The next 24-48 hours are going to be extremely quiet on the news front. Anything you read, I’d take with a huge grain of salt because it’s going to be speculative. The newsmakers have gone into radio silence mode, they don’t want good or bad news disturbing a potential deal between any parties. As such, we’re holding most of our coverage and are going to be focusing less on the deals side until there is concrete news to report.
Negotiations at the moment are in full swing, and any news source that claims they have a handle on a clear picture is straight up lying at this point. We’re in touch directly with those in the know, and will report what we can when we can. While we’d love to give a behind the scenes shot of negotiations, we’re not interested in disturbing or upsetting any potential deals. Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy few days ahead.
In the meantime, we’ll be focusing our attention on the numerous efforts that different branches of Saab are working on around the world, from Germany to Ohio. The only thing that I can report with some certainty is that Saab will be around for years to come, so these marketing efforts aren’t without cause.
Also please continue to be mindful and have a little more faith in the people who are negotiating for Saab’s survival (not just Victor Muller). They aren’t the ones who steered Saab into this minefield, but they’re the ones who will pull it out.
Good. Best wishes to everybody involved in those negotiations.
I have faith Saab is gonna make it. I can’t imagine driving any another car.
Also — any updates on Tim…how’s he feeling? Want him to know we’re thinking about him.
I see he has his iPhone with him, so I’m sure he’s doing ok considering. I think I saw that he’s been grounded a couple more weeks from flying, so he’ll probably be going stir crazy soon.
Tim,
Just make sure you don’t unplug something you need to get better with just to keep your iPhone and iPad charged. Seriously though, you probably need to be getting some rest too. I hope you feel better soon and you can get back home and maybe not have to section off parts of your house for you and her sections.
Ah, the nurses…be sure to ask for a Viagra drip & get some rest! We need you back in the drivers seat asap.
Speedy recovery Tim. I used to contract pneumonia for several consecutive years until I had a vaccination which put an end to it. Ask the Doc!
Hope you a quick and painless recovery Tim.
The Burger King in Stockholm railway station (where the Arlanda Express goes from) is worthy of a visit…best looking fast food outlet staff anywhere….I took my time with my order…
Thanks Jeff for being there. Keeping this in mind is da***d good news to me and something to hold on to for everybody. Things can only get better now.
I hope that is true 🙂 so that all who work at saab get good news! And the people who work there now get to keep their jobs now that they’ve been so loyal to management and the company!
For those of you that do work at Saab, I thank you all for hanging in there…. I know it’s not easy, just as it’s not easy for us in dealer world. Again, thank you and I look forward to seeing deliveries of your work coming to mine.
Jeff, for me, this line is very important:
and can mean so much, usually this means things are close at hand and one can only hope that this is the case here too.
I’m definitely not saying anything is super close to being finalized, only that a course of action and direction are being decided upon. I don’t even want to get speculative about Chinese/Non-Chinese deal in this article, as that’s giving too much credence to rumors. Just be patient, and know that there’s a line of interested parties at the door, and Saab finally has a clear grasp of who to trust.
Things don’t have to be super close, just that they are working through the layers and setting forth a real course of action works for me.
So we can start planning a Saab day at the 2013 Grand Prix of New York?
Wouldn’t that be sweet? I can think of at least one particular path that would lead to that…
Love it! Also, wouldn’t it be great if there was an F1 car powered by Saab?…well, I can dream!
Well, this morning the Swedish, national public, radio had a small report, again, about some engineers leaving the companies, are going to be some more chat about that, apparently in the afternoon. It has been mentioned earlier in the news, so one wonder why the bring it up again, now …
—
I agree with JasonPowell, it’s good to know that they are working on all levels.
I believe!
When did you change your handle?
I’m just going to do what I’ve been doing keep calm and carry on. There isn’t much we can do at this time except repeat rumors and to many people come to this site for information to do that.
SAAB UP
Anyone seen CJ in Wyoming recently? Or in Stockholm, maybe?
😉
Ivo
Extremely unlikely.
CJ isn’t involved.
Seen the smiley?
Ivo
You’re one of the few left here who always make me smile Ivo 🙂
I really miss smileys here, right now it’s the pinky one denoting a demure blush…
Ivo
And I’m telling you right now that the concerned parties have specifically told me they won’t be making any comments during this next phase. So if you hear some whispers, I wouldn’t take them seriously.
