End of the road…
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In a few months, production will stop for this “poor thing”.
It was never really accepted as a Saab . No wonder.
I can’t really imagine any “Saab person” buying something based on a truck frame.
Another mistake from GM. This and the Subaru based 9.2 were never Saabs.
Let’s hope the next “real” Saabs will be modern, more reliable. And no more Chevy trucks, please….
Too bad. That is by far the best looking model of the Trailblazer/Envoy/BuickThingie bunch.
Im not an SUV fan but the one or two examples of this I saw in the street didn’t look too bad. The problem was, like you said, SAAB people don’t buy SUVS like this. Maybe if they built it on the equinox frame it would be a different story. Its too bad the wasted all the development money on this when SAAB needs a new model. Sure this rebagding wasn’t too expensive but it still costed a shit load of money,
As 10:36 said, it cost GM a lot of money to make this truck available. Nearly nothing in R&D, but lots in marketing. And an absolute fortune in opportunity cost… lost sales that they could have had if they had a competitive vehicle. While this was on the market, SAAB’s brand equity was being flushed down the crapper.
I have seen a bunch of these on the road on Long Island, but we all know it is a Chevy underneath.
I think the new SAAB SUV should be lower or just a larger version of the 9=3 Combi off the ground….
A decent SUV (I think I saw one or two), but nothing more than the awful, badge engineering that’s helped to demean GM over the past couple of decades.
Saab is a dead brand and GM should bury the corpse already. Best to devote limited resources to Chevy, Saturn, and Cadillac–maybe Buick or Pontiac, but hard to justify both.
Saab is a good car, but so are its competitors and many of those competitors are superior.
Hey Vince,
I love reading your blog and enjoy your pespectives.
This time I think you are being a bit hard on this decently done truck. 3 years ago you panned the 9-7x sight unseen because it was a GMT360 when all you had was that bluish purple artist concept pic.
The real reason 9-7x will end production is the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and other platform mates are all being discontinued in 2008.
9-7x is scheduled to sell through spring/summer of 2008 with the remainder of the GMT360 models. and will overlap production of SAAB’s spring release 2009
9-4X lambda platform crossover .
When the Envoy and Trailblaze end production, then
9-7X will retire!
We know 9-7X is based directly on the Chevy/GMC GMT360 SUV body and platform. What folks dont know; 9-7X is Saab’s second best seller in the US and surprisingly is among the highest resale value SUV’s in it’s segment. Equivalent Lexus, Land Rover, and other truck based premium brand SUV as of 2007 haven’t held their value as well as the Saab.
9-7x also has expanded Saabs demographic and brings in quite a few first time Saab buyers. It also has helped stave off some defections by current Saab folks.
Auto and Truck mags more often than not favorably review 9-7X, giving this heavy, trucky SUV good marks for its handling, styling, pricing and interior design.
Despite controversy about 9-7X heritage and some misconceptions about the decent work put into rebadging this truck, it has done its job well.
If you folks out there have doubts, check trollhattansaab.net, Truck Trend and if you like Google some road tests.
Thanks Vince,
no matter what I love your blog and look forward to seeing what new stuff you come up with tommorrow!
Hey Vince,
I love your blog and read it daily.
I usually agree with and enjoy your perspecives. This time I think you are being a bit hard on this decently done truck.
3 years ago you panned 9-7x sight unseen just because it was a GMT360. All you had were those bluish purple artist concept pics.
The real reason 9-7x will end production in 2008 is that GM is discontinuing all of the remaining GMT360 platform SUVs, including Chevy TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy.
They have been on sale since mid 2001 and are due for redesign/replacement.
Since the Saab was added later, it only will have lasted 4 years when the 9-7x and the other plaform/body mates are discontinued.
9-7x is scheduled to be built through spring/summer of 2008 and will overlap production with an early release 2009 model 9-4x crossover built on GM’s new Lambda platform.
Yes we know 9-7x is directly based on the GMT360 body/platform.
What folks don’t know;
* 9-7x is Saab’s second best selling US model.
* Surprisingly, its also among the highest resale value SUVs in it’s segment, holding value better than comparable Lexus and Land Rover trucks.
* 9-7x has expanded Saab’s demographic, it brings in many first time Saab buyers.
It also has helped keep a few Saab owners from defecting to other SUV brands.
* Automotive magazines often give favorable reviews to this heavy truck based Saab model, praising its handling, pricing and interior design.
Despite controversy regarding it’s heritage and some misconceptions about the decent work Saab did while adapting the GMT360 body/platform, 9-7x has done its job well.
Buh-bye.
another prediction I made that came true!