AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
By
AutoObserver Staff September 14, 2011
In the 64 years since aircraft maker Saab started developing cars, it has designed and built just 12 entirely new models – and four of those have been somewhat dubious derivations of other manufacturers’ vehicles. Even for a brand whose models have been notable for their (often unplanned) longevity, that kind of product turnover simply hasn’t been enough to sustain a car company in the modern consumer age. This single factor of not enough fresh and compelling cars often enough inevitably assured Saab’s demise. As it has been known for six decades, Saab appears to be finally finished. The company’s labor unions this week called for Saab’s bankruptcy in order to secure their workers’ layoff benefits. The only remaining hope was yet another convoluted scheme to pull yet another clearly insufficient amount of money from an ambitious but overreaching Chinese investor.
Lack of product turnover led to another hallmark Saab deficiency: for at least the past couple of decades, the company has been striving – and failing – to sell usefully more than 130,000 vehicles per year, a number that for many mainstream manufacturers would not keep a single model line profitable, much less an entire assembly plant and certainly not the entire company. Yet despite all this, major efforts were made to save and reinvigorate Saab for much of the past 20 years. There were good reasons: even today, it’s easy to see the market potential held by this distinct Swedish brand. Saab was a storied, premium European marque with a reputation for innovation, unusual styling, safety and, if the advertising puffery was to be believed, a strong link with the glamour of jet-fighter engineering.
Moreover, awareness of Saab, despite annual sales amounting to no more than a few days’ worth of production for Toyota Motor Corp., was vigorous in plenty of global markets that mattered. In 1989, when General Motors bought Saab on the rebound from its failure to get hitched with Jaguar, this was a marque with serious potential, a premium under-exploited global brand – a weapon GM had previously been without – acquired at just the moment when the flight to upscale badges like BMW, Lexus and Audi was gaining real momentum.
Exponential Potential
Hard as it is to remember, Saab itself enjoyed a period of fruitful U.S. expansion; it was the fastest-growing luxury brand between 1982 and 1986 (the years just before the Japanese automakers pulled the trigger on their own formidable luxury-car divisions). General Motors’ 1990 buy-in bought a 50-percent stake of Saab, the other half owned by Swedish conglomerate Investor AB. There were several fleeting moments of well-directed effort, but GM’s efforts to reinvigorate and expand Saab, never mind profitably exploit it, repeatedly stalled. To outsiders, at least, it appeared neither Saab owner was ready to commit the really big investment needed to thoroughly rejuvenate the company.
In 2000, GM bought out Investor and by that time, Saab had already begun to see a succession of short-term, GM-appointed chiefs. Two in particular – Dave Herman, and later, Bob Hendry, who came on in 1996 – started good things but never stayed long enough to complete the rejuvenation. The launch of the first all-new car under GM co-ownership, the 1993 900, was a major disappointment. Good that it looked similar to the outgoing 900. But based on a repurposed Opel Vectra platform, the new-generation 900 lacked the quirky character, debuted virtually no innovations, was off-the-pace compared even with older rivals and endured distressing quality problems.
Shark-Jumping Years
After the 900 launch, sales in the U.S. faltered, contributing to the company’s failure to turn a profit for much of the 1990s through to 2009. Yet sales rose again as the new century started, floating around the 130,000 mark and reaching an all-time high in 2003 of almost 132,000 units, a record achieved with a new, second-generation 900 (now using the 9-3 nomenclature) and a 9-5 flagship that by Saab standards, was relatively young at five years old. What nobody could know at the time was that the 9-5 was not even halfway through its life at this point. Both GM and Saab fumbled this crucial car’s replacement, at first developing a new version using a platform co-developed with Fiat’s premium Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands. But the collaboration eventually was abandoned, causing years of delay.
The resultant dearth of new Saabs spawned some of the stranger automotive mutants of the new century, as GM scurried to give the U.S. dealer network something fresh to sell. First up was 2004’s appallingly misconceived 9-2X, the Subaru Impreza wagon-based Saab that quickly became known as the Saabaru, and almost equally quickly disappeared from view after two seasons and 10,346 sales. It was mostly killed by buyer apathy, but also by GM’s divestment of its Subaru ownership stake, which severed the links between the companies. That development also killed a potentially more promising project that had Saab slated to get its own version of Subaru’s Tribeca crossover.
