67 responses so far ↓

• 1 ctm // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:25 am

  Seems like Saturn is one brand be scraped. I wonder where this ends…

• 2 detroitsaab93 // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:53 am

  The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press only have small article’s on the state of GM without much info. The local ABC affliate (CH. 7 WXYZ) here did a report this morning about middle management cuts as well as Buick, Saturn and Saab may be on the chopping blocks……….Back to the Mojo….

  http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=5eb2f03c-44d3-4818-be60-e11b132cea98

• 3 saabyurk // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:08 am

  Seems like Saab’s best mojo improvements have come from projects worked on behind management’s back:
  1. Sonett (If I remember correctly)
  2. Turbo
  3. and most recently XWD (based on the Saturday Snippets article).
  I hope, in a garage or barn somewhere in Sweden, someone is secretly working on Saab’s next mojo boost because neither GM nor Saab management will allow it.

• 4 Mike C. // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:12 am

  GM has only GM to blame. As we all know, Saab has been sucking wind for a very long time while all the other GM brands have been getting what it needed. GM destroyed SAAB by not paying ENOUGH attention to the brand. EVERTHING DAYS LATE AND DOLLARS SHORT.
  Saab in and of it self should be proud. They have lasted this long for all of the reason’s Swade has listed time and time again. Now that GM has a reason, they will divest from Saab and blame it on the gas. I hope whomever picks up Saab PAYS ATTENTION TO THEM AND GIVES THEM WHAT THEY NEED. Not lip service and B.S.

• 5 ctm // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:22 am

  Without GM, Saab would have closed down in 1991. Period.

• 6 riku1100s // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:35 am

  ctm, in the early ’90’s Fiat was about to buy Saab but GM came in between and Wallenbergs sold Saab to GM instead.

  I remember the briefing where everyone expected Fiats purchase would have been announced. To everyones surprise Saab was sold – not to Saab but to GM.

  So Saab would not been closed down in 1991, a few years later maybe, who knows.

• 7 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:52 am

  diehard engineers
  that sounds nice.

  but hasn’t been everything outsourced and spread around the globe ?

  the only saabishness is left in the design department, somewhere in the cellar ?

• 8 J // Jul 8, 2008 at 2:57 am

  First thing that comes to mind when i hear “mojo” is “swagger”. and as i posted the Mavic SportCombi pix on the TSL page, i mentioned how shocked i was at the SOUND of those 9-3s as they flew by me. the exhaust note coming from the dual exhaust was AGGRESSIVE. Saab should run with that sound in tv & radio ads, as they can get some serious attention with that element of the vehicle!

• 9 Kenu // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:04 am

  Just a few comments on why SAAB is selling less, I don’t agree about the mojo. Here in Europe there are a few things that really hamper SAAB:

  - Many companies have a short list of brands. SAAB never makes it to this list since they have too few models (and I guess they don’t even work on this) I know several people who had to move from SAAB because of this. SAAB should do something for this, funnily Volvo/ Ford is always on the lists where SAAB/ Opel should aspire the place. I know this is a fact in many countries and many large European companies.
  -SAAB has almost no diesels to reach below 195mg co2, where the other premiums have it. This especially kills 9-5 as a company car since this tresch hold is very often an eco-policy tresch hold.
  -You cannot find SAAB taxis, whereas big volumes Volvo, Mercedes, BMW are sold to this category.
  I am pretty shore that being on the short list and having eco- friendly cars (biopower does only count in Sweden) would have given SAAB the extra 25% of sales and everything would look OK despite an old 9-5. SAABs are expensive and therefore very often traget to people with company cars, not even being an option, really eats volume in the premuim segment.

• 10 ctm // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:05 am

  Yeah, there are lot’s of maybe’s. It’s true that Fiat were rumored to buy Saab, but that was probably because of earlier cooperation between the Wallenberg and Agnelli families. I cant’s se a sound reason why Fiat would truly wanted Saab in a product mix that at the time consisted of two other brands (Lancia and Alfa Romeo) that were looked at the same way as Saab. If they had bought it, they would probably just have taken the technology and closed it down since they had there problems of their own at the time.

  It is easy to blame GM for everything If only they had realized, if only they had given Saab four new models 10 years ago, if only they had poured in even more money… Today, people here talk about the NG900 as a true Saab. It is a car built on Opel left-overs from the shelves in Rüsselsheim since there were nothing else to build on. I wonder what the same people today would have said about a Saab that was a rebadged Fiat Bravo from 1995…

  Two weeks ago (I think), I actually watched some news on the TV. An auto industry expert was interviewed about all the sales rumors surrounding Volvo. He had some interesting answers.

  1) Why isn’t Volvo selling more cars?
  His answer: Lack of a working brand image. They have been using safety for very long, but today all major brands have roughly the same safety. At least, the buyers don’t find any big difference from test and reviews and therefore the image doesn’t work any more. They need more.

  2) Why are the US car companies (= Ford) so greedy?
  His answer: Are they? Look at GM and Saab. Saab has been making heavy losses for 19 years, and still GM put up with them. No other owner (European or Asian) would accept that.

• 11 1985 Gripen // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:09 am

  NPR (National Public Radio) in the U.S. is also picking-up the Wall Street Journal story this morning, claiming that GM is looking to possibly shutter Buick, Saturn, and Saab. The weird thing is that when I actually read the article they’re referencing, I don’t see that that’s what it said. It’s almost as if one news outlet is picking up on other news outlets’ stories and exaggerating it a bit. After the story is re-told several times it’s a bit like that old game “telephone”. The original message has been perverted.

  The article states that GM may possibly shutter one or more of its brands. Later it states that Buick, Saturn, and Saab struggle to sell vehicles. That isn’t to say that these three are likely to be shuttered. It’s two separate points. Maybe one would surmise that they’d want to shutter their worst-selling brands, but that would be speculation. I think we all would expect HUMMER to go first. Maybe ditching ONE of their brands is enough to satiate the shareholders.

  I’m sure there IS great concern at GM as their stock price is at all-time lows. They’ve got to look at the worst-selling brands and Saab is definitely in that mix. It doesn’t matter that Saab has been under-funded for YEARS and has been held-back by the corporate parent. The fact is Saab is in the red. Still. It’s going to take a lot of investment (money GM doesn’t have) to build Saab product consumers want to purchase.

