From the article...

"The surprising decision to adapt a Subaru to make a Saab is the result of General Motors' growing impatience with the Swedish company, which continues to lose money and, with annual sales of only 120,000 cars, is nowhere near its 175,000 capacity."

This is rubbish.

a) how does putting a Fuji=built small car in the showrooms affect Saab's abiltiy to utilize its production capacity?
2) How is it a surprise that in 2002 they built only 120,000 cars when the 9-3 line was shut down for 6 months?

What GM has recognized is the Saab brand can carry more weight than two "Epsilon platform" sedans/wagons, but the Factory can't build them and the engineers on hand don't have the capacity to design them. The conclusion is to leverage GM's global facilities and product portfolio to widen the product range into markets where Saab has never participated (or hasn't since the 96 was banned from our shores and ultimately sent to car heaven)

If there's any disapppointment on GM Management's part, it is *** THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY _ THERE IS NO EXPLICIT EVIDENCE OR PUBLIC STATEMENT TO SUPPORT THIS ASSERTION *** that the 9-3 launch was a mess. The car came late, and quality is still an issue. Opel came to market with their new Vectra much sooner (given the same start time) and with less apparent problems. Hence GM's apparent decision to integrate Saab more fully into GM's product and facility engineering structure.

One can also expect a US built "9-7" to go with the Saabaru "9-1". Saab's future product line will have the 9-3 and 9-5, traditional Saab designs built in Sweden, as the core of the franchise, with a larger crossover aimed more at the US market and a smaller, entry level vehicle aimed more at the European market. More information on a continuing basis will be in NINES!


posted by 24.166.10...

http://www.saabclub.com

• More gossip on project Saabaru, No.9, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 14:10:07
  • when I first went to the website I thought>, Nathanael, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 20:24:17
  • Maybe this is for Europe only?, Jon in Chicago, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 14:07:24
  • Same route Volvo took with S40, JBinMD, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:12:30
    • Re: Same route Volvo took with S40, Justin VanAbrahams , Fri, 31 Jan 2003 13:22:25
      • Another Interesting Tidbit, Justin VanAbrahams , Fri, 31 Jan 2003 13:39:28
  • Last paragraph says it all, (Generic Motors rant), pursang, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 09:08:45
    • Whatever you say..., b.flippo, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 10:10:27
      • Re: Whatever you say..., pursang, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:08:25
    • I agree 100%, AdamB , Fri, 31 Jan 2003 09:55:52
      • At least you could finally get a fart can exhaust.., pursang, Sat, 1 Feb 2003 11:45:10
      • I belive the current Impreza has a 4 star safety rating, Terraplanem, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:12:40
        • I've driven Saabs. I've owned a Saab..., Wes Miller, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 14:13:52
  • I'd buy one IF..., KeithR, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 21:25:03
  • I doubt that we will ever see it., saw, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:39:40
  • Looking forward to 9-2 with great anticipation! (nm), Scott Paterson , Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:03:36
  • The sad part is, Wes Miller, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:26:10
    • Doh! I meant Impreza! n/m, saw, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:41:15
      • Darn computers are hard to use. This belongs above., saw, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:44:41
  • NINES view, Stephen Goldberger, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 14:48:29 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Re: More gossip on project Saabaru, Dan W, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 14:22:08
    • Re: More gossip on project Saabaru, Rick D., Thu, 30 Jan 2003 14:43:11
      • no no no, Dan W, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:51:46
        • Re: no no no, Rick D., Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:40:52
          • Agreed - more, Justin VanAbrahams , Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:20:27
            • Re: Agreed - more, Dan W, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 20:11:58
      • Re: More gossip on project Saabaru, Justin VanAbrahams , Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:36:56
        • Re: More gossip on project Saabaru, Rick D., Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:42:15
          • Oh but I so love the hood scoop!, Dinger, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 19:52:13

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