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> Given the demographics of the Saab customer base, I think it could have been an interesting and canny move if GM had launched the Volt as a Saab. Absolutely.

> Given the demographics of the Saab customer base, I think it could have been an interesting and canny move if GM had launched the Volt as a Saab. Absolutely. I drive a Polestar now, and my sense from the Polestar community is that many of us are frustrated Saab lovers. A new Saab EV is definitely something I'd be interested in! (Not that Polestar owners would make an especially huge market on our own...Just like Saab!)

jjtheblunt 3y ago
ex saab 900 turbo (very used 1982...died in 1990 in a wreck when i was 22), also fascinated by Polestar. may i ask how you like it?
- pdabbadabba 3y ago
  I love it. The Android Automotive software can sometimes be a little flaky, but that's really the only issue I've ever had. Handling is great and the power and torque are very very intoxicating. (Not unlike other EVs, of course.) For some, the 270 mi range is probably a bit of a turnoff. But if you live in Europe, or one of the parts of the U.S. where everything is close together, there's no issue at all. I would probably not buy one if I lived in Wyoming, but I doubt that's your situation.
thevagrant 3y ago
Is Polestar really Swedish though? How much engineering input comes from the team in Sweden?
- ojl 3y ago
  As far as I know, quite Swedish. Lots of shared development with Volvo which has lots of development as well as manufacturing in Sweden, but I don’t think the Polestars are assembled in Sweden.
  - thevagrant 3y ago
    Ok yeah I'm curious as I looked into them a few months back and saw they were manufactured in China. As a consumer it is hard to know which EVs are designed and engineered in house (with outsourced manufacturing) versus a brand that has been repurposed (MG for example)
    - ojl 3y ago
      I think the Polestar 3 will be manufactured in the US though.
    - pdabbadabba 3y ago
      Yeah. That's a fair question to have. From a design perspective, it seems unmistakably Swedish. And it is built on a Volvo platform (same as the C40 recharge, as I understand it) with a lot of Volvo parts. Its seatbelt buckles even say "Since 1959"--referring to the year Volvo supposedly invented the seatbelt. On the other hand, they are indeed manufactured in China. And Polestar is a joint venture between Volvo and Geely (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group), a Chinese company. Volvo Cars itself is also also owned by Geely. So China is not just the country of manufacture, if that's something you're concerned about.

jjtheblunt 3y ago

ex saab 900 turbo (very used 1982...died in 1990 in a wreck when i was 22), also fascinated by Polestar. may i ask how you like it?

pdabbadabba 3y ago
I love it. The Android Automotive software can sometimes be a little flaky, but that's really the only issue I've ever had. Handling is great and the power and torque are very very intoxicating. (Not unlike other EVs, of course.) For some, the 270 mi range is probably a bit of a turnoff. But if you live in Europe, or one of the parts of the U.S. where everything is close together, there's no issue at all. I would probably not buy one if I lived in Wyoming, but I doubt that's your situation.

thevagrant 3y ago

Is Polestar really Swedish though? How much engineering input comes from the team in Sweden?

ojl 3y ago
As far as I know, quite Swedish. Lots of shared development with Volvo which has lots of development as well as manufacturing in Sweden, but I don’t think the Polestars are assembled in Sweden.
- thevagrant 3y ago
  Ok yeah I'm curious as I looked into them a few months back and saw they were manufactured in China. As a consumer it is hard to know which EVs are designed and engineered in house (with outsourced manufacturing) versus a brand that has been repurposed (MG for example)
  - ojl 3y ago
    I think the Polestar 3 will be manufactured in the US though.
  - pdabbadabba 3y ago
    Yeah. That's a fair question to have. From a design perspective, it seems unmistakably Swedish. And it is built on a Volvo platform (same as the C40 recharge, as I understand it) with a lot of Volvo parts. Its seatbelt buckles even say "Since 1959"--referring to the year Volvo supposedly invented the seatbelt. On the other hand, they are indeed manufactured in China. And Polestar is a joint venture between Volvo and Geely (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group), a Chinese company. Volvo Cars itself is also also owned by Geely. So China is not just the country of manufacture, if that's something you're concerned about.