This will be the final War Of The Noses post before I give voice to my own theory and either validate it or disgrace it with the collected poll results.
Our final vehicle is the Saab 9000, which had two basic noses to make it nice and easy for you pollsters.
The early 9000 nose, with the taller ‘face’ and headlamps:
And here’s the later 9000 nose, with it’s narrower headlamps and grille.
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Here’s your poll. Which 9000 nose do you prefer? Early or late?
The Saab 96 vote took a predictable course so we don’t really need to give that one more time. To me, at least, this is more of a 50/50 proposition – the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan.
The 9-3 Sport Sedan came as a crisp looking model in late 2002. It got an exterior facelift in the 2008 model year that saw a much more aggressive face.
Which will you choose?
The early:
Or the late:
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Here’s your poll and as always, have your say in comments…..
It’s now time for the Saab 96, which is as far back as we’ll go in the Saab model catalogue.
I’m going to do things a little different here, too. Because the Saab 96 was available for 20 years and with three distinctly different noses, I’m going to offer an early, middle and late option for you to vote on.
The first Saab 96 was essentially an evolution of the Saab 93 so the looks are quite similar. This is often referred to as the ‘bullnose 96’.
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The ‘middle’ version came in 1965 and featured a slightly longer nose designed to cope with the V4 engine that was planned for the car in the near future. This middle version only lasted a few years but it’s quite desirable and well known thanks to some of the hotter MC850 engines that were put in before the V4 came.
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And finally, the late version, which brought the 96 into the corporate design language being led by the bigger, newer Saab 99. The plasticised grille, bigger indicators and rectangular headlamps being the big changes.
OK, there’s also an earlier version of the late nose. As pointed out by Ian Brade in comments, I’ve featured the latest of the late versions. Here’s an earlier iteration out of fairness to this generation.
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Here’s your poll and comments are open, of course.
The classic Saab 900 started with a flattish nose that was an evolution of the late 1970’s Saab 99. In the late-80’s the Saab 900 got a more slanted nose.
Which one do you prefer?
The early, flatter nose:
…..Or the later, slightly more slanted probiscus:
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Here’s your poll:
[poll id=”17″]
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The results of the first two polls have been very interesting. I’m still working on my theory and I think there are various factors in play when it comes to the preferred look of each car.
This time I’d like you to select your favourite Saab 99 note from these two prominent contenders. Yes, there were other Saab 99 front-end variations but these two are the most-seen.
Note – both periods had variations with dual headlamps (round) on either side. I had to pick one or the other, so I’ve gone with the rectangular European versions just to be consistent.
