Saab imports set to treble

Press, 19 December 1986, Page 12

Saab imports set to treble

BEHIND the WHEEL with

Peter Greenslade

Sweden, a small country, supports two carmakers, Volvo, which builds about 400,000 cars annually, and Saab, which produces somewhere in the region of 125,000 cars a year. By any standards, Saab is small beer in the motor world, but it is worth bearing in mind that Saab and Volvo each made more money than Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Jaguar combined between 1981 and 1985.

Together they were more successful than FiatLancia or BMW and almost as successful as Ford. Their earnings for the five years were beaten only by DaimlerBenz. The first Saab was made in 1950 by the former Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolget and today the cars are manufactured by Saab-Scania’s Saab car division. Saab-Scania is a company that was formed in 1969 by the merger of Saab Aktiebolag and Scania-Vabis.

Besides cars, SaabScania manufacturers commercial vehicles, aircraft, missiles, avionics, electronic and electromedical equipment, computers, industrial valves and measuring equipment.

Saab cars were introduced to New Zealand in 1983 and today the marque is handled by Scandinavian Motor Imports, Ltd, a member of the Giltrap group of automotive companies.

Subject to the availability of import licences, Saab car imports are likely to be trebled in New Zealand next year. As a matter of fact, the Japanese market share in this country has diminished from 80.6 per cent in 1984 to 74.8 per cent to date in 1986. If that trend continues in 1987, Saab will have played only a small part because, by

trebling Saab imports, Scandinavian Motor Imports will make only 100 cars available for sale. Those cars will range in price from around $50,000 to $95,000 and Scandinavian Motor Imports’ marketing manager, Phil Clarke, does not anticipate any insuperable difficulties in disposing of them because apart from the gentle trend away from Japanese cars, it is generally the higher priced European cars that are in demand in New Zealand.

Expansion plans for the local market were given a boost in November with the introduction of the Saab 9000 i executive model. It joined the highperformance 9000 Turbo 16, which has been available in very limited numbers since its launch a couple of months ago. Until the turbocharged Saab arrived on the scene, the Saab line-up comprised only the 900 model range. The 900 will continue, starting from $49,000 for the four-door 900 i, then moving to the four-door 900 Turbo, from $69,000, and the two-door Turbo 16, from $75,000.

The four-door 9000 Turbo, introduced September, now retails at around $82,000 while the latest car, the 9000 i, provides the option of buying this upmarket car in a less potent form from $72,000. I drove the 900 and 9000 models in Auckland at the end of November. By European standards, they are rather unusual looking cars with plain but comfortable interiors and very roomy.

The 900 reminded me very much of a refined vintage type car and has, I would imagine, a lot of appeal for true-blue driving enthusiasts. It remains rock steady in the corners and has sufficient power to satisfy enthusiastic drivers but, of course, not nearly so much as the 9000 cars.

Suspension at the front is by McPherson struts, lower wishbones, coil springs with telescopic damper arms and an antiroll bar. At the rear there is a rigid axle, twin trailing radius arms, a transverse linkage bar, coil springs, anti-roll bar and telescopic dampers. Steering is by rack and pinion and disc brakes are fitted all round, the front ones having internal radial cooling fins. The 900 has a luggage boot with a sill that is not overly high.

The 9000 models have their engines mounted transversely and although they are slightly shorter than the 900 series they are patently more spacious.

Perhaps the most im-

portant thing to realise about Saab 9000 is that it is one of the Type Four series comprising the new Alfa Romeo 164 executive saloon, which has yet to see the light of day and, more importantly, at least as far as New Zealand is concerned, the Giugiarostyled Lancia Thema and the Fiat Croma. The Lancia and Fiat are also handled by the Giltrap group and have become available in. New Zealand already. These Italian cars are procurable for less money than the Saab 9000 i ($72000) or the 9000 Turbo ($82,000). Unsurprisingly, the Type Four cars are all the front-wheel drive models because they share a common floorplan. The Alfa 164 will not be launched until around the middle of 1987 and it is a wedge-shaped saloon, styled by Pininfarina, a firm that is having a very serious affair with high bootlines terminating in snub-nosed spoilers. The 90001 is a logical progression from the 9000 Turbo 16 in that the fairly new engine has been developed for maximum fuel efficiency under all conditions, whereas the turbocharged version has been designed to deliver exceptional performance.

A double-overhead camshaft fuel-injected engine, it has two inlet and two exhaust valves for each of its four cylinders. Like the 16-valve turbo engine, it will run on leaded or unleaded fuel of any rating between 91 and 98 octane. It developes

95.5 kW at 5500 rpm and peak torque of 172..7 Nm at 3000 rpm. It has been generally accepted that- twin-cam engines must be made to turn over very quickly to deliver the power and torque to justify their cost. The low-engine speeds required to achieve maximum power and torque outputs in the Saab are quite exceptional.

On the road I found the 9000 i much more refined than the older 900. Its suspension, basically the same as that of the 900 although the live-rear axle is perhaps more rigidly located by the addition of a couple of leading arms, is more forgiving. The wheels never become disconcerting, unweighted and the cornering power is certainly the equal and possibly superior to that of the older model. These 9000 cars are offered with a very good manual five-speed gearbox at present, although a four-speed automatic will become available shortly for an additional $2400, which is less than optional leather upholstery ($2700) or air conditioning ($3000) which is standard on the 9000 Turbo only.

While the 9000 i is not sluggish, the turbo version is not so urbane. The Garrett Aißearch T 3 turbocharger with its Saab intercooler boosts maximum power to 129 kW at 5300 rpm and maximum torque to 273 Nm at 3000 rpm. Once again, the engine speeds are below the norm for “blown” engines and this is commendable

because one is seldom conscious that anything is happening under the bonnet.

All the same I think I would pitch for the 9000 i if I was in the Saab market. It’s almost certainly a more economical and mannerly car than the turbo version and probably of more use in a country such as ours that some cynics would say is just crawling its way out of Third World status. Like the other Swedish marque, Volvo, the Saab impresses as a well-built and inherently safe motor car.

As with the 900 s, the 9000 s have power-assisted steering that is well weighted and comfortable seating with ample leg hip, shoulder and headroom in the 9000 cars particularly. I would suspect that the somewhat unusual body shape would grow on one. It is intensely practical.

These cars are well but not excitingly appointed. Like the Volvo, they are said to be popular in North America thereby making a lie of the oftheld contention that the Yanks put greater store by glitz than guts.