  I think this whole “wait in the wings while Cadillac gets the spotlight until you get your turn” thing was just a line from the start. Someone at the highest levels of GM has decided that Saab is unimportant to the overall scheme of things. If they have to be the sacrificial lamb, then so be it. It’ll look like GM is trimming the fat and cutting costs and Wagoner and Lutz will look brilliant. Nobody will question how these guys got the company into the pickle it’s in in the first place…

  IMHO Saab died in 1994 anyway. I for one would not miss Saab in its current state. They don’t make a vehicle I really desire anymore. Are they nice cars? Sure, but nothing spectacular. I like my Chevy Impala too…

• 12 Kroum // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:15 am

  I fully agree with ctm. And it has perhaps come to the point where Saab should find a new, more caring and affluent parent, but will there be buyers?

• 13 PEPPIE // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:32 am

  GM should have sold saab already a long time ago. Then Saab would probably have gotten more eco friendly diesels, and hopefully a more saab design.
  After many saabs I have changed brand now, with deep pain in the heart as I am one of the saab die hards. I sincerely hope for my next car ( read 3 or 4 years ) I can come back to MY brand, but with better diesel engines, a nicer saab design, and cheaper leasing prices !!

• 14 joemama // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:39 am

  If Saab is on the block, it won’t be long before they are sold. Think about what people look for in cars and what Saab offers:

  1.) Great fuel economy. ++
  2.) Environmental image. ++
  3.) Turbocharged engines. ++++
  4.) XWD ++
  5.) Safety. ++++
  6.) Innovation. ++

  These are what people look for now-a-days in cars. Does Saturn , Buik or Hummer offer this?

  I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t want to add Saab to their product portfolio.

  Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be a European company. I’m thinking India or China.

• 15 eggsngrits // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:44 am

  OK, for all of you GM haters (and there are plenty), I refer you to ctm’s comments, above.

  I’ll also say this: GM’s other problems have hindered Saab’s development in the past few years.

  FInally, GM hasn’t exactly been good at marketing products in any effective way in the past few years, either.

  ——

  On to the Saab Mojo question. My take is this:

  Executive Summary:
  1. Saab marketing has been bad.
  2. Competition heated up.
  3. Chart-topping reliability and respected performance are no more.

  ———
  1. Saab marketing has been luckluster and/or non existent for years. I lay the bulk of the blame there. Remember, marketing is more than just the marketing communications (e.g., advertising) part of any company — it’s also the portion of the company that listens to customers and builds what they want. Do you think that any customers, even Saab enthusiasts, really want a 9-5 that’s not been significantly modified in 10 years? Do you really think that Saab customers want the “standard” GM radio in their cars? Perhaps the disconnect lies with the beancounters, but the marketing follow-through as been less than stellar.

  I’m not willing to give the marketing communications folks a pass on this, either. Born from Jets is / was weak. It didn’t have a call to action; there was no reason for people to visit the showroom and drive a Saab.

  2. Competition heated up in the “non-conformist” space.

  Saabs have always been driven by people that think differently about automobiles. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, that pretty much meant that you were choosing from Saab or Subaru with the occasional almost-mainstream Volvo thrown in. Audi was mired in the bad press of the 5000 “death trap” reports and VW had the same problems that Saab does now — older models with facelifts. That’s oversimplifying, but you get the drift.

  Now, take a look at the market. Mini is back, Subaru is better than ever, VW is surging, Audi is back from the dead, and BMW, VW and Porsche make SUVs. The Japanese stopped solely chasing the “Bubba” market with Z-cars and econoboxes and came up with the Honda Element, the Scion xB, the Prius (with strong non- conformist appeal), the Lexus IS series and the Infiniti G series (which is quite good).

  3. Saabs in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s have not been at the top of anylist, especially the one for reliability.

  This one really hurt Saab. For decades, the 99 and 900 were known to be “bulletproof”. No so anymore. The sump issues, the scrambled displays, etc. Didn’t do Saab any favors.

  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — other cars had the same issues, but companies like BMW put a lot of thought into their “free maintenance” programs to bring people back into the dealership to get upgrades and repairs with little or no hassle to avoid dissatisfaction.

  Adding insult to injury, the cars weren’t screamers or uniquely talented any longer. That hurt, too.

• 16 J // Jul 8, 2008 at 4:06 am

  The “born from jets” campaign was cool…for about a month (or at least until it got plain annoying – even for this Saab fanatic – to watch). Variety is the spice of life! They need to borrow VW’s marketing peeps, as they have the best marketing (IMO).

• 17 Ned Luce // Jul 8, 2008 at 5:03 am

  I think ENG hit the nail on the head about more competition in the “non-conformist” space. This includes the Japanese marques injecting some real character into performance cars, such as the Honda S2000, Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi EVO, and, closer to home, the Infiniti G35 and arguably the Acura TSX.

  But to me, the Saab “mojo” has always been about a unique blend of European design and feel, high performance, utility, and economy. In large measure, despite their age, the current models continue this tradition. For example, while the 9-3 SS isn’t a hatch, its trunk is more spacious than almost any competitor’s. And which other large luxury sedan, apart from the Benz diesel E-class, can match the 9-5’s fuel economy? Even the 9-3 Aero has reasonable economy for a high performance V6, and of course the SportCombi offers fabulous utility in a compact package.

  This blend of virtues, however, is not obvious to potential customers, and it’s impossible to capture in an advertisement. The cars must be experienced to be appreciated. And with the marque losing its cachet in the U.S. due to aging models and awful reliability ratings, fewer and fewer are compelled to head to the dealer for the experience.

• 18 Mats // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:05 am

  Why Saab doesn’t sell as well as the competition? Their newest model is 5 years old….the “flagship” 9-5 is 10 years old. Think BMW would sell well if the 5 series was 10 years old? Most of us here are Saabnuts to one degree or other, the other 90% of Saabs buyers are not. Though they’re not total “run with the nerdherd” people they vote with their wallet, and today they’re spoilt, New car model gets a facelift after 2-3 years and is replaced after 5. Thats it….Saabs 2-model lineup is to small and to old to break through the comercial noise created by BMW, Audi, MB, Volvo and VW that launches new models every few months…

• 19 1985 Gripen // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:11 am

  “…had their biggest sales year ever in 2006″

  Yes, but at what cost? “Biggest sales year ever” refers to units-moved, not revenue or profit, correct?

