You should have seen the estate version....it was going to be my next car...And Jeremy is right I did end up in a 5 series BMW 😒 but I still have my old 9-5 estate with 270,000 miles on it and one of the last 9-3 convertibles ttid black on black 😃
"It went on sale before it was finished" That could be applied to every saab model ever launched. Car that in principle were good were rushed to markent and their reputation could never really recover. That is the reason it was a brand for dieahards that there weren't enough of in the world. I like saabs though but they never were quite as great as some some people would want to make it out.
@Thor Odin son Can't blame them for trying to make decent cars that were different from the shit Gm was making at the time. They were never going to last though since saab never turned a profit
@Thor Odin son As Volvo engineer said "Nobody could ever work out why SAAB cost so much until they crashed it". Saab overengineered their cars to a ridiculous degree. Cupholders? Make them open up like landing gear on a jet. Radio? Let's wire it up with OPTICAL FIBERS! SatNav? Let's make our own system from the ground up! That's a very expensive way of doing things that need not be expensive. Another thing is, Saab never aimed to be the fastest or even the most comfortable. They were the Safest. Saab 9-5 was rated as the safest car in its class and remained as such for 4 years after the end of its production. Saab 9-3 had a perfect score in both EU and American crash tests. They were among the first to introduce a multitude of safety features that are now standard in most cars. Making the safest cars on the road is expensive and not that easy to advertise as making the fastest or most luxurious. Now take average quality interior materials and a premium price tag, and you just won't have that many people buying these cars, and that's a shame. Saab made really great, capable cars that are easy to tune- you can easily get 300 hp out of the 2.0 in Saab 9-3 and 400 hp is also not that big of a deal. They are comfortable, they handle well, they have all the comforts you'd need and because they share many mechanical parts with Opel/Vauxhall they are cheap and easy to fix. It's just that it wasn't enough for people back then. Not for that price anyway. If they had a similar price to Opel/Vauxhall cars, people would be all over them. But they weren't. In the eyes of the majority of people, they were just worse than similarly priced cars. It's hard to sell something you can't see or feel. You can't see all the safety features, but you can see the cheap plastic and feel the medicare performance that lower trims had.
All your comments just show how very limited your knowledge actually is. Developing a new car model nowadays is so EXTREMELY expensive that a company like Saab in it´s final years wouldn´t stand a chance against big companies like Mercedes, BMW and Audi - if they had to built a comparable car in the segment of the BMW-5-series, Mercedes E-Class, with the same qualities as the german competitors in that price range. Maybe GM should never have bought Saab, because Saab would NEVER have become a profitable unit. Without GM, Saab would NEVER as in NEVER have had a 6-cylinder engine like the Z28NET / Z28NEL in the final Saab 9-3´s - that´s for sure. But it sounds like you wanted GM to finance Saab as a totally independent company, so that Saab could have it´s own components and not a single GM component. But that would NEVER have been economically feasible (but then again what do YOU know about finances and economy??). Just look at VAG. They are using the same platforms across Audis, Skodas, Volkswagens, Seats and basically also Lamborghini. So to make a long story short: Your comments do not show anything else but how extremely ignorant you actually are.
@@Nick-fr4jg Your problem, not mine. Unless you want to go through life as an ignorant fool you cannot just only look at the cartoons in the newspapers but sometimes you have to read longer texts to get smarter and wiser. Sometimes you even have to read a book. Your problem here is that you very well know I am making good and very valid points in my comment. However your problem here is also that you don´t have the brain capability to put together a text and come with valid counter-arguments. Hence you write shitty arguments like "GM is crap". "My dad is stronger than your dad" and other imbecile crap. That just tells us all more about you and your level of intelligence than it tells about me.
For a tribute, this is pretty skewed AGAINST Saab, rather than in their favor. They completely omitted the fact that GM wanted Saab to compete with BMW, Audi and Mercedes. So if that's the task you're given, is it really a surprise they didn't just badge engineer a cramped, poorly engineered Opel? They didn't mention how GM were completely unwilling to broaden the model range or even renew it regularly. They also didn't mention that GM completely buggered each and every attempt Saab made to create a proper performance image. Of how every Saab model developed under GM was 4WD-ready, but GM didn't want to invest the money to make it available. Of how Saab were supposed to get V8's but GM never were able or willing to arrange for a suitable one (Saab Finland had made one, Saab in Sweden had presented a concept and GM had even approached Porsche to buy V8's from them). Of how both the Opel Speedster and Opel GT initially were being developed as a modern day Saab Sonett.
@Thor Odin son GM build tuner friendly and reliable V8's, but they're not as sophisticated as Euro V8's. I also don't believe their V8's met European emissions standards AND it would likely not be cost effective to ship these engines to have them mounted in Saabs. Finally, I don't know if GM V8's would fit in what essentially is an Opel chassi. And of course, GM owned Saab and thus were in charge. But I don't believe that Saab would've been any more profitable if their cars were more obvious Opels. Only way Saab would've done well is if they had received the resources necessary to compete OR if they'd chosen a blue-ocean strategy and made Saab super-niche.
@Thor Odin son Sorry mate, that is utter bollocks. Saab were told not to use their own engines, and had to use GM four and six cylinder (not V8) engines as of the NG9-3. Saab was given turds and told to polish them. Andyou know what? They actually did. According to Folksam, the 9-5 & 9-3, based on GM platforms, were rated as above average for safety. The Opel Vectra-ie the platform on which the 9-3 was based-was rated as 40% below average. Saab's engineers took a piece of shit, under-engineered GM platform, and turned it into a safety marvel. You aren't going to have much luck persuading Mercedes/BMW/Audi drivers (ie intelligent, educated professionals) that a badge engineered GM car is a viable alternative to those marques. GM fucked up, just as they have fucked up every single company they have bought.
I had a 16v Cavalier. For a mass produced crap box I quite enjoyed it. Wish I had a SAAB though. I used to use my bosses 900 when I had to do trips to London and it was a lovely car to drive.
And I dream in buying a Saab, but they never sold Saab in Brazil, only 50 came to Brazil in the 90's and sold 34, then Saab never came back. I'll buy a Saab some day, but not here.
During this video I almost cry, when he talked about the SAAB factory closing down for good. And I laughed when he said "think outside the box" and in the next second a picture of a Volvo shows up!
