Wild Ass Rumor of the Day: GM CEO Loves New 9-5 Too Much To Sell Saab
I recently received an email from former Saab blog owner, current Saab blogger and past TTAC contributor, Steven Wade. Mr. Wade wants to know who TTAC’s Best and Brightest would like to see taking over Saab in the future. He also asked me to ask you who you think WILL take over Saab in the future. [Answers below please.] As part of our exchange, I teased Mr. Wade into admitting he was wrong to disparage me for disparaging GM’s pre-C11 turnaround plans. But don’t get to thinking Wade is ready for his Cassandra Watch. Oh no, far from it. In his most recent entry on Saabs United, Wade put his imprimatur on a wild ass rumor of Olympian proportions. Swedish newspaper Expressen suggests that GM CEO Fritz Henderson is reluctant to sell Saab to, uh, anyone because the new 9-5 is so good he’s afraid it will compete with post-C11 GM’s offerings. Apparently.
The Insignia top model—the Insignia OPC—has just been introduced to the market, and the Saab equivalent will be the 9-5 Aero. These two cars were recently tested at GM test track in Dudenhofen, and the 9-5 was a clear winner, which, according to the source frightened the GM staff.
Sounds like a mistranslation to me. Perhaps the 9-5 frightened the staff when an enraged Saab test driver tried to drive it into the executives getting ready to pull the plug/sell the Swedish brand to the Chinese. I kid. While Wade has a cup of cold water to throw on the idea, he doesn’t see the humor in this. At all.
Damn right it should frighten the GM staff!!
See what you’ve been missing all these years?
What this is saying, in essence, is that the new Saab 9-5 is so good that Fritz Henderson wants to find a way to keep it in the stable. Selling to a competitor means that they lose it all together.
The article also seems to point to the possibility of pointing Saab towards Fiat, where at least GM can retain a stake in that new entity.
Personally, I think it’s a little conspiritorial. I don’t think GM are that worried about having the 9-5 in someone else’s hands. At Saab’s volumes, it would be the last thing worrying them.
But it is kinda nice to think of Saab leaving a worrying former parent behind.
Kinda nice as in wishful thinking? Yeah, like that.
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Robert, It sounds like you owe Steven Wade an apology. Put it in a new post so everyone can see it.
PaulieWalnut Far be it for me not to apologize when a commentator named "PaulieWalnut" tells me to do so, but in for a penny... I did not reveal the full contents of the email sent to me by Mr. Swade. I summarized our exchange, briefly. As he did not ask for confidentiality, I broached no agreement. (I do receive plenty of email where confidentiality is requested, and I respect those requests). In fact, Mr. Wade has posted the contents of an email exchange. Not I. (BTW: Yes, this post is payback.) And no, we didn't pay Mr. Wade. Other than Mr. Niedermeyer and myself, none of our writers are financially compensated for their work. As for the mocking tone, what did Mr. Wade expect? That I would post his questions on this site in the style to which he has become associated? I will not change our style at a reader's request, just as I wouldn't expect Saabs United to post in a style of my choosing. If you check Mr. Wade's now-defunct blog Trollhatten Saab, you will see that he pulled no punches when it came to criticizing my analysis of GM's problems, and the site in general. In other words, his glove were off too. So no apology.