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Saab

The last  Saab - a 9-5
The end of a quirky era

 Looks like Saab is going under. What a shame. Back in the 70's and 80's they were cool and quirky and then came ownership by GM as part of their plan for world domination. Following that there were no new 'real' Saab's and the die was cast. The fact that they may go under isn't new owner Spykers fault - although goodness knows what they thought they were doing buying it. They were never going to turn it around in 6 months after decades of under-investment , but probably thought they could steady the ship and sell it on for profit. Not so. Saab only have two models, the 9-3 (ancient) and the new 9-5 (above). Rushed to market before it was refined enough to survive, it never stood a chance. Oh, and there is also some sort of crazy  'nicked from GM USA' SUV type thing they have recently launched  and which has just come here. Bottom line, you're never going to survive if your new model cycle is is 10 years or more, so they were doomed a decade ago. Personally I think the new 9-5 looks fantastic and if it becomes Saab's swansong, good effort, it looks great, way to go! Thanks GM. In the meantime, while the Chinese pick over the bones, here's a picture of a 900 from their heyday.
An 80's 900 convertible from the period when Saab knew who they were and what they were doiing

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