Car Spot: Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi 2.0T

The car Born from Jets

There was a time, back when I was a boy when every family had a station wagon. I remember family trips to Washington DC, New York for the World’s Fair, and Wyoming to see Yellowstone Park. I love the TV series by the way. And then they went away being replaced by SUVs. I think Jeep might have had something to do with that. Then there are the survivors like this week’s spot. A Saab 9-3 Aero Sport Combi 2.0T.

Saab was founded in 1937 to develop and because of the Cold War was better known for combat aircraft and equipped the Swedish Air Force with jets such as the Draken, Viggen, and Gripen. Cars came along in 1949 with its first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. Fast forward to 1978 the Saab 900 was launched becoming Saab’s best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.

Eager to expand its presence in Europe, GM bought into Saab in 1989 which is why the SportCombi was built on the same platform as the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, the Cadillac BLS, or the Chevrolet Malibu and was an instant hit outselling the sedan. Built from 2009 to 2012, it is an enthusiast car. The 2.8-liter turbocharged and intercooled V-6 that came with the upmarket Aero trim level put out 250 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque, enough to get the speedo to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds. Car and Driver magazine loved the car. “Built for comfort and speed and cargo (45 cubic feet max). What’s not to like? Well, the blend of substantial front overhang and the Aero’s deep front air dam can lead to parking lot curb scraping. But a bigger reservation is the price. The base four-cylinder edition starts at $27,620, undercutting the Audi A4 and BMW 325xi wagons, which both come with four-wheel drive that’s not available on the front-drive SportCombi. But with a base of $33,620, the SportCombi Aero begins to look a little pricey, even with a substantial array of luxoid standard features. You could strap yourself into a Hemi-powered Dodge Magnum RT for less”.

Things started unraveling for Saab after the economy started to tank in 2007, sales started to sag and GM announced that the Saab brand was “under review” in December 2008, i.e. We’re losing our shorts and want to dump you in a fire sale. There were about a half-dozen attempts to revive the brand by various buyers including several Chinese-based companies, the last being National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) but they all pretty much failed. NEVS was closed in March 2023, with the company going into “Hibernation Mode” to avoid bankruptcy and the company’s assets were liquidated. If you go by the original Saab, it all ended on December 19th, 2011 when Saab officially filed for bankruptcy after a three-year fight for survival. Saab’s best sales year was 2006 when just over 135,000 went out the door. The car “Born from Jets” would fly no more.

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What are they worth now? They are all over the place for well under 10K. Most will have around 100,000 miles on them, one I found even had 250,000. Hey, it’s a Saab. There are many dedicated Saab owners still out there, keeping their 900s, 9-3s, and 9-5s alive and running, even though the company hasn’t sold a car in the United States since 2011. The name lives on still making jets along with other military products and systems.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my latest spot. I have lots of others so go check them out. Come back next Friday for another spot along with some of its history. Have a great weekend.