stevehayes01
06-14-2005, 09:42 AM
Edmunds Full Article (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=106048#)
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/il/news/2005/0613/saab.500.jpg
QUEBEC CITY, Canada — Saab will give its midsize 9-5 sedan and wagon a modest face-lift in the coming year, and a successor model is in the pipeline, a company executive told Inside Line.
The 9-5 is the company's oldest model, introduced in early 1997. Its replacement, due around 2009 or 2010, is expected to be based on the corporate Epsilon II platform, which also will provide the foundation for the next-generation 9-3.
In the meantime, Jay Spenchian, head of Saab's U.S. operations, said the company is preparing a midcycle face-lift of the current 9-5. The updates, which include a new grille, headlamps, taillamps and bumpers, as well as a redesigned cockpit and instrument panel, are expected to appear later this year on the 2006 model.
Spy photos taken in Europe show the revised 9-5 will carry over much of its existing sheet metal.
In the U.S., the top engine is expected to be a turbocharged V6, while a new diesel is earmarked exclusively for European customers.
What this means to you: Saab isn't dead yet — it's only ailing. But the company isn't exactly rushing a replacement to market for its aging 9-5 series.
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/il/news/2005/0613/saab.500.jpg
QUEBEC CITY, Canada — Saab will give its midsize 9-5 sedan and wagon a modest face-lift in the coming year, and a successor model is in the pipeline, a company executive told Inside Line.
The 9-5 is the company's oldest model, introduced in early 1997. Its replacement, due around 2009 or 2010, is expected to be based on the corporate Epsilon II platform, which also will provide the foundation for the next-generation 9-3.
In the meantime, Jay Spenchian, head of Saab's U.S. operations, said the company is preparing a midcycle face-lift of the current 9-5. The updates, which include a new grille, headlamps, taillamps and bumpers, as well as a redesigned cockpit and instrument panel, are expected to appear later this year on the 2006 model.
Spy photos taken in Europe show the revised 9-5 will carry over much of its existing sheet metal.
In the U.S., the top engine is expected to be a turbocharged V6, while a new diesel is earmarked exclusively for European customers.
What this means to you: Saab isn't dead yet — it's only ailing. But the company isn't exactly rushing a replacement to market for its aging 9-5 series.