the $15,000 Question: Saab 9-3 and 9-5

"Quirky." "Weird."  "Odd but likeable."  Those descriptions seem to follow me, but they also apply to Saab.  Up until its 2012 demise, Saab was  known for building cars that were decidedly different.  How different?  They used two stroke engines up until the 1970's and the original 900 had its engine installed backwards. 

But if you like different, and have $15,000 to spend, a Saab is not a bad choice.  Saab frequently marketed its cars as "born from jets," a reference to Saab Aerospace and the interiors of Saab cars reflect some of that lineage.  The instrument panel is no-nonsense functional and features a switch to turn off all of the interior lights but the speedometer.



Even under GM's staid corporate umbrella, Saab produced some wild cars like the 9-3 Viggen which came standard with scads of torque-steer and a top speed of 160 MPH.  It's no BMW M3 but it is different and fun to drive.

Think of Saab as the Christopher Walken of cars and you wouldn't be far off. 

Beater Challenge Update - $2800 Saved

To date, I've saved $2800 driving the Cutlass. Other than oil changes, gas and the occasional car wash, I've done NOTHING to the car. It continues to provide reliable, if humble, transportation and averages 22-24 MPG.

Car nut that I am, there are tons of other cars I'd rather own. Now that spring is here and the weather makes it difficult to be indoors, I wish I owned a convertible--something with four seats like a BMW, Ford Mustang, or Saab would be nice.

GM on the Fritz

In a surprising move this week, GM dismissed CEO Fritz Henderson and granted Saab a stay of execution. Henderson, who took over GM after Rick Waggoner was forced out earlier this year, had been with GM for 25 years.

I suspect Henderson was asked to resign because he was too much of a company man, too much of the "old way" of doing business that has plagued GM since before his arrival. GM's board of directors are probably envious of what Ford has accomplished when they hired Alan Mulally, whose last stop was at a little aircraft firm known as Boeing. Mulally put Ford in a position where it didn't require a bailout, and is now launching a revamped line of products that are winning awards from the automotive press. GM is still struggling to sell Saab and Hummer, a process which has taken twice as long as their bankruptcy proceedings. Apparently the drawn out process of selling GM's non-core brands has caused deals for Saab and Saturn to fall through and put Hummer at risk.

A Saab Story

Saab has just been taken off life support and is expected to die in the next week. Koenigsegg pulled out of the deal earlier this week and today the Swedish government announced they will not bail out the company if GM chooses to liquidate it.

Until it was assimilated by the Borg-like GM, Saab was known for making quirky, performance oriented hatchbacks. Afterwards they churned out re-skinned Chevy Malibus and Trailblazers. The result was predictably bad. The Muselix and Birkenstock crowd who bought Saabs departed for Subaru. Before long, Saab's only customers were a handful of Minnesota farmers named Olsen who were trying to get back in touch with the old country. "Traded the Tahoe on a new 9-5 did ya?" "Oh yah, you betcha! It goes through the sno' like a hot knife through tapioca..."

I hate to see Saab leave the automotive landscape. But the company has become yesterday's lutefisk.