new york times testet saab 9-7 und spekuliert ueber die zukunft saabs als teil von gm

die zeitung hat normalerweise echt gute artikel. gestern waren beide noch gratis zu lesen, heute geht das nur mit anmeldung - und die habe ich nicht. kann aber auch sein, dass es daran liegt, dass ich heute schon zu viele nyt-artikel gelesen habe. hier jedenfalls die links fuer die unter euch, die mitglieder sind oder glueck haben und es gratis lesen kønnen:

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?...)Q27AF_mYFFtIQ27I00Q25Q270XQ27IIQ27Q2AEtFQ5BF)P-1mQ27IIZQ5DaQ7BpntQ5B-

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?...

lieb gruss

oli

edit: direkt aus dem rss-leser heraus funktioniert's. hier ueber den 9-7:

Zitat:

By LEONARD M. APCAR

Published: January 22, 2006

 

NOT long ago, a Saab dealership was a thinly stocked place. Potential customers had just four models to pick from: two sedans, including an odd-shaped hatchback, a wagon and a cozy convertible.

 

A console-mounted ignition switch.

 

This was hardly enough to keep an automaker in the big leagues; most dealers made ends meet by selling other makes.

 

There has since been a relative explosion of products as the Swedish company's adoptive and often inattentive parent, General Motors, has showed new interest in burnishing the brand. The 9-3 hatchback was scrapped in favor of a fresher sedan. A compact all-wheel-drive sport wagon, the 9-2X, was borrowed from Subaru. A jaunty wagon, the 9-3 SportCombi, is now on sale.

 

More models are coming: freshened 9-5 sedans and wagons are now reaching dealerships; a seven-passenger utility wagon is in the works; and a compact Cadillac-based sport wagon may be coming.

 

"This is probably the biggest array of new product and news in our history," said Jay Spenchian, who became Saab's general manager last April after a stint at Cadillac.

 

One of these products is Saab's first S.U.V., the 9-7X. As if the arrival of a Saab truck isn't enough to horrify purists who loved the company for its onetime rally-racing prowess, the 9-7X is, on paper, pretty much the same as a Chevy TrailBlazer. To at least some enthusiasts, it's as if the Swedish chef dished up catfish instead of herring.

 

Saab had reasons to want something as large as the 9-7X in showrooms. The company says 30 percent of its owners disposed of their Saabs for four-door S.U.V.'s in recent years. Another 40 percent kept their Saabs while buying S.U.V.'s from other companies. If dealers had their own S.U.V., the thinking went, they could keep those customers.

 

The problem is that S.U.V. buyers aren't very loyal, said Ron Pinelli, president of Autodata Inc., a consulting firm in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. People may dream of a sports car like a Porsche 911, but when it comes to family haulers, "there's not a lot of emotion in the decision," he said, adding, "They're shopping price."

 

Also, Saab has often relied on sales incentives and subsidized leases, attracting buyers more concerned about monthly payments than about Swedish heritage. So Saab's small base of loyal owners may be even smaller than it thinks.

 

Saab said it sold 500 of its new S.U.V.'s last month, in line with its plans, and that the 9-7X had brought in existing customers who would otherwise have defected.

 

Either way, it will take some adjustment for the owner base to accept a big truck as a Saab. To many owners, Saabs are about minimalist interiors, small but gutsy four-cylinder engines, turbocharged performance, agile handling and sure-footed composure. In short, nothing that S.U.V.'s are known for. So the 9-7X, which starts at $39,240, faces a tough reception all around.

 

You can count my own family among the 30 percent who left Saab for a larger vehicle. (We opted for a car-based utility with three rows of seats.) With one car and two teenagers in team sports, our 9-5 wagon simply could not carry the load.

 

I was skeptical of the 9-7X from the start, despite its Scandinavian nose and an ignition switch that was relocated (at considerable expense) from the steering column, where it resides in G.M. trucks, to the console. It was hard to imagine an S.U.V. delivering Saab's sporty handling from a body-on-frame Chevy truck chassis. But in fact, the all-wheel-drive 9-7X delivers a different S.U.V. experience in several ways.

 

There is no turbocharger, but the time-tested G.M. engines (a 4.2-liter in-line 6 or a brawny 5.3-liter V-8) have plenty of kick. (The larger engine is, of course, the first V-8 ever offered in a Saab.) The steering is quick and the 9-7X holds its composure in the curves. If anything, its taut suspension is almost too harsh.

 

Saab lowered the S.U.V.'s ride height by an inch, a boon to both stability and appearance. It added special all-season performance tires to 18-inch wheels and stiffened the engine mounts and the front of the frame to sharpen steering and maneuverability. An electronically controlled air suspension in the rear adjusts for load and sway.

 

Addin other seemingly minor adjustments and the cumulative result is surprisingly pleasant.

 

The 9-7X, which has a split rear seat that can be folded, holds up to five people. The appointments are in the Saab tradition, from the rotating air vents to a dashboard angled toward the driver.

 

There are two cup holders in front, including a simply elegant pop-out device borrowed from the 9-5, and two more in the rear. The console is nothing special, but there are storage bins in the doors and pockets on the front seatbacks. The dark leather seats have contrasting white stitching.

 

The cargo area is typical of a midsize S.U.V. The rear seat folds to form a cargo area of almost 40 cubic feet, but the load floor isn't quite flat.

 

A two-piece liftgate lets you raise the window to load small items. I used the built-in air compressor to pump up bike tires.

 

The exterior styling successfully masks the 9-7X's origins. The undersize trapezoid grille, a classic Saab touch, caps a rather long sloping hood. In the back, rear side windows are framed by blacked-out pillars. The body sides have a clean, no-nonsense look without exaggerated masculinity. There are no plastic moldings, flared wheel wells, fake air scoops or other pointless adornment.

 

Typical of Saab, the 9-7X has all the expected safety components, including side-curtain air bags. There are rollover prevention and stability control systems and knee bolsters along the front of the dash.

 

The standard 290-horsepower engine is rated at 15 m.p.g. in town, 21 on the highway. The 300-horsepower V-8 has G.M.'s variable displacement system, which shuts down four cylinders when they aren't needed. With that engine, the 9-7X is rated at 15 in town, 19 on the highway.

 

Before I actually drove this Saab truck, I had figured that G.M. was corrupting the Saab brand with another S.U.V. designed for Everyman. But the 9-7X proved me wrong. It may not be Swedish, and it may not be a Saab through and through, but it ranks a couple of notches above a basic Chevy truck.

 

INSIDE TRACK: A saucy Saab despite its ho-hum G.M. pedigree.

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