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by Swade

Thursday Night Snippets

April 30, 2009 in Archive

UPDATE:
A comment from ctm that I thought was worth bringing to the front page here:

Media in Sweden now claim there are four auto manufacturers interested in Saab: Koenigsegg, Geely, another Chinese manufacturer, and another unknown one.

That would gel pretty well with the whispers I’m hearing. The rest of the dozen who Saab will proceed with would be investment companies.
I had a good conversation with Djup Strupe in Sweden this evening and whilst no identities were forthcoming (they never are), the impression I got was that this is a very mixed bunch full of names you’ve never heard of.
I also got some clarification from Magnus Nordberg at TTELA this evening on something written there and covered here. The presence of BMW in these negotiations, which we’ve written about and discussed recently, is in no way confirmed. In fact, I’d be surprised.
——
A new month starts in just minutes from now, which means sales figures will be upon us once more.
Yikes!
Expect plenty of red ink, though there are some markets that are making definite pronounced efforts to drum up interest while others sleep.
——
One of those markets that seems to be pulling out all the stops at the moment is the Belgian market.
I recently featured their initial “Future of Saab” roadshow stop, where they showed off the 9-4x and 9-3x at a local dealership.
Last night, that roadshow continued, with 6 combined dealerships inviting guests to come and view the new vehicles. Sofie Van D from Saab in Belgium forwarded a few images from the event, which by all accounts was another raging success.
DSC00420.JPG
DSC00403.JPG
DSC00393.JPG
My congratulations to Sofie and the crew at Saab Belgium who are doing great stuff in terms of getting the word out to the people about Saab’s current and future product.
If you’re in Belgium and you haven’t heard about this, I’d encourage you to call your Saab dealer. Perhaps our mate on the ground there, Etienne over at Saabhuy, may know a bit more about where the tour is going, too.
——
At the other end of the spectrum, the Dutch market is in serious trouble, with Saab’s importer reportedly filing for bankruptcy.
The full story is here for those who read Dutch.
——
And on a personal note…..my own car buying saga continues.
Finally, this weekend I’m going to satisfy my Porsche curiosity once again and test drive the cheapest 944 for sale in Australia, which just happens to live 10 minutes from my place. Great handling, no service history, expensive parts, crappy interior, but it IS a Porsche. Did I mention great handling and that it’s the cheapest 944 in the country?
Porsche944.JPG
And in the blue corner….. I’m still fascinated by MX-5′s. Cheap, zippy, great handling, and very upgradeable.
And yes, I do like that blue…….
mx5blue.jpg
Ah well, I’ll always have my Monte……

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by Swade

The most powerful BioPower Saab – the Saab 9-5 Aero Griffin

April 30, 2009 in Archive

Many markets around the world are getting a Griffin edition Saab 9-5 for the car’s last model year in 2009.
The Swedish market, however, are getting an extra-special model, the Saab 9-5 Aero Griffin.
Saab 9-5 Aero Griffin.JPG
You Swedes can read the full details in your native tongue at Saab Sverige.
The rest of you will have to put up with my laborious (and I mean laborious) translation.
In a nutshell, the addition of a Hirsch tuning package means that the Saab 9-5 Aero Griffin is the most potent BioPower Saab you’ve ever been able to order from the factory.
From what I can tell, the car features the following standard kit:

  • Groovy leather trim
  • Harmon-Kardon sound system
  • CD Changer
  • Bi-Xenon headlamps
  • Rear Spoiler
  • Aluminium pedals
  • 17 or 18 inch light alloy wheels
  • Sports Chassis
  • Double rear exhaust system
  • High Gloss black interior trim

….and a whole bunch of other stuff that I can’t translate (there’s no cutting and pasting from Saab’s flash-based website, so I’d have to type this stuff all in by hand).
It’s not quite the TS Edition that I promoted as the 9-5′s swansong back in 2007, but it looks like a very nice goodbye model all the same.

