Comments on: Thursday Snippets

By: Ron57RC

Ron57RC — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:27:05 +0000

Swade, take it easy and have a well deserved rest.

The site is one to be very proud of and I can see from others’ comments that it is held in high regard by many. That people such as Eric Geers are happy to speak at length with you in itself speaks volumes and I doubt that other sites have such rapport with those at SAAB.

Take the foot off the gas a little, recharge your batteries and long may Swade and SAAB reign.

By: Dippen

Dippen — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:15:38 +0000

Swade: do take a break! ,i am happy with one post /day even if i am a TS-addict. (still pushing the “update” on my rss-reader on my phone )

I agree with ctm post.

By: Gunnar

Gunnar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:28:54 +0000

Bon courage, Swade.

By: Black Saabath

Black Saabath — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:14:21 +0000

When Daimler-Chrystler split up, Chrystler lost its european premium brand; I guess Saab is
GM-Chrystlers only premium brand that doesnt overlap with its other brands in terms of consumers.

The thought of combining GM-Chrystlers factories, model programs, R&D is a good, and man there are alot of brands that needs to be merge under a new name to “market the hell” out them.

- Combine the exClusive high end all-american iconis brand; Chevrolet – Cadillac – Chrystler

- Merge the miD range; Dodge – Daewoo – Buick – Opel + Vauxhall + Holden + Pontiac + Saturn

- Package the ultimare macho machines together; Hummer – Jeep – GMC

- Slash by selling off 49 % of Saab, and make it the independant brand it needs to be.

By: Markac

Markac — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:52:23 +0000

wfg: I think that Magna Steyr would make a good part owner for Saab as part of a consortium. They obviously have some feeling for the brand. I even think GM should retain about 20% of Saab and remain as a parts supplier for at least a few years. Let’s face it, it’ll probably be close to five years before a new owner of Saab could make a Saab car that’s completely GM free. Having GM as a part owner for that period would be beneficial.

Hopefully the Whitehouse will approve some bailout funds for GM so it can proceed to an orderly Chapter 11 bankruptcy, re-structure itself and sell off Saab to a buyer that’s really interested in doing something with the brand. What really scares me is that without help, GM could go straight to Chapter 7 which would mean a firesale of assets, liquidation and Saab would then likely be sold off to whoever first steps in and makes a (barely) reasonable offer. Then Saab’s future could be very difficult indeed.

By: Ken H

Ken H — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:10:22 +0000

Hey, how about some Cadillac reviews?

Maybe not.

Maybe it would be nice to write about non-Saab stuff also, and with Christmas coming up there should be plenty to doodle about.

By: albert

albert — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:17:52 +0000

OK Swade take a break!!!!!
You’ve done a great job this year especially.
And if we see only one post (or even less) a day, we be more than happy. Christmas time is coming and for the financial people the end of the year is also coming with lots of work. So spend some time with your family instead of your webfriends.

And @wfg: I heard that Magna showed interest in taking over Saab. That could be something although their current way of producing cars makes them vulnerable (see the discussion about the convertible production).

By: ctm

ctm — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:26:33 +0000

I think we all have a bit of a mixed feeling at the moment. I can’t imagine there not being a Saab car manufacturer. And we don’t know how close things are (or have been). No wonder it’s sometimes hard to keep the spirit up. What annoys me the most are all the stuff in main stream media that one day say that Saab should stay, and the next expect it to be closed down tomorrow because it has no value. Almost everyday I see headlines about rumors that just turns out to be the usual bs, but as things are you never know for sure… It makes me tired and grumpy. Heck, the only sound reporting on all this are the interviews here TS with Eric Geers!

The Christmas break is surely needed this year. Swade, just keep posting what you want and relax. Hopefully things have cleared a bit in a couple of weeks time.

By: swade

swade — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:12:23 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts, gents. Things OK here, just a bit busy and I need a holiday. One of the important things I’ve found doing this sort of thing is keeping momentum. Once you stop, traffic stops and it’s very hard to get back on the horse. I think Christmas will provide a good opportunity, though.

By: wfg

wfg — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:05:12 +0000

Swade: Now, its time to say something! So far, I am so far a quite customer from Austria (no we dont have kangaroos there ) and enjoy every day reading Sawde’s news and gossipy around Saab, may favorite car company. But now its time to take action and to say “Thank, Swade”! Thank you for this great Saab site, for your enthusiasm with which you fuels our hopes on our beloved Saab company, and the quality and way of writing. I truly enjoy it very much and, just like David, I pick up my daily Saab dosage from your site.

Ok, as you wrote, there is probably no story that has’nt discussed so far around Saab, so what about that: Why not making Saab a Swedish-Austrian company? Ok, it sound crazy at the first glance, but consider that,
1st, the 9-3 convertible is already produced in Austria,
2nd, there is plenty of capacity for building cars considering that Chrysler might give up production in Graz at Magna, which would be an interesting partner,
3rd, in Austria a big Opel production site exists also that produces several Opel engines, probably for some Saab to (I don’t know)
4th, having AVL in Graz, Austria offers one of the leading technology companies in engine design etc.,
5th, Austria is still a pretty wealthy country, probably supporting new options for there troublemaking, yet Chrysler industrial sites,
6th, being located in central Europe very close to Germany, it might be an attractive location,
7th, there are a lot of companies in Austria, Hungary and Slovenia that are engaged with car manufacturers and I guess they would be interested also,
8th, not as much as in Sweden but still, alternative energy is an important issue in Austria and looking on heating devices, nowadays almost 100% are designed to use natural alternatives to oil/gas in rather very sophisticated systems,
9th, there are still some old boundaries between the industries of both countries,
10th, I don’t say the name, but there are pretty potent potential companies that might be interested to join an economically-oriented but still sportive car company,
11h, yeah, how about that, a Saab built in Graz would be probably made next to the new Aston Martin, clearly the one and only car I would let my beloved Saab in the garage, at least at weekends,
12th,…
and finally, I WOULD LOVE IT !

By the way, I am driving an almost 10 years old 9-5 Aero (BSR) with almost 200 kKm now and appreciate this very very reliable, powerful, decent and economical car, that, in all this time, never let me down, every day very much. I am just afraid to have to let it go one day….and not being able to buy a new Saab anymore.
Merry Christmas to all of you and might the New Year be a great one for all of us and Saab to. wfg