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2005 Saab 9-7x Preview

An Unexpected, Very Un-Swedish All-American SUV

The current U.S. 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.

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 Opel, while still maintaining its distinctive brand character and staying true to its core values of sport-oriented driving dynamics.

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

Thanks to its General Motors parentage, Saabs current product line is as strong as its ever been. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

bests its competitors - and Im sure its 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, todays 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 anyones guess, but either way the Scandinavian automaker now has an SUV, like it or not.

And why

Like it or not, an SUV will soon be added to Saabs lineup. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

shouldnt they like it? Well, its not that most Saab enthusiasts (those who work for the company as well as those loyal to its products) are unhappy to have a sport utility in the family, but more that theyre a little disgruntled with the SUV chosen for the donor architecture (just check an internet bulletin board on the subject and see for yourself). After all, with the exceptionally adept Sigma platform as part of the GM portfolio, the basis for the extremely agile Cadillac SRX, just why it was necessary to opt for the GMT360 body-on-frame setup is difficult to surmise.

Sure a GM spokesman answering questions during the New York auto show launch responded, "Youll be impressed with how well we made it handle the curves," to one journalists query about how a body-on-frame design could corner with the competence expected of something wearing the Saab

Although the adept Sigma platform should have been available, for some reason the new Saab 9-7x SUV will be built on GMs GMT360 platform - AKA TrailBlazer/Envoy/etc. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

nameplate, but I remain skeptical. After all, the Chevy SSR "sport-truck" that uses the same GM underpinnings doesnt exactly feel athletic, mostly due to its 4,760 pound curb weight. Neither do any of the other GM clones, an ever increasing number that currently includes the Buick Rainier, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada (reportedly being discontinued), and Isuzu Ascender. Who knows, maybe Saabs chassis technicians will work miracles and turn the big truck into a slalom star. That will remain a mystery until Ive experienced it first hand.

I was impressed, however, with how much the 9-7x looks like a Saab, at least from the front. The familiar triple-vent grille is identical to the brands car lineup, as are the swooping front fenders and the nicely tapered headlamp clusters. It looked all Saab... that is until taking in the view from the side. Theres no way to hide

Can GMs body-on-frame chassis architecture really provide the cornering competence that consumers expect from the Saab brand? (Photo: General Motors)

its TrailBlazer/Envoy greenhouse. From the A-pillar back, its all GMT360. GM didnt even try to mask the stock sideview mirrors, complete with their integrated turn signals.

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