I drive a Saab 9-3 Aero from 2004. It is the best car I ever owned. Very comfortable, much better than the BMW 530 I had before. My Saab has higher quallity, better reliabillity, lower repair costs. And the look and feel of my Saab is unbeatable.
The Saab 9-3 vector sedan (2003) was my first car. I have now had new BMW’s, Mercedes’s, Audi’s and yet, the Saab was one of the best I ever had. Genuinely saddening that Saab did not continue producing these top of the line cars. Imagine the cars they would have brought out there with today’s technology...
Me too. Had one of the first 9.5 SE turbos in the most fabulous metallic red. I loved that car. It saved my son’s life, and his friends’, when he spun it backwards into a tree. Not a single panel intact on the car but they just opened the doors and walked away.
My dad went out one day to buy a new caravan for family holidays, after several hours a silver coupe pulled onto the Drive and my dad got out, on his way to the caravan place he has passed a SAAB dealer, saw a very nice brand new B reg 900 turbo, turned around and bought that instead. Fantastic car, got me lots of kudos in the school playground.
GM executives from OPEL went to Sweden from Germany. Vauxhall is just a marketing division selling rebadged versions of equivalent Opels and hasn't designed a vehicle since the original Viva.
I've paid £100 for a 93 which had sat rotting on a neighbour's driveway one year a go. Put it in for an MOT and it failed horribly because it wasnt cared for and rot had set in on the shocks and brake lines due to sitting for 3 years. Well I wasn't going to scrap it, some welding and many new parts later (plus a stage 1 remap) and it's alive again! I love these cars
@@thefreedomguyuk I didn't go into too much detail but it also needed, inner front arch welding, rotten exhaust replacng (welded up a stainless rear section), oil leaks, sized rear calipers, 4xtyres, drop links, new battery, front top mounts, rotten McPherson struts replacing and new shocks, 2 new front calipers, sump gasket and sump clean, rocker gasket, vacuum hoses replaced with silicone to fix idling issues, plugs, oil, coolant, brake fluid, master cylinder. Rear sub frame was dropped and cleaned up, with hoses and lines replaced too. Plus dropped on a set of double y alloys for it. Just need a nice leather interior.
I had a number of Saabs and loved everyone of them. The only cars I could get out after a long drive and still feel my legs - so comfortable to drive. Also, my wife was in a side-on collision in our Saab and the police actually said she would have been killed in any other car. Will be buying one soon to keep and savour into my old age.
My Uncle has had Saabs since the 70s and still does own a 2007 95 aero and 2009 93 convertible. When me and my brother were kids, he had a black 99 turbo. God it was quick even by today's standards. Such a shame Saab have gone. They made great cars.
The cost of the Saab when compared to how strong it was, unreliable, beatifull and had a really high standard when it comes to comfort it really was one of the best cars if not the best
In a way they have as they recently entered a partnership with NEVS, the company that bought what was left of Saab. I believe they're working on some pretty cool EV tech for a brand new model. Koenigsegg's electric motor technology embarrasses even Tesla's so I can't wait too see what they're brewing.
I would've loved to see where Saab would be in 2021 with their cars. Their most recent car, the 9-5, would probably be an exciting luxurious sedan you could relax in and thrash it down the motorway
Sad story. I love and drive Alfa Romeos, another small great brand; well, I always thought that if I lived in a place where there were no Alfa Romeos I would drive Saab or Subaru
I bought a 2011 9-3 convertible auto with super low mileage 2 years ago.....after a stage 1 remap, she’s not only the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven but she now accelerates with attitude! Find the right one, look after it and a SAAB will put a smile on your face and turn heads 😁
I owned a Saab in my birthyear, a '99 9-3, it was and incredible vehicle and deceptively simple to repair and maintain. I wasn't a speed demon by any means and it didn't have to be; it was a car with nothing to prove because it was just sheer joy to be behind the wheel. Unfortunately however good things always end and I got into a crash in during a blizzard, ending the chapter with that car. I hope to find another for like that sale someday.
Just lost my last Saab to someone writing it off in a car park this past month. I got in my Volvo this week and it felt, wrong. There was a lot of quirks of design, little things that you come to realise were not just designed to be different, look different, but had a purpose. Like a lot of the controls like cruise and wiper functions. There's no vague dial to adjust, there's a slider thats up, or down on the ends so you cannot mistake it like a button in a cluster. To disengage is the same motion as switching off entirely so you cannot accidentally launch the car. The buttons you fiddle with most were high up and easy to see. So was the driving position and view of the road. When they talk about rear suspension, it has passive rear steering as standard so went round corners like it was on rails. They used turbos to make the drive sensation comfortable, so you could just leave it in tick over, top gear, put your foot down and it would still accelerate. TTiD aside on that last one. The top gear was reportedly very high. There's a reason Saabs still have a fan base, many of us realised they made a car, around the driver.
I’m a very very VERY proud owner of a 2007 Saab 9-3. And it’s the best car I ever had. Is it the BEST car ? Certainly not, but once you drive one in good shape, you won’t go back to anything else. Saab is especial, they made special cars. And it’s a f&$@& shame that Saab thermal engine cars are no more. It is one of the saddest automotive bankruptcy of the 21st century. Long live Saab owners 👍
Top Gear made the point of it being the architect's car again and again. Well, my father was and is an architect and yeah, I learned to drive with his 900 Saab.
I still remember seeing the news on TV4 on Swedish TV, seeing those 9-3 SportCombi's standing there all alone still gives me goosebumps.. you just know that a big part of Sweden was just gone. If only they could've lived on. I'm planning on hopefully buying a SportSedan 9-3 as my first car.. I grew up with a 2004 in midnight blue in the family, that car meant the world to me. As a lonely kid, I always found comfort in that car.. was like a brother to me. When we sold it I was so sad. I was only like 7 years old, so that may explain it all haha. Saab has a special place in my heart and always will. Now my depressing sentimental talk is over, bye bye
SAAB. The rebels to the very end. I myself own a SAAB 96 V4 1974 (yes the one on my avatar) and one SAAB 9-3 AERO generation 1 2000. Love both cars dearly.
