Saab not resting....Next 9-3 testing....

WOW, that's a sweet design.
Thumbs up to GM with this. Finally giving their brands what they deserve.

Yes, the car looks good and I think that Saab is already a true competitor in the "Audi A4/ Mercedes C-Class" arena. GM has the Cadillac Northstar V8 which has already been adopted by the Buick Lucerne. That is the engine I would like to see in the new Saab instead of another weird turbo. The Northstar V8 is powerful yet fuel efficient and, as a V8, is super smooth as well. Saab has always had comfortable seats so this new model should sell well.

If they take away the Turbo, they will have stripped the company of all that remains of the Original SAAB. Please don't take that away, we want SAAB to get back to it's roots.

GO SAAB!

Yes, the latest Saab designs look great!

But, no, Saab is not a serious performance competitor to the BMW or Audi, which are sport coupes & sedans bred for the autobahn. There is nothing wrong with that, because few buyers actually explore the limits of vehicle performance, but i guess the audience here is more interested in bragging rights than anything else.

The high-HP Audis are AWD, and the BMWs RWD. Saab cannot offer anywhere near the level of performance with a FWD chassis -- torque steer becomes unmanageable, as any Viggen owner will attest. Most Saab afficianados wish that Saab would return to its off-road rally roots, where 4-season driving capability is more important than who has the most HP.

Only the 9-2X ("9-2WRX") was truly capable of high HP, and GM pulled the plug early on that project before giving it a chance. The 9-2X was the most fun Saab in over a decade because it WAS NOT a heavy V-8 bloatmobile. It was light, agile, and had enough traction to go anywhere, on any road, at any time of year.

A V-8, too, would not fit any current Saab chassis, nor would it be accepted in Europe (remember, Saabs are primarily marketed there, not in the USA). When you pay $6 per gallon of gas, you probably will be less enthusuiastic about driving a V-8. Even with the right gearing for economical highway cruising, no V-8 is fuel economical in urban driving. Tell me how an engine that is twice as heavy and volumous -- which requires a larger and heavier chassis to maintain the same strength and stiffness with a larger engine -- would burn less fuel.

The fact is, turbo engines, pioneered by Saab and others, have proven themselves economical, powerful and reliable. Reliability degrades of course when you tune it for obscene amounts of pressure boost, but that should be obvious. Saab needs to win back buyers with continued innovation in safe, fun, 4-season cars. it should not be chasing German sports cars for Nurburgring lap times, nor should it be another outlet for GM V-8s and Trailblazer chassis. In my opinion, Saab needs another sporty 3-door hatchback in the worst way.

They shouldn't be resting on their laurels, because they just can't afford to. Saab is hanging on by the skin of their teeth, no thanks to GM. I want the real Saab back.

I guess I just hate turbos because the early ones were unreliable and had bearings that were not properly cooled. Any mechanical device that is continuously exposed to high temperature raises a red flag for me. Also Saab had some sort of asymmetrical turbo arrangement for a few years that made no sense at all. Original Saabs in the U.S. in the fifties had 2-stroke engines -- I'm sure current emissions regs would not allow us to go back to those roots. I would not mind if Saab used a supercharged engine but I still think GM should install the normally aspirated DOHC Northstar V8 into the Saab.

No V8 in Saab please. If they really need to put a V8 in the lineup then just make a new larger car, bigger then the 9-5. But for the 9-3 and 9-5 no V8. That's just my opinion.