I'm sad. Are you sad? Just a little? Not at all? In fact, I'm nearly upset about the loss or potential loss of Sweden's other manufacturer, the other-other one being Volvo of course.
I distinctly remember reading through my car magazines and books as a pre-teen on Saab 900s and 9000s and thinking that I, one day, wanted to own a 900 16v Turbo SPG; this car was pimp and fast! I also had a soft spot for a second generation 9000 hatchback. Later on, one of my ex-bosses owned a late 50s 93; a totally classic beauty. Saabs were intriguing and exquisite.
I quickly found out, as I delved deeper into the auto business, that owning a Saab was no walk-in-the-park. In my five years working at the Automobile Protection Association (APA), I heard numerous stories of $3,000 clutch jobs, $2,000 alternators and endless electrical gremlins. At the time, I routinely performed OE parts pricing analysis and Saab often ended on top of the list, being more expensive than Mercedes. Couple that to a poorly or untrained work-force in dealerships and, unknowingly, GM had created a recipe for disaster.
And I guess this is why I feel so sad; from that moment on, I would tell anyone considering a new or used Saab to run like the Dickens from anything sourced from Trollhättan. Anything was a safer bet than a Saab.
A terrible reputation was formed, sales plummetted, interest died and things went from bad to worse. They rebadged a Subaru Impreza and called it the 9-2X (interesting especially the Aero) and re-calibrated a Chevrolet TrailBlazer and named it the 9-7X (a huge mistake) and that's when the situation became dire.
The years went by and although their cars finally became interesting (since GM's takeover of the company in 1989), it was just too late...
I think back on all this and I almost feel guilty... Will they survive? If they go, will it be for better or worse? For the thousands of Saab employees, it could be terrible but for GM, some of the hemorrhaging may have come to an end.
I distinctly remember reading through my car magazines and books as a pre-teen on Saab 900s and 9000s and thinking that I, one day, wanted to own a 900 16v Turbo SPG; this car was pimp and fast! I also had a soft spot for a second generation 9000 hatchback. Later on, one of my ex-bosses owned a late 50s 93; a totally classic beauty. Saabs were intriguing and exquisite.
I quickly found out, as I delved deeper into the auto business, that owning a Saab was no walk-in-the-park. In my five years working at the Automobile Protection Association (APA), I heard numerous stories of $3,000 clutch jobs, $2,000 alternators and endless electrical gremlins. At the time, I routinely performed OE parts pricing analysis and Saab often ended on top of the list, being more expensive than Mercedes. Couple that to a poorly or untrained work-force in dealerships and, unknowingly, GM had created a recipe for disaster.
And I guess this is why I feel so sad; from that moment on, I would tell anyone considering a new or used Saab to run like the Dickens from anything sourced from Trollhättan. Anything was a safer bet than a Saab.
A terrible reputation was formed, sales plummetted, interest died and things went from bad to worse. They rebadged a Subaru Impreza and called it the 9-2X (interesting especially the Aero) and re-calibrated a Chevrolet TrailBlazer and named it the 9-7X (a huge mistake) and that's when the situation became dire.
The years went by and although their cars finally became interesting (since GM's takeover of the company in 1989), it was just too late...
I think back on all this and I almost feel guilty... Will they survive? If they go, will it be for better or worse? For the thousands of Saab employees, it could be terrible but for GM, some of the hemorrhaging may have come to an end.