According to the Court in Vanersborg,
“The current stops in production are likely to have resulted in considerable loss of the goodwill of the company and an impairment of the Saab trademark.”
This couldn’t be more from the truth. The Saab community is one of the most passionate, outspoken, and willing to go to bat for the company they love. The only goodwill that has been lost, in my opinion, is my and countless other observer’s view of how the Swedish government operates. I can honestly say I would avoid doing business in the country after having seen how they treat their industry. I had to get that off my chest, and I’m sure thousands of others would agree with me. We may start a petition to show just how much goodwill still exists for the brand.
Instead of going off on the court here, I channelled my energy into something positive that should help reignite some of the passion we all feel for Saab. It is, after all, about the product.
There’s nothing quite like a good photoshop job to cheer up the community. The beautiful 9-5 Hirsch that Tim posted yesterday got me thinking, it’s about time we explore what the 9-4X might look like. I’ve done a video of it in the past, but I worked on a more detailed front and rear this time. Imagine the goodwill for Saab if these were on the streets? Click past the break to find out.
As you’ll remember, the 9-5 as outfitted by Hirsch is gorgeous.
By using similar bodykit parts, this is what I came up with.
And just so you can see a side by side of the Aero to the Hirsch, here you go.
What a car! I want to see this in flesh! Good luck Saab, VM and others! All this is why we support You!
Petition ? Bring it on. Back in late 2009/early 2010 we seemed to had a more active role in saving the company.
I wonder if it would be possible for them to set an account for donations that could be later transferred to company shares…
Great work, Jeff. Who’d want a Cayenne let alone X5 if he can have that?
I’m quite sure that loss of “goodwill” is not referring to Saab fans losing their goodwill (thou this has happened too to some extend…), but the general public (around world, not just in Sweden!) losing their “goodwill”. The general public opinion is currently rather negative, and has shifted from “Go, Saab!” to “Get it over with – we are sick and tired of these “is it dead, is it not”-news”.
The truth is that outside the fan community Saab has very few supporters left…
Actually I think it refers to public lack of confidence. It happened to Studebaker, too, years ago. No matter how much you may like the car, if you’re not sure the company will be around to provide spare parts, etc., do you really want to buy a car from them? How many people here are still waiting on cars ordered months ago? Where do you go if your key stops working and you need a new one?
The lack of public confidence is also mentioned separately as “impairment of the Saab trademark”. In other words Saab’s brand is not as valuable as it used to be, as people do not trust it to be around.
In my opinion the “lack of goodwill” refers to the fact that there is no support neither from the “common public” (there really is not!), nor from the companies working with Saab (suppliers, agencies …).
exactly. that was the one of the big “wtf” in the press conference video
What a fine job Jeff!
Speaking of Goodwill, how about the backlog of orders Saab still has. If any that should be the proof that people believe in the brand despite everything. If this had happened to a lesser company there would have been zero orders coming in after the line stopped. What happened to Saab? The order book exploded.
Was the Court informed of this?
Absolutely gorgeous….good work Jeff….and talking about that court it must be joke of some kind. I have the feeling that Saab is most probably being channeled in to the arms of investors we don`t know yet about. It just does not make economical and logical SENSE..
Oh, and in terms of impairment of Saab brand – absolutely – take at a look at used values right now. I just got my 2008 9-3SW 2.8T Aero for same price as a new Kia Picanto. That’s impairment. Suits me, I buying and keeping it long-term. Will not please people looking to trade-in or sell privately. It’s all over for private sales to less-than-committed Saab die-hards IMHO. đ
Your assessment is very straight-to-the-point, and very accurate…
With this will it / wont it situation going on, residual values are at an all time low.
So if you’re in the market for a second hand Saab then this is probably the best time to buy privately or from a non Saab dealer.
Once it is over (survive or fail) the residual prices will rise in time to be equal to equivalent models from other manufacturers.
This was the situation with Rovers when Rover went belly up. But now a used Rover 25 sells for about the same as a Vauxhall Astra for the same year of manufacture.
Unfortunately:
Potential buyers’ goodwill: 9-5 sedan a failure so far, as 2010 has shown, even in the US. 9-3 maybe too old, maybe too small irt its competition. Even after all the fanfares with the Spyker purchase, Saab is off the radar of potential buyers. Goodwill: 0-10%
I said I wanted the 9-4x when I took it for a spin 2 days ago… after seeing your pic Jeff, I REALLY WANT IT!!! =D
We’ve had our premium Moreland Bronze 9-4X a week now, put on 1K miles already, and love it!
