You are browsing the archive for GM.

Avatar of till72

by till72

Decision Week – Continued

December 7, 2011 in Editorial

This is the morning after here in central Europe. I did not get too much sleep as I have been chatting with people from different time zones until I literally fell asleep besides my MacBook. The renewed “no” from GM has been a hard hit for Saab and all who are close. We’re surely in high danger of running out of time but still, this does not have to be the end for our tiny Swedish carmaker. Rest assured that Victor is still pushing to explore all opportunities excluding giving up.

The biggest problem right now is time. Reconstruction is in a critical phase. Fresh funding is badly needed to pay salaries and to fund the company for the next few weeks. This would be Youngman’s part and I am not really sure if they don’t want to take the risk of investing even more or if they have certain restrictions from for example NDRC not to put more money in until a successful deal is reached. The fact that they continue to work on a solution and that they are obviously willing to step back in their share shows that they are pretty dedicated to getting a deal done.
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , 29 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

Decision Week

December 6, 2011 in Editorial

On Sunday we got to report about a new deal that was negotiated in Stockholm between SWAN, Youngman and, as a new partner, a bank in China. Honestly I had expected more positive news yesterday but obviously not everything running smoothly.

There have already been reports that GM is not fond of that new plan, but if we listen carefully to James Cain we learn that no decision has been made on that new proposal. Actually he said that it has not been worked on. I’d believe that they are just not finished yet because such a plan may be a lot to read. So hold your horses about that one, James will surely inform us when they are done. Still, I hope it will be soon as time is running out.

Some may see that bank in China as a placeholder for Youngman, who may want to buy those shares in a few years time. May be true, and this is how those deals are often done. It should be ok for GM if the bank is in until GM’s license agreements run out. As I already said yesterday, the fact that then bank is above the 20% barrier should not matter because it is not a competitor, just a strategic investor.

Pang Da stated yesterday that they are not out of the game. I wonder why they were not included in the plan that surfaced on the weekend but maybe they could be the party in the game who can help to get all involved parties below those 20 % hurdle. Just a thought.

Other news stated that Guy Lofalk is about to end the reconstruction. Well, this may be nessesary if no money comes into Saab. Youngman is dedicated to inject enough cash to continue reconstruction and pay the wages but I can imagine that they wait for a positive sign from GM. They don’t want to sink even more money into Saab without seeing a chance to get the deal through. I don’t know if the NDRC told them to stop or if they are just cautious.

Either way – we need the plan to be approved by GM so that Youngman will inject the funding and reconstruction can continue. And it is needed now, not in a few weeks. Everybody has to be aware of that.

The other thing is the critics that arise when it comes to Lofalk. I’ve had my say on this, I’ll leave it here. Just: please Mr. Lofalk, pull yourself together, do your job and help to find a solution.

Tags: , , , 64 Comments »

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

Dagens Nyheter on the new proposal from YMPD

November 26, 2011 in News

Dagens Nyheter has posted a short article on what they think the new proposal from YMPD for GM is. As you can see, they are still trying to reach a 100% ownership of Saab, but now Youngman would be the minority owner.

I’m not sure if this will make GM move from the NO to a YES, but I also don’t think that YMPD has made this proposition without knowing GM’s real reasons for the NO.

We are now in a similar situation as in December 2009, we have a GM not willing to sell, and a new owner with very interesting plans for our beloved brand. I’m only hoping that this time the new owner really has the money needed to make Saab flourish.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , 45 Comments »

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

Saab postpones the meeting with the creditors

November 18, 2011 in News

It seems like they are at least talking to each other and trying to get a positive solution for Saab. But at the same time it looks like till Christmas to find a solution.

Saab sets the meeting with creditors
Saab would meet with its creditors now on Tuesday was the plan.
The meeting is now set, the company announced today.
- First, we want to sort it out with GM, says information director Eric Geers said.
Related
The idea was to Saab Automobile would meet with creditors on November 22 to present a scheme of arrangement. The meeting has now been thrust forward, but no new date is exposed.

- We must find a structure that suits everyone, including GM. That’s the case, said Geers to TT.

Negotiations between the parties continues, according to Geer.

- Yes, there are intense negotiations. It is 100 percent focused on all sides, we also have a dialogue with GM, said Geers to TT.

Would not the deal be in port before, Geers hope to announce something more concrete before the Saab meets the district court to discuss an extension of the reconstruction. Due date for this is December 21.

Source: ttela.se

Tags: , , 30 Comments »

Avatar of till72

by till72

Ny Teknik on building Saabs without GM licenses

November 16, 2011 in Editorial, News

Ny Teknik have an interesting article on how Saab could produce cars without being bothered by GM:

GM can not stop Saab, or the person who buys the company from building a new generation cars. All the basic technology is controlled by Saab. Thus opens the way for Chinese Youngman and Pang Da.