Instead, the Swedes eventually got the 9-7X (concept sketch, above), a Chevy Trailblazer mutant (speedily relabelled the Trollblazer) that flaunted a Saab dashboard and grille and a disconnection from the essence of the brand more shocking than the Saabaru’s. Still, this one survived until 2009. The celebrated Bob Lutz had a hand in all these cars, despite openly confessing to having little understanding of or empathy for Saab, a surprise given his understanding and experience with the European auto aesthetic and usually trusty product touch. None of these desperate enterprises did the brand much good, of course. Neither did the decision to spawn a Cadillac from Saab’s aged 9-3, a plan that produced a fine subject for an automotive trivia question: Which Cadillac was never sold in its home market, was built in Sweden and available with a Fiat diesel engine? Answer: The BLS, already fading from memories faster than yesterday’s breakfast. The idea was to give Cadillac a BMW 3-Series contender and Saab’s Trollhattan plant more to do, but the BLS was neither a threat to BMW nor the cause of much overtime.
Plenty Of Concept
As all these abuses of the brand occurred, the company wowed auto-show audiences with a succession of intriguing concept cars, a couple of which might have helped turned things around had GM had the nerve to produce them. First was the 2001 9-X, a Kamm-tailed hatchback that appeared sexy, unusual and very Saab, followed by the 9-3X crossover coupe a year later that was even more desirable. At that point, there was bold GM talk of an aggressive 5-year plan and sales of 250,000 vehicles. Then came the dramatic and much-admired Aero X concept (above) in 2006. There was, it seemed, no shortage of design talent for Saab, but a frustrating lack of the means to realise its potential – and the 250,000 annual sales that might, finally, have produced a self-sustaining business.
GM persisted however, having earlier elected to subsume Saab’s operations into the wider Opel organization, so that the Trollhattan plant in Sweden became another GM Europe manufacturing operation, while engineering and styling for new models was largely executed at Opel’s Russelsheim headquarters. The aim was to reduce costs – although an attempt to preserve Saab’s creative essence saw the establishment of a brand center in the company’s hometown of Trollhattan in 2004. How that would have worked in the long-term we’ll never know, because GM had entered stormy waters by 2008 and soon concluded one distraction it no longer needed was Saab.
With Saab’s 2010 sale to Spyker Cars NV, a great opportunity for GM went to waste – and with it, any chance of a viable future for Saab. Despite having successfully rejuvenated Cadillac with a clear mission, considerable resolve and substantial cash, GM ignored the lessons of its own enterprise. Or those to be found in the growth of Audi, BMW and Lexus. The General failed to apply a plan of the scope, funding or vision necessary to launch Saab to the next stage of an expansion that ought to have seen it achieving annual sales of at least 300,000 units. And over the two decades that GM prevaricated, Saab’s brand unquestionably suffered. While some models met with limited success, no car launched during GM’s tenure truly improved Saab in terms of its brand positioning or cemented its distinctive flavor in the way that BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Lexus have done as they’ve developed and grown.
Did Anybody Get It?
Endless discussions inside Saab, GM and in the wider world, attempted to distill the essence and substance of Saab, to explain why it had potential many multiples greater than its actual sales. There was, for instance, no question that awareness of the marque was far higher than its sales footprint would suggest. But that awareness never translated to purchase consideration, and as the revered 92, 93, 96, 99 and 900 models that created that substance grew more distant, the task of working out what Saab actually stood for became ever harder. It was a substance that grew out of the original 92/93 and 96, the robust, aerodynamic-looking, beetle-backed 2-door that was indeed a Swedish take on VW’s “people’s car” concept, and the more sophisticated and subtly individual 99 of 1967. That car would enjoy an extraordinarily long life, bowing out 26 years later, stretched and rebadged as the 900. Like the 96, the 99 was original enough to contribute substantially to the Saab legend.
