Saab-aroo

[f15xxx]

hey, just read usa today that detailed saab-subaru awd vehicle. saab 80% owned by GM and soob 20%. i think this is some dangerous inbreeding, what's next, some kind of smoking 2-cycle engine? once the general gets involved, it's a race to the basement.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

hey, just read usa today that detailed saab-subaru awd vehicle. saab 80% owned by GM and soob 20%. i think this is some dangerous inbreeding, what's next, some kind of smoking 2-cycle engine? once the general gets involved, it's a race to the basement.

Motor Trend says it's an Impreza sport either in RS or WRX (non-sti) for with a "Saabified" front clip

[subaru_styles]

ooh i've seen it. and i shook my head at it. it's a wrx with a slightly different front and saab badges. same interior and a jacked up price. i hate it when companys use the same body/platform for different car companys IE: the older eclipse!

[calebz]

Actually, GM owns 100% of Saab and 20% of Subaru.

 

I've also seen the Saabaru. Its a WRX wagon with a Saab front clip.

 

I like it.. But then again, I have had more Saabs than soobs. after they have been out for a couple years and the price somes down, I'll probably buy one.

[Guest lothar34]

SAAB will make it's own 9-2X in a couple of years. They didn't have a car in that price bracket, and the fastest way to get a really great car to market was to use a Subaru. I'd rather SAAB sell that than a rebadged Cavalier or Ion.

[f15xxx]

also, have you noticed the General offering more awd variants? i wonder where they're getting that technology, oh yeah, they BOUGHT it.

[GLCraig]

Here are a press releases about it

 

http://www.fhi.co.jp/english/news/press/2004/04_03_15e.htm

 

Aslo GM dosen't own 20% of Subaru they own 20% of Fuji Heavy Industries; the parent company of Subaru

 

http://www.fhi.co.jp/english/news/press/1210news/12_10gm_news.htm

[mattocs]

I think ive seen a picture of the Saabaroo in Car and Driver or some mag. like that...

 

Anyone have a picture of it online? I wanna get a look at it again.

[jamal]

Someone else posted this on another forum:

 

...from the Driven section of the June 04 issue of Automobile magazine:

Critics greeted the news that Saab would sell a version of the Subaru Impreza wagon as a sure sign of General Motors' cluelessness (the corporation owns all of Saab and 20% of Subaru). After all, why should anyone buy a Subaru from a Saab store?

The answer is that the 9-2X is the best Impreza wagon ever built.

 

There are two 9-2X models: the Linear, with Subaru's normally aspirated, 165 hp 2.5L boxer four; and the Aero, with Subaru's turbocharged, 227hp, 2.0L WRX engine.

 

The 9-2X gets its visual personality from a three-port Saab grille and a reshaped hatch. European taste for color and materials works some magic in the interior. Acoustic insulation around the cockpit keeps the engine from sounding like a bunch of screws shaking inside a tin can.

 

But the 9-2X is more than just a bit of Swedish botox for the Impreza's overstyled skin. There's also a more light-footed ride from aluminum suspension arms and recalibrated dampers. Most important, Saab has taken the annoying sloppiness out of the Impreza's steering response with a quicker steering ratio, more rigidly mounted steering hardware, and stiffer chassis bushings.

 

As a result, the all-wheel-drive 9-2X crisply takes a predictable set during cornering, even with its relatively tame 205/55VR-16 Bridgestone Potenza RE92A tires, while the optional 215/45ZR-17 Bridgestones deliver steering response that's even a bit too aggressive.

 

Although the $27,645 9-2X Aero has a list price that's about $3000 more expensive than the WRX wagon version, Saab offers such a long list of improvements, upgrades, and additional equipment (plus a better warranty and two years of free maintenance) that we figure the 9-2X actually represents a pretty good deal. GM-style badge engineering is usually a bad idea, but Saab has made it work.

[myles]

I think ive seen a picture of the Saabaroo in Car and Driver or some mag. like that...

 

Anyone have a picture of it online? I wanna get a look at it again.

I'll bet Saab has pictures of it!

[Guest lothar34]

There are a few here:

http://autoweek.com/specials/2004_detroit/index2.mv#saab

 

I saw it at the Houston Auto Show. It's OK. They didn't change a whole lot on the exterior, and to me the interior looks a little better than the Impreza's.

[NOMAD327]

My view is if you are buying one new you can make your own choice. If you are buying used, there will be a few more WRX's to choose from. It will also add a few dealers that can work on Subaru's (eventually) to the mix. I don't see a real downside to the new cars except for GM seeming to pull another fast one with their dealers. GM bought Saab hoping to jazz up their lineup with a lot of Euro tech, then killed Oldsmobile for not selling enough cars. Oldsmobile sold 300,000 a year, Saab sells 30,000 a year. What's the sense in that.

[rugbyben]

Hey if you want to pay a couple thousand extra for a different grille and badge, and probably twice the repair cost if you take it to the dealer be my guest.

I will stick to the subaru version myself.

[carfreak85]

I hate the 92. Its so dumb! any consumer who buys a more expensive saab over the same subaru is nuts. why pay more for a different front end and a "European Heritage"?

[Smpol19]

http://www.autospies.com/article/index.asp?articleId=2899&categoryId=1

[calebz]

I hate the 92. Its so dumb! any consumer who buys a more expensive saab over the same subaru is nuts. why pay more for a different front end and a "European Heritage"?