Beg to differ. And regret to differ.
The average Joe car buyer doesn’t have SAAB on his short-list any more.
As much as a SAAB enthusiast I am, I think the loss of goodwill observation is a realistic one.
+1 sadly agree
I still think the whole situation looks better today than it did right after Spyker’s purchase of Saab. There’s been lots of work regarding marketing, and that combined with great reviews of the 9-5 and 9-4X has set a positive spin on the brand. Sure, there is some lack of goodwill and confidence, but it isn’t nearly as bad as it was just 18 months ago, imo.
Practical people donât spend $40K on a car whose manufacturer might not be around in a year to service it.
Bingo!
Loss of goodwill is hard to evaluate when the company is at standstill.
With no advertising and no cars on the dealers’ showroom, most people just know what they heard on the news – i.e. Saab is banktrupt and didn’t pay salaries for 3 months in a row. This is nonsense and false !
If someone is to blame for this, it’s surely not SAAB and it’s not SAAB.
Any type of support SU can bring in from the comunity to be shown to the court I think it is welcome.
+1
If the swedish court took the tough decision in just 24 hours means that Saab’s accounts are on high alert, much worse than in 2009. As much appeal Victor Muller, the plight is not correct because the numbers do not add up. I think Saab will end in bankruptcy and in the last minute you will see a savior (Chinese for example) to buy the company for a nominal fee. A euro, for example.
Too many vultures are scavengers be waiting for this premium brand … Saab Force!
I do hope somebody buys the company and the brand will continue (I am not sure it is in Saab AB’s interest just to lease the brand to whoever to put on whatever product made wherever) – after all, even if the remnants of Rover were fought over by multiple buyers, the brand itself died and it took almost a decade to get production back rolling in Britain, in rather limited regard.
The fact that a lot of goodwill was lost is indisputable. It is also inexcusable to have acted so that it was lost.
This is accountant-speak, and relates to the valuation of the company. Sadly, in the cold hard world of business, it would be difficult to argue with that.
Let’s hope “Plan C” works. VM is like the Cat-in-the-Hat, but hopefully we won’t have to wait for “Little Plan Z” to clear up the mess đ
I don’t think that the suppliers have a lot of parts stocked, since those should have gone to Saab Parts (the spare parts division).
I am afraid that that is not true!
Which would mean that an unnoffical restructuring would not stand much of a chance of gaining traction… CLEPA played the “good-cop” role, the individual suppliers will probably (most likely) play the “bad-cop” role and try to get whatever they can.
I think the problem is that because of the time that has elapsed many suppliers would require a plan where they are also convinced that it will have a good chance of success. As I stated above, this story has now been dragging on for quite an extended period of time and as they say in German “Rather an end with pain than pain without an end”. What ever happens now, it must happen quickly and be final.
Exactly. It’s not just about “hang on; we will pay you soon”; it’s abou a payment plan plus going forward with delivering parts/systems and collecting those future bills, i.e., trust that the business plan is sound, both operationally and financially.
CLEPA did its job well of opening the door to serious negotiation. I think individual suppliers would be a tough nut to crack.
When GM was preparing to close Saab and only half-heartedly saying it was try to sell it, we had a world wide “Save Saab” campaign. Perhaps it’s now time for a “Sweden Save Saab” campaign?
The story was about how the swedish police had to cancel their order of 50 9-5:s.
http://www.nyheterna.se/tv?videoid=1990721&treeId=5050101
Even the customer is SCREAMING OUT how fantastic the car is (thanks TV4 for at least one positive thing about Saab-The cars)..
I wished more could do this,since the public opinion seems to be that the car is no good, which is so wrong…
I understand that there will always be support from hardcore enthusiasts (like most of us) however anyone who thinks that there has not been a loss of goodwill among the wider community in my opinion is completely deluded. I am sorry to be blunt but this is a fact.
Yes. It is quite obvious. People only see Saab in bad news these days.
Rune
Of course people don’t want Saab to die but, the fact remains that they have lost a great deal of brand equity. In the eyes of the consumer there is a great difference between supporting a brave underdog and feeling sympathy for a well-beaten loser.
That said there is still a chance…..
If the court is basing decisions on intangibles, then it’s probably over. How provincial. Aren’t courts supposed to deal in facts? This is saying to a capital crimes defendent “you may or may not be innocent of the charges, but you’ve taken a real beating in the press; the people don’t think much of you right now. Therefore, I’m going to sentence you to death.”
Is the judge perhaps a career politician?
Why does that matter?
