Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 10:31:47 -0800 From: "pablo" <pablonopsamlyhombreNOSPAMnet> Subject: Re: Best built recent Saab?
<davehinznopsamcop.net> wrote in message news:aqtull$d12dc$4nopsam34476.news.dfncis.de... > > A few months ago, I did some torque steer comparisons (finding none in > each case, but different thread) between my classic Saabs, and my 1999 9-5. Exactly. I refuse to believe the old Saabs are such pure driving machines - they never had a reputation for it. Even less so in the late 80s and early 90s. Even ack in their day, those cars were leagues behind the better handling Beemers. Saab hasn't tried to challenge someone like BMW until they came out with the latest 9-3. 70s-80s-90s, Saab articulated a different value proposition. > Just because it takes longer to build, doesn't mean that that time was > adding value. As a rule, lots of manual labor is a bad thing. It is an indication you do not have the cash for a quality plant these days. Even Rolls and Bentley are cutting down on manual labor - not to cut cost, but to up quality standards where it mechanically matters. > I really, really like my 9-5. I think that the NG900 was a stop-gap design, > and we're seeing the first real new smaller Saab in the new 9-3. Arguably, it's less of a "Saab" than the 9-3 hatchback it replaces. But that's been discussed before, and Saab needs some mainstram success to bankroll other, more "authentic" cars. I actually like my 9-3 a lot - *because* of the quirks, and because it does not attempt to be a BMW. It works surprisingly well in California - it's invulnerable to high curbs, it works well on some of the dirty and patched-up roads we have around here. It's a convertible that seats four people comfortably. Compared to so many other cars in CA you can tell yourself you're doing something for the environment by avoiding gas-guzzlers. The seats are superbly comfortable - far more so than Merceds' or BMWs'. I do not fall prey for the notion that I need the ultimate driver's car for being stuck in traffic, and when I go canyon carving on weekends it's on my motorcycle... no car can match that for excitement and involvement. So the Saab's a great car, and the '02 9-3 is -for me- a much better car than any old Saab would be. I looked at the used Saabs on the lot, and they were simply no contest. The fact of the matter is that people have to respect other's taste, and try to not over-rationalize their particular infatuation with their own car bringing up lame superior engineering arguments. ...pablo
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