Dunno exactly; a bit more Volvos than SAABs, I think.
Not owned a Volvo but would be surprised if it's vastly superior at low temps - either in the clockworks / heat&defrost / general handling (?)Well, since the 850 (the first FWD "real" Volvo), general handling is probably pretty much the same... heat&defrost on both is, as was to be expected, about equal too -- i.e, vastly superior to Dagomobiles from Wop places like Germany... But for "running like clockwork", I get the feeling that Volvo has, and has had, the better reputation. SAAB was catching up, had pretty much caught up, by the late eighties, but since then the introduction of the Vectra-based 900 model (and its successor, the 9-3) has tarnished the image of reliability again.
Still think that C[itroen] was onto something with their inboard front discs = much less unsprung weight. [...] Wonder why no one else did inboard; possibly the width re the new econo-car sizes (?)Dunno... Could it be just supplier inertia, mutual lock-in? (A la, "There are only external brake assemblies to be bought, so we'll design our next model for them too" -- "Only cars with external brakes are biuilt, so we'll design our next assembly that way too".)
FWIW, at least one manufacturer *did* (does?) build cars with inboard discs: The famous ("As Seen On Virtually Every Hot-Rod From The Seventies And Eighties") Jaguar individually-sprung *rear* axle.
I suppose one determining factor is, you only get that on a *driving* axle: Outside the world of racing, you only put the brakes inboard if there's a (drive) shaft there already; otherwise, it's just cheaper to run the hydraulic lines all the way out to the wheel than to *introduce* a shaft (and, in the case of the steered [i.e, usually, front] wheels, a universal joint etc) solely for the purpose of braking.
Also something sans *$&^$ ABS: anytime I can't outstop that robot, I'll hang it up. (I don't drive on oiled skidpads. Often.)Then hang it up right now, 'coz you can't.
Really, seriously -- trust me, *nobody* can. To the extent that it isn't used in Formula One, that's because it's (at least partially?) *banned* there -- i.e, if it weren't banned, it *would* be used (more?), because even these guys do better with it than without it. Independent impromptu "tests" by motoring magazines tend to be headlined "Granny Outbrakes ABS-disabled Montoya" or "Old Geezer Driving With Hat And ABS Handily Beats Schumacher Without Either".
And that's on racing tracks, not oiled skidpads.
migawd.. lose all that Saab lore and Start Over? :(Sure, no problem. It's like bicycling, you know... :-) Or, IOW: Once you've learnt to *learn* one thing, learning the next isn't that big a deal.