Great piece on the demise of SAAB, but Jeremy is wrong in part at the very end of his film re his comment on who developed the worlds first jet engine to see operational service - including film of the Me 262 starting up. The engines used in the Messerschmitt Me 262 were Junkers Jumo 004's. Yes it's a fact that the BMW 003 turbojet was used in some early prototypes of the 262 but prolonged issues with the BMW engine saw Messerschmitt switch to the Junkers power plant and it is this engine that sent the 262 operational as the world's first jet fighter.
@@peterzimmerman1114 Yes the HE 178 was the first jet powered plane, but it was just a test-bed not an operational fighter aircraft. It only just had enough power to take off. The British had a similar test plane around the same time.
Hi - both went into service within days of each other, but the Me 262 had been working up longer for deployment and went into service combating the American bomber streams and escorting fighters etc. The Meteor never saw combat against the Luftwaffe, being relegated to V1 shoot downs etc. It wasn't allowed to fly over enemy held territory for fear of the Germans getting their hands on one - though in fairness to these first generation Meteors it was inferior to the 262. Later models that went into action over occupied Europe in early 45 were better, but again they never encountered the Luftwaffe. So from an operational point of view whilst the RAF had the jets, they were never allowed to exploit them, where as the Germans used the 262 fully as a day fighter, bomber, recon and night fighter. So it remains the great 'what iff' an aerial encounter between a Meteor and a 262.
GM are clueless with something like SAAB, you only have to look at what Ford did with Volvo, to know managed and invested properly, SAAB would of been a strong brand, instead they handed that segment of the market to Ford.
@@patriciomunoz2830 Definitely but Ford did save Volvo and put them in a really good place, which Geely built on. GM did Ruin opel but Peugeot will save it.
@@EugVR6 they just kept it alive because quality went down the shitter under ford adminstration, and peugeot already saved opel, they fixed the sales in 2 years something GM couldn't make in 10 years of administration
@@davekp6773 Very true but the Ford investment pushed the company forward with design and reliability is ok now, with Volvo making their own engines again.
There is a slightly older neighborhood next to mine, in which now mostly retired rich people live and althought most of them could easily afford new cars, the majority of them still have their old Volvos and Saabs sitting in their driveways. Ironically enough im from Germany, but there are very little German cars in this neighborhood.
Don't do it. They are great cars, but there aren't any parts for them as they were not in the market long enough to build up any substantial parts inventory.
If Mazda would have bought Saab in the 90s like they was supposed to do, then the Saabs production would still be going on and on and on..... But Saab blowed that chance!
We had a 9000 back in the 90s and it was a lovely car, with a superb interior. Unfortunately it cost an arm and a leg to fix every time something went wrong (which was fairly regularly).
I have a 1993 9000 I'm fixing up after sitting a year due to a fuel pump.... Full pressure turbo 5 spd stage one tune = Fast......smile inducing. Electrical not so great..... No radiator fan turned out to be a bad wire. High beam out needed new solder on a relay. Map / reading lights don't work. Driver window not working anymore...... Ooooooh but she is fast ......
5X Saab owner. My 04 9-5 wagon/estate with 162K miles runs well, drives well, but needs ~ 3K in replacement rubber parts, and other bits and bobs Reasonable offers entertained. Ft Lauderdale, FL
I suppose so, in the meantime there maintaining most of the things that make Scanias Scanias, but I think Volvo will only continue to grow and outsell the competition.
Bless SAAB and their ambitions. They really wanted to be "that little car-manufacturer that could"; a brand that could be self-reliant, and from a consumer standpoint, you kind of have to sympathize; I mean, who WOULD want to buy a "new" model where the only thing replaced is body and badges? That's a Call Of Duty-procedure for car production. SAAB didn't want that, they wanted to actually improve their vehicles. Unfortunately, they couldn't see how they didn't have the budget for that, and sadly, it is a fact that when a larger name buys your brand and makes you a subsidiary, you kind of relinquish the rights to decide ultimately over your own product. Like, I can feel how they wanted to have creative control and I can most certainly relate to that feeling, but you just can't be doing that anymore.
I strongly bealive the Swedish government took the wrong decision in not saving SAAB. If they only could have completed the NG 9-5 and make a new 9-3 on their own terms without GM and their bullshit the company would be standing on their own feet after a few years. Too bad the government always been favoring Volvo, not that i have anything against Volvo, we've had two, but i believe Sweden would have benefited greatly if SAAB continued to exist.
As a kid in a line of GM uppers I really loved Saab they just wanted to make nice cars but GM wanted to flush their money on Cadillac instead, real GM died in 2007-2009 not really sure when but around bankruptcy they lost their magic and are clueless to this day. Without the Escalade and Buick/China GM doesn't have a place in the automotive industry anymore. They make Fisher Price car panels and parts to boot
I see a lot of hate towards GM in the comment section. But when I read the comments I also realize how extremely ignorant many commenters are - basically NOT understanding or wanting to understand that companies need to make a financial surplus at some point to be able to survive in the long run. That goes for GM as well as that goes for Saab. Developing a new car model nowadays is so EXTREMELY expensive that a company like Saab in it´s final years wouldn´t stand a chance against big companies like Mercedes, BMW and Audi - if they had to develop and build a comparable car in the segment of the BMW-5-series, Mercedes E-Class, with the same qualities as the german competitors in that price range. Maybe GM should never have bought Saab, because Saab would NEVER have become a profitable unit. Maybe GM also was a bit ignorant, believing they could maintain a brand like Saab in their portfolio - a brand that was mainly purchased by individualists who exactly bought a Saab because they did not want a mainstream car from BMW, Mercedes or Audi. And maybe it WAS a big fault to put quite a lot of GM components into a Saab. BUT - with that being said: Without GM, Saab would NEVER as in NEVER have had a 6-cylinder engine like the Z28NET / Z28NEL in the final Saab 9-3´s - that´s for sure. It sounds like people in the comment section actually wanted GM to finance Saab as a totally independent company, so that Saab could have it´s own components and not a single GM component. But that would NEVER have been economically feasible (but then again what do YOU know about finances and economy??). Just look at VAG. They are using the same platforms across Audis, Skodas, Volkswagens, Seats and basically also Lamborghini. And nobody is bitching about that. So to make a long story short: Your comments do not show anything else but how extremely ignorant many commenters are. In my opinion Saab as a "mass producer" would have died anyway. With or without GM. It was all just a matter of time. PS: I don´t hate Saabs. My grandparents drove one in the 1980s and I loved it. But times change, and there was just no way a company like Saab could have survived as a separate brand without the components of other big car manufacturers. Anyone who claims anything else does not know what he is talking about! PPS: I know many will mention Volvo now - but I honestly don´t think they are really comparable with Saab, because they did not have the same individual character like Saab did.
