Cool Stuff Coming
If you don't have your ear to the rail, I just wanted to mention some fun stuff coming out of the Saab pipeline. 2005 is going to be a pretty good year for Saab if everything promised gets delivered.
Most everyone knows the 9-7X is coming in April. I won't be too excited by it, but that is a matter of preference. I just don't like trucks posing as passenger cars. They do fill a need, though, and even in the era of $2/gallon gasoline, they are still desirable. The 9-7X will certainly be one of the nicest truck-based SUVs, and if one has a large boat or camper to pull, this will be a swell way to do it.
Real news--the 9-3 Sport Hatch, or Sport Combi (hearkening back to the 99 hatchback in the 1970s) bows this year. The pictures are gorgeous, very sexy. Plus, the Aero version gets a 2.8 litre V6 turbo producing 280 hp. It will probably torque steer like crazy, and damn the auto-writers, torque steer means your having fun! Bring it on!
The 9-5 is going to have a revision in 2005. There hasn't been anything leaked about this, so I don't know what to expect. Would Saab leave its flagship with less power than the new 9-3 Sport Hatch? Maybe this will force them to ratchet up the power there. Navigation is already available in 2005 (it is pricey but works very nicely).
The 9-6X (a joint venture with Fuji, aka the Saabaru II) is still some time away but pictures have started to surface. I doubt the authenticity of any of them in this age of Photoshop, but this car-based SUV does look interesting to me.