Finally, to be a little controversial, I would bet that you have a certain anti-Muller agenda. I’m going to suggest you find a new brand to drive if you don’t like the man, he’s going to be around for a while.
I like your optimism. From your keyboard to God’s inbox.
This post and your comment about VM makes me very optimistic.
+! Jeff.
I also support your decision to wait till there is news, not gossip.
Jeff
I have not been publicly critical of Muller for a little while (because I think I made my point) and for your information if I had an agenda, which I don’t, it would be much more pro-Saab than and anti-Muller. As to your prediction, time will tell.
I agree with moose.
I don’t agree with Moose.
@Khrisdk
You are an Infidel!!! 😉
Actually I thought Moose’s letter was respectful and well thought out, but you are entitled to your own opinion : )
@ ANA
Please see the quotes I listed and draw your own conclusion. If it’s that you mentioned, I respect it but do not agree.
Marque
You do not have to ask me to draw my own conclusion.. You may notice that is what I have been lambasted for.
Hmm. I partly agree with you too Marque.
My only point is that we should try to keep together as a community, and that the administrators shouldn’t contribute to any polarization within the community.
Yes I request the administrators to be much “better” than us commentators. This is probably not very fair, BUT it was one of the things you always admired Swade for. He was too” big” to be rude even when people wrote really stupid things.
I say this because I love SU and believe that Jeff and you others do an absolutely fantastic work!!
SU up!
Actually you are are the ones continuing the discussion on the topic of VM not me – I had moved on.
And describing my earlier analysis as ‘VM slagging’ is about as reasonable as someone describing your line as ‘VM worshipping’ which you will notice I have not done. So apply the comments policy to yourselves as well.
ANA; I am pretty sure I have observed near-identical comments from you not many days apart. Same unfounded arguments. Same unwillingness to take any arguments ‘from the other side’ into consideration. I.e. pretty average trolling.
And PS: I tried taking it off-line by sending you an e-mail, but a week later you returned to your same hobby-horse.
Next on my check-list is a total ban, but here I am, trying to reason with you again. I’m kinda stupid, am I not?
I could say exactly the same about you, and who is to say which point of view is more valid and which arguments are more founded.
However, importantly, you will notice that I have never once attacked you personally whereas I feel on a number of occasions you have tried to bully me into submission.
Just one comment:
You are the guest at the house.
Rune is your host.
Do you run around making slogan grafitti on other peoples walls when you are invited to their house? In real life, as opposed to in here I probably have to add
I will not even honour that comment with a proper answer.
Didn’t expect you to 😉
@Jeff
Very well put Jeff! And very true!
I do make asumptions based on things I have read in media and that tend to be rather wrong every now and then. You do not understand how curious we outsiders are on actually understanding the whole scoope of the situation. It is a puzzle in the brain that lacks vital pieces, that is why we try to make them ourself in the process called “speculation”. 😉
Very well put Jeff.
I’d like to add that whoever has met Victor in person doesn’t doubt his intentions, sincerity and going the full 200% to make Saab a success. Victor, the Saab workers and the Saab community have been the force that have withstood the storm that has been trying to obliterate Saab. Only when we all keep standing together there is a chance of survival. Bashing the person who is in charge of your operation seriously damages your cause.
Thanks TurboLover. It pains us sometimes not to be able to report when we see the wild speculation going on, but sometimes the best we can do is just to say, calm down and wait.
@Jeff: Thank you for your calming words! I hope we don’t have to calm down and wait for a very long time.
I can’t, of course, know what Jeff meant with that. But let’s not put to much into everything, every word.
I think VM said to some, Swedish?, media, recently, that he is not important, it’s not about him. (As if that has to be said.)
Exactly. I don’t necessarily mean him personally, I can’t speak on behalf of him. If I were him I’d retire and be with my family after all this. Personal tragedy can make one reassess what is important in one’s life. I more or less mean that Victor’s legacy and vision for Saab’s future will carry on either through him directly or through someone he trusts/is allied with.
How is VM’s continued involvement in Swan/Saab incompatible with proper (outside) financing and a succesful turnaround of Saab? I will give you that Saab needs a more expert CEO when the financial situation is cleared up but I doubt you will ever find a better brand promotor than Muller. I can’t think of a better Chairman of the Supervisory Board than Victor Muller.
Ivo
I agree, he clearly has a lot more experience, knowledge and contacts, than some other I can think of. He also has a habit of working very hard; and as we know that can be the difference, sometimes.
