In this decade I almost agree. I don't think they were hipster cars but I do agree they didn't have much going for them other than being less than common (and GREAT seats). In the 90s, well which other manufacture had luxury hatchbacks? Not wagons, hatchbacks. SAAB was basically the most practical car in the class when it came to carrying things. This applied to the 900 and 9000. When SAAB went sedan with the 9-5 and 9-3 that big advantage was lost. Still, the 95 was a very good car when it came out. It was just unchanged for too long.

 

don't want luxury hatchback. i'm not alone. like i said different to be different, much like the fans of the car. I work with two of them. They can't actually put into words why they like them. It's just something like they are cool or different....bah.

 

Personally, Saab interiors were pretty darn good even during the GM era. I appreciated their visually simple, well executed lay out, the leather quality was always really good, exterior design got a bit dated but sorta handsome. Not surprised to see them go. Think about it this way, one of their most iconic cars was a fwd turbo hatchback which would go against the focus st, ms3s, etc etc of today. That's really no car to hang your hat on. In the end, Saab had a very small following and really no appeal outside of that. These days, you either have to offer a solid bargain, a very luxurious piece of marketing, or a competitive performance car, in terms of cars, and saab really didnt have a niche in any of those categories. They werent bargains (new) and not known to be solid, their name didnt really have any cache at the country club, and their greatest performance offering was a fwd hatch. Unlike Mini, people generally hated the designs.
In the end, there werent enough people who would respond Saab when asked the question what car are you thinking about getting next.

 

Sorta agree. I remember reading that saab per capita had the most dog owners, which sorta tells you the type of clientele they had (family, bicycles, active lifestyle, etc), a niche that I think subaru did a great job taking. For those people who wanted to be different, well there arent too many of them, and again Subaru does a great job in getting those types as well.

 

don't want luxury hatchback. i'm not alone. like i said different to be different, much like the fans of the car. I work with two of them. They can't actually put into words why they like them. It's just something like they are cool or different....bah.
[/quote]
Wanting a luxury hatch isn't about being different, it's about utility. I don't want an SUV. I know from experience you can put a washing machine in the back of a SAAB hatchback! (fully inside, hatch closed)

 

don't want luxury hatchback. i'm not alone. like i said different to be different, much like the fans of the car. I work with two of them. They can't actually put into words why they like them. It's just something like they are cool or different....bah.
[/quote]
Wanting a luxury hatch isn't about being different, it's about utility. I don't want an SUV. I know from experience you can put a washing machine in the back of a SAAB hatchback! (fully inside, hatch closed)
[/quote]

Yeah, I agree. I never understood the stigma that developed against the hatch as a design solution for sedans other than it's common use in entry level vehicles. It's still a great solution for providing a lot of utility in a vehicle smaller and lighter than an SUV. And that's really all most people need. Personally, I'd rather drive a nice hatch based sedan than a small SUV. I can't believe it's impossible to design a good looking mid-high level sedan with a hatch. I wonder if and when we'll ever see another one?

 

don't want luxury hatchback. i'm not alone. like i said different to be different, much like the fans of the car. I work with two of them. They can't actually put into words why they like them. It's just something like they are cool or different....bah.
[/quote]
Wanting a luxury hatch isn't about being different, it's about utility. I don't want an SUV. I know from experience you can put a washing machine in the back of a SAAB hatchback! (fully inside, hatch closed)
[/quote]

Yeah, I agree. I never understood the stigma that developed against the hatch as a design solution for sedans other than it's common use in entry level vehicles. It's still a great solution for providing a lot of utility in a vehicle smaller and lighter than an SUV. And that's really all most people need. Personally, I'd rather drive a nice hatch based sedan than a small SUV. I can't believe it's impossible to design a good looking mid-high level sedan with a hatch. I wonder if and when we'll ever see another one?
[/quote]
I Europe they have plenty. The closest examples I can think of in the US were the Mazda6 hatch which was hard to tell from the sedan and the SAAB 9000 hatch which again looked very sedan like. I used to have a Contour SVT. In Europe that same SVT engine and suspension was put on the hatch version of the car to make the ST200. The current Mondeo is a hatch and looks very good to me.

I guess since not enough Americans demand it, it makes sense to go for the cheaper and structurally stronger sedan. Still, I wish I had more options as the only 5 door hatches I can think of are either "short wagons" like the Golf or Focus or cost big bucks like the A7 and Porsche sedan.

 

BMW 5GT?

 

And the Audi A7. But neither are in the entry level luxury price range.

 

I thought the 9-3 Viggen was fun (buddy of mine had one), if a bit of vehicular lunacy due to torque steer. Still, a unique car and pretty handy to own overall (lots of room, decent power, lots of torque, etc, etc).

Otherwise, not much to miss...