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Re: 9-3 vs. Monte Carlo
Posted by John Edward Miller (more from John Edward Miller) on Wed, 29 Dec 1999 21:17:05
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

> 100,000 miles on it can be expected to need repairs-but I felt that my
> expenses ($3000+) over the past 18 months were excessive. 

Every aging car is going to hit the occasional Big Repair.  

> Now to the comparo- First of all, based upon price, these two cars are
>     not in the same league. 

Based upon most every consideration I can imagine, they are not in the same
league.  The 9-3 doesn't impress me all that much, but- good God - have you
*driven* the Monte Carlo?  It's a shining example of why GM (US) is down to
27% market share and dropping.  IMO it's a genuine POS, and it strikes me
as the last car on Earth that would appeal to someone who claims to
appreciate what Saab does well.

>      Most reviews have said that neither car is spectacular-they would
>      have us drive one of the Japanese big three. Many have chided the
> Saab for its 'Saabness' and many have said the 'what the Monte Carlo
> really needs is a V-8 and rear wheel drive'. I have found neither to be
> true. 

The Saabness of Saabs is why some of us like them - there's few cars that
can carry as much, as fast, in as tidy a package.  

> While we all know that Saab's concern with safety has been the
> raison d'être for many of the design choices, how many of us would be
> driving Saabs today if they were underpowered and unaesthetically
> pleasing? I for one, have always been drawn to Saab for their 'form
> follows function' philosophy, good ergonomics and their refusal to copy
> the latest trends. Well, that's it- I pay my money and take my choice.
> The next few months will help me to decide.

The one thing that would prevent me from buying another Saab is the
prospect of them falling down the GM '75% good' ramp.  That is, GM (US)
builds a lot of cars that are 75% good.  Different divisions get different
parts of the 75% right, but none of them (so far) have gotten it all.  And
there's too little variety in their product line - if someone covered the
dashes in paper bags and duct tape, could you really tell the difference
between a Grand Prix, a Regal LS, an Olds Intrigue, a Lumina, a Monte
Carlo, an Impala, etc. from behind the wheel?  I've driven 'em all, and I
couldn't (the Pontiacs generally have the best seats, but the tackiest trim
otherwise.)

Saabs at least still feel like something different and mostly better, but
there are still mixed messages coming from their planners: Why doesn't the
9-5 Aero get the Viggen seats?  The base 9-5 seats are just too flat - it'd
have to have the Viggen seats before I'd want one.  And a Quaife diff - I'd
completely sworn off buying another FWD car until I got the Quaife in my
SHO - I'll never own another FWD car without one.    But otherwise I like
the 9-5 package a lot.

Opel is introducing an Omega with the Camaro's LS1 engine (310 DIN/320 SAE
net HP and underrated at those #s) in Europe sometime in 2000; if Cadillac
sells it here (as they're doing with the V6 Omega) I'll probably have to go
get one.  That, at least, would be one GM product without too many
compromises - though it's probably too much to hope for a T-56
transmission.

John.

Posts in this Thread:
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