The next generation of Saab cars are based on Phoenix, a kind of basic drawing and basic design that can be used for a number of new car models. It is controlled by Saab, unlike today’s cars, which GM owns a large part of the technology.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , 39 Comments »

Avatar of Rune

by Rune

Saab defies logic

November 11, 2011 in News

TTela today brings an interview with Sven-Åke Berglie the ex-head of the suppliers’ organization [FKG] as well as a few quotes made by his successor Fredrik Sidahl in Sweden.
Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , , , 6 Comments »

Avatar of Red J

by Red J

H1 financial report talks about GM

September 1, 2011 in Saabology

I know we are about to set a new record on posts per day, but I feel like having to talk about this, as most of the people when reading the financial report seems to only concentrate on the losses of €(201.5) million.

On pages 21-22 on Chapter 16. the report talks about related partner transactions. And it illustrates very well how much money Saab gets or pays to certain third parties for services delivered or obtained from those.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , 20 Comments »

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

A Possible Route For Antonov’s Entry – Through GM

June 29, 2011 in News

Update: According to svd.se, Vladimir Antonov will give a press briefing about the situation tomorrow morning, June 30.

I put this as an update to Rune’s post earlier, but it got so big I figured I’d just give it a new post.

According to Dagens Industri, Antonov will take ownership of GM convertible (lost in translation: redeemable preference?) shares. The value of this is reported to be 2.3 billion SEK (about €248 million), but GM is offering Antonov a substantial discount– between 800 and 900 million SEK (€86-97 million).

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 39 Comments »

Avatar of Jeff

by Jeff

Reuters Article: Antonov wants in again *UPDATE*

March 24, 2011 in News

As a follow up to the information about setting up a Swedish division of his Latvian bank Latvijas Krajbanka in Stockholm, Vladimir Antonov was interviewed by Reuters today and said he wants to get back into the Spyker group (as in the one that owns Saab, not the car division that he bought a month ago). Article after the break.

*UPDATE*: There’s a new opening on Spyker’s Supervisory Board as of Monday, food for thought.

SPYKER CARS N.V. ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN SUPERVISORY BOARD

Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 21 March 2011 – Today Spyker Cars N.V. (Spyker) announces the resignation of Mr. Pieter Heerema with immediate effect as member of the Supervisory Board of Spyker for personal reasons.

The Management and Supervisory Board thank Mr. Heerema for his contribution and anticipate that a new member will be proposed for appointment by Spyker’s shareholders’ meeting in the foreseeable future.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 19 Comments »

Avatar of Tompa

by Tompa

A Cowboy and the big surf

March 19, 2011 in Saabology

I will keep this post at the top during the weekend as it may be of interest for many.

RedJ

—

 

More on Christopher Johnston and Merbanco

I want to begin by letting you know why my first post on SaabsUnited deals with a company and person that has been a topic many times before here on SU. Our dear friend Swade has done a couple of brilliant interviews with Christopher Johnston (CJ) CEO of Merbanco.

But the fact is, questions may vary with time and Saab has now been in the most capable hands of Spyker for over a year. Things change and maybe even personal reflections.
CJ is, besides being a businessman on a grand scale, a true lover of Saab and has also been seen commenting quite frequently on SaabsUnited.

This interview is intended to focus a bit more on CJ´s thoughts regarding product, dealerships, markets and perception of the Saab brand and product. Oh and yes, a wee bit on the deal that did not happen.

As always a Big thank you to CJ for taking the time to answer our questions and being so open towards us.


My SaabsUnited contact with Christopher Johnston, CEO Merbanco

I got in contact with Christopher a while ago to see if he would be willing to give his personal views on some of the questions that had been lingering for quite some time in relations to Merbanco´s bid to acquire Saab Automobile from General Motors. Questions that many of us have asked ourselves and pondered over but as yet had an explanation for. Questions like what his views are on the current and future Saab product portfolio. As a friend of SaabsUnited and an allover genuinely good bloke, CJ agreed to give his answers to questions compiled from the SaabsUnited team.

So click on through and find out more. And why “the big surf” in the headline?

(Please note that Chris´s answers are based on his own views and does not necessarily reflect the views of other individuals within Merbanco or involved business partners.)


Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: , , 48 Comments »

Avatar of Swade

by Swade

Saab Brand Analysis and why GM failed with Saab

November 29, 2010 in Saabology

We have two separate article here that make for compelling reading when it comes to Saab’s past and future.

——

The Past – Why GM failed with Saab.

Automotive News has a great historical piece today looking at why a large company like GM failed to sustain such a small operation like Saab.

