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Re: 9-3 vs. Monte Carlo
Posted by Coney1951 (more from Coney1951) on Wed, 12 Jan 2000 23:40:24
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

As I said in my original post- *I* pay my money and *I* take my choice. But
I will respond to each of the points that were made in the last Saab vs.
Monte Carlo post.

>>The Monte Carlo is a ~3500 pound, 200 inch long beast<<

The Saab 9-3 is pretty close in weight at 3200 +/- lbs. - no big difference

>>move two people down the road<<
The back seat of my 4 dr. 9000 is no better, the 9-3 has less elbow room
and about the same headroom as the MC

>>The rest of the car is two bucket seats behind a huge, push rod (!)
engine based upon V-8's of the 1960's.<<

Immaterial! If a design delivers the goods without major shortcomings, why
change? EPA fuel mileage and Motor Trend 0-60 times are better with the MC.
A pushrod engine excels at low speed and high torque operation. My 4.0L
Jeep delivers 21 MPG with full time 4WD on a trip-the engine turning 2300
rpm at 65 mph! Many predicted the demise of the internal combustion
engine-an design basically unchanged since the turn of the century. How
about a nice modern rotary engine, turbine engine or the Australian Orbital
2 stroke.  I detect snobbery! Drive a Corvette with an old pushrod engine
and tell me it doesn't work well.-Maybe not as good as a Ferrari- but at
what price?

>>It still has the 90 degree angle between banks of the old V-8's rather
than the more optimal 60 degree angle used for modern V-6's. You might be
too young to remember that in the gas crisis of the 70's...(snip) the
engine shake in its mounts to see what I mean).<<

Again, immaterial. The engine is smooth. I drove the car. The 3.8L V6 is a
proven engine. I hope Saab can say the same in a few years with their V6.
Remember the V6 9000s? And No, I am not too young to remember the gas
crunch- I had been driving a few years when it hit. in '73.

>>The engine is mated to an electronic AUTOMATIC transmission, the
equivalent of taking Valium before a drive...(snip)

Surely Saab sells more ATs than manuals- but this is a personal choice, not
an argument against buying ANY brand! I would buy manual if it were
available on the MC and certainly on a 9-3.

>>I'd rather have a car that starts to get a tailwind at 100K miles rather
than being headed for the junkyard.<<

Yeah, like the tailwind that pulled $3K from my bank account at between
98,000 and 116,000 miles. (BG) I'll repeat that almost any car or truck can
go the distance if the owner is willing to spend the money for repairs.
Most owners  lose interest or run out of money before the car becomes
unrepairable. All three of my previous Saabs were totally useable when I
sold them and had close to or over 100K. But so did my last Jeep Cherokee
and my present Grand Cherokee (110K w/rebuilt transmission). Once an owner
loses interest, the car will soon be sold. In 40 years of car ownership, I
have Never sent a car to the junkyard. I sold them, when I lost interest.
    Just to remind you- I despised the old RWD V-8 disco Monte Carlos. I
bought my first Saab ('78 99EMS) after experiencing lack of traction in the
snow with a RWD car and dismal fuel mileage, comfort, performance with a
4WD truck. That was 22 years ago when the only FWD American cars were the
pitiful Chevy Citation/Pontiac Phoenix and preposterous Eldorado. The only
4WD vehicles were Chevy Blazers, Ford Broncos, Dodge Ramchargers etc. Times
have changed. I for one have decided to look around. I may in the end, buy
a Saab-but if I do, I want to be sure that it is the market's best choice
for me.
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Posts in this Thread:
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