Whats up for 2013?
December 27, 2012 in Editorial, News
I hope everyone has had a really nice christmas thats been celebrated with family or friends, mine was certainly really nice and since I’m only allowed to celebrated it once every 2 years because of work we honored our new tradition since last time and brought both mine and Johannas parents and Johannas sister to our place for a few days and enjoyed some really nice food and exchanged lots of gifts. Some car parts were in the big pile including two maptun steering-wheels for Johannas parents since they both drive a 9-5 each and a rear spoiler for Johannas new car a 2009 9-3 Aero.
Now that christmas is taken care of we can start looking forward to whats happening in 2013 and just before christmas eve it was announced that there will be a Saab Festival in Trollhättan in 2013. Its being held on May 31st and will be an all weekend event. I first heard of this a few months ago as talk started and it will certainly be a great event. The timing of the event is also well placed so that it does not taken place too close to the Int Saab event in Uk. Both of them will be two great events I’m sure and SU will be present to cover everything that happens closely.
To keep up to date on the progress and news on the Saab Festival, check this website from time to time: http://www.saabfestival.se
We will of course be on top of things as well regarding news about the event. As for participation I had a good talk with the guys in the SU crew about that when we first learned of the event and we decided that there are two great events happening this year and we’ve done our fair share of organizing for the past two years so 2013 will take place without any involvement from SU what so ever. Instead we’re going to enjoy the ride, report whats happening and have lots of fun! But since there are two big events this year we don’t see any need for an Oktoberfest in 2013.
Which brings me to point number two, production re-start. This could of course be one of the biggest things happening in 2013, if it happens. It’s still being evaluated by NEVS and some sources reports that things have not been worry-free with all the suppliers but work is progressing according to plans regardless. Some suppliers took a huge hit with Saab going bankrupt and their shipments to Volvo has since also declined somewhat and on top of that Volvo has demanded huge cuts in costs with the suppliers bringing even more head-ache to the executives of these companies. A new company wanting to place a lot of orders is of course something they need but that also involves a lot of initial and start-up costs and to my understanding the debate is currently on who’s going to pay for those costs, NEVS or the Suppliers?
But regardless if the factory starts producing the existing 9-3 model again, the factory will be getting ready for production of electric cars which will need to take place early spring 2014 and as far as I’ve learned preparations and re-employment of production staff will need to take place 6-8 months ahead of the actual starting date, a progress that we will follow very closely indeed!
Int Saab 2013 is something I’m really looking forward to and it’ll be the first Int Saab that I’m going to attend, IF I can get time off from work. Summer-time is a busy time for airlines and getting time off is not easy but regardless if I make it there or not we’re going to have a lot of well equipped and news hungry SU Guys present who will bring you all the news from there instantly as it happens!
There are also some really good news regarding parts distribution for european countries and north america coming up. Both Maptun and Saab Parts are working on expanding their networks for parts and SU has recently started communicating very actively with SPNA (Saab Parts North America) and we’re hearing some really great stuff from them. We’ve requested that they write a big story about how SCNA went bankrupt and was brought back to life as SPNA and slowly but surely is bringing the Saab dealer and maintenance network in North America back to life. We hope to give you that report very soon! SPNA has also chosen to partner up with SU on an official level and that way we can bring you guys the latest news and support very fast. SU can also act as a feed-back loop to SPNA and hopefully also in the future, some kind link for direct contact.
I hope all of you will have a very nice new years eve! I’ll spend mine in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). It’ll be a nice peaceful evening at a restaurant with some colleagues from work as we’re flying the day after…
Anyway, enjoy what’s left of 2012 and looking forward to 2013, it will be a great year! =)
Angelo V. said on December 27, 2012
Thanks Tim for many great stories/contributions here in 2012 and we look forward to much more in 2013. You have a gift for writing—-and that, together with your knowledge of Saab, past, present and hopefully future gives us all a reason to log in every day to keep up with what’s going on. Happy New Year to you and everyone on SU.
xelav said on December 27, 2012
+1, ! Nice writing, Angelo . I totally agree.
Angelo V. said on December 27, 2012
Regarding the production ramping up in 2013/2014: I firmly believe if they can get the gas powered 9-3 going again, it will be to their advantage. And no, this isn’t about my preference for petrol over electric—-this is really about Saab quality control and reliablility for upcoming models. Conisder that so many new models from ALL manufacturers have hiccups out of the gate—-the original Ford Focus had issues, and the same can be said for new models from Toyota too. Certainly, part of it is in the engineering—but some of it is also in the tooling/manufacturing/assembly. To start an entirely new model (the EV, even if it is based on the 9-3) with an entirely revised production group (even though it will include many with experience) seems to be risky. I think easing back into this with the production of a more familiar gas engined 9-3 will be the prudent approach. You take something familiar to get the new production line working again—-cut your teeth on the routine. Then, with almost a year of assembly under their belt, NEVS will have more confidence and competence building their first EV—-and that model should benefit quite well from that experience. They need to come to market with something that is screwed together properly.
baas900i said on December 27, 2012
and bullet proof warranties, by then we should know the real money behind the new saab auto…
100%Saab said on December 28, 2012
I would like to see ventilated front seats for the 9-3.
As always, Just a thought.
JP said on December 28, 2012
Thanks for all your efforts, Tim and Crew. Here’s hoping 2013 will be brighter all around…
Gargamel said on December 28, 2012
Looking forward to this year, lots of interesting things will happen in 2013! Saab festival will be a nice date to bring the vert out of winter hibernation, if I can keep it in the garage for that long
Ronnie_Rad said on December 28, 2012
They should just can the idea to restart the old 9-3. Too much effort and money for dismal/meaningless sales. No dealer will jump on board for a 10 year old vehicle being restarted.
Concentrate on the first EV and partnering with Saab Parts/SPNA to get some dealers on board. Use this valuable year-and-a-quarter to “tease” the EV and keep us and the general public interested. Also use this time for quality control and repair what has been broken with your suppliers (and for Christ’s sake, get off your tail and build a website!).
2013 should be interesting, but 2014 will be the real kicker.
zippy said on December 29, 2012
There must be a lot of development work going on behind the scenes as I am certain the new NEVS 9-3 will need to be type approved again.
74StingSaab said on December 29, 2012
2013… can’t be any worse than how 2012 treated us as Saab people. Griffin UP!