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Sayonara, SAAB
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Posted by John McMillin [Email] (more from John McMillin) on Wed, 21 Apr 2004 21:51:43 Share Post by Email
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Goodbye, so long & farewell to my aging Swedish beauty. And goodbye to you members who read of my woes a month ago on this forum. My '95 9000CS had suffered the rare dead-speedometer malady. The only fix was to remove the transmission and rebuild or replace it, a $2400-3000 overhaul. Some of you kindly offered advice and consolations. In the end, I listened to my own heart and it said, "Time for a change." So I sold the car in 24 hours on saabnet, and went shopping...
What am I driving now? Glad you asked, that's the good part. From my butt down, it's the new SAAB 9-2X. Attached to that is a steel SUV body in the shape of a phone booth, propelled by what sounds like a Beetle engine. Put 'em together and it's called a Subaru Forester. Unless you're in India, where you buy an identical car as the "Chevrolet Forester," with a bow-tie on the grill. Bottom line, it's a GM car, which disturbs me, so I won't think about it any further. But within GM's Massive Mepository of Mediocrity, SAAB and Subaru are the cream of the crop. Today, Subaru is making cars that are safe, rugged, innovative, versatile and fun to drive. Sort of like a 900 used to be. Subaru rules the world rally circuit, and one drive in Forester shows why, even a stock non-turbo like my XS. The Forester seems sportier than a (non-aero) 9000. The subie's steering is more direct, and it corners firm and flat. The lateral g's are limited by the tires, but the suspension hangs in there just fine, enough that you appreciate the well-bolstered seats. I still prop my left elbow against the door on righthanded ramps, an old SAAB habit born of necessity! The brakes are huge, almost a foot in diameter, and reassuringly effective. At wheezy Colorado altitudes, the 165-hp engine probably loses 20 hp to my old, numerically equivalent CS, but that's the only shortcoming. The Forester isn't perfect, but it's a worthy successor to my 9000 -- a car that hauls almost everything almost anywhere. Oh, and I'm getting about the same mileage as the 9000, too, 25-30 mpg so far. Intrestingly, the Forester has one SAAB invention, the active head restraint.
Point is, SAAB & Subaru is a shotgun wedding made in darkest detroit, but the offspring just might be a pleasant surprise. Sayonara, SAAB'ers-- or is it Aloha?

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