Then GM can kiss the premium market good-bye because that’s going to happen in Europe. Caddy is not going to be a seller in Europe because it’s an American product for Americans; it’s too obvious. If you don’t realize that then you (and GM) are in big trouble.

Opel can compete with Renault or Fiat, but not even close to Peugeot. Let aside BMW/Mercedes/Audi. It can’t even compete with VW in quality perception!

Saab should be GM premium brand in Europe based on safety, quality, technology, design, history. As for safety and history we should agree Saab already have them. Technology, well, GM has been cutting Saab budget, how are you going to develop something in that scenario?
Design?, they should redesign cars (on the outside and technology) more often, not wait until sales drop like a stone in a lake like in the case of current 9-5, or the case of 900C which looked so 1970′s and were still sold in 1992 until the 900NG came along.

Saab problem is marketing, which doesn’t give them sells, which doesn’t give them profitability, which would make GM realize “hey!, this is a brand worth taking the risk to take into the next level”.

Also, I strongly disagree with your misinformed belief that Opel will become a premium brand. If you look at the U.S. market, you can get a fully-optioned Maxima for a price very close to an Inifinti, and it is basically the same car, but that doesn’t diminish Infinit’s premium status. Badge-perception is a a powerful thing. Similar overlaps exist bewteen VWs and Audis, Hondas and Acuras, etc. It’s an oft-discussed topic on many automotive blogs.

Lastly, what makes a brand premium is a complex combination of factors, not just the opinions of select automotive journalists. Exclusivity, craftsmanship, quality, marque history, perception, etc. I’m not too sure where exactly is Saab behind in most of these areas? The “subpar plastics” argument is not gonna cut it, and as somebody who recently test-drove high end BMWs and Audis I can tell you their interiors were not better than Saab’s.

Saabs are put together as well as the German cars (if you’ve ever looked past the “subpat plastics” and stopped repeating what you’ve read in blogs). They are exclusive, even more so than Audi and BMW.

They are safer – hey, could they be safer because they are of higher quality? See what my point is – all this is very subjective. To you quality could mean plastics used on the dash, to me in could mean how rust-proof the body is.

Isn’t BLS being produced in Trollhättan already? Cadillac can’t compete against BMW; it is too American! They need an European to compete against BMW!

And yes, Saab has never been a premium brand. But I need more time to explain myself. Saab just happened to produce the 900NG (executive car) and the 9000 (large “sedan”) which were large cars, with a lot of gadgets and security stuff; those two models were premium, but it doesn’t mean that Saab is or was a premium brand at any time. You’re right about it. My fault.

I don’t trust what GM management tell us… About a year ago Lutz didn’t even know what a Saab was and now he’s its most enthusiastic promoter. Lutz! for gods sake!, he should be with Abe Simpson sharing the room! Anybody read “Taken for a ride”?
He is too old to be working!
I feel shame when some yank (like Lutz) talk about Saab at a car presentation… they don’t know what Saab means!

FRANK A: “GM is committed to selling Cadillac in Europe and since Caddy is selling well in the USA any additional sales from Europe or China is gravy. My guess is SAAB will be sold after the Insignia establishes itself”
Wait and see my friend, Cadillac will never be a mass selling car in Europe; they won’t even sell as many cars to keep them into business in Europe. Besides, Cadillac is doing well in the US “today”; it’s too early to say if they have a future, if they can stand on its own.

And finally, “that Pete guy” as someone call him here doesn’t seem to understand much, apart from the US market (and I’m not even sure about that either).

“What if the economy does go deep into a sustained national recession? Or, what if gasoline continues to go upward in price and the supply gets threatened?”
Well buddy, you’re already are in a recession that will drag the entire world. Everybody saw it coming, everybody knows America has been in recession for quite a long time, now you’re in a crisis.
As for the gasoline prices, I’m not sure the price will continue to go up; but there’s no consensus about that, and I don’t have enough background to defend my position. The supply won’t get threatened, that’s a fact.

“”What if’s?” are not the kind of advance planning scenarios that a car company can spend a lot of time on”.
And what are CEOs, CFOs, and all their minions paid for if not to steer the company now into the future in financial safety? The fact that they don’t do anything about it doesn’t mean they don’t spend time with scenarios. For god’s sake! that’s a pretty naïve thing to say!

“As for Saab, it’s a money-losing entity that GM will not be able to afford to keep much longer anyway”.
Please!, give me a brake! GM could’ve done great thing with Saab if they’ve been more clever fifteen years ago when they bought the 50% of the company! It’s GM’s fault anyway; they planned to buy the entire company from the Swedes anyway, so why linger for 10 years, then bought the rest of it and start punishing people? Where’s the sense in that???

For better or worse, GM seems to be cautiously committed to Saab.

But before we get too down on Ford or GM for what they did to “our” favorite brands, you have to remember what was happening before the sales. Jaguar was known for poor quality and SAAB’s sales were dropping faster than the Corvair’s after Unsafe at Any Speed hit the street. With that in mind, you have to admit that Ford and GM did keep the brands going.

However, as many of us have noted here and in previous comments, things just aren’t the same at Trollhattan. We wish the car was Swedish again and can’t seem to understand what GM is thinking or doing. But we’re cautiously optimistic. We still get excited about the new ideas SAAB is pushing out.

So, I’d suggest that we not get bent out of shape about the whole deal. As much as we have liked the brand in the past, it’s probably never going to be what it used to be. It’ll probably remain a niche brand that any present or future owner will never completely understand. Time will tell how things go. Until then, keep your shirt on, open the moon roof, and enjoy the ride.

Everything I have read about the upcoming Opel Insignia indicates a much more upscale car than the Vectra. With the Corsa, new Astra, Meriva and Zafira, what does GM Europe need with SAAB? Every car company these days does well with safety ratings, so SAAB can’t even claim that. Every car company makes at least one turbo engine so SAAB can’t claim that either. The fact they have been at it longer than most is irrelevant to most buyers. GM is committed to selling Cadillac in Europe and since Caddy is selling well in the USA any additional sales from Europe or China is gravy. My guess is SAAB will be sold after the Insignia establishes itself, and the new rear drive Caddy BLS hits the market, probably 2009 or 2010. At that point SAAB will have a new 9-5, 9-4x and possibly a 9-3, and a 9-1 waiting in the wings.