When Will Saab Offer Diesels In the United States?

Posted on 04. Aug, 2009 by Ryan in 2000-2009

Photo Credit: Schwedenteile

I have been wondering, with all of the great press on diesels in the United States, when will Saab Automobile offer the TTiD models?

What prompted this question was that I recently heard that my Father who lives in New England, one who had not owned a Saab since the 99 and the 96, was out looking for a passenger car lately. He has a long commute and required a diesel power train, a tow hitch all in a wagon with a 5 or 6-speed manual. His last and final requirement was a service point on both ends of his commute for warranty work, etc. He was initially interested in the Saab, but he quickly learned that the diesels were not available in the United States. Secondly, he does not live in an immediate metro area so service would be a significant problem. His decision at the end of the process involved choosing a VW Passat Wagon TDI instead. As part of his purchase he received a signficant discount on it through the “Cash for Clunkers” program, trading in his old Ford Exploder in addition to an IRS sales tax refund since it’s a 2009 MY as well.

This could have been a great Saab purchase, but since they aren’t available stateside and service convenience was a problem, he and presumably many other customers would have chosen a Saab had the situation been otherwise. I find this a tragic situation for people, including my Father because apparently he wanted a tow hitch with this sportwagon, but unlike the Saab 9-3 SportCombi which has one, the VW dealer says that there are no trailer hitches for his brand new ride, so he has to go third party. He is however, very impressed with the 45 miles to the gallon he’s been getting lately that’s expected to rise after the first 10k. I would have been more impressed if he was behind the wheel of a Saab 9-3 SportCombi TTiD reporting those figures to me though!

We know the United Kingdom, Sweden most of Europe and Australia have diesels, so when will these products be introduced to the United States?

Here’s hoping with the new Koenigsegg owned Saab Automobile, they will have the autonomy to make the decisions become a reality so that we can grow the existing and prospective customer base in the United States.

Tags: Australia, Ford, Internal Revenue Service, New England, passenger car, Saab Automobile, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, VW dealer