2009 Saab 9-3s Only Available With Automatic Transmission In The United States?

Posted on 18. Nov, 2008 by Ryan in 2000-2009

According to the newly “downgraded” Saab Automobile USA “built your own” car configurator that screwed up their color section that I mentioned earlier, the 2009 Saab 9-3s are now only available with an automatic transmission.

I guess this comes as no surprise because according to Saab designer, Bryan Nesbitt back in March of 2008, “The only thing you need in the United States is a car with an automatic transmission and cup holders”.

As a firm believer in manual transmissions due to not only the capabilities, but fuel efficiency, this is another shot in Saab Automobile’s foot, especially with the fuel draw that the cross-wheel drive system has already.

I am sure that there are 2009 Saab 9-3s with manual transmissions actually available at dealerships, so what the heck is going on with the people running the Saab Automobile USA website, are they serious about this or is this more lack of oversight and thought about their web presence? If I can speak about the previous website, there is an old saying and it goes “if it is not broken, don’t fix it”, well they certainly fixed it until it was broken on this one.

However, we’ll see if this automatic-only ideal is truly Saab Automobile USA’s indicator that they believe that the United States is not a “driving culture” according to Bryan Nesbitt.

I leave you with Nesbitt’s quote about “automatics & cupholders and the driving culture in the United States in comparison to Western Europe” from the 2008 New York Auto Show, thanks to JMK Saab from 7:10 to 8:11

Tags: automatic transmission, Bryan Nesbitt, car configurator, Designer, Saab Automobile USA, United States, web presence, Western Europe