@@thefreedomguyuk your comment makes sense. With GM investing in SAAB, the investors want to see unrealistic dividends and if the investors want to pull out, they'll come up with any excuse. We're expanding our company with developing new technology, and so many people wanted to invest in our company and I respectfully refused their offers. didn'tgothungry
Still makes me genuinely sad to watch this. My current Saab (a 95 2.2TiD Est) I have owned for the last 2 1/2 years. She has some niggles that I am trying to put right - not easy when the govt decides you can't work now because of a plandemic - but it's just such a nice to be. You can't quite put your finger on it. I also had a 900 2.3 conv and a 93 (same platform) 2.0t. Just wonderful cars, that you can tell has had real thought put into them.
And me after i have crush with a lexus i buy a saab 9-3 2.0t 210hp...now is 10 years when The company is close... My question is... Afte 5 10 15 years if i keep The car prices is posibile to go up or go down???((i ref just for aero not 1.9 diesel or other)
Saab actually invented front wheel drive and had the 1st generation of heated seats among other innovations but the best part was being the 1st turbo 'production' car line when a American car company had a prototype turbine engine design about more than a decade prior simply gave up on that idea?
The end comment about BMW powering the first jet fighter is technically correct, but it's little consolation as the production aircraft used a Junkers engine which was cheaper, less complicated and more powerful. BMW powered the first prototype only.
Their latest 95 is still a good looking car in my opinion
Specially the 9-5 SportCombi. Only 32 produced :(
Yes you Right
9-5 2010-2012 is a good looking car
It's still unfortunately a Saab.
You should have seen the estate version....it was going to be my next car...And Jeremy is right I did end up in a 5 series BMW 😒 but I still have my old 9-5 estate with 270,000 miles on it and one of the last 9-3 convertibles ttid black on black 😃
Most people don’t realize how good of cars they really were
Very underestimated cars
I can still miss our 9-5 station wagon even though we drive a completely new and modern car today. Great cars
Great cars, feels like im driving around on my couch, she has her niggles but I love her 👌🏻😂
And sadly they where not sold in Brazil, only once in 90's and never more. I'll never own a brand new Saab. : (
"It went on sale before it was finished" That could be applied to every saab model ever launched. Car that in principle were good were rushed to markent and their reputation could never really recover. That is the reason it was a brand for dieahards that there weren't enough of in the world. I like saabs though but they never were quite as great as some some people would want to make it out.
I get teary eyed every-time I watch this. Nearly ten years on and it still breaks me up.
Same, such great cars and history, to gm pull the plug like that...
@Thor Odin son i know but they will be missed😔
@Thor Odin son Can't blame them for trying to make decent cars that were different from the shit Gm was making at the time. They were never going to last though since saab never turned a profit
dont worry indians or chinese will reopen them open soon enough xD
@Thor Odin son As Volvo engineer said "Nobody could ever work out why SAAB cost so much until they crashed it".
Saab overengineered their cars to a ridiculous degree.
Cupholders? Make them open up like landing gear on a jet.
Radio? Let's wire it up with OPTICAL FIBERS!
SatNav? Let's make our own system from the ground up!
That's a very expensive way of doing things that need not be expensive.
Another thing is, Saab never aimed to be the fastest or even the most comfortable. They were the Safest.
Saab 9-5 was rated as the safest car in its class and remained as such for 4 years after the end of its production.
Saab 9-3 had a perfect score in both EU and American crash tests.
They were among the first to introduce a multitude of safety features that are now standard in most cars.
Making the safest cars on the road is expensive and not that easy to advertise as making the fastest or most luxurious.
Now take average quality interior materials and a premium price tag, and you just won't have that many people buying these cars, and that's a shame.
Saab made really great, capable cars that are easy to tune- you can easily get 300 hp out of the 2.0 in Saab 9-3 and 400 hp is also not that big of a deal.
They are comfortable, they handle well, they have all the comforts you'd need and because they share many mechanical parts with Opel/Vauxhall they are cheap and easy to fix.
It's just that it wasn't enough for people back then. Not for that price anyway.
If they had a similar price to Opel/Vauxhall cars, people would be all over them. But they weren't. In the eyes of the majority of people, they were just worse than similarly priced cars.
It's hard to sell something you can't see or feel. You can't see all the safety features, but you can see the cheap plastic and feel the medicare performance that lower trims had.
I miss Saab. Gm is such a garbage company
Ikr??? Why not just... give them a bit of money to get them rolling and let them do their thing???
They’re not called General Morons for nothing.
And now they have withdrawn completely from Europe and almost everywhere else but the US and China.
All your comments just show how very limited your knowledge actually is. Developing a new car model nowadays is so EXTREMELY expensive that a company like Saab in it´s final years wouldn´t stand a chance against big companies like Mercedes, BMW and Audi - if they had to built a comparable car in the segment of the BMW-5-series, Mercedes E-Class, with the same qualities as the german competitors in that price range. Maybe GM should never have bought Saab, because Saab would NEVER have become a profitable unit. Without GM, Saab would NEVER as in NEVER have had a 6-cylinder engine like the Z28NET / Z28NEL in the final Saab 9-3´s - that´s for sure.
But it sounds like you wanted GM to finance Saab as a totally independent company, so that Saab could have it´s own components and not a single GM component. But that would NEVER have been economically feasible (but then again what do YOU know about finances and economy??). Just look at VAG. They are using the same platforms across Audis, Skodas, Volkswagens, Seats and basically also Lamborghini. So to make a long story short: Your comments do not show anything else but how extremely ignorant you actually are.
@@sukhmaidickoff looks like you took a lot of time to write that. Which is exactly why I’m not gonna read it 🤣
@@Nick-fr4jg Your problem, not mine. Unless you want to go through life as an ignorant fool you cannot just only look at the cartoons in the newspapers but sometimes you have to read longer texts to get smarter and wiser. Sometimes you even have to read a book. Your problem here is that you very well know I am making good and very valid points in my comment. However your problem here is also that you don´t have the brain capability to put together a text and come with valid counter-arguments.
