Those fun lads at the Saab Club Nederlands are getting increasingly cheeky with their site banners.
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One other thing they’re doing, when they’re not designing cheeky banners, is planning a car run on the 17th January Next year.
It’s called the Saab Support Convoy.
There are currently over 230 people signed up for this Dutch drive and I believe they’re possibly meeting up with Belgian Saabers and others along the way.
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The Saab Turbo Club of Sweden has joined the fray and are planning a drive the same day in support of Saab. More information can be found here at their website.
In short, they plan to gather at 11.00 o’clock at the Saab Car Museum in Trollhättan. At around 13.00/13.30 they will form a big Saab Convoy through the town of Trollhättan out
to the Saab development and assembly plant, arriving at 14.00.
Hopefully the local media will be there.
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The big question is – can other Saab Clubs and owners join in and arrange Saab Support Convoys in their own area?
Can we get a bunch of local news outlets to cover this as a global event?
I think it’d be a great idea. With a January 7 date being mentioned as a date for final bids from buyers for the company, it might also be a good chance to celebrate.
Thoughts in comments.
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{ 38 comments }
I love those banners
May need one of the originals for the woman’s new XWD 
I love the convoy idea! We need some in the US, too. Upstate New York is having great Saab weather right now. There is a GM plant in Tonowanda, NY. If we can assemble a rally there, I could get us some media coverage. We could plan some sort of simultaneous broadcast to tie the NY rally to Sweden. Maybe a rousing speech from the Saab Car Museum??
Swade – thanks for bringing this up as a post – I think it is a great idea to get convoys organised in as many places as possible AND get media attention in the process.
I am up for a Southern New England (U.S.) convoy if anyone else is and can have 1 if not 2 Saabs for the convoy (if my wife will drive her own rather than riding with me)!
@anyone: Is Anders Jensen the only one with “license” to produce the “Made in Trollhattan by Trolls” sticker:
http://www.saabsunited.com/2006/06/saab-stickers.html
I haven’t seen it anywhere else. It’s been on my todo list for my 2009 9-5 SC. I need to get the Paypal thing figured out, as in send money without signing up for a Paypal account and having their fingers on one my credit cards.
Griffin Up!
P.S. Thanks Swade for all the voodoo that you do.
If I’m not mistaken, there are “only” 230 cars inscribed now for the moment as the organisation limited the inscriptions, for reasons of safety and organisation, to 200 cars.
I’ve heard they are maybe planning even a second convoy to a different location.
Anyone interested in joining the Tonawand, NY (outside Buffalo) convoy, contact me via email: christine@armcomm.net. In order to make this event a success, we have to get going on it now. (There is a lot more ground to cover in US than in Sweden.)
Does anyone have GM dealership stats for US? How many Saab dealerships, broken down by state would be great. And how many other those Saab dealerships do not include another franchise. This information would be helpful in pitching the Saab story to media and electeds. Electeds will jump on board if jobs in their districts are at stake.
Where would the tour originate and terminate?
Do rt to 219 to rt 17 southern tier parkway and hit Salamanca Antique mall?
74stingray, you are way ahead of me. I am not that familiar with the area, so will take any suggestions. Do you know where the GM plant is and what is near it?
SaabHistory.com is organizing a Saab convoy to Detroit:
http://www.saabhistory.com/2009/12/30/saab-history-suggests-a-saab-enthusiast-convoy-to-detroit/
Lets have a convoy in eastern mass!
OFFTOPIC
I won’t buy another car from GM if they kill Saab is great but what’s about I WON’T BUY ANYTHING SWEDISH IF SWEDISH GOVERNMENT KILL SAAB.. it’s a joke.. but maybe it would help as well
As things stand now, Saabforum Netherlands now reports no less than 7 Saab support convoys being planned in Holland on Jan. 17th…and counting. Plans are also being made in Belgium and France.
))
Ivo
Thanks Swade for putting this info on your site!
Best Regards!
Michael Törnros
Saab Turbo Club of Sweden
Thanks Swade for putting this info on your site!
Best Regards!
Michael T
Damn, one of the few times that I wished I was still living in The Netherlands because everything is within a couple of hours drive.
Driving to the GM headquarters in Detroit next week would take me 11 to 12 hours. Anyone any plans around New York City or Boston on Jan. 17th?
(Btw, it’s a pity that GM sold their GM building in New York last January. Having a Saab parade in NYC would have been fun)
(Btw2, I think that GM sold their NYC headquarters for about the same amount of money as they are trying to squeeze out of a sale of Saab.)
SAAB Up,
Gerrit
Count me in for a New England convoy if one gets organized. I’ll drive my 2001, and if somebody wants to join me I’ll even pull the winterized 2007 out of the garage!
happy to organize one in saab-filled boston/mass
calling my dealer herb chambers to see if they want to get this going – thinking a nice long convoy that starts around the time the swedish convoy is pulling over for dinner. we keep the message moving.
what do you think over at herb chambers? jason? alex? game on?
About Saab stickers
The quality of the stickers are high and Anders is a nice guy.
http://www.akesson-motorsport.se/pics/sportvagn_09/090704/medium/0070.jpg
Anders in his racing two stroke
Unfortunately / fortunately (depending on how you look at it) I’ll be at a track day with the Viggen on the 17th.
However, I promise to overtake, taunt and generally intimidate as many GM based vehicles as I can.
Mike
There is an interesting story in the Business Week titled: “GM Replaces Lobbyist as Whitacre Adds AT&T Influence (Update1).”
