year "so that gives us plenty of time to investigate where it would fit and how it would fit"."Regardless of the brand, we've got to make sure it's the right thing for Australia," he says.In Europe the 9-3X will be available with both front and all-wheel drive.GM Premium Brands will investigate both options, Batish says."But being a small market we can't take everything," he says.Using the 9-3 SportCombi as its base, the 9-3X gets a 35mm higher ground clearance and Saab's cross-wheel drive (XWD) system, as well as some stirdy plastic trim.For the first time, Saab's E85-capable BioPower engine technology is mated to its XWD system.In Europe buyers will have a choice of the 155kW/300Nm 2.0-litre BioPower four-cylinder as well as petrol 2.0-litre four cylinder.The 2.0-litre petrol turbo has a similar output to the BioPower unit.A front-wheel drive 132kW/400Nm 1.9-litre TTiD two-stage turbo diesel will also be available.There is little difference between the all-wheel drive and front drive.The front drive gets the same styling but its suspension is only raised by an extra 20mm.Visually the soft-road wagon uses a proven formula of grey plastic body trim, wheel arches and sill panels and beefier bumpers.This treatment is complemented by matt aluminium skid panels.Black roof rails are standard, along with multi-spoke 17-inch alloys and dual exhausts.The XWD system is an active, intelligent system that continuously distributes engine drive torque between the front and rear axles.The hardware includes an electronically-controlled torque transfer system that varies power delivery between the axles.