Saab's New Masters Speak

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Christian von Koenigsegg speaks to Automotorsport Sweden about the future of his new acquisition. Managing Director Jan-Åke Jonsson’s interview can be found here.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Juniper Juniper on Aug 19, 2009

    Has everyone forgotten that Saab was broke when GM bought them? If the cars were so wonderful why didn't they sell enough to stay in business? History is going to repeat.

  • Porsche986 Porsche986 on Aug 19, 2009

    I wish them luck. I think the new 9-5 is great, and so do my parents... they have a 2007 9-5. Both have already said they would buy the new one in a couple of years when the miles are piled onto their current car.

  • Psarhjinian Psarhjinian on Aug 20, 2009
    Has everyone forgotten that Saab was broke when GM bought them? If the cars were so wonderful why didn’t they sell enough to stay in business? This is a good point. Saabs were not reliable, well, ever. Perhaps by European standards (eg, next to Renault, Citroen, Lada, Skoda, Alfa Romeo and such) they weren't totally excretable, but quality actually did improve under GM. Where GM went wrong was junking anything that made Saab unique. Saab could have worked as a kind of oddball European Acura, selling premium, sporty, if weird, cars. Instead, GM tried to make them into a producer of bland mediocre BMW knockoffs. You can see the "jump the shark" moment with the 9-3SS: at the same time it failed to be a 3-Series competitor, it also alienated existing Saab buyers. The 9-2X and 9-7X didn't help matters. If Saab can be independent, it needs to provide both a reasonably reliable product and something that's somehow different from what's currently available. That will be so very hard.
  • Snabster Snabster on Aug 20, 2009

    @psarhjinian; I don't think it would be hard to SAAB to come up with a new product that is different than what is out there. Selling that product at a price and volume to make up for the development costs, yes, that will be tricky.

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