The Last Saab: 2011 9-5 Aero XWD

The second generation 9-5 was supposed to be a comeback car for Saab. That's what its successful predecessor was in a way. Instead, it was the last Saab ever built, at least under the ownership they had for over two decades. That's not to say the 9-5 was at fault. In fact, it was a pretty great car. The demise of Saab actually goes all the way back to General Motor's meddling in the company starting in 1989. Some say they buy the competition to destroy it. They have every reason to. Saab used to make cars GM couldn't.

Saab is notorious for giving their cars initial designs that were well-executed and conservative enough so that they aged well and didn't need replacing for a decade. The first generation 9-5 replaced the 9000 in 1997, itself dating back to 1986. Both the 9000 and the 9-5 shared European GM front-wheel drive platforms. It was nothing special but got the job done. The 9-5 came at a good time in the mid 90s when the company needed a new car. It came with a sleek all-new body and interior. It was big, comfortable and reliable. These were favorites of middle class New England suburbs and sold in respectable numbers.

Unfortunately Saab (or GM, as nobody really knows who was calling the shots at that point) waited too long to replace the first generation 9-5. It fell above Volkswagen but far below Mercedes-Benz and BMW and somewhere even with Volvo, so it occupied a weird position in the market as a luxurious car with the front-wheel drive and therefore needed extra appeal and marketing to stand out. It received neither, and even after several decent facelifts, gradually just faded to the side as an automotive dinosaur. It was shameful.

In 2010, a new 9-5 did finally arrive. Saab had already tried to stage a comeback with an all-new 9-3, but that was an utter failure as the car was a poorly made and unreliable rebadged Euro GM front-wheel four-banger. It didn't stand a chance against anything Germany or Japan were offering, and it wasn't even better than an Accord or Camry. The new 9-5 was a chance to hit the reset button.

At first things looked promising. For starters, the car came in a super smooth, almost sexy body. It hinted at the brand's heritage while moving into the future. It's simple, clean and well-executed. The blackened a-pillars are cool, and the rear-tailights finish the car on a satisfying note. They also came with nifty alloy wheels that resembled fans. (always a good detail on Saabs).

Inside was one of Saab's best interiors yet, which is saying a lot since they always had good interiors. Saab had made aircraft before cars and designed the car dashboards to resemble the highly functional, user-friendly, wrap-around cockpits of a jet fighter. The result was iconic. Numerals were green, needles orange, and every button, switch and knob was artfully formed to be both easy to use and pleasing to touch. The 2nd gen 9-5 took things to a new level, with beautifully carved shapes, silver accents and artful layouts.

Underneath the hood was even more impressive. Although the previous 9-5 was never really underpowered, it wasn't exactly a hot-rod, either. Saab clearly intended to change that with the 2nd generation. This is the top of the line aero model and comes with a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine that produced 300 horsepower. As icing on top, it was matched with Saab's burgeoning system of all-wheel drive called "XWD". Frankly, I always thought it was ridiculous that Saab never offered all-wheel traction earlier on, seeing it was a Swedish carmaker and they sold so many in the snowy Northeast. But for a moment at least, the 9-5 Aero XWD was a really impressive package, for a Saab at least.

All the momentum was crushed however when Saab's financial troubles climaxed in 2010. The 2nd generation 9-5 barely got out of the gates before production ended in 2011, with just 11,280 units made, making this one of the rarest production Saabs in recent memory. The company has gone through bunch of corporate shifting from then until fall 2013, when it appears it will continue some limited production under the National Electric Vehicle Sweden (Nevs), but who really knows what will happen.

The last 9-5 is an impressive car. The platform and engines were widely used in Europe and shouldn't be too difficult to get parts. Servicing might just have to be done at a specialist, Pep Boys or your garage, though. The one positive fallout is that resale values have plummeted, so what was normally a $35k-$45k car can now be had for less than $25k.

Find this one available here for $22,895.

1997 3/4 Ton GMC Suburban Diesel

Ah, the Suburban of the 90s, that all-American family hauler that crept around the quiet blocks of Suburbia. Bigger and tougher than Ford's Explorer, there really wasn't anything else like it. Square-jawed, no-nonsense and simply styled, they made an instant presence. This was the optimism, power and excess of the post-Cold War Clinton Era bundled into a single vehicle.

GM debuted the much-needed new face of their Chevrolet truck range in the late 80s. They were fresh and bold looking and were an instant hit. It wasn't until 1992 however that the new Suburban came out. It was a huge hit too. I don't remember ever seeing the previous generation. But growing up, the '92 and onward body style was everywhere in my small middle class New England town. They were most often driven by soccer moms but dads weren't self-conscious to drive them, either.

Of course, this was when gas was still hovering around a dollar. There wasn't a worry in the world. So guzzlers like almost all of Chevrolet's trucks were socially acceptable, understood and even respected. But let's face it. Not everybody was doing well then. And even if you were, any responsible mind would cringe at the thought of filling up one of these monsters.

Which is where this particular example comes in. It's the rare diesel version that I didn't even know existed until I stumbled across it deep within the craigslist classifieds. If you know this blog, you know I love diesels. They are rare in passenger cars, but they weren't rare in trucks. They were rare in passenger trucks, however. Chevrolet assumed that mom and dad and five kids didn't worry about fuel efficiency as much as getting to the movie theater on time. But their marketing department thought some head of the household might be, so they sold this GMC diesel version for only two years.

The diesel engine of choice is a huge 6.5-liter V8 turbo diesel that pumped out 310 horsepower. It wasn't any kind of record breaker, but it was strong, torquey, reliable and efficient enough. The seller claims it gets "much better" mileage than the gasoline version, "especially on the highway". Frankly, if you're going to have a huge truck like this, I really have no idea why you wouldn't want anything else other than a diesel for all of those exact reasons mentioned above. Only in the last couple years have diesels in big family trucks thankfully returned, but they are often ridiculously expensive and complicated. Chevy's diesels had a relatively simple fuel system.

The seller says this one comes in SLT trim, so it has cushy leather upholstery, three rows of seats, two batteries and a tow package (and I bet this is a great hauler). They say the mileage is at 173k, nothing surprising. Mechanically, they say it runs and drives great.

If you have a big family but a tight budget or run a airport taxi service, I would absolutely consider this beast. With the 4x4 and diesel, this is a go-anywhere mobile.

Available here on craigslist for $5,200.