But everything since – with the possible exception of the recently launched and short-lived (and still Opel-based) 9-5 – has fallen short of that indefinable character and brand essence that continuously strengthens and redefines a marque and sustains its desirability. The blame for Saab’s failure is in large part at GM’s doorstep, though Trollhattan made its own contributions and tiny-but-enthusiastic Spyker’s attempts to successfully rescue were it at best an outside chance. So another famous car brand, and a business opportunity with potential, winks out.
Saab Timeline
1946 - Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget begins development of a small passenger car immediately after WW2
1947 - prototype Saab 92 revealed to Swedish press
1949 - Saab 92 enter series production
1950 - first 92s delivered
1955-68 - Saab’s motorsport successes build the name, with wins in two wins in the Monte Carlo rally, three RAC rally wins in the UK, and a 1956 victory in the Great American Mountain Rally.
1955 - Saab 93, an upgraded, 92, is launched
1956 - Saab 92 gets a three cylinder two-stroke, becomes 93
1956 - Saab Motors Inc in the US is formed
1956 - Sonett 1 sports car – only 6 built
1959 - 95 station wagon launched
1960 - Saab 96 launched, a heavily facelifted version of the 93
1963 - Saab pioneers diagonally-split dual circuit brakes
1966 - Ford supplies Saab with four-stroke V4 for 96
1966 - Sonett II coupe launched, 1890 built
1967 - the larger Saab 99 is launched, with front-wheel drive and a 1709cc British Triumph engine.
1968 - Saab merges with Scania-Vabis, a successful truck-maker, to form Saab-Scania AB, leading to the creation of an automotive division.
1969 - Saab introduces heated seats and headlamps wired through the ignition
1970 - headlamp wipers and washers are launched
1970 - Sonett III sports coupe launched
1972 - Saab develops side impact door beams
1973 - three door Combi 99 introduced
1977 - 99 Turbo introduced, boosting performance and sales
1978 - five door 99 launched
1978 - 99 is lengthened, facelifted and relaunched as 900
1980 - production of the 96 ends
1984 - 175bhp 900 Turbo 16S launched, the first turbo engine with 16 valves
1984 - all-new 9000 launched – it’s only the third all-new model in Saab’s 37 year history.
1986 - 900 Convertible launched
1990 - General Motors buys a 50percent stake from Saab-Scania for $600 million
1991 - Saab is first to introduce CFC-free air conditioning
1991 - Trionic engine management system. In smoggy city centres, Saab 9000 Trionic’s exhaust exhales cleaner air than car ingests
1992 - GM management has reduced the build time of a Saab by 50percent, to 50 hours.
1993 - new 900 launched, based on GM’s Opel Vectra platform
1993 - night panel dashboard, blacking out everything except the speedometer
1994 - Saab turns a profit
1995 - the profit turns to losses
1996 - Saab is first with anti-whiplash active head-restraint
1997 - Saab 9-5 launched, replacing the 9000
2000 - GM buys out the remaining shares in Saab for $125 million
2001 - widely admired Saab 9-X concept unveiled at Frankfurt auto show
2002 - Saab reveals another highly acclaimed concept car, the 9-3X
2002 - an all-new 9-3 is announced
2003 - 48,000 Saabs are sold in the US, a record, and total global sales are the highest ever at 131,706
2004 - GM announces the establishment of a Saab brand center at Trollhattan, following the subsuming of the company into the wider GM Europe
2005 - 9-3 SportCombi (a station wagon) is announced
2006 - the Aero X concept car is unveiled, to considerable acclaim
2006 - Saab’s all-time sale record of 133,167 units is achieved. The marque celebrates its 60th year
2008 - the 9-4X Biopower concept is revealed at the Detroit auto show
2008 - GM announces that Saab’s future is ‘under review’ in December
2009 - February, Saab files for bankruptcy protection under a Swedish court process
2009 - the 9-3X, an all-wheel drive 9-3 wagon, appears at the Geneva auto show
2009 - June, Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg announces that it will buy Saab
2009 - September – the new 9-5 is premiered at the Frankfurt auto show
2009 - November, Koenigsegg announces that it cannot go through with the deal
2010 - GM sells Saab to Victor Muller’s Spyker for $74 million, though not before almost closing it.
2011 - 9-4X crossover launched. Built by GM, it’s U.S.-only model
AutoObserver Staff: Story and reporting by Contributor Richard Bremner.
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