Saksalais lehti maalailee Saabin loppua
Re: Saabin rankka taival..
9000:n myi todella hyvin aikanaan.petteri75 kirjoitti:Kuten palstalla on muistutettukin, Saab autotehtaana ei koskaan ole ollut mikään kultakaivos. Paras hetki ajoittui 80-luvun loppupuoliskolle, ilmeisesti vinokeulan "julkaisemiseen".
900C -86
Tässä vähän lohdullisempaa luettavaa. Sikäli siis kuulostaa hyvältä, että jenkit tuntuvat sittenkin paremmin ymmärtävän Saabin arvon kuin sakemannit, jotka vain surevat O**lin tehtaitaan...
Tämän pitäisi olla Detroit Newsistä:
Saab has special niche in GM's portfolio, despite lack of profit
After General Motors Corp. agreed to pay $2 billion to unwind most of its ties to Italy's Fiat Auto SpA, rumors spread in Europe Monday that GM would cut Saab loose next.
There's reason to worry. GM bought 50 percent of the Scandinavian carmaker in 1990 and acquired full control in 2000, but has yet to return it to profit.
The trouble with Saab is that it's tiny, generating only 130,000 vehicle sales a year. Its one factory in Trollhaettan, Sweden, is underutilized, and its cumulative cost to GM is estimated to run in the low billions of dollars.
As part of GM's effort to restore its European operations to profit after five years of losses totaling $2.6 billion, it will soak up some of the Trollhaettan plant's surplus capacity by building the entry-level Cadillac BLS there in 2006 for the European market. A concept version of the BLS will be shown next month in Geneva.
Part of the reason that GM is giving Saab a chance is that it's the U.S. automaker's only European premium brand - in contrast with Ford Motor Co.'s collection of Jaguar, Land Rover and other blue-blood nameplates.
"Saab is in the premium segment, and premium sales will continue to grow, in the United States and everywhere," says Debra Kelly-Ennis, president of Saab USA.
"It fits uniquely in the portfolio, introducing customers who wouldn't necessarily consider other GM brands," she says.
GM is trying to fix Saab by expanding its lineup, drawing on parts and resources among its worldwide partners. Saab's 9-2X hatchback is derived from the Subaru WRX and it is built in Japan by Subaru, the auto unit of Fuji Industries, in which GM holds a 21 percent stake.
Saab's new 9-7X sport utility vehicle, which starts at $38,990, is based on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and will be assembled at a GM plant in Moraine, Ohio.
The two new models, sold only in North America, are expected to reverse a slide in Saab's U.S. sales - which fell 20 percent last year to 38,l59 - and eventually boost global volume to upward of 200,000 vehicles a year.
"Almost 30 percent of people who leave Saab leave for an SUV as their next vehicle," Kelly-Ennis said.
On Monday, she unveiled the newest Saab model, the 9-3 SportCombi wagon that will be shown at the Geneva motor show next month.
Priced at less than $30,000, it features a new turbocharged V-6 engine delivering 250 horsepower to be offered on all 9-3 models.
Unlike the 9-2X and 9-7X, the 9-3 SportCombi will be sold in Europe, where GM's badge-engineering has weakened Saab's brand image.
"Saab used to be a highly innovative premium brand, but under GM's ownership, its profile has been watered down," says Philipp Rosengarten, Frankfurt-based analyst for auto consultancy Global Insight.
"It's a real art to share parts and platforms across brands but still have a different feeling for the cars in each brand," he says. "The execution is amazingly hard."
Saab's 9-3 family shares GM's mid-size Epsilon architecture with the Opel Vectra, as well as the Chevrolet Malibu and, reportedly, with the small Cadillac BLS.
It's hard to argue with GM's financial reasoning, but it will need a deft touch to pull it off with Europeans
Tämän pitäisi olla Detroit Newsistä:
Saab has special niche in GM's portfolio, despite lack of profit
After General Motors Corp. agreed to pay $2 billion to unwind most of its ties to Italy's Fiat Auto SpA, rumors spread in Europe Monday that GM would cut Saab loose next.
There's reason to worry. GM bought 50 percent of the Scandinavian carmaker in 1990 and acquired full control in 2000, but has yet to return it to profit.
