1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
quoting:
"I am not too sure about how Saabs were back in the 70s and 80s...I have a feeling they weren't really considered good cars back then, but I know Consumer Reports gives the newer ones (especially the 9-5) their best rating. I guess some of the older ones were basically crap, and in the opinions of some journalists, "once crap, always crap", which I think is unfair."
Careful! Many of us think of the '80s as Saab's glory days. The 9000 was a Car and Driver 10-best winner five years in a row, from '86-'90. The classic 900 ('79-'93) is probably the most successful Saab ever. The Saab '99 from the '70s was its predecessor, and Saab's last great rally car.
Saabs have always been different. Those of us who like Saabs say that they're smarter designs than the competition. Journalists who are trying to be funny use the "q" word to describe how they're different. Now that Saab's designs are more mainstream, it's hard to justify the "q" word, and the journalists are upset that they've lost the butt of their favorite jokes.
I'll agree that Saabs at times (especially in the mid '90s) were not as good as they should have been. For many people, they were still the best cars out there, but the group of people they fit perfectly was smaller than it should have been. The NG900 with the V6 had reliability issues, the 9000 was aging fast, and only hatchbacks were available (remember, the C900 came in a sedan, as did the 99, and before that, Saab never made a hatchback!).
A small audience plus an unusual design was easy prey for journalists trying to entertain their readers, but that doesn't make them "crap".
Matt
'99 base
posted by 12.101.2...
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