2009 Frankfurt: Is the new 9-5 the car to save Saab?

Worn down by years of inattention from parent Government Motors, soon-to-be-sold-off Saab is in desperate need of a hit with its new 9-5 "flagship" sedan.

In the first six months of this year, globally, Saab built 9,061 9-5s—down 72.4 per cent from 2008.

So, as you can imagine, much is being made of the long-overdue 2010 update of the Swedish automaker’s 12-year-old 9-5 mid-size sedan, which Saab spat out some details of today before its official unveiling in Frankfurt next month.

Apparently, the 9-5 will be “the most technically advanced car it has made to date,” so says Saab.

Yet most of the noted features (head-up information display, Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control, parking assistance and all-wheel-drive) competitors have been offering for years.

Sharing a longer wheelbase version of the GM platform that also underpins the Opel Insignia and forthcoming Buick Regal, at least the new 9-5 is going back to Saab’s traditional all-turbo engine lineup.

Said Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson, “This car is the start of a new era for our brand,"

But hey: no pressure.

Despite all this new goodness, the 9-5 has some strikes against becoming Saab’s saving grace.

As customers move to value, 9-5’s mid-size luxury sedan segment is getting clobbered in this new economy. As well,  so-called “mainstream luxury” brands like Saab and its Acura, Infiniti, and Volvo rivals, are also been dropped by buyers.

So, over to you: Is  the new 9-5 the car to keep Saab alive?

Or are we watching the unveiling of potentially the last ever Saab flagship?

[Source: Automotive News]

Comments

[Michel]

I used to be a fan of SAAB... because they were practical, somewhat quirky but really fun to drive cars...

But I say 'used to' because the 'new' SAAB are nothing more then re-badge GM/Subaru... and by trying to please everybody they're no pleasing anybody.

[Johan]

Why are so many automakers continuing to produce large cars. Making the SAAB with a longer wheelbase is unnecessary. SAAB should concentrate on producing a vehicle that has less problems for consumers. We buy Japanese because their cars do not breakdown and need less replacement of parts, not for their size. I have a 1995 Toyota Camry with close to 400,000.Km. It never broke down and the cost to maintain it is minimal. This is what SAAB should be aiming to immitate. SAAB like so many foreign automakers have tried to copy the North American marketing strategy of selling cars that require constant replacement of parts that don't seem to last. Get back to being SAAB and swedish and produce a decent problem free car, not a pretender. Even Mercedese Benz suffered because of it's association with Chrysler. People assumed that Chrysler parts were being introduced into their cars and feared dire consequences real or imagined. Funny American automakers are advertising their vehicles as being european and the Europeans in a subtle way American.

[Randy]

I think if the product is as good as its competitors for less money, then the 9-5 can save Saab. The new 9-5 is certainly more compelling than the products coming from Volvo, Acura, Infinity and Lexus. (They are all snoozers to look at IMHO, they are either ugly or boring to drive - G37 and IS-F excepted.)

Saab's current 9-3 and 9-5 are recommended buys in consumer reports, with average or better reliability ratings. So to slam Saab as being unreliable is a little unfair. I own a 2008 9-5 wagon and its been flawless so far. It even returned 40 MPG (6.9 l/100 km) on a trip home from Niagara falls, and it was loaded with 4 passengers plus camping gear. Pretty impressive by any standard. Try getting that combination of fuel economy, power and cargo capacity in anything coming from Volvo, Lexus, Acura or Infinity.

Producing a larger car is probably a good thing, especially when the 9-5 wagon comes out (hopefully) later this year. I've got 2 kids and 2 dogs so if I want a car, a wagon is my only option. I don't like SUV's or Crossovers. If I can get a big, fun to drive wagon I'll buy it out of necessity (when the time comes to replace our current car). Especially when a wagon will get 20-30% better fuel economy than an SUV.

Also, the new 9-5 while it may have the Epsilon 2 architecture (Insignia, Regal), it was designed entirely by Saab. Its long overdue and now that GM is out of the picture, its probably a good thing since GM had what was a pretty good brand to start off with but systematically destroyed it by poor management decisions such as the rebadged 9-2 (Subaru Impreza) and 9-7 (Chevy SUV) and starving Saab of development funds for a new 9-5 that should have been here 5 years ago. If GM had properly managed Saab in the first place they'd be looking at keeping it instead of selling it off.

[Peter]

SAAB Purists, the ones who remember when Saab's were technologically state of the art, and also fuel efficient and powerful cars compared to others in their class, will never accept a Saab built on a Buick platform. The simple reality is that GM tried to market Saabs to a broader range but instead of taking what Saab did well, they tried to start from a clean slate, or more accurately, a slate that had GM architecture already on it. I just don't see Saab surviving. Competitors to Saab simply offer better cars now.
Look what the competitor's are doing, they're bringing in luxury cars, with powerful fuel efficient engines in a hatchback style. That was Saab's formula for success for so long. They abandoned it, and companies like BMW, Mercedes, Infinity, Acura, Lexus, Volvo, have picked up where GM wouldn't take Saab. The modern crossover is very similar to the concept of a successful Saab, but Saab doesn't make those anymore.

[Randy]

The simple reality is there isn't enough Saab 'Purists' around to keep Saab in business. Hence GM tried to broaden the brands appeal.

What GM didn't do was keep the products competitive by starving Saab of new models. To say the competitors "simply offer better cars" is putting the cart before the horse. Everyone knows how old the current 9-5 is, how about waiting to see what guys like John Leblanc and company have to say about the new 9-5? Are the competitors going to be substantially better? I doubt it, auto journalist's in Europe are singing the praises of the Opel Insignia, the same architecture on which the new 9-5 is based.

My definition of 'crossover' includes all-wheel-drive. The Saab 9000 while a hatchback didn't have all wheel drive. Saab has never made their own crossover, the 9-2 was a Subaru. They are only coming out with them now that GM finally decided to give Saab the money it needed for new products (9-4 / 9-3x).

Hatchbacks might be nice, but wagons and sedans are where the volume is, and that's what Saab has to sell to survive. I would be very surprised if these new luxury hatchbacks sell any better than their sedan counterparts. If someone needs storage space, they'll buy the SUV on the other side of the showroom floor. For me, I want the driving dynamics of a car, and the storage of an SUV, that's why wagons are the best kept secret in the auto world the last 15 years.