  Wasn’t 2006 the year when GM got desperate and launched that “GM Employee Pricing for Everyone” campaign where they practically emptied dealer lots because they were practically giving-away vehicles?

  I remember hearing rumors the only reason Saab didn’t sell more cars was because stocks were depleted. This explains the sales downturn toward the end of that campaign (which kept getting extended more and more).

  I remember hearing stories of people getting Saabs for outrageously-cheap. Saabs were selling for less than Hondas do.

  I mean sure, you’ll move a lot of units if you deeply discount the cars, but if you make a desirable car you don’t have to discount (or at least not as much) and you might actually turn a PROFIT. Aren’t “sales” and “profits” two different things?

• 20 MarkS // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:23 am

  Saab engineering and design must be done by Saab engineers and designers (you know, the real ones in Trollhattan and not a bunch of admittedly talented people in Germany who also happen to design Opels, or who convene at Starbucks once a quarter to figure out what’s “Saaby”). GM has shelved some of Saab’s most brilliant technology and design work since 2000/2001 in favor of badge engineering, misguided model strategies and sporadic, inconsistent, and uninformative marketing messages. Saab’s engineering philosophy of “more from less” could be paying dividends if GM had worked WITH Saab from the beginning to bring these ideas to the next level, and to a wider audience. Unfortunately, the limitations of GM’s corporate imagination have been and will continue to be a hindrance to the evolution of Saab. However, miracles do happen………….

• 21 NineTwoX // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:39 am

  It’s pretty simple:

  1) Produce a more desireable product.
  2) Advertise it’s desirability.
  3) …
  4) Profit.

  Look at the current 9-3 2.0T and compare it to the 2009 Acura TSX. Just for reference, the TSX is Honda’s European sedan.

  TSX comes standard with an automatic(or a 6spd manual), bluetooth, HID lights, voice recognition, moonroof, etc… Then you look at what the technology package has to offer, and you start to really see that the grass is greener on the other-side.

  Honda will offer the TSX with their 2.2L i-DTEC diesel engine next year… What will Saab be offering?

• 22 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:59 am

  Sorry you saabists, I can agree on some remarks but not on all.

  Nonconformists do not worry about reliability-ratings, do they ? Reliability is more important than a reliability-rating , just as real-life-safety is much more important than a good EURONCAP-rate. Here we are at the point of image and perception again.
  Even in GM-area saabs are reliable. Maybe 2nd gen 900 wasn’t that reliable, 1st gen 9-3 certainly was, mine is still today, even if long away fom the 1000000-km status the old 900 has, I’m pretty happy with the hatch.
  The GM/saab choice not to offer a coupé and a hatch in 2nd 9-3 gen was in my opinion devastating. A very conformist 9-3 saloon didn’t bring that much new buyers and the old school saabist didn’t care much about that particular car I believe (talking for myself in that case – I never studied sale figures about that issue).
  Besides, the hatch is back. Journalist like the X6 bulky coupé-hatch-cross nonsense, and it will sell. Even if it hasn’t got a clue about ‘efficient dynamics’ like is small nephew, the 1-series. All a matter of perception again.
  Driving the old 9-3 and the new 9-5 has some non-conformism in itself, for me at least.
  I can’t define clearly the mojo-thing, but 9-3 & 9-5 hatches and 9-3 convertibles still give me this saabist feeling and are non-conformist enough, and must the owners give some satisfaction driving something else than a mere kraut-wagon or bad safety-rated tin-topped-so-called-convertible.
  The low sale figures are a matter of not enough investment in different products etc., see previous comment.
  http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2008/07/question-of-the-year-why-are-saabs-selling-so-poorly.html#comment-49205

  And you can’t expect the true saabist to buy every car of the range, evey time it is renewed (Out of 4 saabs, I only buyed 1 new and I was happy with the secondhanders before). So broadening the range is needed, to atract more customers. But that is no easy operation if resources are spare and it is easy to loose the soul (even if we are talking about functioan machines).

  The cars didn’t loose their soul entirely under GM. Just look at citroën, even the much critised XM had it, that nonconformism, then they lost it and without a big GM-mother, they messed it up themself, and still partly are gaining it back – slowly and only in the C6, not selling in high numbers and a bit in the C4 coupé & C4 picasso. (only surviving on large sale succes in bulk market small cars).

  I’m sad about one thing. I’m afraid the engineering department isn’t strong enough to survive when GM drops Saab.

  The thing saab is missing is a bit more of sex-appeal. Mostly people say with a bit of indifference “oh it is saab you’re driving”, but not with the envy tone a bmw-driver is confronted. So marketing has a long way to go.
  The HALO-cars could change that dramaticly. The design blueprints and models are shown. What is needed is the engineering of those cars into production models. And if they haven’t started that aspect by now, the battle will be lost and all design studies are a waste of energy. Landmarks of what have could been.
  (I’m getting to pessimistic if I start thinking about that aspect).

  I mostly agree on the fact that the cars must be experienced to be appreciated, like Ned said here before. That 1ste drive combined with the understated refinement made me buy my first one and I never regretted it.

  Now I will stop commenting and turn my back on non-productive negative saab-thougths, devote myself entirely on my own bussines in order to make that one healthy and profitable, with enough non-conformism mixed in, of course. I am no beancounter.

  This night I’m going to dream about the Aero-X, leaving behind lots of porsches, bentleys, astons and maseratis in the curvy bends of the alp-maritimes on the way to Monte-Carlo. And in real life, as probably saab doesn’t exist tomorrow morning when I wake up, a 2nd-hand mx-5 or rx-8 will surely give me that same smile as the 900, 9-3 and 9-5 gave me before. (With 4 or even 2 cilinders. No need for a thirsty V-8, Bob Lutz can park his volted corvette where ever he likes it).

  NineTwoX’s advice reads like the story of 10 or 15 last years of porsche: producing the desirable, advertise it, … & profit. Isn’t porsche the only cash-cow in the entire motor industry ?

  Oh, saab would line up nice in a proton brand portofolio, next to my beloved lotus. So I guess I’ll have sweet dreams, there are real british engineers somewhere spending TLC on my Aero-X and 9-X concepts and I musn’t worry about that weak engineering department Lutz & co left over in Trollhattan.

