mmarshall

IN A NUTSHELL: A Chevy Trailblazer in an imitation Saab-Tuxedo.

With the introduction of Ford’s truck-based Bronco and crossover/unibody Bronco-Sport, and GM’s using the name Blazer/Trailblazer on new crossover SUVs, there has recently been a lot of conversation (and some arguments) in Car Chat over the previous truck-based Chevy Blazer/Trailblazer models, dating back some two decades or more. I’ll save more comments on that (and maybe more arguing LOL) for another day. But, while we were on the subject of those two models, I thought I’d do a brief write-up on one of the most unusual (and probably the slowest-selling) versions of the four-door truck-based Trailblazer…the Saab 9-7X.Unfortunately, just like it did with Saturn, GM managed to drive the Saab Division into obscurity, and sold them off, while the pending Saturn deal with Roger Penske never materialized. Saab Automotive (there is also an aircraft division, which produced military fighters and short-range airliners) is now owned by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) which sells electric versions of the 9-3, but not here in the U.S.

By the late 1980s, Saab, particularly in the U.S., had become little more than a niche-brand, greatly overshadowed by its Swedish corporate-rival Volvo….which, since then, has also become not much more than a Chinese-owned niche-brand. GM’s plan for Saab was to try and Americanize the vehicles and try and make them credible domestic competitors….which was a good idea on paper, but failed to take into account that there were very few dealerships, not many dealer/owners who wanted Saab franchises, and that Saab had only gotten as far as it had in the first place by producing relatively well-engineered but quirky front-wheel drive products like the 99 and 900. It was essentially the same mistake from GM’s leadership that they made when forgot Saturn’s customer-base with the superb S-class plastic-bodied/space-frame cars, and tried to turn the division into another Oldsmobile. I won’t get into these marketing-errors any more now, as that is also another subject for another time and article.

Anyhow, to the 9-7X itself. Saab had tried to sell the 9-2X and 9-2X Aero (the “X” meant All-Wheel-Drive), which was a rebadged Subaru Impreza/WRX with some mild Saab front-end and interior-touches, but it had proven unsuccessful. So, GM’s product-planners also came up with the idea of the 9-7X….a version of the (then) highly-popular truck-based/body-on-frame four-door RWD/AWD Chevrolet Trailblazer, that would be sold under the Saab nameplate. The Trailblazer, at the time, was one of GM’s big-profit vehicles, selling in large numbers, not only under the Trailblazer name, but also as the rebadged Buick Rainier, Oldsmobile Bravada, GMC Envoy, and the also-unsuccessful Isuzu Ascender. The Ascender was essentially a stripped/decontented version of the domestic-badged GM versions, with a lower price, while the 9-7X varied a little more from the others, and, while being mechanically pretty much the same, had a little more of a Saab-influence style-wise, with quirks like the Saab-tradition console-minted ignition-switch. The 9-7X was introduced in 2005, so it was more or less a replacement (or so GM intended) for the Olds Bravada, which had bit the dust with the Olds Division in 2004.

There were very few Saab dealerships left in the U.S. by then, and only one anywhere near my house, even in the big-auto-money D.C. area. I did a couple of Saab reviews there (the 9-3 Combi wagon and the Impreza-derived 9-2X)…and looked at a 9-7X, but I don’t remember if I test-drove one or not. I had, though, sampled a couple of its Trailblazer-derived brothers on the road. The Chevy version petty much drove like the mid-size truck/SUV it was, with the Buick version, typical of the nameplate, having a slightly softer suspension and a little more sound insulation. Depending on the versions, they came with a 4-speed automatic and a 4.2L in-line 6, 5.3L V8, or 6.0L V8. (the 6.0L was used in the 9-7X Aero and the Trailblazer SS). The 9-7X, of course, being an upmarket nameplate, carried a higher price tag than the Trailblazer, had a much nicer interior (many GM interiors back then were quite cheap), and had AWD standard…..no RWD versions.

Although it was not a big seller for the reasons I stated and for other reasons, the 9-7X remained in production through the 2009 model year, when GM closed the plant that it and its brothers were built in. GM sold the entire Saab division shortly after that to the Dutch Spyker NV company, who later sold it to NEVS.

And, as always, Happy Vehicle-Memories

MM

Toys4RJill

That was a cool version of the TrailBlazer/Envoy.

SAAB would be killing it right now if the brand was still around.

mmarshall

Agreed. Much nicer than the decontented Isuzu Ascender version. In fact, nicer inside than even the Buick version...a lot of GM interiors, back then, were El Cheapo in material quality. After their superb interiors and fit/finish of the late 60s, GM didn't get serious about their interiors again until about 10 years ago, although some improvements started showing up in the 2007 full-size SUVs.


