# Would You Buy a Volvo or SAAB made in China? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636 "2009-12-17T14:44:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/21 "2009-12-19T01:02:49Z")
I would not buy a car made in China. Wouldn’t be surprised if they use the blood of dissidents instead of motor oil. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/22 "2009-12-19T02:39:35Z")
Though I dont know jack about the recent automobile industry sales numbers, is anyone else totally blown away that Saab only sold 8000 cars a year? I would have guessed that they sold 8000 per year in the California market alone… Too bad to again see a once thriving company out of business, and thousands of workers out of a job. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/23 "2009-12-19T13:02:05Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Though I dont know jack about the recent automobile industry sales numbers, is anyone else totally blown away that Saab only sold 8000 cars a year? > > I would have guessed that they sold 8000 per year in the California market alone… > > Too bad to again see a once thriving company out of business, and thousands of workers out of a job. Oh, at least Sweden has decent unemployment benefits-something like 3 years with full health insurance. So Ole and Harald won’t be out on the street. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Krebbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@Mr.Krebbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Krebbs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/24 "2009-12-19T13:26:43Z")
Not that this is necessarily relevant but Norinco manufactures firearms of (mostly) excellent quality for export; the manufacturer also produces some copies of USGI weapons with unquestionably superior receivers to most US brands. Of course, Norinco is also the government entity that supplies China with military-grade weapons among many, many other products used by everyday citizens of China. I would assume any automobile manufacturer with facilities in China would also enjoy joint-government ownership of said facilities. So yes, I would buy a Volvo or Saab made in China if I were in the market for a Volvo or a Saab. The Chinese seem to know how to manufacture reliable machines. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/25 "2009-12-19T14:30:35Z")
I’d probably wait at least a coupla years to see how quality control and long-term safety hold up—just like I wouldn’t want to be the first in line for laser eyeball surgery (as a general rule of thumb, I don’t want to be the first adopter in anything that uses two or more of the terms “laser” “eyeball” or “surgery”). Of course, as a committed cheapskate, I also wouldn’t want to pay $20 grand for a car that didn’t have armor and rocket boosters. And a professional if slightly sassy onboard AI. That had the voice of a Bond girl. [sub]Or maybe M.[/sub] I’m sorry…what were we talking about? Oh, right. Yes, I would buy [a SAAB](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_35_Draken) for $20,000. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/26 "2009-12-20T22:18:07Z")
Spyker has requested to reopen negotiations with GM (see NYTimes). So they might pull one out of the hat. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/27 "2010-01-07T17:09:27Z")
I just dropped in to a local saab dealer (Charles River Saaab)-no firesale going on. I wonder how long they have before they shut down? ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/28 "2010-01-07T17:17:35Z")
I wouldn’t buy a Volvo _period_. My Dad had one when I was in college. God that thing was a POS. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/29 "2010-01-07T20:00:33Z")
Of course I would. In ten years, when they’ve developed a reputation for reliability and I can be sure my expensive purchase isn’t going to be a piece of crap. Before then, no way. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636/30 "2010-01-26T19:33:25Z")
So, it appears that they have finally closed a deal to sell SAAB to Spyker. > **[BBC News - General Motors sells Saab to Dutch firm Spyker](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8481621.stm)** > > General Motors agrees to sell its Saab subsidiary to Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker and vows to suspend wind-down activities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-volvo-or-saab-made-in-china/521636.md?page=1)