  But I promise to wave at all you saabist, from my 997 if I win the lottery or the humble mx-5, which satitsfies nearly the same desires. That is when parts of 9-3 convertible are dried out, of course (surely Lutz forgot to invest in that department as well).

• 23 Rune // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:46 am

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Automobile barely mentions it, but one memory that has stuck with me for a long time is the “Saab Long Run” in Talladega, repeated ten years later with 900 instead of 9000.

  When I see a 9000 on the road, I can’t help but smile. It is also what my father drives. (I bought my first car only this year, a 2008 9-3 SportCombi which I’ve already hammered down the autobahn reaching 245 kph in the rain)

  I think Saab are onto something with this new XWD technology. I would love to see how it compares on a snowcovered road. Unfortunately, when it is 23 degrees outside, we’ll just have to wait for anybody to notice the benefits…!

  Lately I have been thinking that Saab ought to pull a rabbit out of the hat. My idea is to put a number of people on the road, at least one person per continent, each equipped with a Saab and a laptop. Just tell them to drive and blog about their experience. Have them seek out Saab dealerships around the world and give them a face on the web. Naturally they’ll have to keep the service schedule, but never twice at the same garage. And they’ll have to stay in the garage until the job is done, talking with the mechanics and getting in the way. (and blog about it later)

  I covered Oslo -> Belgrade in 30 hours (24 hours plus 6 hours rest). Avg speed 116 kph. I slept in the backseat of my sportcombi. Lovely trip.

  If someone presented me with an opportunity like that, I think I could easily cover most of Europe and parts of Africa within a year. (hmm, are there Saab service stations in Africa? I don’t have my manual handy )

  Think about it… You’re on vacation in Egypt, and someone parks a new Saab outside your hotel with Swedish license plates, and some URL painted on the side. Aren’t you going to be at least a tiny bit curious?

  It is all about returning to the basic concepts. The car provides us freedom to go anywhere we want, yet we spend most of the time stuck in traffic… If Saab could show the world that a car is still useful, then maybe they’ll sell more cars?

• 24 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:53 am

  Before going to sleep, I found out that Honda, the true solist in motor industry, has nearly ready its halo-cars. Nsx successor is caught testing on public roads and CRX-successor had already been shown as a concept in CR-Z form.

  In showrooms and on road Legend 4×4 is just fine & Civic is great, S 2000 is superb even after all this years, if all 3 had not that relatively bad ergonomics.
  Even if those 3 models have some non-conformity, Honda can be seen as a brand that has good sale success and is active in very different markets and car-sizes (again I did not studied figures of that). But both Legend and new Civic are pretty rare on european roads. So how do they survive ? And combine that with their activities in the money-consuming F-1 motorsport ?
  But they invested in diversification long ago.
  The outboard motors and the lawnmowers make up for the few bad selling non-conformist cars, I guess. And engineering and marketing go hand in hand, bmw-wise. Honda-Jet & F1 adding some extraordinary aura.

  I think there will be enough sensible to drive, even if Bob & Rick turn out the light at the saab factory someday and parts dry up.

• 25 sam // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:08 am

  I think you are looking at this whole thing through too narrow set of blinders. The problem is much bigger than Saab, it is a problem common to most of the American and European car industry. They are gradually losing their competitiveness to the competition from other mostly Japanese car companies.

  After all, Ford and GM bought their European brands, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and Saab not because they were strong but because they were weak. They hoped to turn them around and make some money on the brands. Cash in on the brand cachet. But Ford and GM had just as big problems as the brands they bought and so were unable to do much to turn them around. With their domestic market under assault from the oriental competition, Ford and GM no longer can support the expenditures needed to keep these brands on life support. So Ford has already sold Jaguar and Land Rover and is now shopping Volvo. And rumors surround the potential sale of Saab as many of the commenters have noted. They are looking to sell Hummer, and killed Oldsmobile a decade ago.

  If you step back a bit and look at the big picture, all three US based automakers are struggling. Additionally most of the European manufacturers are struggling as well. (At one time I read that VW was losing $1000 on each car they sold in the US. Daimler bought Chrysler for a lot of money and then sold them again after losing a ton of money in the process.) My guess is without the protection built into the Eurozone economic policies, the companies would be hurting even more.

  So focusing solely on Saab is missing the trend of the larger market. As much as I think Saab could improve their prospects (there aren’t many marketing problems that lower price can’t overcome, for instance) pretty much every car company is hurting at the moment.

• 26 fred diesel // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:26 am

  Just watch…now that fuel is over $4/gal here and dosent look like its going lower anytime soon, GMNA is going to have to depend more on Opel and Saab, cuz they sure as s*** dont have anything else in the quiver.

• 27 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:26 am

  Sam is right about the big picture I think.
  And as much as traditionalist Jag-drivers shiver with the Tata buy-out that happened, we might set up with some not known 3th party.
  Big difference is the ability to move our mind, without the traditional crap moving around in a big bag of history, not ?

• 28 1985 Gripen // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:30 am

  sam: do you know what the Japanese did right? They had foresight. They don’t produce cars for the market as it exists NOW, they produce vehicles for the market when that vehicle is produced.

  The Japanese manufacturers have been making fuel-efficient vehicles (for the most part, I know you can throw-in exceptions like the Tundra…) for many years now, even when the price of fuel in the U.S. was low. I don’t think ANYONE was predicting the price of fuel would decrease. They were taking a chance that someday fuel prices would rise and vehicles which consume less will be more desirable. The Prius was released when gasoline was relatively low-priced and Toyota took a loss on every one they sold.

  Saab seems to be making cars to compete with the last-generation German marques, IMO. They need to LEAD, not follow. Hey Saab: take your own advice and make your own road.

• 29 9000 AeroMan // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:33 am

  I’m depressed. I mean really depressed by all the posts here. Because I agree with most of them.

  My 1985 SAAB 900 bought in Europe at a huge military discount sold me for life. Rugged as a tank, cavernous as a C-130 cargo hold and fast as an F-4 Phantom, nothing touched it. A succession of SAAB 9000s followed.

  My god, what a car my 1995 9000 Silver Aero was. I called it my Porche Stationwagon. And those Recaro seats! It crossed Europe faster than a bullettrain and I made up reasons to take trips just to enjoy its company. Bar-none, the best automobile I ever owned. But the MOJO didn’t come cheap and after 11 years of driving bliss it began costing me more than my ex-wives. I sold it via a SAAB internet site. Within two hours I had offers from across the United States. My buyer bought it based solely on photos, immediately wiring payment to my bank and flying in from Michigan to drive it home. That’s MOJO!!

