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Early Demand High for 9-7X – Ward’s Auto.Com
By Brian Corbett, April 29 2005
Some consumers already are making deposits at dealerships for the 9-7X, even though the SUV has not arrived in showrooms and the media has not published reviews of the truck.
Early public response to the Saab 9-7X midsize SUV is buoying hopes at General Motors Corp.
Some 5,000 consumers responded to a promotion that expired March 31, offering customers who purchase or lease an ’05 9-7X three years of free OnStar and XM Satellite Radio service, a $700.00 value.
“We’ve had terrific interest. It’s encouraging. But it (the initial public reponse) doesn’t guarantee anything,” says a spokesman for Saab Cars U.S.A.
Saab is forecasting deliveries of 7,000 9-7Xs in 2006, the first full-year of sales.
Some consumers already are making deposits at dealerships for the 9-7X, even though the SUV has not arrived in showrooms yet and the media has not published reviews of the truck.
“We’ve seen great, great demand,” says Tony Malouf, director of operations at Saab of Troy (MI). “This has been extremely positive. I’ve got 26 (9-7Xs) coming initially, and 20 are sold already. We didn’t see demand like this for the 9-2X (5-door sportscar) or the 9-3 convertible. We needed (the SUV) segment badly.”
The auto maker’s lineup currently is limited to three midsize cars: the 9-2X, 9-3 lower-luxury sedan and 9-5 middle-luxury sedan. Nearly one in three Saab owners end up leaving the brand for an SUV, the company spokesman says.
Saab, which currently is without a marketing chief since Jon Brancheau left recently to take the same position at Cadillac, has been relatively active with promotional efforts for the 9-7X. “We’re not typically a big spender in the ad world, but we’re being pretty aggressive with this product,” the spokesman says.
Ads have been placed in lifestyle magazines such as Gourmet, Outside and Runner’s World as well as many traditional automotive enthusiast periodicals.
The Saab 9-7X, which will be built at GM’s Moraine, OH, assembly plant, also appeared with other GM models at the 4th Annual “ten” Fashion Show in Hollywood, CA, in February.
Pricing for the 9-7X begins at $38,990 for the 275-hp V-6 Linear model and rises to the $40,990 for the 300-hp V-8 Arc model.
Both models offer standard all-wheel-drive, heated leather seats and 18-in. wheels. Besides the more powerful engine, the Arc adds xenon headlamps, adjustable pedals and headlamp washers.
“We believe it (9-7X) is a great value proposition,” says the spokesman. “A comparably equipped (Volvo) XC90 is $8,000 more.”
If the 9-7X is successful, it will buck an industry trend. The 9-7X is a body-on-frame midsize luxury SUV. Consumers and other auto makers have been favoring unibody cross/utility vehicles for small and midsize products in the luxury segment.
For example, the Mercedes M-Class shifted from body-on-frame to unibody for the ’05 model year, a switch that will be mimicked by the Lincoln Aviator in 2006.
But Saab officials swear the 9-7X, which shares its platform with the Chevy TrailBlazer, will have stellar performance credentials. “It’s been lowered 1-in. (2.5 cm),” the spokesman says. “It has 18-in. wheels, a sport-tuned chassis. Its fascias are closer to the ground. It will not disappoint.”
posted by 198.208.22...
, Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:28:38
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