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by Swade

Latest news from Sweden: 10-12 buyers remain for Saab

April 30, 2009 in Archive

A week or so ago, Saab had as many as 27 different persons on it’s dance card. Now that the initial tours are over and done with, we’re down to around a dozen, depending on who you read.
This much we knew. I wrote about it here the other day.
But there are some interesting news stories doing the rounds and they flesh things out a little more.
This first of these stories is from Sweden’s E24. Tompa’s been kind enough to send through a translation:

Ten looking to buy Saab
The number of prospective buyers of Saab has shrunk from 27 to 10. “Everything is really intense right now” say Guy Lofalk to E24.
We have several processes underway at the moment:
a “carve out”, were we make ourselves independent from GM,
the reconstruction itself ,and
the sales process that is run by Deutsche Bank.
27 interested parties got to sign a confidentiality agreement, but only 10 are now involved in the process, according to Guy Lofalk.
-There is a very strong and concrete interest from several prospective buyers. So far so good, one would have to say, says Guy Lofalk.
Are they interested in parts or the whole of Saab Automobile?
-What is being discussed right now is to buy all Saab stock, to make a complete buy-out.
At the creditors meeting in the beginning of April, Guy Lofalk made it clear that the goal is to make Saab an independent company that is intended to be sold in June.
-The plan can of course come to be revised, but at the moment it is unchanged, say Guy Lofalk.
Rumours of who are interested in Saab are many. Recently Göteborgs Tidning reported that one of the interested parties is the Norwegian state. Also an un-named Swedish consortium have been pointed out as potential buyers according to Bloomberg News.
Besides that, there are supposed to be two investment companies and a private investor interested, according to the car manufacturer.

The next story is from AFP, via Google News.

Up to 12 investors are in the running to buy Swedish automaker Saab, a union leader told AFP on Wednesday, two months after its struggling US owner General Motors put it up for sale.

That union official is our old mate, Paul Akerlund from IF Metall. Akerlund is always worth listening to. He doesn’t talk that often, but like JAJ, when he talks he doesn’t mess around.

“The plan is still at the end of June to have this all resolved and hopefully have a new owner for Saab,” he said, warning that any new owner should not cut jobs in Sweden and relocate production elsewhere.

As Kroum observed in comments, that last statement is a quiet nod to the fact that at least one of the remaining bidders is a company with overseas manufacturing capabilities.
Here’s hoping it never comes to that. I have a feeling the Swedish government will place a lot of pressure on any prospective new owner so that they keep jobs in Sweden in return for loan guarantees.
It’s interesting times, people. Things are definitely brewing!!!

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by Swade

Saab old timers get together at Grieco

April 30, 2009 in Archive

Kurt K’s low mileage Saab 96 was featured as a Saab O The Week over at Trollhattan Saab some time ago now. It’s a beautiful ’69 model V4 and I assume it’s still got less than 40,000 miles on it by now.
Kurt took his car into his local Saab indie, Grieco Saab in Boonton NJ, for it’s annual checkup and little did he know it, but he was walking into a Saab retirement convention! Well, maybe not, but it certainly was a gathering of noble old-timer Saabs that made for a few good photos.
GriecoSaab1.JPG

Last Saturday, I had my ’69 V4 in for an annual oil change and lubrication service at a local indie, Grieco Saab which is located in Boonton, New Jersey.
Mike Grieco is a Certified Saab mechanic that began at Zumbach Saab some years ago. He and his dad work together at their shop which is exclusively Saab repair. They have a great reputation and I couldn’t help but ask him to take these unusual pictures, which was almost like a step back in time.
At the same time my car was there, another customer had his ’70 V4 in for a transmission rebuild. Mike owns the ’67 stroker on the right and my V4 is in the middle.

GriecoSaab2.JPG

Mike also owns the blue ’60 93F which has some serious performance upgrades, particularly to the carburetion as well as a Sonett III and many, many parts cars – including 96s, C900s and 9000s.
Best,
Kurt K

Serious performance upgrades??? Check out the exhaust tunnel on the photo above!! That car could almost give birth!!!
My thanks to Kurt for sending these in and a big Saab wave to the guys at Grieco.
GriecoSaab3.JPG

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by Swade

Are Saab going to tease the Saab 9-5 in Barcelona??