Then it continues by saying ” General Motors Co. realigned its government relations and public-policy team by naming two former AT&T Inc. colleagues of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre as lobbyists for the largest U.S. automaker.
Ken Cole, 62, will retire as vice president for government relations next year, the Detroit-based company said. John Montford, 66, a senior adviser to Whitacre, will have overall responsibility for government relations and global public policy. Robert Ferguson, 50, will be vice president of government relations. They start Jan. 1.
Whitacre, charged with changing the automaker’s tradition of naming longtime GM executives to top positions, is bringing in former colleagues of his own. He has made hires from other industries since joining GM’s board in June.
“Whitacre is putting in place people that, for him, have a proven record,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. The new executives “suit his management strategy and they don’t particularly need automotive experience.”
It seems that we should perhaps also include John Montford when petitioning GM to spin off Saab and not shut it down. Just a thought.
I proudly have one of Anders’ “Made In Trollhattan by Trolls” stickers on my ’09 9-3 and it looks amazing. Just at home on that as it was on my former ’69 96V4.
Off topic!
Thank you Swade! David wrote a letter, and we talked everything over!
Who interests on Griffin Up! 192kbit/and 44,1 khz MP3!
Download it!
https://posterestante.szie.hu/get.php?id=14187
OT: There’s a new column on Saab today in The Detroit News. It repeats the usual “twenty years of loss” myth, but does have some rather good things to say about the new 9-5.
OT: There’s a new column on Saab today in The Detroit News. It repeats the usual “twenty years of loss” myth, but does have some rather good things to say about the new 9-5.
If you guys get the ball rolling I’d love to join you!
Have to print (as negative) the sticker tomorrow and put in the rear window (from inside).
Quite a good article, actually. After all, you can’t blame an “outsider” for not having the same attitude towards Saab as us.
Not as easy for us Swedes…
Sir:( current head of GM)
I wrote you regarding this topic several weeks ago and have not had any reply. Sir, I will remind you of a several points. One, I’m at least 12 years your senior. Two, I have 4 GM Saab’s which are all new and the amount spend was in the area of $60,000. Three, my family has always purchased GM cars. Four, if you choose to close Saab I will lose ten of thousands of dollars in personal worth as a result of this decision. Five, I have family members that listen to my advise about car purchases. Six, we have a long memory. Seven, there is a large group of Saab enthusiasts out there, who unlike any car enthusiasts in the world, will remember your actions and will punish your company if you destroy Saab. I don’t mean they will do any personal harm to GM, but I mean punish economically your company for it’s decisions. Remember one dissatisfied customers tells ten others. And lastly, understand this, a large number of these people are not foreigners, but tax paying US citizens. The last note I wrote to you was much more polite, it didn’t work. Here is what you need to know, never another GM car for myself or my family down to the third generation. A Ford will do just fine.
Do yourself and GM a big favor, sell Saab.
John C. Hansel
U.S citizen and taxpayer
Who’s family has purchased over the last 70 years,
6 Chevy’s
8 Buick’s
4 Cadillacs
2 Oldsmobile’s
3 Pontiac’s
5 Saab’s
7 rental cars( new) all GM
never again, the line is in the sand
There is a comment on the I won’t buy from GM web site that sayes he has bought 760 GM cars for a car rental company and won’t buy GM in the futer. 760 that has to get GM concerned.
OK, ENG and Swade:
“G.M. said John T. Montford, who was AT&T’s senior vice president for state legislative affairs, will become a senior adviser to Mr. Whitacre.”
Eggs, John T. Montford was the AT&T person I listed to you in a prior post as a possible future pic by Ed!
This person, I do know personally. Keep me informed if he has any dealings with Saab business in the future. I will see what I can do.
By the way, note how the Texas Tech football coach was dealt with today.
I don’t know if anybody already have reported this but on the Swedish Radio website I found following statement from Saab spokesman Erik Geers. I have made an quick translation with Googletrans.
http://translate.google.se/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sr.se%2Fcgi-bin%2Fvast%2Fnyheter%2Fartikel.asp%3Fartikel%3D3342447&sl=sv&tl=en
/Ann
Just some news bit: from a Detroit newspaper
http://www.detnews.com/article/20091230/OPINION03/912300431/Saab-hangs-on-by-its-fingernails
And just for fun: a Saab 99 Turbo with diy 700 hp and quattro beat’s them all on the dragster track
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/05/video-700-hp-saab-99-quattro-turbo-is-like-missing-koenigsegg-a/
Cheers. Mart
Great idea! I´ll try to get the 2000 registred Finnish Saab-Club members onboard on this convoy too. Let´s start a big global movement as a result of this bright idea! I´m a Sabist since 1971!
Good to see that all the efforts gain more and more momentum. Let’s push Saab into a bright future
And as for Wade: Take a bow that man!!!
How about a Convoy Jan. 17th in New York driving to the old GM plant in Tarrytown that’s closed. Seems like all the local Executive Offces in Westchester County have closed. Who would be interested? We could also call the news networks out of NYC to cover it. Couldn’t make the trip to Detroit, too far away. We need a website to start a list of who’s interested. Not sure how to build one but would be really involved to get this going.
United States of America owns 61% stocks of General Motors. US coverment says what must do – not GM.
Saab is Scandinavian car. In Sweden, Finland, Norway have not enough money to buy Saab.
Russian and China have money to buy Saab, but USA don´t want to sell those countries.
Spyker and Genii of Luxemburg – they have not resurs to do anything.
Saab is a good car, but no money, too litlle – GAME OVER!
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