It’s a comprehensive look at “the GM years” – how GM helped Saab clean up its act in the beginning and how GM totally lost its way with Saab from then on.

Why couldn’t the world’s largest automaker help one of the world’s smallest to succeed? The conventional wisdom is that U.S. executives in the 1990s didn’t understand the brand, bungled the product strategy, allowed quality to slip and couldn’t settle on a marketing plan.

But the blame went further, say several managers who toiled for Saab in the early years of GM ownership. Many of Saab’s staunchest Swedish loyalists — and GM critics — actually praise two Americans who took turns as CEO in the 1990s, Dave Herman and Bob Hendry.

The problem, they say, was the way GM rotated executives, leaving the Swedish company with CEOs who could not be farsighted. Beyond that, Saab was forced to share parts and platforms with Opel. And GM was reluctant to fund the expensive task of building a prestige brand.

It’s a must read for Saab historians. My thanks to Oddjob for the link to it.

——

The future: Saab Brand Analysis

My thanks to Robert P for pointing me towards this very interesting and insightful article examining Saab’s brand awareness and some of the steps Saab can take to build it.

The article appears on Bizcommunity and it’s a very thoughtful insight into what makes the Saab ‘brand’ tick, the potential for growth as well as some potential obstacles to that growth.

Here’s a taster. Saab are the blue line in this brand awareness survey. Click to enlarge….

The writer not only analyses some of the brand weaknesses, he also gives seven ‘action steps’ showing how Saab can begin to rebuild some of what the last few years have taken away.

I particularly liked this one….

Enable Saab’s existing brand advocates. Saab has an unusually loyal core of brand advocates who promote the brand through word of mouth and numerous blogs (numerous given Saab’s small market share).

This is an area that Saab can do a lot more in, in order to connect with their customers and give them excellent experiences.

——

I think these two articles should give you plenty to chew on today.

My thanks again to Oddjob and Robert for the links.

Tags: , , 39 Comments »

Avatar of Swade

by Swade

Tuesday Night Snippets – Righteous and the wicked

October 12, 2010 in Saabology

….. and I don’t mean ‘wicked’, as in ‘cool’

Posting is light as I’m tied up during the day at the moment. Added to that, tonight is one of the busier evenings in my vocational life so it’ll be light tonight, too.

But here’s a few tidbits to get you started.

——

RIGHTEOUS

I’ve always wanted to do this with some Saab chairs….

Saab Chairs

These are Saab 9000 seats, built into office-worthy chairs by Henrik B – and they’re for sale.

More of people doing strange things with Saab bits below….

——

WICKED

GM, who we all figured were evil to some extent anyway, have brought down a PR disaster on their own heads.

They have admitted that the Chevy Volt, from which they’ve been harvesting massive fields of shiny, fluffy, smiley green credits in the public mind, is actually connected between the engine and the wheels.

We’ve all been told for the last three years that the Volt is a fully electric vehicle with an internal combustion engine providing charge for the batteries when they start to get low. Now it’s been revealed that at certain levels of depleted battery charge and vehicle speed, the engine assists by providing torque to the wheels.

Deceptive, and inherently wrong.

——

WICKED

Google are being wicked because they’re testing cars that completely remove the driver from the task of driving. Yes, cars driving themselves and on public roads, at speed.

What’s worse is that they’re succeeding – a radio report here in Australia today stated the only accident reported so far is another car hitting the Googlemobile due to inattention.

This is the ultimate in automotive evil.

——

RIGHTEOUS

Kangaroos trying to cross the road at Bathurst…….. once again this year, Skippy made an appearance at Australia’s biggest race.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz2oAgoEE8Y

——

RIGHTEOUS

The Local, Sweden’s news in English, has got into the car review business, with a very complimentary review of the Saab 9-5.

Success for the new Saab 9-5 range seems assured. Beautifully designed and built to standards befitting a premium brand, I feel that like me, the company’s loyal customers will struggle to find much to criticise in what is arguably Saab’s most important new model ever.

Much more where that came from at the link above. It really is a cracker of a car.

——

WICKED

Honda are promoting their updated Civic – featuring Brown!!

2011-Honda-Civic-UK

Not as cool as our brown, I’m afraid.

——

RIGHTEOUS

Saab sold 5 cars in Bulgaria last month.

——

WICKED

Aston Martin are truly wicked for pressing ahead with the Cygnet. A more nauseating badge-vehicle combination you will rarely find.

I can’t even show the picture here.

——

RIGHTEOUS

OK, more people doing fun things with bits of Saabs.

Via Flickr – the Saab grille :-)

Saab Grille

–

Tags: , , , , 46 Comments »

Avatar of Swade

by Swade

GM Exec – We blanked out Bluetooth (for Onstar)

September 24, 2010 in Editorial

I just wanted to note this one for the record.

