Saab
of Sweden is the automotive company
steeped in the production of cars that
look and act differently from ordinary
vehicles. But change is coming to Saab,
now grouped under the corporate umbrella
of General Motors, with new lines of
new cars featuring contemporary body
styling, sophisticated structures and
high-tech engine performance.
Saab enters the 2004 car class with
two different series of luxury and performance
cars but promises to deliver a third
entirely new model before the model-year
ends.
The
two returning Saab lines - each with
numeric designations, turbo-charged
engines and extensive on-board equipment
promoting safe motoring - are the mid-size
9-5 flagship sedan and SportWagon variation,
and the compact-class 9-3 series. Last
year Saab moved the 9-3 upscale to the
premium compact sport sedan class with
a fresh design that replaced Saab's
traditional hatchback styling with the
shape of a conventional notchback sedan.
Three
new themes came with the interior decor
of 9-3 as Linear, Arc and Vector, the
latter with a sporty flair. This year,
a luxurious convertible edition of 9-3
emerges to join the sports sedans with
two engine options and power motivation
for the pop-top conversion that reduces
the movement to a one-button, one-touch
operation.
Saab's
9-5 cars were restyled and repackaged
in 2002 under themes of Linear, Arc
and Aero, with Linear as the standard,
Arc for luxurious touring and Aero tipped
toward performance. For 2004 Linear
is reserved exclusively for the SportWagon
while Arc sedan and SportWagon show
sporty new body elements plus a new
turbo engine.
By
the spring of 2004, Saab will have a
third line with a new subcompact-class
car called, appropriately, 9-2. Conformed
as a five-door hatchback, the 9-2 will
become Saab's entry-level product while
packaged as a fun-to-drive vehicle with
a sophisticated all-wheel-drive (AWD)
system and optional turbo engine.
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