NXA-16H
3rd July 2008, 09:58 PM
I have been doing a reasonable amount of research on potential alternatives to the Zafira which I drive nowadays, including my 2nd car - a shitbox Festiva - which was written off last weekend.
Essentially, I am looking for a European vehicle which is safe, reliable, whose parts are readily available, comfortable, and which also stands out from the crowd. An old Citroën DS is currently a serious candidate.
During my research however, I found a post discussing GM's failed strategy of trying to sell eight versions of the same car, instead of focusing on building ONE great car and producing maybe two variants at most. The post attributed the problem to one of general brand mismanagement, which included the issue of marketing and branding. The post in question was one in a series of articles on the subject, a discussion around what is arguably GM’s greatest crime of “brand murder”: the destruction of Saab.
Many years ago, there was a great Saab commercial showing a Saab owner driving at illegal speeds along twisty back roads, while a Rolls Royce owner is being driven serenely along the same roads whilst reading the paper and drinking tea. The images cut back and forth and eventually the Saab owner (stuck behind and annoyed with the slow moving Rolls Royce) passes the Rolls Royce and leaves him in the dust. The commercial ends with the tagline: “People who buy a Rolls Royce pay other people to drive for them; people who drive Saabs let no one do the driving but themselves!”
If I remember correctly (I was barely ten at the time) this commercial came out around 1985/1986, back when the Saab brand was stronger and the company was considered a producer of premium, safe, quirky and sporty cars. They were never in the same league as Mercedes or BMW, but they were still premium automobiles that were well respected and had a strong following.
Fast forward to 2008 and Saab only holds a glimmer of its former glory. You could even argue that the use of Opel platforms and the GM parts bin makes them some sort of an Opelised version of a true Saab.
Aside from the automotive-Frankenstein quasi Saabs GM is pushing on the marketplace, the real problem with Saab is that the cars simply don’t stand up to the competition. Why would you pay $36k for a Saab 9-3 when you can get a car with similar appointments and performance capabilities (if not greater) from Honda or Nissan for much less, or get higher performing, more luxurious cars from Audi, BMW or Lexus for about the same price? Unless you’re in love with Saab’s styling, the floor ignition or the nighttime driving lights, it makes little sense to choose Saab over the competition.
So what’s the solution for Saab?
Put the cars from other Luxury Sport Sedan manufacturers firmly in their sights, and actually build a car that a potential BMW, Audi or luxury Honda buyer practically has to try before making a final decision. Some potential ideas:
Actually build a bloody Saab. Stop re-badging sub-par cars from other GM divisions. I don't believe Australian car buyers want to pay $35k for a rebadged Opel/Generic GM Sedan with a few Saab touches.
If you want to be a legitimate competitor in the luxury sports sedan arena, your cars have to be either all wheel drive or rear wheel drive. Until rear wheel drive and/or all wheel drive variants of the Saab 9-3 are produced, it’s not going to be a viable competitor against the heavyweights in that market segment.
More power: Lexus and Honda were able to shake-up the Sports Sedan segment by starting a horsepower race, Saab should join the club and push the power output of the Aero version of the 9-3 to at least 300 HP. They should also create a “motorsport/tuner” version of the 9-3 (i.e. bring back the Viggen) with a power output in excess of 400 HP, as a ultra-high performance 9-3 could be a cachet model that could help breathe life back into the Saab brand. Furthermore, if a super-powered Viggen is brought back in rear wheel or all wheel drive form, it won’t have the torque steer that plagued the last version and dampened its high-performance credentials.
Can Saab be saved? I have no doubt. Audi was brought back from being nearly dead to being a viable competitor for BMW and Mercedes. With the A4 outselling the Mercedes C-Series, Saab can be revived too. However the key to reviving Saab (as it was with Audi) is a great product. A company that claims their cars are “descended from Jets” should build performance automobiles that keep that promise, as opposed to seeming more like they’re descended from re-badged pedestrian Opels.
An afterthought: How about making Saab more like Mini is to BMW? Saab should be into cool, new, emerging product categories - Green vehicles, city vehicles etc, and also emphasize Saab as a lifestyle brand with trendy stores and ownership experience.. Much like what Apple Stores offer, while leaving the rest of GM to concentrate on luxury, performance, and utility - the traditional car segments. This is actually a good time to go into this, thanks to the quickened pace of technological and lifestyle changes that give rise the new trends - internet, green credentials, globalisation, urban renewal etc etc etc.
