new 9-5 impression

[timmehhhhhh]

Lots of Trollhattan Saab readers on here, but just incase you're not a regular you might have missed this:



http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archi...sheim_sni.html

[Keebler]

Front end still looks a bit dated but the profile looks real good and the fastback is real nice too.

[Willy Wonka]

Stupid fold in the picture makes it look like a four door impala.

"Given a chevy, built a Saab?"

[boon94]

**crosses fingers for hatchback


well my 9000 is going to need replacement someday, so in about 10-15 years I would like to be able to buy another full size hatchback to replace her.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by timmehhhhhh

Lots of Trollhattan Saab readers on here, but just incase you're not a regular you might have missed this:



http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archi...sheim_sni.html

This pic was circulated earlier around here in the news forum. Looks pretty good to me, has a "fastback" styling.

But the profile reminds me a bit of current Lexus ES, not that it's bad, but this supposed 9-5 concept doesn't look totally original. But the wraparound glass effect helps.

[ACBarnett]

I still don't know why it's too expensive to build them in sweden anymore

and whether this car will have any engines that aren't available in any other GM product...

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by ACBarnett

I still don't know why it's too expensive to build them in sweden anymore

and whether this car will have any engines that aren't available in any other GM product...

The reason it was too expensive to build them in sweden is not because of expensive labor. Infact labor in Sweden is pretty reasonable, and the Trollhaqttan plant was very very optimized from a manufacturing standpoint to produce cars at low costs.

There were two primary reasons,

1.) German metalworkers union.
Auto volumes are shrinking. It was much cheaper to close Trollhattan and build cars in Germany than take on the mighty German metalworkers union.

2.) Efficiency Improvements
GM issued the edict that the plant that had the best efficiency improvements would be awarded building of future models. The error they made was bto base it on percent improvement over a short period of time.

Trollhattan had been really efficient for a long time, so just about all of of the low hanging fruit was already fixed. The Opel plants - on the other hand - were operating rather poory after years of GM mismanagement, so there were a lot of projects that led to quick percentage efficiency improvements. When GM saw the high percentages they awarded Saab production to Germany, despite Trollhattan being the better plant.

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by timmehhhhhh

Lots of Trollhattan Saab readers on here, but just incase you're not a regular you might have missed this:



http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archi...sheim_sni.html

Could it be? Is the chrome gone from around the headlights? If this is the case I will be very happy!

[Aaron Gilbert]

I like that a lot! I find it much more appealing than the current 9^5 from that angle. The blacked out A and B pillars look great, and make it seem much more akin to a high performance aircraft. The only thing that disturbs me are the tail lights, though a bit tricky to tell from that shot. They look too small and too much like the current Camry, from what I can see (not a good thing at all - and not because I'm anti-Camry). Also, the wheels just look too big. Those must be at least 20"? The tires are certainly rubber bands, and there's almost no clearance between the top of the tires and the wheel wells. I believe cars look best when the clearance around the tire is nearly the same for the entire circumference of the wheel well. But maybe that's just me...

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by Aaron Gilbert

I like that a lot! I find it much more appealing than the current 9^5 from that angle. The blacked out A and B pillars look great, and make it seem much more akin to a high performance aircraft.

COuld it be that they are trying to simulate the appearance of the wraparound ****pit window of the Aero X concept?

Too bad you can't see out through them

Edit:

Great... Guess I'm going to have to call it the Flight Deck or something

[GOLFHUNTER]

I like it too .The design is not as much heavy as the Lexus but much more dynamic

[mike saunders]

Originally Posted by Mattlach

COuld it be that they are trying to simulate the appearance of the wraparound ****pit window of the Aero X concept?

Bingo....


There's definitely a lot of good Aero-X design DNA in that puppy....

If the powerplant and drivetrain are as good as it looks -- AWD, V6T, 300 bhp -- then it's a winner...

[1985 Gripen]

Personally, I like the look of these Photoshops better:

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by mike saunders

If the powerplant and drivetrain are as good as it looks -- AWD, V6T, 300 bhp -- then it's a winner...

Agreed, but it will probably start weighing as much as a Audi A6 Quattro too, so we might need a few more than the 300 ponies