GM Shedding Hummer/Saab Brands?

[ANTAUS]

LINK-Detroit News

[silvrsvt]

I think the bigger news here is that Saab has been totally fucked over by GM...at least Ford didnt fuck up Volvo

[PolarBear]

Just think of Saab as......... GM's Jaguar.

[bec5150]

I wonder how well Volvo would do it Ford did little more than rebadge Mazda's and Ford's and called them Volvos? Isn't this about what GM has done to Saab? Right now, two of the offerings are a lightly worked over Subaru and a badge engineered Blazer.

 

Horrible, horrible!!!

[Kris Kolman]

I'd agree the Subie 9-2 is nothing more than the badge job... Slap a Saab front facia on a Subaru add some leather seats and wala a Saab. The Trailblazer 9-7X was a little more effort, having a bespoke IP, but it's not much better.

 

The sad part that with the 9-3 they did a really good job makiing it different from the Malibu, G6, and an Opel, which it shares a platfrom with. I'd venture to say it's as different to the Malibu as the S40 is from the Euro Focus.

 

So GM was doing things right until the paniked and started pushing product to fill showrooms. The question is with some schedule pressure eased will Saab be able to execute differentiation like the 9-3, or will they revert to the 9-7.

[calypsocoral]

I'd agree the Subie 9-2 is nothing more than the badge job... Slap a Saab front facia on a Subaru add some leather seats and wala a Saab. The Trailblazer 9-7X was a little more effort, having a bespoke IP, but it's not much better.

 

The sad part that with the 9-3 they did a really good job makiing it different from the Malibu, G6, and an Opel, which it shares a platfrom with. I'd venture to say it's as different to the Malibu as the S40 is from the Euro Focus.

 

So GM was doing things right until the paniked and started pushing product to fill showrooms. The question is with some schedule pressure eased will Saab be able to execute differentiation like the 9-3, or will they revert to the 9-7.

 

As far as I know, Saab and Opel/Vauxhall are currently engineering the "Epsilon II" platform.

 

Currently, the Saab 9-3 shares the current Epsilon platform with the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, the Chevrolet Malibu, and the Pontiac G6. The Cadillac BLS, sold only in Europe, also uses the Epsilon platform.

 

In the near future, virtually all GM car platforms will be global.

 

The Opel/Vauxhall Vectra will likely be coming here as the Saturn Aura.

 

The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky share the Kappa platform, which will be the basis for the upcoming Opel GT (which looks very close to the Saturn Sky). I don't think Saab will be getting a Kappa, but, at this point, it is still anyone's guess.

[PM Summer]

Here's the money quote.

 

"Saab is no longer an independent company that you could sell off as a unit," Lutz said.

Edited March 1, 2006 by PM Summer

[Michael Reynolds]

Here is the issue. Everyone touched on newer products from Saab: the 9-3, 9-7x, and 9-2x.......but what about the 9-5. Last re-designed in 1999, the same as the out going S-80, it continues to solider on without a definte redesign date. If anything needs to be addressed in the Saab lineup that vehicle defintely needs it.

[silvrsvt]

As far as I know, Saab and Opel/Vauxhall are currently engineering the "Epsilon II" platform.

 

Currently, the Saab 9-3 shares the current Epsilon platform with the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, the Chevrolet Malibu, and the Pontiac G6. The Cadillac BLS, sold only in Europe, also uses the Epsilon platform.

 

In the near future, virtually all GM car platforms will be global.

 

The Opel/Vauxhall Vectra will likely be coming here as the Saturn Aura.

 

The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky share the Kappa platform, which will be the basis for the upcoming Opel GT (which looks very close to the Saturn Sky). I don't think Saab will be getting a Kappa, but, at this point, it is still anyone's guess.

 

 

Even so, by the time GM is done with them, they suck...the Ion and Colbot where based off their European counterparts, but well they aren't excactly knocking anyones socks off here.