The trouble with Saab is that it's tiny, generating only 130,000 vehicle sales a year. Its one factory in Trollhaettan, Sweden, is underutilized, and its cumulative cost to GM is estimated to run in the low billions of dollars.
As part of GM's effort to restore its European operations to profit after five years of losses totaling $2.6 billion, it will soak up some of the Trollhaettan plant's surplus capacity by building the entry-level Cadillac BLS there in 2006 for the European market. A concept version of the BLS will be shown next month in Geneva.
Part of the reason that GM is giving Saab a chance is that it's the U.S. automaker's only European premium brand - in contrast with Ford Motor Co.'s collection of Jaguar, Land Rover and other blue-blood nameplates.
"Saab is in the premium segment, and premium sales will continue to grow, in the United States and everywhere," says Debra Kelly-Ennis, president of Saab USA.
"It fits uniquely in the portfolio, introducing customers who wouldn't necessarily consider other GM brands," she says.
GM is trying to fix Saab by expanding its lineup, drawing on parts and resources among its worldwide partners. Saab's 9-2X hatchback is derived from the Subaru WRX and it is built in Japan by Subaru, the auto unit of Fuji Industries, in which GM holds a 21 percent stake.
Saab's new 9-7X sport utility vehicle, which starts at $38,990, is based on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and will be assembled at a GM plant in Moraine, Ohio.
The two new models, sold only in North America, are expected to reverse a slide in Saab's U.S. sales - which fell 20 percent last year to 38,l59 - and eventually boost global volume to upward of 200,000 vehicles a year.
"Almost 30 percent of people who leave Saab leave for an SUV as their next vehicle," Kelly-Ennis said.
On Monday, she unveiled the newest Saab model, the 9-3 SportCombi wagon that will be shown at the Geneva motor show next month.
Priced at less than $30,000, it features a new turbocharged V-6 engine delivering 250 horsepower to be offered on all 9-3 models.
Unlike the 9-2X and 9-7X, the 9-3 SportCombi will be sold in Europe, where GM's badge-engineering has weakened Saab's brand image.
"Saab used to be a highly innovative premium brand, but under GM's ownership, its profile has been watered down," says Philipp Rosengarten, Frankfurt-based analyst for auto consultancy Global Insight.
"It's a real art to share parts and platforms across brands but still have a different feeling for the cars in each brand," he says. "The execution is amazingly hard."
Saab's 9-3 family shares GM's mid-size Epsilon architecture with the Opel Vectra, as well as the Chevrolet Malibu and, reportedly, with the small Cadillac BLS.
It's hard to argue with GM's financial reasoning, but it will need a deft touch to pull it off with Europeans
Saabisti #2397
9-5 2,0t Linear Wagon vm.2002
Seat Alhambra 2,0TDI 4WD vm. 2013 (11/2012), mutta silti:
"Saab is The Truth, The Whole Truth and nothing but The Truth."
9-5 2,0t Linear Wagon vm.2002
Seat Alhambra 2,0TDI 4WD vm. 2013 (11/2012), mutta silti:
"Saab is The Truth, The Whole Truth and nothing but The Truth."
Vieläkin ihmettelen, että miten se tekee automerkistä kannattavan, että muiden valmistajien autoja leimataan "Badge engineeringillä" Saabiksi ja kas, merkki kannattaa säilyttää! Ilmeisesti merkki soittaa kelloja joidenkin jenkkien päässä, mutta ovatko he niin typeriä että kuvittelevat noiden viritysten oikeasti olevan Saabeja? GM heivasi Oldsmobilen ja D-C eli Daimler-Chryslerin Plymouthin koska niillä ei enää lopulta ollut mitään eroa konsernin muihin merkkeihin. Onko Saabin tie tämä?
P.S: BOFH deletoi yhden aloittamani viestiketjun tänään, syyttä suotta. Se ei sisältänyt loukkaavaa materiaalia, herjoja tai tekijänoikeuden alaista tietoa. Hävetköön!
P.S: BOFH deletoi yhden aloittamani viestiketjun tänään, syyttä suotta. Se ei sisältänyt loukkaavaa materiaalia, herjoja tai tekijänoikeuden alaista tietoa. Hävetköön!