All Entries Tagged With: "9X"

Note To The General: Let Saab Go

By Gunnar Heinrich

THEY say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And in the case of General Motors’ ownership of Saab Automobile AB, that route takes an icy path through Trollhattan.

In 2000, the advertising text, “Made In Trollhattan” spooled GM’s acquisition in this gray cast:

“Swedish brains with American brawn. Saab is now a part of General Motors and it is proving to be a beneficial relationship for both parties. GM has access to our technical competence and we can make use of GM’s enormous resources and production knowledge.”

Or not. Saab has consistently lost money for GM. And GM has, in turn, invested relatively little in Saab.

The Swedish automaker is to GM what Jaguar was to a Ford; a costly acquisition that the parent company never really understood or could manage into positive sales growth.

To put the dire circumstance into a computational context, GM’s ownership of Saab is like Microsoft trying to run Apple with no money. Sad cases of shared platforms gone wrong include the 9-2X a.k.a. “Saaburu”, the generic 9-3, and (worst of all) the 9-7X SUV.

When GM was gracious enough to invite my crew and I to cover the Saab event in New York last Spring, it seemed as though things were looking up for the troubled marque and that the General had finally come round to the concept of putting the right investment and marketing into a struggling division.

The 9-X and 9-4X BioPower concepts on display both demonstrated that Saab has the ability to make beautiful, innnovative, special automobiles.

That neither of these promising concepts will see the light of production day is a testament to the fact that the parent company who never really cared about Saab when the money was good, really doesn’t give a $#!& now that its own core business is evaporating.

It’s understandable that GM’s top brass have lost hope for their red inked Swedish concern. It is, however, unforgiveable that they should let Saab die the slow death of a thousand heavenly concepts unfulfilled.

GM should do the right thing and solidify its core marques (Cadillac, Chevrolet, Saturn, etc.) by selling Saab off to a corporative entity that will treat it right and give it the money and resources to grow once more in the company’s own unique way.

No more sacrificing Saab at the expense of Cadillac.

The General would get some much needed ca$h from the sale and Saab would be set on the road to salvation. Considering the current alternative route, it’d be vastly more appealing for both Detroit and Trollhatan if GM would just let Saab go.

[Linked: Trollhattan Saab]

Key To Saab’s Future, The 9-X Biohybrid Returns To Home Away From Home

By Gunnar Heinrich

SAAB public relations man extraordinaire Jan Willem-Vester sent yours (and countless others, no doubt) a press release announcing that Saab is holding a really big party for owners and fans in its home away from home – Massachusetts – us New English really love our Saabs.

If you haven’t read ADL’s Turbo X Drive in Beantown this past Spring, do so here >

Saab’s Stage: Bostonian Spring

The Turbo X Spectacular! The Talk In Herb’s Garden

The Turbo X Spectacular! Part II: Lost (Briefly) In Beantown

The Turbo X Spectacular! Part III: Thrashing Saab’s Best

So from Sonnet to Viggen, every bit of Saab’s past will be on view in the town of Devens from tomorrow August 21st through Sunday, August 24th.

Flying over from Sweden to make this party is the very special – nay, crucial – 9-X Biohybrid concept: a svelte Swede that brings the Scandinavian anti-bling of Bang & Olufsen and must sell like Ikea.

The challenge is whether Saab can keep it real enough for the fans and cheap enough for the accountants. There’s been talk that the someday-production-car is already being downsized (but hopefully not downgraded) from the original show car that debuted last March (see the concept in our video here).

Fuel efficiency is the likely rationale, though flexibility of platform to match future Opels and Chevys is also probable. Which would be fine so long as the production version of the 9-X (aka 9-1X) looks, feels, and smells nothing like them whatsoever.

[Linked: Motor Trend]