April 30, 2009 in Archive

I’m quite sure that Saab are not going to show the 2010 Saab 9-5 in Barcelona, but this has got me wondering what they might get up to…..
At Saab-Barcelona09.com you’ll see a fairly groovy but straightforward website that’s designed to let visitors know what Saab might be showing there.
You get links about the Saab 9-3x, the Saab 9-4x, the 9-X Air and Saab’s new XWD system.
What you don’t see is the image you get at this link (also part of Saab-Barcelona09.com)
Click to enlarge.
emailing_salon_ok_01.jpg
As you can see, there’s a quite clear reference to the “nuevo Saab 9-5″ there with some flashy looking gauges.
Those gauges are actually from the 9-4x concept vehicle, so let’s not get too excited just yet. Furthermore, I don’t believe Saab are going to show the 2010 Saab 9-5 in Barcelona. That honour will fall with the Frankfurt Motor Show.
But maybe they’ll let a little more information out of the bag. Maybe we’ll get one of those silhouette images that they like to tease us with nowadays?
We’ll be waiting…….
The Barcelona Auto Salon is on from the 9th to the 17th of May.
——
Thanks Tiago!!

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by Swade

New Hirsch Performance line officially released for Swiss, German and Austrian markets

April 29, 2009 in Archive

Ah, if only that headline said Australian and not Austrian! One day…..
Saab’s official performance tuning house, Hirsch, recently announced their new Hirsch Performance versions of the Saab 9-3 XWD V6 for the three abovementioned markets, so they got together and did a little photoshoot for the media.
HirschApr4.jpg
The press coverage has been pretty good, too, with one outlet going so far as to say that on the stregth of potential shown in these performace versions,“Saab will survive”
HirschApr1.jpg
Switzerland’s Automobile Revue commented on both the extra boost from the tuned V6 as well as the fantastic interior upgrades.
These new Hirsch Performance versions are the V6 XWD cars. They cover the 0-100 sprint in 5.5 seconds and indulge the driver with interior trim that will hopefully one day be available in all markets from your local Saab dealer (that’s me talking, not Hirsch – it’s just the way it should be)
HirschApr2.jpg

“We create with passion and we live from the passion”

Hirsch Engineer, Erik Lundgren, as told to Neue Zurcher Zietung
HirschApr3.jpg
More photos from Hirsch Performance.
——
And further to this, I can tell you that Hirsch are still persuin availability in the US with an announcement expected very soon. We are literally almost down to waiting on the mailman to deliver the papers.
It’s that close. Stay tuned.

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by Swade

An open letter to those prospective Saab owners

April 29, 2009 in Archive

I’d like to say a nice big hello to those groups out there who are investing in Saab.
You know who you are. We don’t, because you’ve signed a confidentiality agreement and as expected, it’s being honored by those who signed it with you.
Whoever you are, though, you’re interested in Saab. Here at Saabs United and on other websites around the tubes, we’re also interested in Saab. We may even be more interested in Saab than what some of you are. In fact, I’m sure that’s the case. Some of you are probably just cashed up investors looking for an asset to flip. But hopefully there’s one or two of you who are as interested in Saab as what we are.
If that’s you,then read on…..
The Saab company that you’ve gone and toured in the last few weeks is surely a very lean operation. They have a very lean product range and at the moment, the sales figures are looking rather lean as well.
If Saab look like a bit of an emaciated shell to you, it’s because they’ve been living off scraps from GM’s table for the last 10 or so years.
But I bet you saw something there, didn’t you?
I bet you saw a spark. I bet you saw signs of life and an excitement, an enthusiasm that shouldn’t normally underpin an organisation that’s been through so much.
What you saw was a confidence in the future, a confidence that can only come from people who know beyond all reasonable doubt that they have something. Saab’s something is a philosophy that’s over 60 yeaars in the making, and perfect for modern motoring. Saab’s something is a knowledge that properly backed, they can design their way to a new future in the automobile world. Saab’s something is a knowledge that there’s a whole crowd of people out there waiting, anticipating, cheering for this little company that can.
I believe that what Saab want, and what we-the-people want, is to have life. Not a heartbeat. But real life.
We want the 2010 Saab 9-5 to be a very competent,acomplished and advanced car. We want it to excel. We want to get excited about it.
But perhaps more than that, we want the cars that will come after the Saab 9-5 – the cars that you and Saab will bring to life.
We want a new, totally ass-kicking Saab 9-3 for the mainstream.
We want a new convertible based around the Saab 9-X Air that goes even better than it looks.
We want a new smaller Saab to toss around. One that can compete successfully in whatever form of motorsport you choose to enter it in.
We want to set BMW, Audi, Citroen, Volvo and everyone else on their asses with our creativity and execution.
We want an Aero-X. Even if it’s a sensible one.
You see, this isn’t about giving Saab CPR and helping them to struggle on for a few more years. This is about a small but storied autombile manufacturer with a sporting heritage, a penchant for design and a historically proven record for being different when being different mattered because you were being right. This is about a company that should be allowed to live in the fullest sense of the word.
This is not about automotive appliances. This is about a brand, a driving way of life. This is about taking the long way home. It’s about the turbo rush. It’s about cars being safe, but scintillating.
I’ve been to Trollhattan. I’ve met a number of the people who used to make these cars, and even more people who still make them now. This is truly a family company in the catholic sense. I’ve met so many quality people from running this website. I’ve broken bread with many of them. I’ve stayed in their homes and had them stay in mine.
We’ve shared frustrations, happiness and many miles of driving pleasure all because of these fantastic automobiles, ones that are unlike any other.
We want Saab to be great again. We’re all here waiting and hoping that you want Saab to be great again too.
You felt that when you were in Trollhattan, didn’t you?