Only if they could sell it outside of traditional dealerships....which Saab had very few of when they went out of business in the U.S. Even at the one Saab dealership (in Falls Church, VA) that was fairly close to my house, the people who worked there seemed dull, uninterested, and more or less resigned to the fact that the brand was living on borrowed time. Today, the dealer-property doesn't even exist any more.....it was torn down and replaced with a row of stores/buisnesses....including a Day-Spa and a Target store.


Saab's marketing theme, before GM bought them out, was "The most Intelligent Cars Ever Built"

tex2670

THIS was the kind of BS that put the nail in Saab's coffin - rebadged mediocre GM vehicles. Sad.

mmarshall

Can't say I disagree....although, in spite of a shared platform, the trim and equipment on the 9-7X was somewhat nicer than what GM and Isuzu were offering in the sister-versions. The 9-7X Aero version also shared the top-level 6.0L V8 with the Trailblazer SS....no other versions of this platform got that engine.

Och

iTrader: (3)

GM vehicles of that era was probably the lowest point in GM's history, and the government had to bail them out. The Trailblaser was absolutely miserable and the Saab version was only marginally less sad looking.

mmarshall

You're not terribly far off, but on one point I have to partially disagree. I've seen new vehicles come from GM since the 1960s, and, far and away, the worst ones I saw (in terms of quality-control and engineering) were from the 1980s. That was the time of the infamous X-Body compacts, the Cadillac V8/6/4 power plant, the 5.7L diesel V8, the Cimarron, the Pontiac Fiero, the chopped-trunk-lid Seville, four-cylinder Camaros wth 90 HP, and numerous other aberrations and disasters from GM. In contrast, the Saab 9-7X represented a slightly later period in GM history.

I will say, though, that, aside from the absolute joke of a powertrain in the early (carburated) versions, I actually liked the Cimarron....but I respect the fact that most of the auto-press couldn't stand it.

Felix

>>>>The original Seville was a better car then what Kennard threw out even thou Estes mentioned it was a bad idea. Seems like once GM gets the model sorted out, via the Fiero w/ the streering, the last couple yrs of the Cimarron via the 2.8 was tpi as well as the Last yr of the Allante which got the Northstar engine. Yea the dealers were screaming for a smaller car, I would have thought GM could've done better then thrown out a twice the money car as the J-platform. One look at how long Chevy spent time on the Corvette. Yea IK it was changed at the last minute for roadster duty thou. Kinda goes w/ everyone being (in the same room) on the same page/chapter......

mmarshall

The original Seville was brought out in 1975 to compete directly with the growing g popularity of the Mercedes E-class, and comparably priced. I thought it was pretty well done....though quite expensive for its size.



The Second-Generation 1980 Seville, in contrast, was a styling disaster, for obvious reasons.

mmarshall

Back to the 9-7X, here's Motorweek's take on it, with John Davis...he goes into it in more detail than I did. I had forgotten how pricey it was...even back then, it started at 38-40K, but, for the money, you got a classier vehicle than its regular GM cousins.

tex2670

Well isn't that the point? a "somewhat nicer" GM product is NOT worthy of being called a Saab.

Toys4RJill

Wow. Great find MM. Love the review. GM really had a good product for the models that were based on that chassis. I really had no idea that there were V8 options available, two different V8 options It really is unfortunate that GM discontinued the SAAB brand, and GM never made a replacement for this body on frame models

mmarshall

Thanks. I've always liked John Davis...I've met him and talked with him a number of times, mostly at the auto shows. A nice and personable guy...not full of himself like some of the people in the auto-enthusiast magazines. He doesn't go into the kind of detail Alex Dykes (Alex on Auto) does in a review...but that is primarily because the Motorweek show only gives him about five or six minutes for each vehicle, unlike the half-hour video Alex has to drone away.


Like the SS models from Chevy, Saab sported a performance Aero line of vehicles....which, in this case (the 9-7X) used the same upmarket 6.0L V8 as the Trailblazer SS. We also saw it in the Impreza-derived 9-2X, where the Aero version used the same turbo-drivetrain as the WRX. (I sampled and test-drove a 9-2X, but I don't remember if it was the Aero version or not)


Agreed......and, yes, I was sorry to see Saab go, but I was a lot MORE sorry to see Saturn go. Both cases derived from more or less the same problem....GM simply not knowing how to manage their products. We still see that, to some extent, today.

Felix

Bingo......

jwong77

That interior looks pretty awful, its pretty amazing how far the mainstream manufacturers have progressed in interior quality. I sat in a new 2021 Civic the other day and was pretty surprised by how nice it was for how little it costs.