Are you serious? It is surely the crux of the whole problem. The only firm offer of money into Saab, but no clue as to how long it will take – could be weeks, could be a year (Peugeot) or could be never. This is THE questions to be answered. Without this it’s over in the current form and into a new world of who knows what.
Belfast, your tone really sucks. I’m with Rune here. Why can’t the court put the company into reorganization conditional on a certain amount of time, like 2 months, or however long Saab has said it will take for the Chinese deal to process? Would that really be that difficult?
@Sadim
Isn’t the normal procedure to evaluate if there is a possibility for a viable company within 3 months, with a possibility for prolonging that up to 12 months?
Isn’t the real question:
What is beyond reasonable doubt?
@ Khrisdk: I know your question was directed at Sadim, but the answer is, I believe, quite simple. A Court of Law requires documentation instead of “we will flood the Court with information” statements at press conferences after the Court’s decision.
@ Khrisdk September 9, 2011 at 18:39
Pedro has said much of what I would say, but I would add that the process can be given 3 or even 12 months to evaluate. But the documentation submited in the first place must show there is substance behind the plans.
The court did not believe in the plan.
I trust you are joking……and trying to make me irritatated….so I blow a fuse and get banned..? đ
“..Why does this matter….”…? C’mon Rune, nice try.. đ
Well, Sadim… Obviously it is the Court of Law who has all obligations on its side, notably to ask all questions without even reading anything so they can have a basis to start asking questions. It is therefore obvious that it is not management’s responsibility to submit well-supported motions before a Court of Law. Quite straightforward (and interesting) reasoning, eh? đ
Pedroa, when you apply for reconstruction YOU must prove your case. if you can’t you get a “No”. It’s quite simple actually.
I know… I was being sarcastic… Sorry đ
Being serious: I am amazed (and actually fascinated!) at how people refuse to understand that a Court of Law needs more than “the money is coming” written in a piece of paper to grant SAAB a ‘yes’.
Correction: Sorry Pedro, you got an “a” added to your nick. If I add any futher A.s I will make it AAA+ đ
Moody downgraded Portugal to junk; I’m Portuguese, so… No AAA+ status for me LOL
No problems there with the extra “a” đ
Correct.
I was not really impressed with what I have seen from the application.
Unless it was designed to serve another purpose than get a yes.
I am very curious about what will be in the new application on monday.
I still like those old Bugs Bunny movies
While I think it is fair to say that SAAB’s goodwill is diminished, it is utterly stupid and illogical to say there is NO goodwill. Clearly a great deal of goodwill has been demonstrated by the unions, suppliers, dealers and customers of SAAB. Just the existance of SAABSUNITED is evidence of this goodwill, and the many, many enthusiast forums and press. I really hope the appeal is granted. After all, what on EARTH is there to lose by giving SAAB one more chance to reorg? That puzzles me a great deal.
Same here.
Nice job Jeff !I really love the style of 9-4X but i am afraid i would n`t see it some day here in my country.Cause the NDRC`s permission is no timetable.Especially when court say no to Saab.According to the analysis of the local news.There was no quickly approval happened before.Even if a company will go to die.So VM can not give court a definite prove.God bless miracle coming up.
First of all: My apologies, the article is dated April 4th 2011 and updated on September 9th.
By that time JĂ J was leaving the company and Fröberg was referring to him when he said “he is not taking a cent for leaving the company.
So, we should read “We should add that Jan Ă ke Jonsson doesn’t get a cent as a compensation now (then, 2011.04.04) when he leaves the company.â
Jonas Fröberg was doing some tea leaves-reading then. It all winded up being a mess, with a discredited VM (in my eyes).
Apologies 2: I forgot to post the link, here it is: http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/saab-rover-svdse_6062925.svd
You are missing the point, you are only focusing on the fanatics of Saab but they are far from enough. You have to focus on the potential customers.
The average potential customers have an average memory of 6 months.
The leasing companies just need 3 and a little push
We are the only ones bothering with navel gazing and overanalyzing
Exactly. Price a car right, guarantee a warranty, and it will sell. Product, Service, Value, and Reliability are all that matter in this marketplace.
I my opinion in the past Saab lost a lot of its public image due to the endless discussions on unpaid delivieries of their suppliers, unfulfilled loans to their employees, new lacks of money and specially fantastic stories of VM without any financial background. Promises of Chinese investors are not the basis to trust in.
Of course there actually exists the goodwill of Saab enthusiasts. But this is not enough. Where have been new customers in the past?
In the last two years SaabÂŽs general situation didnÂŽt invite new interested people to buy a Saab