Hence you write shitty arguments like "GM is crap". "My dad is stronger than your dad" and other imbecile crap.
That just tells us all more about you and your level of intelligence than it tells about me.
For a tribute, this is pretty skewed AGAINST Saab, rather than in their favor.
They completely omitted the fact that GM wanted Saab to compete with BMW, Audi and Mercedes. So if that's the task you're given, is it really a surprise they didn't just badge engineer a cramped, poorly engineered Opel? They didn't mention how GM were completely unwilling to broaden the model range or even renew it regularly.
They also didn't mention that GM completely buggered each and every attempt Saab made to create a proper performance image. Of how every Saab model developed under GM was 4WD-ready, but GM didn't want to invest the money to make it available. Of how Saab were supposed to get V8's but GM never were able or willing to arrange for a suitable one (Saab Finland had made one, Saab in Sweden had presented a concept and GM had even approached Porsche to buy V8's from them). Of how both the Opel Speedster and Opel GT initially were being developed as a modern day Saab Sonett.
@Thor Odin son How did they fuck anything up? By what, producing a better car that what GM wanted?
@Thor Odin son GM build tuner friendly and reliable V8's, but they're not as sophisticated as Euro V8's. I also don't believe their V8's met European emissions standards AND it would likely not be cost effective to ship these engines to have them mounted in Saabs. Finally, I don't know if GM V8's would fit in what essentially is an Opel chassi.
And of course, GM owned Saab and thus were in charge. But I don't believe that Saab would've been any more profitable if their cars were more obvious Opels. Only way Saab would've done well is if they had received the resources necessary to compete OR if they'd chosen a blue-ocean strategy and made Saab super-niche.
@Thor Odin son Sorry mate, that is utter bollocks. Saab were told not to use their own engines, and had to use GM four and six cylinder (not V8) engines as of the NG9-3. Saab was given turds and told to polish them. Andyou know what? They actually did. According to Folksam, the 9-5 & 9-3, based on GM platforms, were rated as above average for safety. The Opel Vectra-ie the platform on which the 9-3 was based-was rated as 40% below average. Saab's engineers took a piece of shit, under-engineered GM platform, and turned it into a safety marvel.
You aren't going to have much luck persuading Mercedes/BMW/Audi drivers (ie intelligent, educated professionals) that a badge engineered GM car is a viable alternative to those marques. GM fucked up, just as they have fucked up every single company they have bought.
I had a 16v Cavalier. For a mass produced crap box I quite enjoyed it. Wish I had a SAAB though. I used to use my bosses 900 when I had to do trips to London and it was a lovely car to drive.
@Thor Odin son You're old and wrong, bottom line.
Just bought my first car, a 2000 saab 9-3 2.0t. Ever since being a kid I've always loved Saab, and being an owner of one now I could not be happier
Thats great! I bought my own 1999 9-3 2i about year ago. No problems at all and great at 192k. You bought a reliable car, gongrats!
I'm going to buy a saad in the summertime if i get the money for it. Those cars are brilliant
And I dream in buying a Saab, but they never sold Saab in Brazil, only 50 came to Brazil in the 90's and sold 34, then Saab never came back. I'll buy a Saab some day, but not here.
I bought a 2000 Saab 9-3 se with 165,000 miles 4 days after I bought it timing chain went out🤦♂️😂
@@fernandoortega2789 chains rarely go out so that was really bad luck for you😅
During this video I almost cry, when he talked about the SAAB factory closing down for good. And I laughed when he said "think outside the box" and in the next second a picture of a Volvo shows up!
I drive a Saab 9-3 Aero from 2004. It is the best car I ever owned. Very comfortable, much better than the BMW 530 I had before. My Saab has higher quallity, better reliabillity, lower repair costs. And the look and feel of my Saab is unbeatable.
The rear design of the last Saab series of the 9-5 and 9-4 x has currently been outrageously copied by some manufacturers.
a ton of saab design elements lived on through other manufacturers. shame.
@@PLAYERSLAYER_22 like the rear cupholder design in the new xc60
The Saab 9-3 vector sedan (2003) was my first car. I have now had new BMW’s, Mercedes’s, Audi’s and yet, the Saab was one of the best I ever had. Genuinely saddening that Saab did not continue producing these top of the line cars. Imagine the cars they would have brought out there with today’s technology...
2:55 "to think outside the box" - proceeds to show boxy Volvo :D
I think volvo was also made in Trollhättan so thats why they showed saab and volvo
@@neuroleptika No, that's not correct. No Volvos from Trollhättan.
@@neuroleptika Volvos are made in Gothenburg.
They showed a volvo because at the time they didnt think outside the box.. all their cars were boxes..
Older Volvos are grandpa cars
I had a 2000 9-5 and it was so comfortable and quiet, and I love their centre console designs, you felt cocooned inside
Me too. Had one of the first 9.5 SE turbos in the most fabulous metallic red. I loved that car. It saved my son’s life, and his friends’, when he spun it backwards into a tree. Not a single panel intact on the car but they just opened the doors and walked away.
@@johnd296 mine was metallic red too, though more of a maroon.... Or burgundy
Last, most amazing achievement: The 180 Hp, 400NM Euro 5 diesel that even the German engineers said was impossible to make!
I have a 2005 9-3 and my friends are always astounded to hear that its 15 years old and like the way they did things
My dad went out one day to buy a new caravan for family holidays, after several hours a silver coupe pulled onto the Drive and my dad got out, on his way to the caravan place he has passed a SAAB dealer, saw a very nice brand new B reg 900 turbo, turned around and bought that instead. Fantastic car, got me lots of kudos in the school playground.
GM executives from OPEL went to Sweden from Germany.
Vauxhall is just a marketing division selling rebadged versions of equivalent Opels and hasn't designed a vehicle since the original Viva.
What were GM executives doing in Germany?
@@agt155 Opel and Vauxhall were both wholly owned subsidiaries of GM at the time.
@@agt155 GM decided ruining American companies wasn’t enough, and set out to destroy Opel.
@@williamegler8771 Yes, but the GM executives are in the US, not Germany.
@@ehanoldaccount5893 Owned by PSA now.