NXK-43Y
Essentially, I am looking for a European vehicle which is safe, reliable, whose parts are readily available, comfortable, and which also stands out from the crowd. An old Citroën DS is currently a serious candidate.
During my research however, I found a post discussing GM's failed strategy of trying to sell eight versions of the same car, instead of focusing on building ONE great car and producing maybe two variants at most. The post attributed the problem to one of general brand mismanagement, which included the issue of marketing and branding. The post in question was one in a series of articles on the subject, a discussion around what is arguably GM’s greatest crime of “brand murder”: the destruction of Saab.
Many years ago, there was a great Saab commercial showing a Saab owner driving at illegal speeds along twisty back roads, while a Rolls Royce owner is being driven serenely along the same roads whilst reading the paper and drinking tea. The images cut back and forth and eventually the Saab owner (stuck behind and annoyed with the slow moving Rolls Royce) passes the Rolls Royce and leaves him in the dust. The commercial ends with the tagline: “People who buy a Rolls Royce pay other people to drive for them; people who drive Saabs let no one do the driving but themselves!”
If I remember correctly (I was barely ten at the time) this commercial came out around 1985/1986, back when the Saab brand was stronger and the company was considered a producer of premium, safe, quirky and sporty cars. They were never in the same league as Mercedes or BMW, but they were still premium automobiles that were well respected and had a strong following.
Fast forward to 2008 and Saab only holds a glimmer of its former glory. You could even argue that the use of Opel platforms and the GM parts bin makes them some sort of an Opelised version of a true Saab.
Aside from the automotive-Frankenstein quasi Saabs GM is pushing on the marketplace, the real problem with Saab is that the cars simply don’t stand up to the competition. Why would you pay $36k for a Saab 9-3 when you can get a car with similar appointments and performance capabilities (if not greater) from Honda or Nissan for much less, or get higher performing, more luxurious cars from Audi, BMW or Lexus for about the same price? Unless you’re in love with Saab’s styling, the floor ignition or the nighttime driving lights, it makes little sense to choose Saab over the competition.
So what’s the solution for Saab?
Put the cars from other Luxury Sport Sedan manufacturers firmly in their sights, and actually build a car that a potential BMW, Audi or luxury Honda buyer practically has to try before making a final decision. Some potential ideas:
Actually build a bloody Saab. Stop re-badging sub-par cars from other GM divisions. I don't believe Australian car buyers want to pay $35k for a rebadged Opel/Generic GM Sedan with a few Saab touches.
If you want to be a legitimate competitor in the luxury sports sedan arena, your cars have to be either all wheel drive or rear wheel drive. Until rear wheel drive and/or all wheel drive variants of the Saab 9-3 are produced, it’s not going to be a viable competitor against the heavyweights in that market segment.
More power: Lexus and Honda were able to shake-up the Sports Sedan segment by starting a horsepower race, Saab should join the club and push the power output of the Aero version of the 9-3 to at least 300 HP. They should also create a “motorsport/tuner” version of the 9-3 (i.e. bring back the Viggen) with a power output in excess of 400 HP, as a ultra-high performance 9-3 could be a cachet model that could help breathe life back into the Saab brand. Furthermore, if a super-powered Viggen is brought back in rear wheel or all wheel drive form, it won’t have the torque steer that plagued the last version and dampened its high-performance credentials.
Can Saab be saved? I have no doubt. Audi was brought back from being nearly dead to being a viable competitor for BMW and Mercedes. With the A4 outselling the Mercedes C-Series, Saab can be revived too. However the key to reviving Saab (as it was with Audi) is a great product. A company that claims their cars are “descended from Jets” should build performance automobiles that keep that promise, as opposed to seeming more like they’re descended from re-badged pedestrian Opels.
An afterthought: How about making Saab more like Mini is to BMW? Saab should be into cool, new, emerging product categories - Green vehicles, city vehicles etc, and also emphasize Saab as a lifestyle brand with trendy stores and ownership experience.. Much like what Apple Stores offer, while leaving the rest of GM to concentrate on luxury, performance, and utility - the traditional car segments. This is actually a good time to go into this, thanks to the quickened pace of technological and lifestyle changes that give rise the new trends - internet, green credentials, globalisation, urban renewal etc etc etc.
NXK-43Y