End of an Era: Last Saab 9-5 Built.

By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via SaabsUnited

YESTERDAY marked a bittersweet moment for many at the Saab factory in Trollhattan, Sweden.

According to SaabsUnited, the 483,593th Saab 9-5 – in wagon form – rolled off the assembly line and into the welcoming care of the Saab museum. The 9-5 series of sedans and wagons (more mainstream successors to Saab’s beloved if truly quirky 9000 five-doors) stood as Saab’s only link to its true, pre-GM-buyout soul.

A decade old, the 9-5 nonetheless maintained a high degree of safety and comfort through its tenure as Saab’s defacto flagship.

The automotive community can credit the 9-5 for several pioneering innovations: including active safety headrests that tilt forward in a collision to prevent occupant whiplash; and electrically fan-cooled seats, which Mercedes-Benz later implemented in the W220 S-Class in 2000.

The 9-5’s overdue replacement is set for launch later this year, allowing us to pause and give credit to the 9-5 for maintaining Saab’s Svenska authenticity in a decade that saw the 9-3 transformed into a generic, Opel platformed sedan, the 9-2X “Saabaru”, and that rat-bastard step-child 9-7X; a GMC Jimmy with a Saab badge and center console mounted key ignition.

It’s almost a shame that the 9-5’s assembly, tools, and trade-info were sold to the Chinese in a kind of garage sale last autumn. Still, Chinese consumers stand to benefit- for anything based on the 9-5 will stand up in the marketplace as a solid car.