The 2010 Saab 9-5 is one of my favourite cars ever because it looks so beautiful and gorgeous and I love it's interior too!!!
I've paid £100 for a 93 which had sat rotting on a neighbour's driveway one year a go. Put it in for an MOT and it failed horribly because it wasnt cared for and rot had set in on the shocks and brake lines due to sitting for 3 years. Well I wasn't going to scrap it, some welding and many new parts later (plus a stage 1 remap) and it's alive again! I love these cars
Is that to fail horribly ?? Isn't shocks & lines scheduled preventive maintenance ?
@@thefreedomguyuk I didn't go into too much detail but it also needed, inner front arch welding, rotten exhaust replacng (welded up a stainless rear section), oil leaks, sized rear calipers, 4xtyres, drop links, new battery, front top mounts, rotten McPherson struts replacing and new shocks, 2 new front calipers, sump gasket and sump clean, rocker gasket, vacuum hoses replaced with silicone to fix idling issues, plugs, oil, coolant, brake fluid, master cylinder. Rear sub frame was dropped and cleaned up, with hoses and lines replaced too. Plus dropped on a set of double y alloys for it. Just need a nice leather interior.
I had a number of Saabs and loved everyone of them. The only cars I could get out after a long drive and still feel my legs - so comfortable to drive. Also, my wife was in a side-on collision in our Saab and the police actually said she would have been killed in any other car.
Will be buying one soon to keep and savour into my old age.
The last 95 looked really nice. Elegant, clean and stylish.
I miss Saab...their cars had more character than any GM-rubbish.
SAAB had more character than any other family/executive cars. The unique character was their unique selling point.
My Uncle has had Saabs since the 70s and still does own a 2007 95 aero and 2009 93 convertible. When me and my brother were kids, he had a black 99 turbo. God it was quick even by today's standards. Such a shame Saab have gone. They made great cars.
Some say the BBC sound engineer is still increasing the music volume to this day.
The cost of the Saab when compared to how strong it was, unreliable, beatifull and had a really high standard when it comes to comfort it really was one of the best cars if not the best
When I got drivens license, this was my parents car.. many many times cruising and people liked mighty room on back! Heavy and steady
One wonders what may have happened if Koenigsegg acquired Saab Automobile AB....
Super Saabs!!
i think they just did tho... freevalve 9-3!? i’d buy one!!
In a way they have as they recently entered a partnership with NEVS, the company that bought what was left of Saab. I believe they're working on some pretty cool EV tech for a brand new model. Koenigsegg's electric motor technology embarrasses even Tesla's so I can't wait too see what they're brewing.
I would've loved to see where Saab would be in 2021 with their cars. Their most recent car, the 9-5, would probably be an exciting luxurious sedan you could relax in and thrash it down the motorway
I bought 2006 9-3 last month and i already love this car
i lost my 04’ 9-3 b207-R to a drunk driver at the end of 2019. it was a terrible day.
@@PLAYERSLAYER_22 sad to hear man
@@felixelfving yep, had a stage 1 ecu tune by brew city boost. really liked the car fr
Sad story.
I love and drive Alfa Romeos, another small great brand; well, I always thought that if I lived in a place where there were no Alfa Romeos I would drive Saab or Subaru
Poor Saab. A unique looking car
i still hope to this day that Saab comes back. The engineers are still alive , they have the knowhow. So why doesn't it come back :/
Money are an issue this days.
I bought a 2011 9-3 convertible auto with super low mileage 2 years ago.....after a stage 1 remap, she’s not only the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven but she now accelerates with attitude! Find the right one, look after it and a SAAB will put a smile on your face and turn heads 😁
I owned a Saab in my birthyear, a '99 9-3, it was and incredible vehicle and deceptively simple to repair and maintain. I wasn't a speed demon by any means and it didn't have to be; it was a car with nothing to prove because it was just sheer joy to be behind the wheel. Unfortunately however good things always end and I got into a crash in during a blizzard, ending the chapter with that car. I hope to find another for like that sale someday.
When my 2005 saab 95 turns 30, I'll change it for one of these last onea
Just lost my last Saab to someone writing it off in a car park this past month.
I got in my Volvo this week and it felt, wrong.
There was a lot of quirks of design, little things that you come to realise were not just designed to be different, look different, but had a purpose.
Like a lot of the controls like cruise and wiper functions. There's no vague dial to adjust, there's a slider thats up, or down on the ends so you cannot mistake it like a button in a cluster.
To disengage is the same motion as switching off entirely so you cannot accidentally launch the car.
The buttons you fiddle with most were high up and easy to see.
So was the driving position and view of the road.
When they talk about rear suspension, it has passive rear steering as standard so went round corners like it was on rails.
They used turbos to make the drive sensation comfortable, so you could just leave it in tick over, top gear, put your foot down and it would still accelerate.
TTiD aside on that last one. The top gear was reportedly very high.
There's a reason Saabs still have a fan base, many of us realised they made a car, around the driver.
Lol, think outside the box, and then that Volvo.
Volvo is indeed a box, Saab is driving a aircraft.
Spoken like a true Swede ! And very true!
Jeremy: "Guess what, the Sweds went even more mental. It changed so much that even the wheelbase was diffrent."
I’m a very very VERY proud owner of a 2007 Saab 9-3. And it’s the best car I ever had. Is it the BEST car ? Certainly not, but once you drive one in good shape, you won’t go back to anything else. Saab is especial, they made special cars. And it’s a f&$@& shame that Saab thermal engine cars are no more. It is one of the saddest automotive bankruptcy of the 21st century. Long live Saab owners 👍
2:53 "to think outside the box" ... a Volvo 245 rolls by.
Really, when you have pretty much nothing else to say, when you can't put exactly how much you feel into mere words, you could only say 2:27
Top Gear made the point of it being the architect's car again and again. Well, my father was and is an architect and yeah, I learned to drive with his 900 Saab.
Saad's are underappreciated
I still remember seeing the news on TV4 on Swedish TV, seeing those 9-3 SportCombi's standing there all alone still gives me goosebumps.. you just know that a big part of Sweden was just gone. If only they could've lived on. I'm planning on hopefully buying a SportSedan 9-3 as my first car.. I grew up with a 2004 in midnight blue in the family, that car meant the world to me. As a lonely kid, I always found comfort in that car.. was like a brother to me. When we sold it I was so sad. I was only like 7 years old, so that may explain it all haha. Saab has a special place in my heart and always will.
