Imagine my surprise when pulling in to work the other day and what should I find in the spot next to mine? This site’s favorite automotive unicorn, the Saab 9-2x.
Now to be honest, I have no idea whether this a 2005 or 2006 9-2x. But since most of these were 2005 models, that is what I went with for the article title.
The 9-2x has already gotten the full Curbside Classic treatment (here and here), but I didn’t want to let this one go by without at least a CC capsule, since 9-2x sightings are about as common as solar eclipses.
It didn’t help that the Saab badges had faded away.
One reason why I think these things are scarce (or at least perceived as scarce) is that they look almost identical to the much more common second-generation Impreza on which they are based. From the side it is virtually indistinguishable from the Impreza. From the rear, slightly different tail lights are the main differentiator that really only a fellow owner would spot. Indeed, when I pulled in I had assumed that I was parking next to a WRX until I saw the Saab schnoz. I wonder how many other 9-2x’s I’ve overlooked because of this.
I’ve been working at my current employer for over five years, so I must have seen this car many times before without even realizing what it was. In fact, I’ve seen it several times since taking these pictures, now that I know what to look for.
According to Wikipedia, a total of 10,346 total 9-2x’s were produced and sold worldwide during its brief 2-year run. To put this into proper context, below are some cars that have had larger production runs than the 9-2x.
| 14,022 | Lamborghini Diablo | ||
| 16,652 | Cadillac XLR | ||
| 16,941 | Subaru BRZ (US sales) | ||
| 22,010 | Merkur Scorpio | ||
| 24,150 | Chevrolet SSR | ||
| 27,219 | Rolls-Royce Phantom | ||
| 30,252 | Fiat 500L (US) | ||
| 35,794 | Sterling 825/827 | ||
Faded badges? Chinese suppliers are still building them for a couple bucks each! So it’s a matter of patience. The new badge fades again? Buy another one!
A Saabaru
A Japanese car, sold under a European badge, owned at the time by an American company. The ultimate expression of badge engineering?
I’d absolutely still get one. It’d be all the fun of a WRX, but driven by somebody who was more likely to baby it.
What is wrong with people who can’t put the annual renewal sticker where it belongs?!? I saw a car with other day with their 2017 sticker on the decklid, not even on the license plate at all.
If the owner took the stupid license plate frame off, putting them in the right spot would present less of a problem.
Why do some states even require their registration/inspection stickers on license plates in the first place? Seems like it would be way too easy for someone to steal your stickers, not to mention their compromised stickiness if wet.
A hold over from the 20th Century when metal tabs signifying the year of registration were applied to plates.
2017 is the first year Pennsylvania stopped the stickers, due to police now having license plate readers. My registration was due in November, meaning I have one of the last stickers on my car..
No, they immediately permanently weld themselves to the ones underneath. I have quite a stack of them on my license plate.
Exactly. Once our stickers are on, they’re not going anywhere. Whoever formulated that glue did their job with a passion.
I learned the hard way not to apply the sticker in extreme cold weather, the thing just shattered. My car with the vanity plate I always take the old stickers off using the hot gun but the family car we just keep stacking them. In Ontario you transfer your plate to the new car so we got about 10 years of stickers stacked up.
Wow, that license plate is trashed!
So, since there are no SAAB dealers, and this is really a Subaru, will a Subaru shop work on it?
Bad badge are also a pet peeve of mine; they’re easy to get and easy to replace.Shame on the owner for not fixing them.
License plates are different though. Back in my bad boy motorcycle days I took the position that the license plate isn’t mine; it belongs to the state. If the state wants the mud washed off their license plate, well, let them do it.
It’s virtually all Subaru other than the front sheet metal. Any Soob specialist should work in it.
I would rather take that car to a Subaru dealer than take it to some genetic GM dealer. They won’t recognize it. Saturns can go to Chevy. And the SAAB 9-4 is basically a Chevy Trailblazer. I had a friend who paid $45K for a SAAB 9-3 convertible. It broke down constantly. She found out that it was basically a Chevy Malibu under the skin. She dumped it and bought a Mustang.
No, the 9-7x was a Trailblazer. The 9-4x was related to the SRX.
When I was looking for a new car last year, one of these popped up on craigslist. I showed my dad who was giving me some money to help out and he said “that’s a Saab, that’s junk” this began the it’s a Subaru argument. He just wouldn’t see it, since he was helping with the purchase he vetoed it and no Saaburu for me. Whenever I see one of these it just irks me thinking what could have been.
An odd ‘bit-sa’ – a bit like the earlier Packard-baker…these marriages usually occur as part of corporate death-spirals. Here in the UK we have Opel’s with Vauxhall badges – but for how long? The parent GM have put both up for sale, they lost approx. £150M last year – Peugeot-Citroën are in the bidding – UK government now in some panic about possible job losses.
Way smaller production was the SAAB 9-4 http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/10/saab-9-4x-the-heavier-less-efficient-cadillac-srx/
I think they made 500 of them or so…
Was the Saab 9-4 the rebadged Chevy Trailblazer? GM ruined SAAB. When they sold SAAB, they would not let the new owner use the technology. They had no cars to sell and not enough money and time to develop one. So they died. When Ford sold VOLVO, they gave me five years to use to the shared technology. That gave Volvo time to develop new cars and survive. GM killed SAAB and Hummer by being selfish.
No, the 9-4x is based on the same platform as the second generation Cadillac SRX. I see one around town every few months. Good looking car, extremely rare.
The Trailblazer was the 9-7x
Thanks for the clarification. SAAB tried to expand too fast and did not take the time to do it right. The last 9-5 came out just as they were bought out. It never had a chance. That car had to have a very small number produced.
I test drove one of these, and was a little disappointed.
It felt decent Asian car, though not especially sporty. What really took it off my consideration list though, was the way it shift.
The 9-2X just didnt’ shift ‘right’. Maybe because the clutch engagement seem high, or something else, but the fact my shifts weren’t perfect bugged me.
I’m not an authority, but I like manual trans. At the time, I had (and still have) an 86 VW GTI. I owned 2 Ford Probe V6 GTs in the 1990s. I also owned a BMW 318is. They felt different from each other, yet in all those cars, changing gears as seamless and fun.
Otherwise,the Saabaru was a potentially nice car.
But it worked out. A couple of years later, I test drove a Cobalt SS Supercharged—now THAT was a sporting car, in every respect.
A large percentage of these must have been sold in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area. While I would not say they were common, I recall seeing them with some regularity. Certainly more common than Lamborghini Diablos…
That’s actually not the WRX version, to be so it would have the be the 9-2X Aero (and badged as such on the back) with the hoodscoop that feeds the intercooler. Powered by the same 2.0 Turbo H-4 as the WRX.
This is a 9-2X Linear (which did NOT have a Linear badge), but is the same as a regular Impreza, powered by a 2.5 naturally aspirated H-4.
Having owned an Aero (as Tom linked to above), it was a fun little car. I did drive a Linear version once and it was perhaps even nicer around town as the larger engine felt torquier down low.
Both versions (so the entire run) are on the Takata airbag recall list, btw.
Actually sold a couple of these pre-owned at my dealer in Jersey. We’ve had a decent amount of people trade Saabs for VWs.
I wonder how many 9-2x first-owners wound up trading them on Subarus?
I met a guy who owned a 9-2. I called it a Saabaru as he got real upset. I assume most SAAB owners refuse to acknowledge the Subaru roots.