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A late word from the Detroit Auto Show that got caught in my spam folder. The source shall remain nameless, but he was talking to senior Saab staff:
Within three months it should be ready. Right from the floor in Detroit to……[deleted]
Context: I’m pretty sure the “it” being referred to is the independent nature of Saab’s future operations under the GM umbrella.
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Dagens Industri have another report about loan guarantees for Saab today. Here’s a translation, again provided by ctm:
The Swedish government has so far rejected the business plans that GM has submitted and consequently Saab have to wait for government loan guarantees. Approved business plans is a condition for the Swedish government to provide loan guarantees to GM-owned SAAB. It says Secretary of State Jöran Hägglund to Swedish Radio.
- “We have continuous meetings and discussions with GM and Saab. We have then asked to get more clarified and improved basic data – more credible business plans, describing the development for some years to come based on scenarios where sales continue to decline and the actions needed to meet that. It is a prerequisite for making progress in the discussion of loan guarantees,” he says.
Now GM must quickly show new and more credible business plans which the government may accept, otherwise there will be no loan guarantees.
- “That is the perspective in time-critical stage, during the next two weeks. To then be able to assess whether there are possibilities that could mean that the government is prepared to step in with promises or not, that is something that is somewhere like two or three weeks away,” says Jöran Hägglund.
Moreover, the guarantees are linked to what the European Investment Bank says about the matter.
It’s not all guaranteed as yet, although I’d find it hard to Sweden’s government backing away from Saab now after all the support shown at the Detroit show.
Still, there’s work to be done.
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Memo to Saab (again): please keep your numerical nomeclature.
I’m sure the extended-range-electric Opel Ampera will be an interesting car in some way or another, but the name is so, so cheesy.
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Apparently it’s business as usual for GM Premium Brands here in Australia, despite them losing Cadillac last week.
“I think the logical conclusions are that for us it’s business as usual,” GM Premium Brands director Parveen Batish told GoAuto.
“We’re working with our dealers to grow sales of both brands. We’re out there in the market place, either with offers or promoting the brand. It makes no difference to our dealerships or our customers in terms of what’s happening in the background.
“We’ll continue to work on a day-to-day basis and do all the things that we have to do to really promote what are really two great brands that have great awareness. People know what Hummers are and have an idea of what Saab is they’re great global brands and we’ll continue to promote them.
“Those things are out of our control. We have to focus on the areas that are within our control and what’s within our control is taking a great package that we have with Saab and try to show that to as many people as possible.”
This article at Go Auto is a comprehensive overview of the current situation facing GMPB here in Australia. Every Aussie Saab nut should check it out.
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10 responses so far ↓
1 Mailr // Jan 27, 2009 at 10:44 pm
My guess it that it’s probably a bad idea, from the swedish goverments point of view, to give any guarantees before they’ve seen the US plan that’s to be filed the 17:th of february…
2 Markac // Jan 28, 2009 at 12:03 am
Re: Go Auto’s article, “what we don’t want to do is to (launch) our number one flagship brand through a channel where we have two brands that are under strategic review”. I like the way Saab (and Hummer) got the blame for Cadillac’s indefinite postponement. Hogwash, I think it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.
3 Karen // Jan 28, 2009 at 2:30 am
Maybe the US government has OUTSOURCED ‘saving the US auto industry’ to the government of Sweden because this sounds like they are working with GM far more closely, and more effectively, on GM’s new business plan????
If so, that would be the first smart thing US gov has done regarding industry and commerce.
US gov still hasn’t figured out how to resuscitate US banks, but everyone always cite the Swedish model for saving Swedish banks from their 1992 crisis.
I still do not think the Feb 17 deadline for GM is cast in bronze. Even if the outcome is an orderly Chapter 11 bankruptcy for GM (also very doubtful), then Saab assets can be picked up cheap, and still live another 60 years.
4 turbin // Jan 28, 2009 at 6:06 am
“I like the way Saab (and Hummer) got the blame for Cadillac’s indefinite postponement. Hogwash, I think it’s a whole lot more complicated than that.”
More a tacit admission that their strategy was less than premium to start with. Look at the bucketloads of money Audi is putting into this market!
5 PT // Jan 28, 2009 at 7:50 am
Thanks for the link Swade, interesting read. I’ll ignore Bob Lutz’ demented rambings ( as I’m sure RIck Wagoner is….) but I must take issue with a couple of statements from Ruess & Batish.
What, exactly is a “silent launch”? Well, in my view its ” no launch”. One measure of marketing activity is “noise”. How can you launch a new and important varient with a financial selling point in a “silent launch”? You can’t.
As for “honouring commitments to dealers and thats all we’re saying” – sorry, I paraphrased slightly – that sounds like the lawyers all got together and worked out whats the minimum we can do and stay out of court. Not convincing.
And lastly, Batish again, ” people know what Hummer is and have an idea what Saab is”. If thats not damning by faint praise then nothing is. If the best you can do is create the “idea” of a marque that is over 50 years old, perhaps you should look to improve on your “silent” marketing?
Sorry if this cuts to the quick Parveen as I know that you have made some real efforts with Saab but seems like you’re walking away now and I won’t wear that.
Poor treatment of Saab seems to be a given, now I’m starting to feel sorry for Hummer as well.
6 turbin // Jan 28, 2009 at 8:14 am
Yeah PT, those points weren’t lost on me either.
The elephant in the corner of the room as far as Saab’s independence is concerned; what markets are going to be dropped?
Remember that Saab OZ was unsustainable and was folded into GM where it is still a loss-making proposition. Without piggybacking off GM’s network, how will Saab be workable in many of it’s current territories?
7 Me // Jan 28, 2009 at 8:18 am
Hummer a Premium brand ?
H1 is like a big bunch of steel and an engine, H2? OK, I haven’t seen any , but the H3 is as premium as a Hyundai.
I think the best place to buy a SAAB is (was) Barcelona, the SAAB dealer there was also the Porsche dealer. This was(is) a good combination of premium brands.
The Opel Ampera looks to me like a GM Volt with the new Opel looks.
And the name is quite “simple”. Opel car names tend to end with an “a”. So its an ampere(unit of electric current) + a.
The disadvantage of SAAB trying to leave the “GM Family” now is, they won’t be able to build a SAAB Volt, let’s call it 9-1E.
8 Dippen // Jan 28, 2009 at 8:33 am
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) could shift production of a new Buick brand model to Opel, its German unit, possibly in return for not producing new Saab cars in Germany, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.
9 Markac // Jan 28, 2009 at 9:26 am
Me: I think it would have been a Saab Watt!
Dippen: It makes sense building the Lacrosse alongside the Insignia.
10 turbin // Jan 28, 2009 at 9:36 am
“I think it would have been a Saab Watt!”
They already make those.