Now my depressing sentimental talk is over, bye bye
9-3 Aero convertible such a great car still
Miss both my Saab's wild when they got moving.
Saabs really were great
SAAB. The rebels to the very end. I myself own a SAAB 96 V4 1974 (yes the one on my avatar) and one SAAB 9-3 AERO generation 1 2000. Love both cars dearly.
Great piece on the demise of SAAB, but Jeremy is wrong in part at the very end of his film re his comment on who developed the worlds first jet engine to see operational service - including film of the Me 262 starting up. The engines used in the Messerschmitt Me 262 were Junkers Jumo 004's. Yes it's a fact that the BMW 003 turbojet was used in some early prototypes of the 262 but prolonged issues with the BMW engine saw Messerschmitt switch to the Junkers power plant and it is this engine that sent the 262 operational as the world's first jet fighter.
Yep, and they also say that in this top gear episode immedieatly after they go back to the studio.
Wasn't the Gloster Meteor the first jet fighter in service.
@@agt155 The Heinkel He 178 was about 4 years earlier if you google it. I'm sure there s more if people dig deeper in the history of jet propulsion.
@@peterzimmerman1114 Yes the HE 178 was the first jet powered plane, but it was just a test-bed not an operational fighter aircraft. It only just had enough power to take off. The British had a similar test plane around the same time.
Hi - both went into service within days of each other, but the Me 262 had been working up longer for deployment and went into service combating the American bomber streams and escorting fighters etc. The Meteor never saw combat against the Luftwaffe, being relegated to V1 shoot downs etc. It wasn't allowed to fly over enemy held territory for fear of the Germans getting their hands on one - though in fairness to these first generation Meteors it was inferior to the 262. Later models that went into action over occupied Europe in early 45 were better, but again they never encountered the Luftwaffe. So from an operational point of view whilst the RAF had the jets, they were never allowed to exploit them, where as the Germans used the 262 fully as a day fighter, bomber, recon and night fighter. So it remains the great 'what iff' an aerial encounter between a Meteor and a 262.
Had alot of good times hooning around in 900 Turbo Aero!
i had 900c year 1989. best car i ever driven.
GM are clueless with something like SAAB, you only have to look at what Ford did with Volvo, to know managed and invested properly, SAAB would of been a strong brand, instead they handed that segment of the market to Ford.
Americans are clueless about those brands, Ford ended up selling volvo to the chinese after ruined the quality, opel also got fucked by GM
@@patriciomunoz2830 Definitely but Ford did save Volvo and put them in a really good place, which Geely built on.
GM did Ruin opel but Peugeot will save it.
I had a 2008 S40 2.0 D R design sport which had endless faults. The mechanic who tried to keep it on the road couldn’t stop slagging Ford.
@@EugVR6 they just kept it alive because quality went down the shitter under ford adminstration, and peugeot already saved opel, they fixed the sales in 2 years something GM couldn't make in 10 years of administration
@@davekp6773 Very true but the Ford investment pushed the company forward with design and reliability is ok now, with Volvo making their own engines again.
There is a slightly older neighborhood next to mine, in which now mostly retired rich people live and althought most of them could easily afford new cars, the majority of them still have their old Volvos and Saabs sitting in their driveways. Ironically enough im from Germany, but there are very little German cars in this neighborhood.
As a Swede, I really miss SAAB ;(
glad they brought this type of content over to the grand tour. tear-jerking.
Ironically, I'm seriously considering selling my f11 BMW 5 series (as appears at the end of the video, though an estate) for the last gen 9-5!
Go for it !! You won't regret it !
hell nah u trippinn😭
You'd be owning a real piece of history and turning heads as you drive by.
Don't do it. They are great cars, but there aren't any parts for them as they were not in the market long enough to build up any substantial parts inventory.
@@NA-en7kz they still make parts...
I miss Saab.
Actually makes me very very sad!
Really miss my 9000.
3:00 "Think outside the Box"... oh hello boxy Volvo...
If Mazda would have bought Saab in the 90s like they was supposed to do, then the Saabs production would still be going on and on and on.....
But Saab blowed that chance!
Im SAAB-ing right now. 😭
Just anther SAAB story...
@@CamaroAmx Just so!!
We had a 9000 back in the 90s and it was a lovely car, with a superb interior. Unfortunately it cost an arm and a leg to fix every time something went wrong (which was fairly regularly).
I feel your pain but I still have my 1990 year SAAB 9000. I use it sparingly but it’s very comfortable and great for lugging big loads
I have a 1993 9000 I'm fixing up after sitting a year due to a fuel pump.... Full pressure turbo 5 spd stage one tune = Fast......smile inducing. Electrical not so great..... No radiator fan turned out to be a bad wire. High beam out needed new solder on a relay. Map / reading lights don't work. Driver window not working anymore...... Ooooooh but she is fast ......
5X Saab owner. My 04 9-5 wagon/estate with 162K miles runs well, drives well, but needs ~ 3K in replacement rubber parts, and other bits and bobs Reasonable offers entertained. Ft Lauderdale, FL
It’s was the saddest of times it was the saabest of times
I mean look on the bright side, we still have Scania. That means wonderful V8s and just generally some of the best trucks around.
Scania is owned by volkswagen 😂 And thats not a good thing. Soon they will start to use the same engines and other parts in all MAN and Scania trucks.
I suppose so, in the meantime there maintaining most of the things that make Scanias Scanias, but I think Volvo will only continue to grow and outsell the competition.
Im sad for Saab, such a cool cars..
personally i own a mk1 Saab 900i and its a lovely car to drive to be fair
Bless SAAB and their ambitions. They really wanted to be "that little car-manufacturer that could"; a brand that could be self-reliant, and from a consumer standpoint, you kind of have to sympathize; I mean, who WOULD want to buy a "new" model where the only thing replaced is body and badges? That's a Call Of Duty-procedure for car production. SAAB didn't want that, they wanted to actually improve their vehicles. Unfortunately, they couldn't see how they didn't have the budget for that, and sadly, it is a fact that when a larger name buys your brand and makes you a subsidiary, you kind of relinquish the rights to decide ultimately over your own product. Like, I can feel how they wanted to have creative control and I can most certainly relate to that feeling, but you just can't be doing that anymore.