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by Swade

2010 Saab 9-5 update

April 29, 2009 in Archive

I thought as much!!
One of those sites covering the Saab 9-5′s latest appearance at The Ring mentioned that it would be built in Russelsheim first with plans to move it to Trollhattan.
This made absolutely no sense. Why pay to set up a factory for production of a car just to do it all over again later? Why delay production whilst you move all the tooling from one place to another?
I asked the question and got the answer.
Saab’s plans are to have all 2010 Saab 9-5 production in the Trollhattan factory.
Saab want it that way and it’s fair to say that the Swedish government would want it that way as well, prior to providing the loan guarantees that a new owner will require when they take over control of Saab.
——
I’ve just heard from another source that the 2010 Saab 9-5 is still definitely scheduled to premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year.
Word around the traps is that Frankfurt have actually contracted with Saab to get the 9-5 launch, which is just another in a long line of reasons as to why they’re being so secretive about the production car’s looks.
——
All of the above presumes, of course, that Saab will be a going concern by the latter parts of this year.
But they will.
——
And in non-9-5 related news, the Barcelona Motor Show is coming up, with the 9-3x, 9-4x and 9-X Air all making an appearance.
Photos will be forthcoming, we hope.

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by Swade

An itty-bitty Titti update on their visit to Saab

April 29, 2009 in Archive

Titti Schultz from RIX FM and her partner in audio, a guy named Jocke Bäckström, visited the Saab factory in Trollhattan and provided some updates on their show,which Tompa has been kind enough to write down and send in.
——
They went to the factory and in the factory they met workers. And eventhough times are hard and lots of people have been given notice the feeling of the future is a Very positive one.
Titti mounted wheels at the assembly-line. She greased hubs and screwed on bolts. The specific cars that she worked on were going to Poland.
Quality testing, driving, braking etc. They said that the particular car probably was going to the Italian maffia since the interior was covered in plastic… Jocke in the back seat asked if they planned on shooting him :-)
The factory is extremely clean.
They got to look at the NG9-5 in the flesh!!!!! And it´s beautiful! They also saw a prototype that never has been mentioned (The next generation 9-3???) and all other cars. Titti and Jocke were without words. Beautiful cars. One of the cars was extravagant like a Saab “Batmobile” at least to Jocke.
They had to leave their cameras, phones etc with Saab staff but since she has seen them and know of many specific bits of coming tech, looks etc she now is scared that the Saab competition is going to attack her :-D
If there is a new owner by tomorrow she has succeeded in her assignment
Rix is extra kind towards Norway this week. This because of the rumors that the norwegians are interested in acquiring Saab.
Titti has tried to reach Jens Stoltenberg the Norwegian Prime Minister without any luck.
Titti knows more of the owner sitiuation than she can tell and she is biting her tongue…..
Rix have the Norwegian national eurovision songcontest winner in the studion this morning. The hosts said that they will vote for him in the final if Norway buy Saab. :-)

