An Unexpected, Very Un-Swedish All-American SUV
The current North American new vehicle sales market is more competitive than ever before. While consumers are the obvious winners, with incentives gone wild, longer and more comprehensive warranties than ever before and a plethora of new models, it still comes down to an automaker developing saleable products when the final bell tolls if sales success is the prime objective.
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| Thanks to its General Motors parentage, Saab's current product line is as strong as it's ever been. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Product is something Saab has been doing very well in recent years. The Swedish automaker has managed to benefit from General Motors, its parent company, by borrowing chassis architecture and engine technology from European division Adam Opel, while still maintaining its distinctive brand character and staying true to its core values of sport-oriented driving dynamics.
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| Like it or not, an SUV will soon be added to Saab's lineup. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Validation of the relationship was most recently verified by the superb new 9-3, easily capable of being compared directly with the top compact luxury rivals from Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. In some ways the new 9-3 even bests its competitors - and I'm sure it's been a long time since Saab received such adoration from the automotive press.
But as good as the 9-3 is, and as capable as its larger 9-5 sibling is with its wonderfully functional sport wagon derivative, today's luxury buyer has at least one sport utility planned for the family garage and Saab has nothing to tempt them.
What to do? Whether it was Saab looking for a sport utility to increase sales and appease its struggling dealers or GM making a unilateral decision to force Saab into taking the medicine it so desperately needs is anyone's guess, but either way the Scandinavian automaker now has an SUV, like it or not.