  I now drive a 2003 9-5! Sadly, much is lost in this most forgiving, sedate, comfortable but unexciting automobile. My wife has moved on to Lexus but I cling to the hope that one day SAAB will relight my MOJO.

  At my US SAAB dealer today deep depression has set in. This dealership, once a thriving hub for SAAB enthusiasts had numerous regional satellite maintenance facilities. Those are now gone and it has the look of a starved, beaten-down barnyard dog. Many dealerships have closed and mine has that look…ragged carpets, a still friendly staff but many with that thousand mile stare…the look a store gets just before it announces its huge going-out-of-business sale.

  I wanna feel the MOJO of that Silver Aero and all my past SAABs again. But updated with the new technologies and capabilities SAAB was once renowned for. Most longtime SAAB owners know exactly what this company needs. I remain optimistically depressed.

• 30 Rob S // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:56 am

  I wonder if GM’s recent decision to reverse itself on next-generation 9-3 production, moving it from Russelsheim back to Trollhattan, was made in part — perhaps in whole — to package SAAB as a more coherent company, a less scattered company, so as to enhance its attractiveness to a buyer. (Happened just after GM’s CFO became its president-and-COO.)

• 31 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:11 am

  Triumph slogan is nice in this context:
  GO YOUR OWN WAY.

• 32 1985 Gripen // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:28 am

  wilfried: would this be the same Triumph who went out of business decades ago?

• 33 joemama // Jul 8, 2008 at 12:35 pm

  Ok, it sounds like we basically agree Saab is on the chopping block.

  The question is – who will buy them? Any thoughts?

• 34 eggsngrits // Jul 8, 2008 at 12:51 pm

  Ned, Wilfried, Sam, Grip: good comments.

  I don’t necessarily think that Saab is on the way out. I think that big (and I mean BIG) changes are in store for GM.

  I choose to believe that Saab will survive, but it will be a different company.

  Perhaps the 9-5 and 9-1/9x die. Saab lives on with the 9-3, ‘vert and 9-4x. Maybe the 9-5 is truly badge engineered only for certain markets. Perhaps Saab, Opel and Saturn merge.

  Anything could happen. Anything.

• 35 zippy // Jul 8, 2008 at 12:59 pm

  Hate to say this but could the Indian conglomerate Tata, who just bought Land Rover and Jaguar, add Saab to its portfolio? GM has been underinvesting in Saab for far too long to the point that Saab is somewhat irrelevant in 2008. For them to say that there will be no new 9-3 until 2012 spoke volumes to me. The 9-5 should have been replaced at least four years ago and a new 9-3 should have been introduced in late 2009. While I love the current 9-3 its just too expensive compared to its true rivals Honda and VW.

• 36 Uncomfortably Numb // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:04 pm

  MOJO? SAAB? Ugh.

  As I watch in disgust as any slight remaining appeal this brand may have to the general U.S. market I can not help but recall what happened here recently at TS. I will use a comparison with no malicious intent to illustrate a point. If one were to analyze Swade and the relationship he has with us, his readers, as a business, my perception is SW is in touch with his market. He listens to his customers (readers) and with every ounce of his being does his best to provide them with what they want. Beyond the SAAB brand this site is in tune with the passion of the person reading. This passion could be no more evident when for a brief moment, we all thought SW and the site were gone for good. MOJO? Swade and TS have it.

  Conversely, there is another site that will go unnamed, where one can not help but feel that the singular focus (beyond the brand) is the person writing the blog and not the reader. There does not appear to be that same focus on the market/customer/reader and what that person wants, needs and desires. My perception is that should this other site ever one day disappear, beyond the loss of organized historical data, no one would really miss it much.

  If I were to compare the current state of Saab, sadly, it resembles the latter referenced site/business. The lack of focus on the consumer will sooner rather than later, drive the brand right into extinction. A quick look at the U.S. market share data may tell us we are already there.

  Beyond the obvious challenges of the economy, exchange ratios and any other reason we can use to blame for the lack of success of the brand, is it possible that the brand itself and the underlying plan and execution has actually failed and no one wants to admit it? Hello….0.2% market share? Hello?

  Those who once were intrigued by the brand have since become bored of driving the same car year after year for a much higher price each time they lease. They are tired of having to explain to their friends why (???) they even drive a Saab. What is a Saab anyway??? Here in the US, a common sighting of a Saab is on a flatbed, heading to the dealership for yet another repair. With the lack of reliability and many dealerships closing their doors, it is no longer convenient or practical to own these cars for many people. As far as attracting new customers to the brand, society now moves at such a rapid pace if you do not make every effort to capture the customer’s attention in a language they easily understand,(advertising?) their attention will be focused elsewhere, on some other brand of car or business or site.

  MOJO? SAAB? Ugh.

• 37 1985 Gripen // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:28 pm

  eggsngrits: “Perhaps Saab, Opel and Saturn merge”. Last year a high-level Saab USA exec was telling me that Saab will become to Saturn and Opel what Lexus is to Toyota, as Infiniti is to Nissan, and as Acura is to Honda.

  I was going to propose basically what you are speculating with the current product lineup, but figured I’d get flamed. For years GM and critics alike have stated that Saab needs to expand its product offerings. GM tried as a stopgap measure adding the 9-2X and 9-7X. Still all these years later Saab is essentially a two-car lineup in most of the world and there’s no change in sight until the 9-4X makes it a three-vehicle lineup late next year.

  What I was thinking is that the 9-3 is so much more popular (in Saab terms) than the 9-5 and for years now the two have been roughly the same size. Why not simply phase-out the 9-5 and just make a REALLY GOOD 9-3? Just merge the best of both vehicles into one great car?

  Then pour tons of R&D resources into expediting a 9-1 or 9-2 model.

  Of course this goes against the generally accepted thinking that each car brand needs many product offerings. But where has that model gotten the industry?

• 38 Jeff // Jul 8, 2008 at 4:09 pm

  Ugh…you know, I think that everything comes down to advertising. I STILL have yet to see a Saab ad outside of the internet (besides the Think Different/Pinball Wizard mistakes).

  I’m not going to pretend that I know what Saab should do. I know nothing about the car business. I know this, though: no one is going to buy a car they have never heard of and know nothing about.