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by Swade

Metaphor for a car company

April 29, 2009 in Archive

Via email…..reprinted here with thanks.
——
I do some work for a Saab Dealership (nothing car related) and the other day when I parked my car in their back-lot a set of all too familiar looking wheels caught my eye. There, in their back-lot, together with old crashed cars waiting for repair and similar fates was this 9-3 Turbo X.
Put out, unprotected from weather and wind with the dust to prove it.
DSC_0504.jpg
It was without a tax stamp (uncertain on that word) so I took a look at the Swedish DMV and she had never had a owner.
Perhaps it has gone from dealer to dealer looking for a buyer and now put out on a back-lot with an uncertain fate. Perhaps it’s a demo car waiting to be taken under the tender care of by the mechanics, restored and then sold if possible.
But it hurt me to see it like that. All that potential just sitting there unused, though so many sought after her and cars like her.
Unfortunately a bit too much like the brand itself right now..
But we all know what comes after rain….
If I was free to tell the story the way I wanted this is the part where I tell you I bought her and gave her a new home but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of money.
But still.. Things will hopefully pick up some day, both for the brand and for this car.
DSC_0497.jpg

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by Swade

Saab 9-3 XWD review from Channel 4 – can someone explain this?

April 29, 2009 in Archive

It’s almost 1am as I start writing this. I’ve got an early morning tomorrow but I couldn’t let this pass.
A few years ago I read a review of the Saab 9-3 where the reviewer gave the car either 3, 3.5 or 4 stars out of 5 for safety. That’s despite the fact that the Saab 9-3 is a 5-star rated car with EuroNCAP.
That probably still remains the benchmark for stupid automotive journalism, but this review from Channel4 is a strong contender.
Firstly, how is it that you can rate car in six different categories, give it an average of 3 stars in mathematical terms (17 of 30 possible stars) and yet rate it as only a 2-star car over all? Ever heard of rounding up?
Even if they’re weighting the categories, surely safety (which they do give 5 stars for) outweighs some of the other categories – it does in all those fancy consumer surveys.
And then there’s stuff like this, which speaks for itself:

Space in the rear is decent for headroom, but there’s limited kneeroom and tall drivers will struggle to sit behind a tall driver.

I imagine they will. It’s hard enough to share a driver’s seat with a small driver, let alone another tall one!! Especially if that driver’s seat is in the rear!
Look, I know that the Saab 9-3 is a flawed vehicle in some areas. I’ve gone on enough about the interior and don’t need to do so again. And maybe the Haldex XWD is too good, too precise, to provide the active hang-your-arse-out driving style that some of these journos prefer.
But to me, this review just doesn’t make sense.
I’m off to bed. I think I’ll dream of doing slalom runs in an XWD Saab with motoring writers as witches hats.
——
On the positive side, they do have some excellent photos…..
09-saab-9-3-xwd-f3q-a.jpg

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by Swade

Saab to get Titti rescue!!!

April 29, 2009 in Archive

Thank goodness Titti’s in the house!
If you’re wondering what this seemingly childish and quasi-offensive headline is all about, Titti Schultz is a radio presenter for RIX FM in Sweden and she’s taken it upon herself to save Saab. She drives a Saab convertible, so she knows the joy of a good topless ride. Oops, I did it again.
Tompa has found and translated this brief interview from TTELA, in which she describes her quest.
——
Titti Schultz Will Titti manage to save Saab?
We called Titti Schultz, co host of Rix Morronzoo, that has been given the task to save Saab by it´s listeners.
How will you do it?
-I have already spoken to Saab to find out what interested parties there are. Next target is to contact them and talk business.
I will also try get in contact with Ingvar Kamprad. (Owner and founder of IKEA). He´s got alot of red stickers and I have understood that Saab will be sold for a small amount of money.. I thought I would run some ideas by him. Saab in a box- Maybe that´s something?

What about Maud Olofsson?
-Yeah, I will put preassure on her to.. Saab wants a loan garantee and it realy only comes down to a signature. That can´t be that hard can it?
It´s not a small task you have been given. How does that feel?
-Overwhelming. I will realy make a big effort to save Saab. I sympathize with all those risking to loosing their jobs.
How much time will you invest in this?
- I will give it all my work and free time to find a solution. The whole weekend has been spent on planning and to make up strategies.
What sort of chances do you believe there is for Saab?
- The conditions are good. I refuse to think that a company of such dignity will slip through our fingers. I don´t care if Saab become norwegian, as long as Saab-emplyees have a work to go to.
What car do you drive?
- A black Saab Convertible! And if there is anyone in the mood for buying a Saab I promise to swing by to let them have a testdrive
When will we find out how it worked out?
- On Thursday around 8 in the morning
What happens if you succeed?
- I will faint and die on the spot. Then I probably should be named Swede of the year?
Good luck!
- Thanks
——
It’s good to hear something positive about Saab on the public agenda. I remember not too long ago that polls were showing people in Sweden were in favour of cutting Saab adrift.
Thanks to Titti for some public support.
And thanks to Tompa for sending it through. It’ll be interesting to hear how her campaign turns out.

