Tuesday Snippets
RJ has come up with a fun idea for you hardcore GoogleMappers out there.
How many Saabs can we spot on streetview? Maybe we need to refine it a little and look for rare Saabs. Any suggestions?
Here’s a NG900 I found on Chapel Street, in Melbourne. Took about 5 minutes, though I imagine it’d take a Swede looking around Stockholm about 15 seconds.
——
I read Eggs’ post about Fritz Henderson’s comments regarding Saab with interest this morning. Eggs ended up playing it down a little and I understand the perspective he took considering initial thoughts that maybe they were going to put Saab under the hammer.
But as I read through Henderson’s comments at Just Auto, it got me a bit angry. Yes, we all know that Saab has to perform and make a profit, but when are one of those top line GM execs going to come out and acknowledge that they’ve given Saab very little opportunity to do that.
Consider the following, which are just a few of the things Saab do:
* Saab Sweden have cut the costs of operating the Trollhattan plant by about 33%
* Saab have been tapped to provide E85 expertise to the rest of the GM portfolio
* Saab have been tapped to provide turbocharging expertise
* Saab have been tapped to lead the application of XWD to front-wheel-drive models.
Those last three endeavours are going to pay much bigger dividends for GM’s other European and eventully, US brands.
They’ve extracted plenty out of Saab and their commitment to Saab, supposedly made 2.5 years ago, is still a year or so away from bearing any fruit whatsoever. Meanwhile they’ve invested tens of millions of dollars into Cadillac in Europe for an absolute zero return.
If Saab are struggling, the first place the GM board need to look for answers is in a room full of mirrors.
——
Saab Germany have just dropped 50 Saab cars, mainly SportCombis and Convertibles, into Avis’ rental fleet.
The cars will feature a mixture of petrol and diesel engines with the jewel being the TTiD.
——
Various bits of 9-X Air coverage:
MSN Autos covers their Top 10 concept cars of the Paris show. The 9-X Air is listed there.
Jalopnik cover the best concept dashboards of the Paris show. The 9-X Air is there.
And some spammy phone blog covers something I didn’t give enough attention to while I was away on holidays, the SonyEricsson integrated entertainment stuff:
Making the most of the Bluetooth technology, Sony Ericsson and Saab also work on future development for advanced communications between mobile phones and cars. For its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show, the Saab 9-X Air will be showcased with highly developed connectivity. Some of the car features will be remotely controlled by the Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X1, providing a premium mobile user experience through its unique customisable touchscreen panels:
Control ambient lightning
Control front and rear seat settings
Lock the car
Open the rear compartment
Switch on and off the lights (blinkers, main lights…)
All that raises the question…..how much connectivity do you need/want between your phone and your car?
I could see how some of this would be quite handy as long as they had the security issues sorted out.
-
More from this category
- Saab Barn Find (sort of) - for sale!
- Who knows what - about the 2.1 Saab 900i??
- Saab ain’t quite GM’s minnow brand
- Question: how would you go about starting a Saab car club?
More from this author
Subscribe to this author
Recent Comments
- Ken H on Wednesday Snippets
- Talonderiel on Wednesday Snippets II
- Joel on Aero-X in alt colors
- MitchbSC on Wednesday Snippets II
- tom on Wednesday Snippets II
- Jeff on Wednesday Snippets II
- swade on Wednesday Snippets II
- aeronaut on Wednesday Snippets II
- Tedjs on Wednesday Snippets II
- tom on Wednesday Snippets II
Forget all the that stuff you don’t need like dimming lights, etc.
Most of us would just settle for being able to make phone calls while driving! (although being able to start your car from a cell phone would be nice)
Saab driver “I’ve just been ‘bitten’!”
Passenger “What??!”
Saab driver “Somebody’s hacked my car’s bluetooth system!”
Passenger “How can you tell?”
Saab driver “Notice how all the lights are on, the radio changed to static, the fans on high… and your butt should be burning… right… about….. now.”
We need less cell phone interaction with cars, not more. What good is touting a commitment to safety while at the same time promoting stuff that only distracts the driver from the primary task at hand?
