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(09:04:39 Jan. 22, 2003)
Product in
the pipeline: Saab set to add Subie-powered 9-2, Caddy-based sport/ute,
by '06
source
By MATT
DAVIS
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| Here's
good news if you hate the Saab 9-3X concept: The 9-2 won't look
much like it. |
WITH
THE PRODUCT-starved Saab part of General Motors reporting year-end losses
upward of $200 million, both Scandinavian survivalists and Detroit
management have put the newly planned high-volume 9-2 compact on a fast
track. Tentatively scheduled as a 2006 model—but maybe as a 2005
entry—the 9-2 lineup will include a sportwagon plus three- and five-door
hatchbacks similar in size to the Ford Focus and VW Golf.
Rumors had the 9-2 sharing the 2004 Opel Astra architecture and looking a
lot like the 9-3X concept shown at Detroit in 2001, but that plan has been
scrapped in favor of a new direction. Sources say Saab will sign a deal in
March with Subaru holding company Fuji Heavy Industries to build a Subaru
Impreza-like car with a boxer-four engine and tag it as the 9-2.
The move away from the traditional Saab turbocharged inline-four scheme
has taken years to get the go-ahead, but is now considered crucial to the
company’s recovery plan. As Saab boss Peter Augustsson said while at the
Detroit auto show, “It’s time for Saab to quickly and effectively
expand its range.”
Meanwhile, pressure from Saab North America and new boss Debra Kelly-Ennis
is resuscitating shelved plans for the 9-7, a full-size Saab
sport/activity vehicle based on the Cadillac SRX’s Sigma architecture.
The 9-7 is expected to launch by 2006 and will add to the changing public
perception of what a Saab is with the introduction of GM V6 and V8
powerplants.
One ramification for Saab of more than doubling sales volume by 2006 to
more than 250,000 units worldwide is the need to find production capacity
outside of Sweden. The 9-7 is the most likely candidate to be built
alongside its Cadillac sister sport/utility vehicle in Lansing, Michigan.
Another ramification is the long-awaited chance for Saab to return to the
world rallying scene it abandoned in 1980—with a four-wheel-drive 9-2. |
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