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by Swade

“Fritz Henderson does not like Saab”

April 29, 2009 in News

Now here’s a different angle. And it’s one I’m not sure I believe.
GT.se, which I think is run our sourced by Expressen, are writing that Geely are trying to press Gm to sell Saab – to them. Apparently whilst they’ve been sniffing around Volvo as well, their interest in the bigger Swede is only superficial, a sort of smoke and mirrors things to hide their interest in Saab, which is the company they really want.
GT.se also say that GM are reluctant to sell, primarily because they don’t want to sell technology to someone who may be a competitor in the future.
But wouldn’t that apply to anyone who took Saab off GM’s hands?
Yes, it would, which is why they go on to say Fritz Henderson does not like Saab and he would prefer the label disappeared, “says a GM source of Expressen.
Now that conflicts with everything I’ve heard previously about Henderson. I’m sure he does want to safeguard GM’s technology, but I’m also sure he wants a working partner for Saab in the future, if only to preserve possible future working relationships and market perception of GM in Europe.

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by Swade

Hot or not? Custom Saab graphic….

April 28, 2009 in Archive

These sorts of cars are definitely an acquired taste. I’d never do a big graphics job on a car myself, but there are some that are done really well and there are some that aren’t.
For the most part, I think this car falls into the first category. There are some Saabs I’ve seen with graphics on them that look absolutely terrible, but this isn’t one. Not by a long shot. But there’s part of it I’m not sure about.
As mentioned, I think parts of this are really good, and there’s a bit that isn’t so good. But like just about all custom Saabs, I’ve got nothing but respect for the dedication that the owner’s put into this one.
Here are the graphics. Click to enlarge:
DSC02161_2_3.jpg
Our owner is apparently a Romanian guy and as you can see, the car is fairly new. I’m not sure if he’ll be reading this or not, so if you don’t like it (and I know some won’t), please keep your comments respectful, like you would if you were standing next to him looking over the car.
DSC02167_8_9.jpg
DSC02173_4_5.jpg
And next you’ll see the bit that I’m not so sure about…..

Read the rest of this entry →

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by Swade

Bye-for-now to Jan-Willem Vester of SaabUSA

April 28, 2009 in Archive

I heard some sad news today.
Apparently SaabUSA’s long-time communications and PR guru, Jan-Willem Vester, suffered the knife in GM’s latest round of redundancies and finished his GM career around 10 days ago.
jan-willem-vester-saab.jpg
Jan-Willem helps Gunnar Heinrich from Automobiles DeLuxe get around Beantown in the Turbo X.
This tall, friendly Dutchman was the first official Saab contact I made when I started Trollhattan Saab and I was fortunate enough to have many communiques with him over the years and meet him in person in Detroit last year.
Things cooled a little between myself and JWV since that time. I’m sure I got up his nose a little due to my constant criticism of General Motors and not-quite-so-constant-but-still-consistent criticism of some of the decisions coming from SaabUSA. I got frustrated because Jan-Willem was exactly what he was employed to be, a truly loyal soldier, who served his employer extremely well.
Hopefully he understood my heart, however, and that I was writing from a pure place.
I have nothing but admiration and respect for Jan-Willem. He was the textbook company man and in an industry with it’s fair share of sharks, he has always been an absolute gentleman.
Jan-Willem didn’t just work for Saab. He owned a 9-5 wagon in the US and his family were keeping a classic Saab 900 warm for him back in his native Holland. And just to show he’s got some serious driving skillz, too, he also had an award winning Porsche 911 in the garage.
JWV.jpg
I’ve entitled this post bye-for-now as it’s my sincere hope that Jan-Willem can get his family out of Detroit, get some serious sunshine and get back in the Saab fold when they emerge from GM ownership in the near future. There’s not many people in the US who know more about Saab than him, and Saab would be foolish to let him slip through the net.
——
Jan-Willem, my best wishes to you and your family for a happy and healthy break. I hope you’re not idle for too long (I’m quite sure you won’t be) and I look forward to seeing your name on the bottom of some fresh press releases, hopefully in management of a new Saab Cars USA, sometime in the near future.
Cheers, Saab-brother!
Swade.

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