Riddle me this....

[baco99]

GM has killed Saab, yet a series of successful car brands are now introducing luxury sport/hatch/crossover/wagons.

Am I missing something or is GM's timing COMPLETELY wrong!? This this post-SUV car buying market is the perfect market for Saab.


Honda Crosstour


Acura ZDX


BMW 5 Series GT


Audi Q3


Mercedes BLK


Infiniti EX35

How could they be so short-sighted to not understand that they have a brand and car poised and ready to take a stand, but they are unwilling even to let someone else try their hand at making it a success???

GM deserves to go under. I called it about 5 years ago that GM would not last through the decade and it seems I have been proven right.

[Cuba]

Audi looks alright doesn't it?

[saab19]

dude, don't get me started. my mom pointed out the five series hatch in the NY times yesterday morning and I lost it. from the angle it showed some of the lines screamed 9000 to me (I'm not sure why, it had to have been the angle)

saabs are quirky bc of the hatch, but BMW is stylish? (insert inappropriate phrases and cussing here...)

[dlerch]

Originally Posted by cuba

Audi looks alright doesn't it?

i think the all look pretty sharp....and baco99 i think your observation and assessment is spot on...

[tucksayre]

Honda Crosstour looks fantastic, also.

[baco99]

Originally Posted by tucksayre

Honda Crosstour looks fantastic, also.

i saw one in person the other day and i disagree. the front and back don't jive well where they meet in the middle.



the Acura variant looks super, though!



how can we pry GMs proverbial head our of its metaphorical backside!?

[Cuba]

Crosstour looks like a Crossfire that Optimus Prime kicked in it's butt.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by baco99

Mercedes BLK

I prefer a BLT:

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by baco99

Mercedes BLK

Never has a car been so well named.

[baco99]

How many of us would go over to Subaru with Saab gone?

[DavidMorgan]

SAAB isn't gone ...THINK POSITIVE
And no thanks I don't need a Nippon car ..

[jglavin]

Originally Posted by baco99

How many of us would go over to Subaru with Saab gone?

Only if they fix the hideous facelift they did on the Legacy. I noticed you included the last-gen, and for good reason

[saab19]

Originally Posted by cuba

Crosstour looks like a Crossfire that Optimus Prime kicked in it's butt.

that's a pretty similar (if somewhat less colorful) description to the one I'd use. (I'm sorry, but that thing is like the spiritual successor to the aztek. eye check time)

just about everything new coming out of japan is hideous. not too much better for the europeans either, IMO, but at least there are some positive aspects here and there.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by saab19

just about everything new coming out of japan is hideous.

Don't go blaming the Japanese for that - that's a US-only eyesore, "designed" and built in the US for the US market alone...

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by DavidMorgan

SAAB isn't gone ...THINK POSITIVE

Exactement !

Originally Posted by DavidMorgan

And no thanks I don't need a Nippon car ..

The modern accepted term is "Japanese"

[mike saunders]

RE: those awful Yanks, designing yet another "eyesore":

The test mule actually had a more defined look, especially in the rear, but Honda HQ -- read Japan -- softened the lines to copy (and presumably compete with) the "Euro styling" of the BMW Gran Tourismo. Makes sense from a business standpoint, as it would have looked a bit too much like the Venza and that's really not the Crosstour's competition.

Here's the mule:





and another, showing a wide stance and aggressive dual exhaust ....but the roofline and deck profile of a shortened Odyssey minivan.

[saab19]

Originally Posted by TooMany2cvs

Don't go blaming the Japanese for that - that's a US-only eyesore, "designed" and built in the US for the US market alone...

yeah, but they're the ones who designed it. if they didn't design and build it, we couldn't buy it. it's like that quote "people are dumb, individuals are intelligent"--the american people will buy what you sell them. if you offer them ugly s***, they'll buy it.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by mike saunders

The test mule actually had a more defined look, especially in the rear, but Honda HQ -- read Japan -- softened the lines to copy (and presumably compete with) the "Euro styling" of the BMW Gran Tourismo. Makes sense from a business standpoint, as it would have looked a bit too much like the Venza and that's really not the Crosstour's competition.



and another, showing a wide stance and aggressive dual exhaust ....but the roofline and deck profile of a shortened Odyssey minivan.

Ironic, and sad, that the concept looks better than the final product. The concept looks alright to me, better than the Toyota Venza. I wouldn't buy it still, but if I saw ^^ on the road I wouldn't feel as repulsed as I do with the actual production version (which I saw two over the Xmas holidays .... shudder)

[baco99]

I actually think the Venza is a nice looking crossover. would be interesting in Lexus clothes.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by saab19

if you offer them ugly s***, they'll buy it.

It's true... I see unfortunate Aztek drivers almost every day.

Originally Posted by tucksayre

Honda Crosstour looks fantastic, also.

I was just about to say it was the ugliest car I've seen in a while, and that they should be shot for making such eye sores!

Originally Posted by baco99

I actually think the Venza is a nice looking crossover. would be interesting in Lexus clothes.

I bet you like the Aztek too