If you go by Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight (and why wouldn't you?), the night is darkest before the dawn. If true, that's good news for Saab, because it doesn't get much darker than being banished from Cobo Center to a huge patio across the street and outside.
But the fact Saab is here at all is reason to celebrate for the resurrected brand -- it didn't get a spot in Cobo because it wasn't sure of its survival at the time of the official participation deadline. So even if its cars were under a dusting of freshly fallen snow, Saab was in a good mood inside its "Sno Hus" tent where CEO Victor Muller shared his unabashed optimism and enthusiasm for his brand's future.
Here are some gems from the surprisingly frank and remarkably eloquent Muller, along with some additional information about future Saabs (some of which have been previously reported, but good to recap nonetheless).
"We have customers who have left but are anxious to come back," he said, noting that there are presently 1.5-million Saabs on the road around the world and that its customers were previously fiercely loyal. "Saab doesn't need new customers; it needs to get the old ones back."
Muller views Saab's identity as a "Very quirky, very intelligent and very Swedish company that honors its aircraft heritage." This is in contrast to GM, which loathed the term "quirky."
Muller is quite excited about the prospect of a 92 premium small car. He described his vision for it as a "very advanced small premium car" like an Audi A1 rather than a retro rehash. He noted this was a segment Saab "owned" in the 1960s and needs to recapture. However, the Saab 92 is not in the business plan until the company is first in the black and secures a source for the platform. The latter is in the works, but he wouldn't say from where due to non-disclosure agreements, while getting into the black can happen if the company can achieve 80,000 in sales. According to Muller, that is feasible given the company's current growth, as well as the 9-4X and next year's 9-3.
Speaking of the 9-3, Muller seems quite enthusiastic about "one of the finest designs I've seen in a long time." He described that it uses a new "Phoenix" platform that can be scaled up for a next-generation 9-5 and 9-4X -- thus making Saab self-sustaining in terms of platforms. It can't go as small as a 92, though, which is why Saab still needs to find a partner.
Muller spoke of the 9-3's engine, the 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from BMW and Mini that should produce between 220 and 225 horsepower when it arrives late in 2012. He said that such a partnership was the company's "dream engine" when seeking out powertrain sources, but noted that such a deal "would've been like cursing in church 5 years ago." What has changed is OEMs' willingness to share proprietary technologies, and it's a change that he thinks is not only the biggest to occur in the past year or so, but one he believes is permanent.
Another Saab partnership is with American Axle, which has opened a separate division in Sweden to specifically develop the 9-3's hybrid powertrain. It will feature two electric motors in each rear wheel that'll be powered by TBA batteries.
And finally, Muller said that along with the 92, a rebirth of the Saab Sonett (above right) would "complete the Saab portfolio." He said such a car would compete with the Audi TT and use the Phoenix platform, but that it won't be in the business plan until Saab is profitable.
Profitability could happen by 2012, though, so there could be a lot of buzz around Saab at the auto show in five years or so -- we just hope it'll be inside.
altimadude05 says:
02:10 PM, 01/11/11
Looks like Saab is getting a frigid welcome (back) in North America.
ed124c says:
03:48 PM, 01/11/11
So, how many of the new 9-5s did they sell in 2010? I guess they didn't want to talk about that, huh?
The projected business plan sounds good, but I am sure that all the upcoming Saabs (assuming there are more to come) will be out of my budget range.
I would like to hear from some of those "fiercely loyal" Saab owners. Would be interesting to see how interested they are in a new one.
And the Saab story continues...
n_tesla says:
04:41 PM, 01/11/11
As a current owner of a 9-3 and survivor of an engine transplant (that I got to pay for myself) due to sludge issues I am not a "fiercely loyal" fan boy waiting to drop hard earned cash for my third Saab. "Quirky" is cool in a drinking buddy, but the morning after it's a pain in the ass. Sane people don't want their second largest expenditure after housing to be an "exciting" experience. If I want quirky next time I'll bring my cash to a Subaru dealer and get true weird as opposed to faux weird. I might even get some resale value and reliability too.
bikedude says:
10:57 PM, 01/11/11
"I would like to hear from some of those "fiercely loyal" Saab owners. Would be interesting to see how interested they are in a new one."
Well, I bought a 2011 9-5 in September. As soon as they launched the BioPower versions, I placed an order.
Saabs are unique in the way they let you dig through snow or safely navigate through ice without requiring any special driver's skills. I recently rented a Volvo V50 and was surprised how utterly useless it was on the main roads (with tracks carved into the ice by trucks) and in 5 cm worth of snow on smaller roads. My old Saab 9000 almost works as a snow plow, allowing me to drive at ease in deep snow where I would have problems walking with boots on.
That, combined with great highway performance and reasonable gas mileage, tends to breed loyalty. The incredible safety of Saabs is also appealing of course (tested that myself recently).
Or put in the form of a question: If you were to drive 1000 miles through snow blizzards, areas with temperatuers dropping to -32F, icy roads and snow covered overtaking lanes... What car would you choose? The easy choice is the 9-5. It'll keep you safe, warm and rested on the way. Plus it looks nice.
starbird says:
06:05 AM, 01/12/11
I've had three Saab's and the 93 2006 Sportcombi was terrific. Completely reliable, comfortable, and fun to drive. Unfortunately the lease was up when GM was in bankruptcy and I couldn't buy it due to the outrageous price GMAC wanted for it (20K), so I replaced it with a Subaru Legacy wagon. Biggest mistake I made. I hated the seats, the engine. The trim was no where near as nice as the Saab. In fact I hated it so much I sold the car after six months. It just wasn't worth the pain. Now I'm just waiting to buy another Saab (a 95 sportcombi when it comes out later this year).
throwback says:
08:40 AM, 01/12/11
I like the new 9-5, it's just more money than I am willing to spend. Especially when used Saabs are such great buys. My next Saab will be a '08 Turbo X wagon, they can be had for half the price of a new 9-5.
felonious says:
09:03 AM, 01/12/11
Seeing a bunch of Saabs covered in snow seems so perfect, if you told me they chose to be outside I'd believe you.
billt9 says:
03:08 PM, 01/12/11
Saabs look great in the snow.
carsnaab says:
04:32 PM, 01/12/11
I like another account of the story where Saab was saving $$$ by presenting on the street instead. That really makes them sound like an underdog lean fighting machine!
I'm a first time Saab owner of a 9-3 SportCombi. Besides the shifter and clutch, I am in love with the car. Under (way under with incentives) $30k, +200 HP, +30 MPG highway, and manual transmission wagon. It just doesn't get any better. But wait it does. After taking a look at what was on offer at the local autoshow, I just love that the car is indeed a bit old school. Call me crazy, but I hate the cluttered controls of Infinitis, overly futuristic (and soon to be dated) Acura center stack, and tactile wasteland of Ford's omnipotent new Sync system. Let me concentrate on driving my +3000 lb car at high speed. If I wanted a touch screen to do everything, I'd buy and a new iPhone.
I'm voted with my $$$. I hope Saab pulls through.