• 39 Markac // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:27 pm

  ctm: I disagree. Fiat was extremely close to buying Saab in 1990 but GM came in at the last minute with a supposedly better offer. But after 18 years are Saab any better off? Back in 1990 they had one middle aged car (9000) and one geriatric car (900), isn’t that the same as they have now? It’s getting harder and harder to defend GM’s track record.

  Swade: The only other 2 door station wagon I can remember was the VW Type 3 and also the Type 4 sold in some markets. They were pretty quirky too!

• 40 progolf // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:30 pm

  Norway’s largest motoring magazine, Motor, ran a survey recently (together with other Scandinavian motoring magazines, so it reflects owners across Scandinavia). BMW owners are most likely to buy another BMW next time (I don’t have the figures with me, but around 90%). SAAB was also above “average”, so that’s OK. BUT, people were asked what car they would buy, IF they were to switch from their current brand (ranked from 1 to 3). SAAB was not among the three most likely brands a BMW owner would consider (not surprising). SAAB had in fact no luck with any of the other brands either, not even with owners of Volvo’s! Which car would a SAAB owner consider? Volvo of course (29 %, probably a result of Swedes prefering a home made product). Why are SAAB sales slow? Because nobody outside the SAAB sphere consider them as an alternative! This is SAABs problem. Even in Sweden it would be worse if SAAB didn’t deliver many cars to businesses and without BioPower they would be in deep shit.

• 41 progolf // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:47 pm

  As soon as FIAT got rid of GM, they started making a profit!!!!! GM’s biggest problem is technology, they are way behind BMW, Audi and many others. Swade made a point of this recently (too high CO2 output, low milage, direct injection, engine cut-off (start/stop at red lights etc.), etc, etc, etc. GM (and SAAB) are too slow. Opel will have DI (new Insignia) before SAAB, new diesels before SAAB etc. Where’s the logic in this? Why doesn’t GM push SAAB more in the US? Value of dollar vs Swedish krona and Euro, I’d say. In the future SAABs will also be made in GM factories in US/Mexico (9-4X) an probably also Asia. The 9-4X will probably get a lot of attention from GM in the US market, but they must also put a diesel in there and a turbo 4 to get good milage and low CO2. A V6 without turbo is definately WRONG!!!!

• 42 MarkoA // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:16 pm

  My thoughts of Saab mojo. It´s almost fully gone for good. New Saabs are good cars, no problem with that, but the “Mojo” is gone.

  As much as I like our 9-3 SC TTiD, I still keep thinking other brands more and more everytime I read car magazines and when I test drive other cars.
  Saab is behind the competitors in many ways at the moment. And I see no good future, unless new 9-5 is REALLY something different. But knowing how GM has been handling things, I don´t think so.
  XWD is great, no doubt. But it´s very expensive, considering that you can have it on Aero versions only (2.8v6t at the moment).
  I agree most of what Progolf wrote.
  Of course, I write from my view only. But what Saab needed was allroad 9-3 xwd, immediately after xwd release. All engine options available.

  I´m really considering to buy a 4×4 car, probably around ´09 spring. Right now my choise would be Subaru Outback diesel. You can have it with ALL the options at 41k€ – 9-3 can get nowhere near that if you tick some boxes on the options list.

  I still love my C900. To me it´s the SAAB with a Mojo. 9-3 is good, but it´s not as unique compared to other brands. Unfortunately.

• 43 progolf // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  1985 Gripen, I think you will see that the new 9-5 will differ greatly from the 9-3 as it will be much bigger than the current model. Is this right? Probably not, because it will be much heavier and unless they introduce modern technology, also get poor milage. I would prefer the next 9-3 to be about the same size as today, only wider to provide more space AND, very important, lighter. GM and SAAB must rush the new 9-1/9-2. In this segment they have a great opportunity, but they must not be the last company to enter (like with the 9-4X). The Mini is such a success and so is the FIAT 500. I believe SAAB could do well here.

• 44 Simon [Vic87] // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:25 pm

  swade, have been reading Trollhatten since Lang Lang Your article on Saab Mojo hits the nail on the head. GM should sell Saab to PSA or FIAT and return to having cars built with passion

• 45 Markac // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:56 pm

  progolf: A smaller Corsa based Saab (below the proposed 9-1) never gets seriously mentioned, but I think it’s something that should be getting definite consideration. Corsa and Astra platformed small cars are what Saab really need to get happening far more so than any SUV.

  Personally I think SUVs are an area of the market that Saab shouldn’t have entered. The 9-4x will be a replacement for a car that never should have existed. SUV sales are on the nose at the moment and that won’t be getting better any time soon. When the 9-4x is released it could well end up being a considerable sales embarassment, if not a disaster especially without a turbo 4. Anyway I predict even if things turn out better than that, it’s sales outside of the US will be comparatively small.
  It will do very little to help Saab in the long run. Everything is riding on the new 9-5 and that’s going to have to be one special car if Saab is to move forward.

• 46 9000 AeroMan // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:35 pm

  So, SAAB moves farther and farther behind the pack lacking the energy (money and capability) to catch up. Pack leaders adapt quick and change direction when their environment changes. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, VW and their luxu offspring bound ahead even in this most competitive, rapidly tranformed environment. Casting a Darwinian view over this landscape, I see a once agile and adaptive SAAB falling so far behind the pack and being slow to adapt, it is abandoned and left to decline into extinction. Massive outside intervention will be needed to avoid this sad fate. I remain hopeful, but unfortunately hope is not a strategy.

• 47 wilfried // Jul 8, 2008 at 11:19 pm

  The design lacks a lot but technically it is interesting:
  Hyundai bringt ersten Autogas-Hybrid der Welt auf den Markt / LPG-Motor mit Elektroaggregat und Lithium-Polymer-Batterie kombiniert.
  http://www.auto-news.de/auto/news/anzeige_Hyundai-will-2009-erstes-Autogas-Hybrid-Auto-auf-den-Markt-bringen_id_22034

  Mojo here or there, back then, now or in future: If they want to lead instead of just to follow, saab has to do something more than BioHybrid.
  As politcal signs in Europe are not favorit for appication of Biofuels in future, what is saab going to do ?
  What about combination LPG & BioPower, so you have choice from or LPG or Bioethanol / regular petrol ?
  Is that technically possible ?

