Saab 9-5 2011 News

The new Saab 9-5 is hitting the roads in the US and the production-ready 9-4X is on show at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The 13-year-old 9-5 will be renewed in July in Europe with Saab's first serious SUV crossover, the 9-4X, to follow in April of 2011.  Saab is aiming for 50,000 to 55,000 sales globally this year, improving to around 100,000 next year, under its new ownership by Spyker Cars of Holland.Spyker is now going right through the company and is hoping to reduce Saab's break-even point to around 80,000 cars by the end of 2012 as it slashes its spending on engineering and manufacturing. But it is also finalising a plan for its hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, as well as a potential starter car smaller than the current 9-3."We are now in charge of our own destiny, which means we can do anything we want," Spyker's CEO, Victor Muller, says in an interview with Autoweek magazine in the USA.  "We are gradually moving from a GM strategy of shared components and investments," says Mats Fagerhag, executive director of vehicle engineering, also talking to Autoweek."You are going to have a Saab car that consists of components and systems that we have developed jointly with other carmakers."  The change to Spkyer ownership at Saab has already seen the tooling for the 9-3, as well as the outgoing 9-5, sold to the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation, which is likely to begin production of the superseded Swedish cars within 18 months.Meanwhile, the future of Saab in Australia is no clearer now than when GM Holden first announced it would not be going forward with the brand.  There was early talk that Ateco Automotive - the country's largest independent importer with a brand library stretching from Fiat and Citroen to Ferrari and Maserati - would be the new agent for Saab.But Ateco's boss Neville Crichton went cool on the plan and local sales slumped to zero in March.  Now it's Inchcape Motors, the parent company of Subaru Australia and now a major dealer group, which is the subject of the latest Saab talk.But Inchcape refuses to even discuss the potential for a Saab agency in Australia.  "We have no comment. We do not comment on this sort of speculation," an Inchcape spokesman tells Carsguide.

But Victorian Saab enthusiast Steve Bunton was one of 35 Melbourne owners who rallied at the weekend to show their support for the embattled brand.  There were also similar sized protests in Queensland and South Australia.The Australian "Save Saab" campaign was part of a global initiative by 30 Saab clubs around the world to protest plans by General Motors to axe the Swedish company if a buyer cannot be found.In Trollhattan, Sweden, where the 9-3 and 9-5 are built, more than 2000 Saab owners converged on the factory to rally.  Other protests were held in Russia, Britain, North America and Holland.Bunton says the Melbourne rally was "very positive".  "It was great to be a part of it and the mood was very upbeat.  We'd like to see Saab stay in business."Bunton, who owns a classic 900 Aero, is a life member of the Victorian Saab club and edits the club magazine.  He believes if the brand can be sold "there's a good chance its future will be secure".One of the co-ordinators of the global event, Steven Wade, who runs a Saab enthusiast website out of Hobart, said the protest was not one about resentment towards GM."There is a lot of passion about Saab so this event is about showing solidarity, not protest," he said.  "But I'm cautiously optimistic a buyer can be found."  Wade says GM "didn't have a clue about Saab".  "It's very frustrating that a board of old people in Detroit will close it rather than sell it," he says. GM has been trying to sell Saab for more than a year.A deal with Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg collapsed last month.  Both Bunton and Wade are now hopeful an 11th hour bid by Dutch sports car maker Spyker could save Saab.  They say that if the brand is seen to have support of thousands around the world, a potential buyer may see the value in keeping it alive.More than 35,000 Saabs have been sold here since 1971.Last year it only sold 663 cars locally because of the global speculation about the brand's future.  The company employs 3400 people in Sweden and about 8000 globally.  It has failed to return a profit since 2001.However, the brand is on the verge of a big product offensive, with the new 9-5 sedan and wagon due out this year.  A four-wheel drive is also planned and work on the next-generation 9-3 is also believed to be under way.Saab firstsPioneered mainstream turbocharging (1977)Ignition in the centre console (1967Headlight washers/wipers (1970)Energy-absorbing bumpers (1971)Heated front driver's seat (1971)Cabin air filter (1978) 

While General Motors struggles to find a buyer, following the collapse of a deal with supercar maker Koenigsegg, prototypes of the company's overdue and essential new 9-5 continue to rack up kilometres.The latest to break cover is the all-new 9-5 station wagon.  The car was caught in southern Italy during a huge group test, with Carparazzi photographers reporting a huge contingent of Swedish engineers and drivers in a range of cars.The 9-5 wagon — or Estate as it's called in Europe — is set for an on- sale date toward the end of 2010, always providing Saab is still operating by them.  It is one of four new Saab models scheduled for the next 18 months, from the 9-5 sedan to the wagon, 9-4X crossover and finally the crucial new 9-3.The wagon prototype is said to be very close to the finished car, from the way it looks to the wheel trims and even the production panels hidden beneath the camouflage pieces. European sources say 70 per cent of the design and engineering work has been done directly by Saab, with the rest of the input coming from GM Europe's base in Russelsheim in Germany.

The 2010 Saab 9-5 has been revealed in all its glory across Europe three months ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show debut.

The Swedish brand has sagged badly over the past five years, and more, as GM has failed to create a workable product plan to produce the vital new models to drive Saab forward.