I *LOVE* the Saabs of yore. When they switched to this most recent body style, I think they lost a lot of their personality (no hatchback, etc...)
The pics of the 9-2 look great, the Subaru WRX wagon is great, but a Saabaru is still not a Saab. Give me a reconditioned, low-mileage 1992 900 Turbo 3-door anyday.
The Linear model has the 4.2L I6, and the Aero model has a 5.3L pushrod V8...
Personally, I think it looks decent, but it's too bad that it shares so much with the Rainer, Bravada, Envoy, TrailBlazer, and Ascender. It's not a Saab -- just some GMT360 with Saab styling.
Sat in it and played around a bit with it at the NY Auto Show last week. It's definitely got a strong GM influence (as evidenced by the chassis, motor, and general shape), but it still felt very SAAB like. Should be interesting to see how things play out.
No, its GMT360 platform (TrailBlazer, Envoy, etc). It'll be built at the GM plant in Moraine, OH starting Jan '05.
Saab had more time to personalize the design of the 9-7 than they had the 9-2 but both are stop gap vehicles until true co-developed replacements are available in a few years.
Saab USA has been losing a significant amount of sales to SUV's over the past 10 years or so. They desperately need product to maintain the viability of the brand. While the 9-2 and 9-7 aren't perfect solutions, they're better than nothing for now.