• 48 saabismi // Jul 8, 2008 at 11:44 pm

  “They know. They just flat-out know what is about to happen….

  Such was the description of a driver’s mind when his car is approached from behind by a Saab 9000 Aero.”
  I recall it was the 900 aero;)
  Anyway, Great write up;)

• 49 Jim F. // Jul 9, 2008 at 1:53 am

  The only Saab’s I’ve seen in commercials in 2008 have been for other products, such as Bridgestone. I don’t recall seeing any ads for Saab in general on TV, but I certainly haven’t seen anything about XWD or whatever.

  I have seen more and more Infiniti G35x’s, BMW 5**x’s, A4 Quattros, and Mercedes 4-Matics, however. There is also quite a bit of advertising for these brands. The market is out there – Saab just isn’t doing a very good job of making itself a player in it.

  -JF

• 50 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 3:20 am

  progolf (RE: comment #43): I know the next-gen 9-5 will grow bigger, and while it co-exists with the current-gen 9-3 there will be a size differentiation. However, the next-gen 9-3 is also expected to grow bigger (when/if we see it around 2012) and again there will be that problem that I see right now: the true Saabophile can see the merits of the 9-5, but the average consumer looks at the 9-3 and 9-5 side-by-side, considers each one’s features, and then wonders, “and WHY again would I pay USD$10K more for the 9-5?”

  It’s my opinion that the larger, more expensive car should be more desirable than the smaller one, which hasn’t been the case with the 9-5 versus the 9-3 for several years now. If it weren’t for the ventilated seats option in the 9-5 I can’t think of a reason to buy a 9-5 over the 9-3 2.0T.

• 51 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 6:28 am

  For those of you in the States who want to see a Saab television commercial watch Le Tour de France on Versus channel. There’s a Saab commercial just about every commercial break. They’re new ones too, not the same old “Born From Jets” ones, though they do still have the graphic at the end of the commercial along with the Saab logo.

  You can see mini Saab commercials here too.

  Saab has a VERY low marketing budget I hear. So they’re trying to carefully target their advertising where they think their target demographic will get the message. As a result they’re not going to do a huge expensive media buy and advertise during American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? or whatever. If you’re into cycling you’ll see them. Also, I’ve seen Saab print ads for months in Los Angeles magazine. Regional advertising is what they’re doing to maximize the effectiveness of the piddly allowance GM is giving them.

• 52 Crispy // Jul 9, 2008 at 8:12 am

  “Analysts often also question why GM keeps Saab. The Swedish car maker only sells about 35,000 cars in the U.S. a year — less than the number of Accord sedans Honda Motor Co. sells in a single month.”

  OUCH!

• 53 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 8:24 am

  Imagine if Saab were offering for sale the 9-3 BioPower Hybrid Convertible right now that they showed the concept of two years ago. They’d have the market to themselves. Nobody else is selling a convertible hybrid. Only Lexus sells a premium hybrid (and it’s boring).

  People wouldn’t have to sacrifice “cool” for fuel efficiency. Sure, it’d be pretty darned pricey (if the non-hybrid ‘vert goes for USD$40K I’m guessing a parallel non-plug-in hybrid version would go for at least USD$45K) but there are a lot of people out there with a lot of money to burn. I look at the number of USD$50K+ SUVs around where I live and can see how to some people money is no object and the appearance of being “green” is something some rich folks like to show, especially in this town (L.A.).

• 54 Markac // Jul 9, 2008 at 9:25 am

  1985 Gripen: The next 9-3 is no longer expected to be larger. It will be built on the Delta II platform and is expected to be about the same size or even slightly smaller. It will however be lighter and offer better space utilization which is supposedly GM’s design goals in using the Delta II compact architecture.

  Personally I’m glad that the 9-3 won’t be getting any larger, but people used to complain the gap in size between the 9-3 and the 9-5 was too small, perhaps in the future it may be too big?

• 55 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 9:46 am

  Marcac: I respect your opinion, but how do you know this? I mean, they don’t even have a design for it yet as far as I know. In fact, they’re still waffling over what platform to build it on! And where they build it depends on what platform it’s built on. All the talk I’ve heard is that both the 9-3 AND the 9-5 will be bigger in the next-generation.

  If the 9-3 is the same size as the current generation or even smaller then Saab’s going to have a hard time slotting-in the 9-1 or 9-2 or whatever they want to call it into the lineup.

• 56 swade // Jul 9, 2008 at 9:52 am

  Gripen, maybe you missed that one on your hiatus. The 9-3 is confirmed for building in Trollhattan on the next generation Delta platform (see here for the Saab press release). It’s probably going to be around the same size, or a tad smaller, than the current 9-3.

• 57 Markac // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:06 am

  1985 Gripen: You must have missed some of Swade’s postings! Part of the decision to keep the 9-3 production in Trollhattan was using Delta II. The new 9-3 will use an extended version of that platform. The 9-1 (also Delta II if it’s ever built) would probably be around the size of the next Astra and approximately 25- 30cm shorter than the 9-3. The 9-2 is supposedly a hatchback derivative of the next 9-3 and will probably be around the same size as the sedan. The 9-5 will probably be 40cm longer than the 9-3 if it’s over 5 metres as predicted.

  I don’t like the 9-2 designation because it implies that the hatchback is a cheaper or lesser car than the sedan and that shouldn’t be the case. Saab should treat it’s hatchback model the same way Mazda does with the Mazda 6.

• 58 swade // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:10 am

  Mark, I think that 9-2 bit is a little speculative and I don’t recall posting about it myself. I wouldn’t expect another Saab with a 9-2 badge for some considerable time.

• 59 Markac // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:23 am

  I think it was Robert Collin who started the 9-2 thing? I also dislike the 9-2 name because of it’s Saabaru connection. If the new 9-3 is to have a hatchback models, they should be called 9-3 hatchbacks. Funy thing if you look back, Gripen’s mentioned the 9-2 before.

• 60 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:29 am

  You’re right, I must’ve missed that. I remember reading that Trollhattan might get 9-3 production back if the car is based on Delta II but I thought I’d read after that the Opel contingent hadn’t given-up on it being built in Russelsheim on Epsilon 2. Shows what happens when I don’t pay attention. Thanks for the clarification.

