From Automotive News:

"Lutz casts doubt on Sweden-made Saabs
The future of Saab's factory in Sweden has been thrown into doubt by General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz. "Who knows where Saabs will be built in future? There is nothing that says Saabs have to be made in Sweden," Lutz said. "

 

The beginning of the end for Saab was when GM bought them out.

 

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Yeah, GM uses a Subie platform for a entry level car, and a class leading SUV chassis for an SUV, and Saab is going down the tubes.
I love the mentality. GM destroyes everything.

 

To Saab purists, yes, GM has destroyed Saab. Have you looked at Saab sales figures recently? The line between a Saab vehicle and a Chevy is so blurry you really can't tell where Malibu ends and 9-3 begins. Sorry, but saying "Saabs don't need to be built in Sweden" tells me how little Bob Lutz understands this nameplate.

 

Compare how Ford runs & treats Volvo with how GM runs & treats Saab, and I think you'll understand what their getting at.

 

You can honnestly tell me that you can see a resembalance between the 9-3 and the Malibu? If you can, you must have xray vision.
Both the 9-2x and 9-7x look very Saab. It might loose some purists, but it might gain other people that arent usualy looking at Saab.

 

Yes, to some people GM is "killing" Saab. But you could make a fairly strong argument that there's no way Saab would have been able to survive in the auto business as an independent company anyhow. So if it wasn't GM, it would have been someone else.

And I doubt anyone else could treat them better. Saab simply doesn't have the volume to support their own unique car lines anymore. They would either have to continue using ancient platforms amortized over 10+ years between design cycles, or share a platform with another major player. At least GM lets them retain as much of their unique identity on the surface as possible.

 

Again, have you looked at the figures? They are in the toilet. THERE ARE NO new Saab customers. Lessee, when you alienate your hardcore enthusiasts and you can't bring in mainstream customers to replace them, yeah Houston, we have problems.

I know the "GM screws up everything" attitude gets tiring around here, I get tired of it too, but GM's control of Saab has done that once-proud nameplate absolutely no favors. Period.

 

I thought ever since the redesign, the sales picked up a lil..

i haven't seen the figures though, so it would be nice if someone has a link to them.

Heh, one of my college friends just recently picked up a new 9-3...

 

The new 9-3 looks great

SAAB as a whole seems to be in the same boat as Saturn, they don't know were they are going.

 

i agree with Wilson for the most part. but i'll add that GM's SAAB is hideously overpriced.

 

Maybe the problem is with Saab's customer base?

Saab was really headed towards the end of the road because it's customer base seemed to be moving on to other cars and Saab didn't have enough cash to redo their line up.

I think Wilson is on the right track on this. Saab customers were leaving the brand before GM bought the company. Saab's reputation seems to be simply well made "quirky" cars, but nothing more. And as was pointed out, there aren't any new customers lining up at the doors.

Perhaps GM didn't ruin Saab. Instead they tried to bring Saab up to date by simply 'brand engineering' new GM vehicles since the volume wasn't there to create distinctive new vehicles for Saab. In this case, it perhaps was the only logical move GM could make. But at the same time, Saab looses it personality, and GM has 3 European divisions (Opel & Vauxhall are the other 2).

This brings up the question, why did GM even buy Saab?

 

Because of GM's almost irrational obsession about market share, over and above profitability and everything else?

 

Ford uses Volvo as a source for platforms and engine technology. Saab was just shoving out Opel-based cars with "Saabified" Ecotec engines. In the future, we can "look forward" to the "Saabubaru" 9-6 crossover, the Kappa-platform 9-4, a rebadged Opel Astra called 9-1 and the Zeta-platform 9-9.

The big question is whether GM will be able to sell this grab-bag of rebadged crap. Assuming that all of the new products will be wonderful, Saab currently doesn't have the market penetration or dealer network to pull off the planned expansion.

After a visit to Sweden, I realized that Saab was always a more marginal brand than Volvo. Personally, I don't know if Saab has any "brand values" worth saving.

 

I agree with Guy, why did GM buy Saab? For development of small sedans? Ford seems to be getting a lot more out of the deal with Volvo then GM from Saab.
Personaly, I like the new 9-2x, and 9-3 as do many people I know. My gf loves the 9-3 vert.
I think its just too early to say that GM is killing or helping Saab. I think that GM is doing the best they can with very little and I belive that they are gunna come up big.