Saab Saga, Reality Disconnect Edition
Hello? Hello? Part one:
It is 7:00 am on a Friday morning in Shanghai, where an obviously insomnia-suffering Carmen Lee posted the following two hours ago (says Google) at Gasgoo. Gasgoo’s reporting quality had slacked a bit recently, but here is hoping they still can translate alright:
“Pang Qinghua, CEO of the Pangda Automobile Trade Corporation, the company hailed as Saab’s savior, had a short interview with the Beijing Times where he answered questions regarding Pangda’s proposed partnership:
Beijing Times: “When the four-way cooperation (between Pangda, Spyker, Saab and Youngman) agreed upon, what work needs to be done now?”
Mr. Pang: “Currently surveys are still being conducted, [according to which] Saab is doing very well. After [that] is completed, the official signing ceremony will take place, [with the document] being sent to the National Development and Reform Committee. Pangda and Youngman will be very cautious about the application process.”
The charitable assumption is that this interview took place before the emails went out to the Saab workforce that payroll cannot be met. The also charitable assumption is that Saab’s Chinese savior Pangda had been kept in the dark about Saab’s dire straits. Any other assumptions would lack charity. In any case, major loss of face for Mr. Pang, and there will be hell to pay.
Hello? Hello? Part two:
To rally the troops (who frankly are in a defeatist mood) over at Saabsunited, the Victor Muller fanzine gives them the pin-up pictured above. It has little effect on the troops who see blondes all day.
I did a little research into the etymology of the slogan printed on the breasts of the blonde. The British site keepcalmandcarryon.com informs us that the history of the slogan goes back to World War II. At that time, posters were printed up sans blonde.
“The plan in place for this poster was to issue it only upon the invasion of Britain by Germany.” ‘
I’d say it’s totally appropriate for the situation.
Times has a nice article on the poster and the riffs it had spawned. Which one do you think is better suited? The red original, or the blue variation?
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Bloomberg has a follow up: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/pang-da-of-china-says-it-s-on-track-to-buy-a-stake-in-saab-owner.html
That girl's a Limey, not a Swede.