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      02-25-2012, 04:23 AM   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmsent View Post
I keep reading how GM ruined SAAB. But if SAAB had been a viable company they wouldn't have ever been acquired by GM. When GM bought them, SAAB was out of money, and was still selling ancient models. The pre GM SAAB 900 dated all the way back to the 99 with a few modifications. They had no money to develop a new generation. The 9000 was never a pure SAAB vehicle, with its platform sourced from Alfa, as I recall.
Not quite recalled correctly.
The 9000 was a jointly developed Saab/Fiat-Lancia platform..... the design being led from Sweden.

And................ Saab DID have a 'old 900' successor very well ahead in development prior to GM buying a 50% stake in Saab back in 1990. However, GM looked at it and said, it's too expensive, dump it and told the Saab engineers, "here's this old Vauxhall/Opel platform, go and do something 'very cheap and quick' with this instead"
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