A: its better looking

B: the steeing and suspension upgrades from the WRX

c: because Saab sells to a different demographic than Subaru, its more likely to be able to find one in a couple years that hasn't had the crap beat out of it by some 17 year old rice boy.

D: Saab dealer service is notoriously higher quality than the average subaru dealer. I can speak of this from experience having owned a number of Saabs

 

Those are my own personal reasons for buying a 92X over a WRX

[DerFahrer]

A: its better looking

02-03 WRX, maybe. 04-05 WRX, completely disagree.

 

B: the steeing and suspension upgrades from the WRX

For the price difference of the WRX, I can upgrade that easily.

 

C: because Saab sells to a different demographic than Subaru, its more likely to be able to find one in a couple years that hasn't had the crap beat out of it by some 17 year old rice boy.

That's why I'd buy a WRX new from the dealer and maintain it properly.

 

D: Saab dealer service is notoriously higher quality than the average subaru dealer. I can speak of this from experience having owned a number of Saabs

I've sold a 91 Saab 900 before with all maintenance records. And I don't care if they provide me with a weekend getaway and an Asian hooker, I'm not paying $130 for an oil change.

 

Badge-sharing is badge-sharing. It disgusts me that Saab isn't creative enough to make a great car on their own. Maybe that's why GM owns them :\

[charlierh2]

the 17 yo that buys the sube and beats that crap out of it its smarter than the guy who buys the saab cause HE BOUGHT THE BETTER CAR!

 

....hey your on a sube forum what do you expect:rolleyes:

[calebz]

the 17 yo that buys the sube and beats that crap out of it its smarter than the guy who buys the saab cause HE BOUGHT THE BETTER CAR!

 

....hey your on a sube forum what do you expect:rolleyes:

??

 

Better car? how.. the 92X is everything the WRX is, plus a little more.

 

I know this is a soob forum.. (thus the subaru in my signature)

 

However, being an owner of a Subaru and a past owner of many Saabs.. I happen to think the 92X is a nice car for all the reasons I stated above and a few more on top of that. I don't want a pissing contest about which car is better(especially since they are basically the same car).. But I will add one note regarding the part about buying a new WRX so you know that it hasn't been beat..

 

Thats all well and good that you would buy a new one.. Personally, I doubt I will ever buy another brand new car again. I've done that enough times that the novelty has worn off. A well maintained car a couple of years old is a much better deal to me.

[charlierh2]

point taken i just hate saabs and would never buy one id rather use the extra cash on upgrades. i think a cheaper car customized to you is better than the more expensive one that comes form the factory with a few more upscale touches.

[rallyruss]

just read a review of the saab 9-2x and had to bring this thread back to life.

 

I think the 9-2x Is a bad arse subaru.

its the best wrx you can buy.

Im with calebz all the way this car. Its a WRX with the quirks tuned out of it, and a better waranty.

my wife is shoping for an all wheel drive wagon right now. So far she has looked at the BMW XI wagons, subarus of course and a few others.

I think that the new saab looks sweet and I will tell her to throw that into the pool of vehicles to pick from.

all the used WRX's around here are all moded out and probably street raced like crazy.

I hear plenty of em go flying by my shop during my shift.

 

saab a roo hmmm.. thats cool enough for me.

[photo2001]

I read an article in one of the car mags about Saab also using a Chevy SUV, (possible the Trailblazer), as the body for it's upcoming first big SUV. The article said that this is a temporary thing, and Saab might use the upcoming bigger Subaru SUV later with a Saab front end.

 

I find this kind of 'cross-breeding' kind of cheesy. I also read that one of the new small Chevy SUV's uses a Chinese made engine. Remember when the 'Big Three' (GM, Ford, Chrysler), made high quality products without farming everything out? My Dad always bought Chevy's when I was a kid, and they were great cars.

 

I'm on my second Forester, great car, maybe my last new car. I might consider another Forester if they come out with a hybrid or hydrogen powered one.

[SubaSkeet]

saabaru... the whole concept of gm's intermixing products just pisses me off. i know all motor companies do it (the expedition w/ the navigator for FMC, the caravan w/ the voyager for Diamler Chrysler), but when they have to give a good-selling car to a company with no originality, despite them "making the upgrades needed", it ruins the individuality of the company that originally made it. they try to 'italdesign' it, and come up with the same thing in a different front end package. not that im dissin on saabs too bad, i still like them, its just GM cant keep their grimy slimy stubs off a new toy for more than a year or two.

[photo2001]

Another example is Ford, the owner of Jaguar. Check out the back of some of the bigger Jags, the XJ I think. You can easily mistake it for a Mercury Sable. In one way this could be a plus for Jaguar, because when they were an independent company, they were not known for reliability, and I believe that has improved.

 

I wonder if the public in general researches their cars enough to know that what they are buying might be a 're-badged' something else. I know that Saab doesn't advertise that fact in their commercials. If most people buying the new Saab, knew that they could get basically the same car for thousands less, without the Saab front end, would they buy it? Regardless of the upgrades.

[Uberoo]

the 9-2X is just an upscale WRX.plain and simple.It is really sad what Genetic Modification is making them do.GM pawned off a trailblazer to give saab something to market in the fast growing SUV segment(WTF saab isnt about being large,there about small high tech turbos keeping up with V8's and getting better mililage)...the 9-7 is just a rebadged trailblazer with a fantasticaly modded suspension and frame to make it go around corners somewhat well.