Just was reading my latest issue of Maxim Magazine and it picks the new
9-3 Convertible as it's "Rag Top Car of the Year 2004."

I can't find a link, so I'm retyping it below:

SAAB 9-3
Feast your eyes on one topless model you can bring home to wifey.

Price: $40,000
We say: If you spend the majority of your time cruising Suburbia, USA's mean streets, you may as well OWN those streets. The new 9-3 offers the right combo of speed, performance, and country club breeding to do just that. Considering on in five SAABs sold in the US is a convertible - and one in five convertibles sold in the US is a SAAB - the well-scrubbed car company could have sold plenty of 9-3s simply by repackaging last year's model. Instead, the industrious Scandinavians revamped the 4-cylinder engine, making it 20 percent more powerful yet 35 percent lighter than the previous power plant, while maintaining the signature high-pitched purr that just SOUNDS like money. The chassis is three times stiffer and two inches wider, with a wheelbase 2.8 inches longer - features that make for a cashmere-soft ride and greater four-passenger comfort. Like to pretend your cul-de-sac is an F1 racecourse? A five-speed automatic transmission adapts its shift patterns to optimize performance based on the driver's habits and the road conditions (although the six-speed manual tranny goes 0-60 in 1.5 fewer ticks). The top folds up and down in 20 seconds wiht the touch of a button, and new pop-up rollover bars protect your perfectly gelled coif in case the car flips during an accident. Stupid school buses!

Drawbacks: Punch the gas from a dead stop and its front-wheel-drive "torque steer," designed to straighten you out, actually makes for shaky handling. And SAAB's ignition placed behind the stick shift is supposed to be ergonomic. It's not.

___________________________________________________________________________

My comments: I didn't know "torque steer" was "designed to straighten you out." That's funny. They blew that one.

I also didn't know one in five convertibles sold in the US is a SAAB. I wonder if that's true. Doesn't seem like it.

In any case, it's a favorable review for the car and SAAB in general in a magazine that has something like 3 million in circulation.

posted by 63.127.202...

• Maxim Magazine Picks 9-3 as Ragtop of Year, Viggen Pilot, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 04:58:45 <-- Viewing This Message
  • maybe one in five for it's class, true 4-seaters? n/m, Aero'ed, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:46:11
    • Re: maybe one in five for it's class, true 4-seaters?, PaulYVR, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 12:01:52
  • Flash! "torque steer," designed to straighten you out!, Chris., Wed, 1 Oct 2003 07:39:14
    • Do we really want the Maxim crowd driving our badge?, Greg W, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 08:42:41
      • Ouch...., Drew, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 09:53:57
        • I agree, Viggen Pilot, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:22:58
          • Sorry, Maxim guys, meant no insult..., Greg W, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 17:19:30
            • Re: Sorry, Maxim guys, meant no insult..., ACC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 19:32:18
            • Cocksure..., bRAD, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 17:25:53
      • Re: Do we really want the Maxim crowd driving our badge?, ACC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 09:01:02
        • Maxim's demographic - educated, 18 to 34, making $62K, ACC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 15:12:48
          • thought Saab's demo was 40+ and 120k+ / year? nm, saabgirlie , Thu, 2 Oct 2003 21:30:27
            • not by choice, Aero'ed, Sat, 4 Oct 2003 08:34:52
        • Who is Saab's PR firm I wonder?, washaero, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 09:34:12
          • Those guys in New Yawk...(-), Saabing in KS, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:22:18
      • The convertible crowds are a bit off to the right...., TKC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 08:58:14
  • you subscribe for the articles, right ;-), Ed NC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 07:30:03
    • Let's not knock the mag...as I bet many of us..., TKC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 08:59:24
      • Playboy vs Maxim, Viggen Pilot, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 09:50:19
        • I used to subscribe to playboy, saabgirlie , Thu, 2 Oct 2003 21:36:33
        • A different perspective, Annie, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 17:49:48
          • I agree with Drew on this one..., Saabing in KS, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:35:27
          • I see what you're getting at, but disagree....., Drew, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 09:49:39
        • No offense intended but as one gets older..., TKC, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 12:20:48
          • Does that mean S.I. Kids will have a swimsuit issue!?, Greg W, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 17:26:41
            • SI publisher sure hopes SI Kids readers...., TKC, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 05:59:27
          • Re: No offense intended but as one gets older..., Dan , Wed, 1 Oct 2003 13:46:22
            • not true at all, Viggen Pilot, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 06:15:58
              • Maxim is for kids not old enough to buyporn(or Playboy), Brian Lee, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 07:33:34
                • Hey Brian Lee, ever hear of the web?, Saabing in KS, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:41:03
                • Re: Maxim is for kids not old enough to buyporn(or Playboy), Drew, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 10:11:07
                • Whatever, Viggen Pilot, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 08:45:33
                • LOL!You obviously haven't heard of the internet? ;-) nm, AdamB , Thu, 2 Oct 2003 08:12:23
  • Also the "ergonomic" key in the center console, Chad, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 07:09:41
    • Besides it *IS* more ergonomic, AdamB , Wed, 1 Oct 2003 15:10:24
    • Re: Also the "ergonomic" key in the center console, Jax, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 09:55:06
      • penetrating trauma by key, saabaru, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 11:26:36
      • I don't think its "crushing the knee", nt moore, Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:03:33
        • Re: I don't think its "crushing the knee", Julz, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 13:00:40
          • I'm surprised..., nt moore, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 13:15:21
            • by the way..., nt moore, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 14:28:09
        • It's also not just the car key..., FrozenSaab, Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:18:58

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