Saab??????

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This is all news to me.

Saab 9-2X[edit]



Saab 9-2X Aero
Subaru manufactured a badge engineered version of the second generation Impreza hatchback as the "Saab 9-2X" between 2004 and 2005. Retailed only in the North American market for the 2005 and 2006 model years, the car earned the nickname "Saabaru".[16] The car's name is written as "92X" on its badge, but as "9-2X" in advertising and other texts. The car was designated to be a direct competitor with the Volvo V50, as that too was based on a Japanese car (the Mazda3).[17] At the time the 9-2X was conceived, Saab Automobile had been a fully owned subsidiary of General Motors (GM), and GM held a 20 percent stake of Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries.


Saab 9-2X Linear or 2.5i
Although still produced in Japan by Subaru, Saab appointed Michael Mauer to commission the redesign of the front- and rear styling to better integrate the contrived Saab with the brand's own design language.[18] This totally restyled front fascia included new fenders and hood, with the rear gaining a redesigned tailgate and bumper. The interior received extra acoustic insulation over the Subaru, with particular attention paid to the firewall, carpeting, roof, and rear window seals. The main piece of the dash is unchanged from the Subaru versions, although the instrument cluster was redesigned. Saab also specified their own front seats incorporating active head restraints, unlike the fixed headrest seats in the equivalent Impreza WRX. The rear suspension arms are in aluminum, with further reduction of unsprung weight achieved by using plastic in place of heavier components, bushings unique to the Saab, and the dampers recalibrated. The steering had been made more responsive and exact in the Aero by using the steering rack shared by the STI version of the WRX, which features a faster 15.0:1 steering ratio, more rigidly mounted steering hardware and stiffer chassis bushings. The 9-2X is not particularly popular with Saab brand loyalists for the fact that the changes from the Subaru are mostly cosmetic.[19] The 9-2X also won the highest IIHS safety awards.[20]

Saab planned to offer the 9-2X to a limited public. Initial sales were slower than expected, with only 410 sold within the first two months; however, incentives and promotions helped drive sales in May 2005 alone to beat the combined sales of the year up until that point. In October 2005, however, GM decided that it would sell 8.4 percent of the company to Toyota and dispose of its remaining 11.4 percent share back to Fuji in a share buyback deal. The 9-2X was discontinued after the 2006 model year with the dissolution of the partnership between Fuji and GM.[21] 10,346 Saab 9-2Xs were manufactured during the entire production run. The production for the 2005 model year accounts for most of these (8,514 total, about 58 percent Linear; 42 percent Aero). The remaining 1,832 were produced for the 2006 model year (approximately 82 percent 2.5i; 18 percent Aero). The Aero model was not sold in Canada for 2006.