The Saab Story Continues
...and apparently, so do the corny puns.
It seems that Dutch supercarmaker Spyker has agreed to buy Saab. This pleases me; I always did like that slightly eccentric Swedish brand.
Truthfully, I'm surprised at how free-market an approach the Swedish government took with Saab. Not that I think that's a bad thing; in a competitive market, a maker of consumer products is obligated by necessity to build products that consumers actually want. It isn't the Swedish government's fault that Saab was unable to do this. And I'm pretty sure that if the Swedish crown had stepped in to save the company, they (and by association, the public which ultimately would act as the financing for it) would never have recouped their money: Not only did Saab leadership lose focus on what made Saab appealing to people in the first place, they also failed to see that they'd lost the focus.
I think it all started going wrong when GM bought them, truthfully, but from a marketplace perspective, when the 9-5 was released. Saab's fate was sealed with the release of the second 9-3. Why? They went mainstream. The problem was that they couldn't really do mainstream as well as the established mainstream players. They were good, but not compelling. And that just wasn't enough. Saab models lost that oddness that made them distinctive, but they weren't good enough to recommend over BMWs, Audis, and the like. None of their other products had the personality to pull buyers in, and none of their concepts seemed to suggest that they'd figured that out. (Granted, I personally would much rather have a 9-3 than an equivalent Audi A4, but it has been very well established lately that I don't think in the same way that everyone else does. And if I was going to buy that kind of car, I'd probably go for something rear-drive, like an Infiniti G, BMW 3 Series, or even a Lexus IS, provided that they can get that problem with the floormats worked out.)
Saab, congratulations on cheating death! I hope that you enjoy your new marriage to Spyker, and that your proud tradition of weirdness continues productively.
It seems that Dutch supercarmaker Spyker has agreed to buy Saab. This pleases me; I always did like that slightly eccentric Swedish brand.
Truthfully, I'm surprised at how free-market an approach the Swedish government took with Saab. Not that I think that's a bad thing; in a competitive market, a maker of consumer products is obligated by necessity to build products that consumers actually want. It isn't the Swedish government's fault that Saab was unable to do this. And I'm pretty sure that if the Swedish crown had stepped in to save the company, they (and by association, the public which ultimately would act as the financing for it) would never have recouped their money: Not only did Saab leadership lose focus on what made Saab appealing to people in the first place, they also failed to see that they'd lost the focus.
I think it all started going wrong when GM bought them, truthfully, but from a marketplace perspective, when the 9-5 was released. Saab's fate was sealed with the release of the second 9-3. Why? They went mainstream. The problem was that they couldn't really do mainstream as well as the established mainstream players. They were good, but not compelling. And that just wasn't enough. Saab models lost that oddness that made them distinctive, but they weren't good enough to recommend over BMWs, Audis, and the like. None of their other products had the personality to pull buyers in, and none of their concepts seemed to suggest that they'd figured that out. (Granted, I personally would much rather have a 9-3 than an equivalent Audi A4, but it has been very well established lately that I don't think in the same way that everyone else does. And if I was going to buy that kind of car, I'd probably go for something rear-drive, like an Infiniti G, BMW 3 Series, or even a Lexus IS, provided that they can get that problem with the floormats worked out.)
Saab, congratulations on cheating death! I hope that you enjoy your new marriage to Spyker, and that your proud tradition of weirdness continues productively.