I love Saabs and wouldn’t be seen dead in a Vauxhall.
That 9-5 looks modern as heck, even today.
It is Saab with a Cavalier body and Saab badging ! The Suedes had put Saab badging on the GM . Own system on a GM!
I strongly bealive the Swedish government took the wrong decision in not saving SAAB. If they only could have completed the NG 9-5 and make a new 9-3 on their own terms without GM and their bullshit the company would be standing on their own feet after a few years. Too bad the government always been favoring Volvo, not that i have anything against Volvo, we've had two, but i believe Sweden would have benefited greatly if SAAB continued to exist.
I'm talking about SAAB as a car manufacturer, i know they still make Aircrafts etc.
Had 3 loved them.
In many ways the thinking outside the box spirit of Saab now lives on in Polestar.
Except that company was spun off from Volvo, but in a way, yes.
The Polestar 2 has also got the Saab hockeystick rear pillar and my S90 has a central ignition. Volvo aren’t daft, where else would Saab drivers go?
I drive Scania and latest Saab.
When My Saab is gonna die, I'll transfer to Volvos
What a car to start of the video.. the mighty Vauxhall Cavalier!
The Swedes went even more mental...there is still a tiny Viking in them left.
Jeremy came to editing studio: make the background music a bit softer
sound engineer after the briefing: push the button to the max
Saab was my favourite..... And they are bound to become extinct
That 95 is still a great looking car.
Kind of a saab story...
still got my remapped 9-3 aero!
Leave it to GM to make such bad products it’s own subsidiaries can’t handle them.
I hope those who was behind Saab,s closure ends up in a really hot place. 😈
Like all companies, management made Saab close down.
I swear 2055 saab is back!
I have never owned any other car than Saab.
As a kid in a line of GM uppers I really loved Saab they just wanted to make nice cars but GM wanted to flush their money on Cadillac instead, real GM died in 2007-2009 not really sure when but around bankruptcy they lost their magic and are clueless to this day. Without the Escalade and Buick/China GM doesn't have a place in the automotive industry anymore. They make Fisher Price car panels and parts to boot
The Top Gear sound editor strikes again!
What's the musi towards the ond of this clip?
nevermind... found it... Epic Score - Someday I'll Be Redeemed
Saab 4 ever !!
Saab 93 YS3D use Vectra A and B floorplan, 93 YS3F use Vectra C floorplan.
I see a lot of hate towards GM in the comment section. But when I read the comments I also realize how extremely ignorant many commenters are - basically NOT understanding or wanting to understand that companies need to make a financial surplus at some point to be able to survive in the long run. That goes for GM as well as that goes for Saab.
Developing a new car model nowadays is so EXTREMELY expensive that a company like Saab in it´s final years wouldn´t stand a chance against big companies like Mercedes, BMW and Audi - if they had to develop and build a comparable car in the segment of the BMW-5-series, Mercedes E-Class, with the same qualities as the german competitors in that price range. Maybe GM should never have bought Saab, because Saab would NEVER have become a profitable unit. Maybe GM also was a bit ignorant, believing they could maintain a brand like Saab in their portfolio - a brand that was mainly purchased by individualists who exactly bought a Saab because they did not want a mainstream car from BMW, Mercedes or Audi. And maybe it WAS a big fault to put quite a lot of GM components into a Saab.
BUT - with that being said: Without GM, Saab would NEVER as in NEVER have had a 6-cylinder engine like the Z28NET / Z28NEL in the final Saab 9-3´s - that´s for sure. It sounds like people in the comment section actually wanted GM to finance Saab as a totally independent company, so that Saab could have it´s own components and not a single GM component. But that would NEVER have been economically feasible (but then again what do YOU know about finances and economy??). Just look at VAG. They are using the same platforms across Audis, Skodas, Volkswagens, Seats and basically also Lamborghini. And nobody is bitching about that. So to make a long story short: Your comments do not show anything else but how extremely ignorant many commenters are. In my opinion Saab as a "mass producer" would have died anyway. With or without GM. It was all just a matter of time.
PS: I don´t hate Saabs. My grandparents drove one in the 1980s and I loved it. But times change, and there was just no way a company like Saab could have survived as a separate brand without the components of other big car manufacturers. Anyone who claims anything else does not know what he is talking about!
PPS: I know many will mention Volvo now - but I honestly don´t think they are really comparable with Saab, because they did not have the same individual character like Saab did.
I’m spinning out that the Navigation subject made a contribution to GM pulling the pin.
No. Clarkson's story is hype. SAAB pretty much had the units anyway, it was not a large expense project. Google "DATASaab"
@@thefreedomguyuk your comment makes sense.
With GM investing in SAAB, the investors want to see unrealistic dividends and if the investors want to pull out, they'll come up with any excuse.
We're expanding our company with developing new technology, and so many people wanted to invest in our company and I respectfully refused their offers.
didn'tgothungry
Still makes me genuinely sad to watch this. My current Saab (a 95 2.2TiD Est) I have owned for the last 2 1/2 years. She has some niggles that I am trying to put right - not easy when the govt decides you can't work now because of a plandemic - but it's just such a nice to be. You can't quite put your finger on it. I also had a 900 2.3 conv and a 93 (same platform) 2.0t. Just wonderful cars, that you can tell has had real thought put into them.
And me after i have crush with a lexus i buy a saab 9-3 2.0t 210hp...now is 10 years when The company is close... My question is... Afte 5 10 15 years if i keep The car prices is posibile to go up or go down???((i ref just for aero not 1.9 diesel or other)
That’s a nice Cavalier, far nicer than the Vectra IMO.
But outside UK those both are Vectra..... :D
@@spacejaga Vectra A 😉
Saab actually invented front wheel drive and had the 1st generation of heated seats among other innovations but the best part was being the 1st turbo 'production' car line when a American car company had a prototype turbine engine design about more than a decade prior simply gave up on that idea?
Also the link between Saab Turbo and Björn Borg is important to me.
The end comment about BMW powering the first jet fighter is technically correct, but it's little consolation as the production aircraft used a Junkers engine which was cheaper, less complicated and more powerful. BMW powered the first prototype only.