Date: 13 Nov 2002 16:29:42 GMT From: davehinznopsamcop.net Subject: Re: Best built recent Saab?
Someone who looks an awful lot like C Sutherland <cggsnopsam.freespam.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> > New Saabs may be 'better' than the classics but they're not so good to > drive and don't have that indestructible feel. 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. The handling is *very* similar in all of them. I figure this has to do with the weight distribution, and c.g. of the car being at the driver's seat. > In my first 900turbo I was in a pile up with 3 cars totally wrecked > (and I mean terminally mashed) piling into me. The Saab took a sizeable > thump but didn't have a mark on it. OK, that would be the self-restoring bumpers I suppose. > The financial constraints were Saab's problem. I read somewhere that one > of GM's priorities was to reduce the huge number of man hours it took to > build a C900 by about half for the new model. I like to think that the > C900 took ages to build. It feels like it did and anyone who's owned one > knows what I mean. Just because it takes longer to build, doesn't mean that that time was adding value. The c900 was built as if it were designed in the 1960's, because in effect, it was. I'm not saying that's bad, I loved my c900. But, to survive in the 90's and beyond, you have to be smart about where you're spending your time. Neither of us know enough details about the specific changes, so I'm not going to guess, but just because it's quicker to build doesn't mean it's less solid; those two things aren't related. > The best bit used to be that few people knew how good those oddball > Saabs were so you could pick up a storming used 900T16 that would last > for years and years for absolutely peanuts. Alas no more. Well, the fact that the deserved reputation of quality is getting out is hard to see as a bad thing... > Life moves on but the old 16S battlewagon will be much missed. 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. ...but, they'll never compare to driving a bull-nose two stroke 96 in the winter. Dave Hinz
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
