European Delivery Program on hold until….?
I had reason to write to SaabUSA recently about the European Delivery Program. As many of you may know, the EDP has been on hold since late last year whilst GM aligned it with their internal administration. They also stated that they were working on unspecified improvements to the program and that it would return for 2009.
The reason I wrote to Saab about the EDP was a function being hosted by the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia:
Bob Brescia from Armen Cars, will give a short presentation about the avant-garde car SAAB and it’s history.
Attendees will also be given information about SAAB’s extraordinary overseas delivery program which makes it possible for US citizens to pick up their brand new SAAB car in Europe, use it during the vacation and then ship it over to the United States. An introduction to the SAAB Turbo Academy will also be held which gives SAAB customers the opportunity to be a racing star for a day.
Maybe Bob Brescia knew something about the EDP’s imminent return that we didn’t know?
I think that maybe it’s more of a case that we know something about the program’s suspension that Bob doesn’t know.
The response from SaabUSA confirms that not only is the program still suspended, it’s return for 2009, as previously advertised on their website, is far from certain:
Hi Steven,
Thanks for checking. We are still looking into the feasibility to re-start the program this fall.
Truth be told though, it is hard to imagine anybody being interested in European delivery given the Euro/Krona vs Dollar currency exchange rate at the moment….
After all, maybe not the worst of times to take a breather and get prepared to re-launch this unique program as soon as the entire car-world starts to look a bit brighter. We hope!
Best,
Jan-Willem Vester
I don’t want to appear to be contrary for the sake of it, but I figure if someone can afford a new European car, then they’re not worrying too much about a short vacation’s worth of exchange rates.
My thanks to JWV for the response and I hope you can get this brilliant and long-running program back on track soon.
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I did the EDP with my mother when she bought a ‘07 9-5. It would be a shame if the keep this on hold for too long. We had a great time. In about a weeks time we toured almost all of Scandinavia. We went from Trollhattan to Oslo to Stokholm, to Malmo, to Copenhaven and back to Gothenburg. We made stops all along the way in small buy still very friendly cities. It was a chance of a lifetime. SaabUSA gave us $2000 to help cover the cost of the airfare, a free dinner, and a free night at a hotel in Trollhattan. After the dealer delivered the car to us, we arranged a tour of the factory, and then headed to the museum. After a full day in Trollhattan, it was just my mother, me, and our GPS to guide us around the countryside… Not to be missed. When I buy my SAAB I hope to pick it up in Spain!!! I can’t wait.
Swade,
Thanks for updates on EDP, I’m still interested in this program restarting.
If anyone attends this event, please send information on what they said about the program.
I’m disappointed to hear Jan-Willem Vester’s comments about it possibly not returning for a while. Frankly, the arguments he makes (i.e., exchange rates, auto slowdown) don’t hold much water as rationale for customers not taking advantage of it.
Agreed, LP. I think he was just making excuses for the all powerful beancounters. Remember the GM mantra - we never make a mistake.
GM just amazes me sometimes. Located within an hour of one of the top business schools in the country and with enough cash to buy top business talent, they still make decisions that become case studies for how not to run a business (e.g., incentive pricing and perceptions of value, saving a few dollars on parts but losing thousands because you can’t sell lower quality cars). One day someone should let those beancounters know that there’s a revenue side that you have to consider too…
-sigh-