My family had numberous 99s, 900s, and 9000s over the years. Saab lost it's quirkyness. Saab ditched the high profile tires (which were great in the snow), th

My family had numberous 99s, 900s, and 9000s over the years. Saab lost it's quirkyness. Saab ditched the high profile tires (which were great in the snow), the front biased weight distribution (which were great in the snow), the ignition on the floor (much harder to steal then an ignition on the steering column), and generally started looking more like BMWs. They went from practical and safe cars to chasing BMW for the luxury sedan market. They tried with lower ground clearance, lower profile tires, wider tires, ignition on the steering column, power windows, power locks, better materials in the cockpit etc. The result was a dramatic increase in cost and complexity, but never got particularly close to BMW for driving refinement, handling, and of course they never matched BMWs RWD. There wasn't much competition from BMW for a practical car. I moved apartments several times in a Saab, with the hatch back back, giant trunk, and seats that folded down I could easily get desks, beds, tables, and even couches between apartments. So the result is SAAB lost their old customers and never managed to steal luxury customers from other brands. Amusingly I see see SAABs occasionally in snow rallies... RIP.