I’m also having a hard time understanding what Saab intends to do in the next 3-4 years to transform its cool technology into increased sales. It’s increasing the technological complexity of its cars despite already having a reputation as being expensive-to-maintain. It is adding a feature (XWD) that will, in all likelihood, decrease mpg at a time when buyers are sensitive about such things. It is focusing press coverage on the 9-X Air when world economic conditions are less likely to support highly discretionary purchases like convertibles. It refuses to sell diesels in NA, even though they would boost sales. Worldwide sales, which have been lackluster, will almost certainly be much lower for several years, even with the new 9-5. Smart consumers have many choices in these uncertain times. Saabs fit nicely in the role of project cars, used-car weekend runabouts and company-leased vehicles, but do they have a future as purchased-new daily drivers? I wonder.
Saab in Australia also have Saab’s available to Avis.
Guess they need to sell the things some how.
ROFL
Swade: Don’t forget that Saab have been tapped to develop GM’s dual-clutch transmission system as well.
Who paid for developing the BLS you think?
Now, if they only could drop Sony Ericsson and go for Apple technology instead…
“as long as they had the security issues sorted out”
I’m glad you wrote that. The odds of this happening are close to nill, especially given Sony’s security history, and the long-term value to consumers will be negative. I can definitely see this as an option (let’s hope it’s optional) that decreases the resale value of the car.
Think of it as a SID with dead pixels for the 2010’s…
Whether or not Saab will be profitable in the future is almost irrelevant. All Saabs will be built alongside high-volume models in shared plants, so what would you base profitability on? The marginal costs will be minimal (what’s the cost of making new sheetmetal if you are basing a car on the Astra?), and mostly made-up of advertising.
On the other hand, Saab holds the key knowledge for GM’s mainstream engines for the next 10 years.
That means that GM has already profited greatly from Saab. Where would they be right now if they didn’t have in-house turbo knowledge? They would probably make all of the rookie mistakes, and it would cost them plenty in warranty costs and customer satisfaction.
The head’s up display developed by Saab in the mid ’90’s was scooped up by the collective and used in the Corvette. It never made it to a Saab model. There are MANY such examples but I don’t have time to get into it now….
On an unrelated note: One of Norway’s largest newspapers (Dagbladet) today featured the headline “The safest cars for the winter” (smaller caption on top reads: “Here are the cars that could save your neck” (rough translation)).
A SAAB was pictured on the front.
Inside however, the journalist spends three pages writing about ESP and EuroNCAP’s test, before finally lumping the 9-3 and 9-5 in some anonymous list together with similar sized cars. Apparently Mercedes, Audi and BMW have similar safety levels as the SAABs. Right… Poor Suzuki had a big ad at the bottom of the page but was not listed anywhere…
This is the second newspaper I buy this year. The first featured me in the background of a group shot, so it wasn’t a total waste of my money buying the thing, but this time I felt seriously shortchanged!
Relax. Just like all of the other Saab innovations, the Sony Ericsson thing is just for the concept car show ponies. Nothing real. Nothing to really worry about.
Philosophy - is the problem for car producers.
After WW2, with the resultant devastation, people were short of basic needs. This was the market of the early Saabs; practical necessity ruled. Reliable and inexpensive transport was one requirement. As time passed and wealth grew, certain luxuries could be added, such as heaters, A/C, windshield washers and defrosters.
The Holdens up until the EH model in the early sixties had 60 bhp. The latest basic family version has four times that. The question is, where does one go from here? Basic transportation has given way to lifestyle expressions and fashion statements. For example, someone who wishes to show his status as a corporate type might pick a Mercedes. His younger up-and-coming may go for the sportier BMW versions. Aristocracy minded gravitate to tradition such as Jaguar or Rolls. Even the most basic transportation has attempted to appeal to emotion rather than reason.
Compare the advertisements 50 years ago with those of today. Note how in earlier times they appealed to your reason; they explained why this car would meet your needs. Now days, it is pure emotion - Zoom Zoom , wrinkled up roads or flaming tire tracks stuff.
So, what is a poor company director to do with a car like Saab? What niche is he to aim for? In other words, what is his philosophy to be?
The early models quickly found their adherents because they were unique and well designed. These days most cars are well made, and Saab is not as distinctive as it once was. What is the reason to select a Saab over other models then? Certainly in my case, two factors stand out. The first is I hate being a “me too” sheep, and the second is that I love the fact that “car lovers” put thought into Saabs. They are intelligently designed.
So where should the philosophy aim then? I think at the people who appreciate independence, and have the intelligence to recognize good design. People in the tech industry, or architects for example.
I hope Saab get this philosophy right because practicality has long been a secondary factor.