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, Sat, 17 Jan 2004 15:12:56
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If Bob really is writing us off as the lunatic fringe unwilling to accept anything new he is wrong.
As someone who has owned a number of c900s the c900 does and always will have a special place in my psyche. It is a vehicle that meet real world needs and made a strong emotional connection. It is a special car. I hope to have the luxury of owning and preserving a solid example of one for many years. It's history should be embraced not tossed out like old trash.
However, like a lot of c900 owners I was ready to move on back in 1994. I had grown up in the back seat of a 99 so I did not have difficulty accepting that it was time to take up a fresh sheet. And why not? SAAB had an unbroken history of continual improvement across both models and model years. At a critical junction SAAB, a company that had never had the luxury of room for failure, failed miserably. In almost every way the result was a step back. This car had nothing on the much older c900 or 9000. A hatchback and the ignition on the floor does not make for a SAAB. We are loyal group but not blindly loyal. The fact that so many are still around whining demonstrates that strong loyalty and hope in the face of fustration. Many c900 owner, including many of those probably classified as whiners, have newer SAAB models. Others have a new model SAAB high on their purchase consideration list.
I think personally, although I do have my qualms, I have been favorable toward both the 9-5 and 9-3SS. In many respects the 9-3SS has delivered much of what I have advocated and rectified much of what I have complained about concerning SAAB over the last decade (although they lost some points in 2004 when they eliminated the sport suspension option). I do have my qualms as I do with everything (c900 included) but it is true to the heart of what is a SAAB in my mind. Yes I'd like to see a hatchback. Although a wagon is an appropriate offering I'd like to see a real hatchback so I will continue to advocate (whine) for it. However, I can see a 9-3SS SEDAN in the garage. It reminds me sort of the first SAAB I loved--a 99 sedan. It doesn't have the same emotional connection as the c900 and it gives up the much needed versatility which is disapointing but it is a worthy SAAB just the same. I could see owning and enjoying a 9-3SS sedan and perhaps watching it evolve into something that is true to the spirit of the c900 just as I watched the 99 evolve. So I am prepared to embrace what is good but also to advocate and whine.
posted by 216.165.15...
, Sat, 17 Jan 2004 15:12:56
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