I had many battles with the people at SaabUSA back in the days of GM ownership. Issues like diesel, Hirsch and one of the more common complaints, the lack of Bluetooth.

I can’t remember the excuses I was given as to why GM didn’t fit Bluetooth into US-market Saabs, but we always had knew the real reason, even if they’d never come out and say it directly – OnStar.

The new chief of OnStar, Chris Preuss, has just appeared on Autoline After Hours and whilst he’s talking about the Pontiac G8, he’s pretty much confirmed what happened with Saab as well (around 48 mins in).

The Bluetooth phenomena….it’s part of the bad old days [where] we blanked out Bluetooth because someone wanted to sell more OnStar handsfree calling minutes and it wasn’t exactly a cogent call….

Darn right, it wasn’t.

I lost track of how many people complained to me about the lack of Bluetooth availablility in the US. It stood out like the dog’s proverbials because it was available everywhere else. Eventually, we all just recognised the BS being fed and let it slide, but the issue still raised its head from time to time until Bluetooth became available around 2009.

It was a classic GM public relations management play. I just hope the new SCNA has given up the GMPR playbook, because the old one sucked. It alienated customers on a lot of occasions.

Past recognised. Non-existant apology accepted. Time to move on.

Tags: , , Comments Off

Avatar of Swade

by Swade

Friday Snippets – VM-OK and Fifth Gear edition

August 13, 2010 in News, Saabology

I received an email from Victor Muller a few minutes ago and he reports that all is well and good. The gall bladder was ditched on Monday. He’s back on his feet now and will be at Pebble Beach tomorrow for the Saab presser being held there.

Good news!

——

Fifth Gear have apparently filmed a road test of the new Saab 9-5, with Vicki at the wheel.

Sadly, it seems to be restricted based on your location and as I’m not one who fiddles with such things, I’m currently unable to view it.

Click here and try your luck. If you can see it, perhaps you can pass on their thoughts.

——

One of the prime reasons I resolved to work so hard on covering the Saab sale and making sure it stayed in the news was because I felt that Saab deserved that chance – a chance to influence their own fate. I was very strong in my opinion that a decision to close Saab should not be made by a bunch of executives in another country, several of whom had probably never even visited Trollhattan.

Ed Whitacre, the man who had the final say, announced today that he will resign from GM, effective 1 September. He’ll have spent just over one year on the job there. Structurally speaking, he had every right, even an obligation, to decide Saab’s fate. Ethically, morally? Not so much.

I’m just glad the right decision was made in the end. Enjoy your latest retirement, Ed.

——

Our man in the UK, Robin M, seems to be enjoying this whole drive-to-IntSaab-in-a-new-9-5 thing.

Brand new car, Euro lodgings and good mates everywhere. It’s nice to be him, ain’t it :-)

——

And finally…….

A Saab billboard from Germany!!

This one was spotted by Alexandros, in Munich. His translation of the main text is “What was to be proven.” and the ad then ties in with Saab’s new Anything But Ordinary campaign.

–

Tags: , , , , , , 54 Comments »

Avatar of Swade

by Swade

Can you help this Boston University student group?

March 12, 2010 in Saabology

Received via email today…..
——
Hello,
My name is Ben Timmins and I am a student at the Boston University College of Communication. I’m writing about the recent purchase of Saab by Spyker and wanted to talk to you (and the commenters) about this.
I noticed that you helped a student from the US last year at the old Trollhattan Saab website, so I thought this is worth a shot. I’ve posted a couple of questions for you and the commenters. Here’s hoping that Saab enthusiasts are opinionated people (I’ve been reading this site for a little while…I know you are)

  1. I’ve talked to a couple of dealers that weren’t exactly happy with the time spent with Saab and GM, but no one really said why. What was the issue with GM?
  2. I’m focusing in on the relationship between New England and Saab, which many people have alluded to in my research. What is it, then, with Saab and New England? Is it because Saab was located in Connecticut for so many years or is there a demographic match?
  3. Who, then, is the Saab owner? What makes him/her unique?
  4. Jamie Kitman of Automobile Magazine recently said that Saab’s uphill battle post-Spyker is gaining back customers who had fled the brand during the GM years. What does Saab have to do to get these people back? What does it have to do to help the enthusiasts?

My deadline is pretty soon so anything you can do is great. As always, thanks so much.

Tags: , , 42 Comments »

37 visitors online now
25 guests, 12 members
Max visitors today: 66 at 12:17 am CET
This month: 121 at 02-02-2012 07:42 pm CET
This year: 336 at 01-03-2012 03:25 pm CET
All time: 509 at 12-06-2011 09:07 pm CET