  Marcac: you mean to tell me that the 9-1 will only be about an inch shorter than the 9-3? What’s the point in that? Oh, and nice blaming me for mentioning the 9-2. I’m only repeating that there was some speculation that Saab wouldn’t call their smaller car “9-1″.

• 61 Markac // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:46 am

  1985 Gripen: I said cm not mm. So that’s about 10 to 12 inches shorter.

  Sorry I didn’t mean to blame you about anything, it’s just that you mentioned the 9-2 back here. Various people have mentioned the 9-2 since and it seems to have evolved into a straight hatchback derivative of the next 9-3, but as I said it was Robert Collin who probably first mentioned it in that Swedish newspaper. He can take the blame!

  I guess he’ll comment now!

• 62 1985 Gripen // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:52 am

  Markac: you’re right, my mistake. I was indeed thinking millimeters.

  I was just giving you a hard time for my mention of it, I wasn’t serious. IIRC, the only reason I brought-up 9-2 in the first place is because there was word there would be no car called the “9-1″. I think since then we learned the concept was named (and I still think this was stupid) the “9-X BioHybrid”.

• 63 Markac // Jul 9, 2008 at 11:10 am

  1985 Gripen: We’ve been metric in Australia for 30+ years now but I still have a hard time thinking metric sometimes. Trying to visualize someone’s height as 1800mm is very hard. Feet and inches are much easier! The Europeans also use decimetres (1 decimetre = 10 centimetres = 100 millimetres) that isn’t offically used in Oz, but sometimes I think it would make things easier.

  Anyway back to Saab, the new 9-5 is probably over 16 inches longer than the 9-3 which is double the current size differential.

  I spoke to a Saab dealer the other day. He said unofficially that nobody he knew would even take an each way bet that the 9-1 would ever get built. That’s pretty sad.

• 64 Alex // Jul 9, 2008 at 12:45 pm

  All I can say is this: FOCUS ON THE NEXT 9-3!

  It will be OK if the 9-5 isn’t all the way there, but they really need to hit it out of the ballpark with the next 9-3 the way Audi did with the original A4 or Infiniti did with the G35.

  The car needs to take everything that Saab is known and loved for offering, and kick it up to the next level in a package with some serious appeal to non-Saab buyers.

  So here are some points I’d like to see:

  First off, bring back the hatch. It’s as simple as that. Offer 3 and 5-door hatches along with a 5-door wagon and the convertible and suddenly Saab is competing in a segment that’s all it’s own again.

  Second off, downsize the engines. Saab is known for their turbo 4’s, and forced-induction 4-cylinder engines (gas or diesel) should be the only powertrain offerings. GM (or whoever Saab’s new owner is) needs to give Saab full access to the parts bin for these engines, and direct injection and hybrid drivetrains are a must. Offer a range of turbo 4’s from a ~150hp 1.6 liter engine for the European market and the hybrids up to a 2.3 liter, ~300-320 hp engine for the 9-3 Aero XWD. Compared to the 6’s in Audi’s, BMW’s, Merc’s, and Infinitis, this would make a huge statement about the kind of environmentally responsible performance that Saab stands for.

  Thirdly, Saab needs to bone up on the handling and interior quality of their cars. The Turbo X and the 9-3 2.0T Aero both handle very well, but they need to have the road feel of cars in their performance class. The same goes with the interiors, the 9-3SS has a great interior design, they just need to work on the materials and details in a big, big, way. But back to handling, there was a day when Saab built the best-handling FWD cars on the market, and Saab should try to reclaim that crown with a lightweight, turbo-4 powered car. The 9-3 Aero 2.0T seems like a giant leap in that direction and I’m ecstatic that Saab has decided to return to their roots with a car like that. Give it the dynamics of the first TSX and they’re golden.

  Finally, Saab needs to incorporate all of this in a stylish, individualistic package that brings to mind the 99, C900, and even the NG900 and early 9-5’s. It needs to look stunning in that “there’s no way that’s anything but a Saab” kind of way that the old cars were. You’d be amazed at just how far good looks can get a car.

  So there you have my theory on how Saab can get it’s mojo back. Forget the NG9-5, forget the 9-1, Saab needs to build the best 9-3 it’s made since the C900.

  Hell, if Saab wants to REALLY drive home the point that they’re making the kind of iconic cars that they used to, they should scrap the 9-3 name altogether and call the new car the 900. Saab was always different, and something as simple as going back to the quirky old number system would really do alot to drive that point home. Instead of 9-1, 9-3, and 9-5, how do you like the sound of 90, 900, and 9000?

• 65 Iain Dawson // Jul 9, 2008 at 10:25 pm

  Went looking with a friend, a year or so ago, for her new company car and tried about 15 different cars in the £20k range (i.e. 9-3 market).

  Her requirements were simple:

  1. Hatchback. No saloons, no estates.
  2. Space for kids.
  3. Reliability.

  In the end it was a toss-up between an Audi A3 or a Honda Civic and what sold those cars was the interior styling.

  The Honda was more practical so that’s where the cash went.

  If Saab brought back the hatch and stopped the interiors looking so cheap (the ‘08 9-5 interior looks poor commpared to a ‘00 9-5) there’s a whole market out there that would stop ignoring them.

  Saab can’t compete with Ford, they CAN against Audi.

  * HATCHBACKS
  * INTERIOR
  * DESIGN

  And a good kicking for some of the (UK) dealers wouldn’t go amiss either.

• 66 Jim F. // Jul 10, 2008 at 1:04 am

  1985 Gripen, re: post # 51 – that may very well be the case, but it’s obviously not working or we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Why should *I* have to go *look* for Saab commercials? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?

  I live in the #1 TV market in the US – and I haven’t seen a single Saab commercial on TV on any of the national or regional networks.

  Around here, Ford has been slamming every channel w/ commercials featuring Derek Jeter. I’m sure they’re not national commercials. Perhaps the tri-state Saab dealers (dealer?) could get together and do some of their own marketing like the other brands have done.

  -JF

• 67 Uncomfortably Numb // Jul 10, 2008 at 2:36 am

  Jim,

  Agreed. What good is an advertising campaign if seeing an ad elicits the same response one might have when seeing an animal on the endangered species list?

  Run the ads consistenly like the major players in the market. At this point even BFJ would be better than nothing. I digress but not having seen an ad for Saab on any major / minor television stations in the U.S. NE regional market in over 8 months…not one…tells the story: Nobody Cares.