All Entries Tagged With: "Jan-Willem Vester"
Happy Saabing, Jan-Willem Vester
- Former Saab rep. Jan-Willem Vester has died
- Mr. Vester was a true gentleman and tremendous representation for GM
- Owned Saab 900 Convertible and Porsche 911
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Kevin Kusina for ADLX
JAN-WILLEM, or “Jay-Dubya” as his one time boss at SaabUSA called him, was a true car guy and an even truer gentleman.
Before joining GM’s press relations team for Saab, the gentle Dutchman wrote for European car mags and in his own garage: a mint, 80′s fresh 900 Convertible and a 993 gen. 911 Porsche.
What made Mr. Vester so effective was his character: devoid of any attitude, soft spoken, and clever in finding common ground.
For instance: recognizing that eventhough I owned a Saab convertible myself, my strongest interest centered on Mercedes-Benz, he regaled me one evening with a review he once conducted on the W140 gen. 600SEL.
With few exceptions, he was one of the finest car company representatives I’ve met. According to SaabsUnited, the auto industry is emptier today with news of his death.
One of Jan-Willem’s common sign-offs was “Happy Saabing”.
Happy Saabing, Jan-Willem.
Saab’s Best Foot Forward: Jan-Willem Vester
Talking Saab with Jan-Willem Vester in New York, 2008.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Kevin Kusina for ADL
WHILE the comings and goings of corporate press officials aren’t worth mentioning in general, but having read from SaabsUnited.com that Jan-Willem Vester has left GM…this one career transition does deserve special comment.
You see, there are p.r. reps – and then there are p.r. reps.
Every public relations professional has to tow the company line and lie, if he or she must, with a grin on their face. So, to a true journalist, the public relations man is an adversary because his job is to white wash and direct the story.
Some are so good at ratcheting out disingenuous horse pucky that you’re left sucking your teeth as if trying to remove some kind of syrupy film that isn’t there.
Not so with Mr. Vester.
Jan-Willem Vester, a.k.a. “Jan”, “Jan-Willem”, or “J.Dubya” as his onetime boss Steve Shannon at Saab USA referred to him, was a “gentleman” spokesman for General Motors.
He did follow GM’s awkwardly drawn line for Saab. But he did so graciously and with an air of humility. As a representative he presented himself and his company sincerely and with good humor.
I once threw him a curved ball on camera by asking of the 9-X BioHybrid Concept:
“If this car were an actress, who would it be?”
Momentarily taken aback, he gamely replied:
“Let’s give it a Swedish name, Scarlet Johansson.”
Mr. Vester had a remarkable knack for openly acknowledging mistakes without once betraying his employer and his work made a difference in how I approached Saab.
Nearly a decade ago, I had a political conversation with a Kenyan scholar studying in Scotland. He argued that the true international legacy of American presidents wasn’t in their policies, per se, but rather in how they went about communicating their mission with the rest of the world.
I’d like to think that in this somber chapter of Saab’s history, we can look back with the affirming knowledge that in the worst of times, Saab had the best kind of p.r. rep.
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]
Special Thanks To GM
By Gunnar Heinrich
GM, once again, gets our thanks for inviting Automobiles De Luxe to be their guest at the Turbo X Drive Event in Boston last week. Special mention goes to Saab PR manager Jan-Willem Vester and GM rep Adam Denison.
If you missed ADL’s coverage of Saab’s latest flagship, tap the following links.
Part I: The Talk In Herb’s Garden
The Turbo X Spectacular! Part II: Lost (Briefly) In Beantown
By Gunnar Heinrich with Photos By Kevin Kusina
DRIVING off the lot from Herb Chambers in the new Turbo X with ADL shooter Kevin riding shotgun and Saab media rep. extraordinaire Jan-Willem Vester giving directions from the back seat, we embarked upon a preordained route that wound us northward to North Andover where in a more secure, open setting we would be able to beat the Turbo X like the redheaded stepchild it isn’t.
The trouble was getting there.
Not a problem you’d think, Jan-Willem had the directions. The route was charted. Tuesday morning traffic was light. We’d be as right as Swedish pork-filled potato dumplings with cabbage rolls.
Boston, bless it’s eighteenth century heart, had other ideas.
Video >>> New York Auto Show 2008
Another Heinrich-Rogers production. Our thanks again go out to GM.
& The Crew ~
Chris Reo
Sound Guy Dave Baker
Tiffany Hopkins
Kevin Kusina
