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First 2011 Saab 9-4Xs Now At Dealers, Can It Turn The Tide?

 
3 1,699 views Jul 8, 2011
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2011 Saab 9-4X

HI-RES GALLERY: 2011 Saab 9-4X

Saab's financial open wounds are, for now at least, bandaged, and it's set to restart full-scale production on August 9th. Helping to spearhead the brand's sales comeback, the first of the 9-4X crossovers for the 2011 model year are now arriving at dealerships across the country.

The very first 9-4Xs arrived at some dealers on Saturday, with the rest of the network filling in this week. Saab is hopeful that it will hit a sweet spot in the market, re-building the brand's image and turning over enough volume to benefit the bottom line.

That's a tall order for a single model, especially one based on the not-so-hot-selling Cadillac SRX. As our own Bengt Halvorson noted in his first drive review of the range-topping Aero model, the interior is almost entirely redesigned for Saab, differentiating it substantially from the SRX. The outside is also heavily re-worked, and though it doesn't look like a Cadillac, it doesn't have much of a characteristically Saab profile, either.

Halvorson sums up the 9-4X's chances like this: "In one respect the 9-4X is a vehicle that will give the brand an entry point into a segment they've been missing out on for a long, long time. In another respect, the 9-4X is yet another example of rebranding left over from Saab's GM days, and arguably not a true Saab. Does the 9-4X give Saab some new bragging rights or muddle the message even more? Although the 9-4X is a great vehicle, we're left thinking the latter."

What do you think? Is the 9-4X a step in the right direction for Saab's revival, or another misstep down the path that led to financial trouble in the first place?

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Comments (3)

  1. fb_100002539502038 avatar Curt Sehon Posted: 7/8/2011 10:58am PDT

    The new 9-4X will sell as poorly as the new 9-5. There is simply no advertising to make people aware of the vehicle. Plus, it's too expensive and doesn't get good gas mileage. If Saab survives 18 months, then the new 9-3 will help with sales but that a big if.
     
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  2. fb_624821665 avatar Jefferson Starship Posted: 7/9/2011 5:55pm PDT

    Ultimately Saab is in trouble because of GM's mismanagement. Like Obama today who inherited Bush's mess. (Although Obama has only made the problems worse). I really hope the Chinese government approves Chinese investment in Saab. Muller really has great plans for Saab, just needs the cash to do it. He even stated that the new 9-5, which is a Buick LaCrosse, was no where near how he would have made Saab's flagship.
     
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  3. fb_100000387496762 avatar Tim Hofstee Posted: 7/10/2011 2:44am PDT

    It's a true Saab, actually both the SRX and the 9-4x were engineered by Saab. Orginally the SRX was to be released after the 9-4x but GM decided to halt the 9-4x release after it wanted to get rid op Saab.
     
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