Some mentioned earlier that perhaps it might have been better with Koenigsegg; no way that those guys would have been able to deal with all issues we see here.
Keep the faith!
Good – that should have been the policy all along. Let’s all hope for the sake of SAAB employees, dealers, and customers alike that good news comes at the end of this! 🙂
+1 🙂
I’m with you man on the F5 key. Perhaps, we should all chill out for a few days, and Jeff can send us an email blast when there’s news.
Isn’t that the truth. I love days when I have lots of meetings so that I cannot be tempted check in here. And even then I sneak updates on my blackberry.
Yes – strange kind off denpendence we all seem to have got here, following this roller-coaster… 😉
“I love days when I have lots of meetings..”
Ah, meetings, the best excuse for not doing real work 🙂
Yeah, I’ll pick it up on my Twitter feed.
Yeah, me too. But I found that there’s often quite some time between a new article and the moment it’s being tweeted. The RSS reader is more punctual.
Works for me. I’m still here.
I have everything crossed at the moment. 🙂
Painful!
Please remember that through it all many of us, my self included, have stood four square behind Victor Muller as the man to move SAAB into the future. Although the ride has been difficult there is a better road ahead!
I have faith in Saab, they will make it out alive.
Just like last time. We must have secrecy. The public can not handle the truth or the lies. Lots of good our ingnorance did us when Spyker bought Saab from GM. We have all stayed in the dark ever since.
When will the world get a different business model?
When there’s a deal that is strong enough not to fall apart from endless speculation. That or probably sometime shortly after they stop accusing the people trying to save the company of trying to profiteer from it.
“A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad. . . . ”
+1
“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.”
Same guy
I do prefer Kierkegård
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”:
I think I have demonstrated freedom of thought and I prefer my chosen quote, especially as it is more relevant.
Your choice
None of the above quotes are relevant for this post.
The media will do as they please, as they are free.
What is said here is that SU will not report until they have something concrete.
That is an editorial choice that has nothing to do with freedom
We had, 5 hours ago.
But I have observed that you like to have the last word. : )
Hey Jeff, everybody is swiveling in uncertainty for months and You write the line we´ve all been hanging around for to read.
??
You know something, that´s for sure……. 🙂
Ps. Ok You did write the word “some” before certainty but its anyway very promising.ds
This is suspense at its best. I live in Germany and am excited as hell like a kid in kindergarden for the Saab tour to arrive at my local dealer. Considering all the depressing news and what has been happening to Saab all these months this is something I am really looking forward to. Saab will make it and I am confident…..and I will order the Saab 9-5SC as soon as production resumes. Have faith in the Saab team.
And here is another calm Saab-fan… All the best to Victor and others involved to negotiate a good deal!
Haha! Lovely, SaabMan – “sjukSKÖRTerskorna” – so fun, since it should be “sjukSKÖTerskorna” instead! The way you spelled it the nurses do not tend or care at all… (don´t know what they do in their profession as “skörterskor” actually?) Let´s hope that is not the case for the sick man! 😉 Very nice try, though! For an american… );-]
Krya på dig snart, Tim och se upp för skörterskorna!
If you don’t speak Swedish (I don’t) then the word ‘skörterskorna’ sounds like something to do with short skirts…
😉
Ivo
Seems appropriate, if you want to raise the spirits, and someone to get well quickly. 😀
(I’m a Swede; you are close in one sense, with the skirt-thing.)
Getting a bit funny in my head, I guess. The first sentence should read: i put the skörterskorna through the googletrans.
Ivo
Ik heb die skörterskorna door de googletransgehaald. It translates as ‘brittle assistant nurses’. My imagination generates all kinds of -probably generally inappropriate but in this specific case perhaps less so- options….
Ivo
ivo 71 October 26, 2011 at 13:23,
No problem, I understood. 🙂
BTW: One of the meanings of “skirt” is, as you now: noun, the part of a garment, such as a dress or coat, that hangs freely from the waist down. Same with “skört” in Swedish, but that doesn’t mean one can use it in all senses of the word, such as in outskirts etc.
Okay. So now explain to me how that word translates into ‘brittle assistant nurses’…
Ivo
October 26, 2011 at 13:49
“Okay. So now explain to me how that word translates into ‘brittle assistant nurses’…”
Heh, in one word: Google. 🙂
You just have to love that Google stuff…
🙂
Ivo
Ugh. Jag försöker att skriva någonting snäll till den sjuka killen och ni skratar åt mig eftersom jag kan inte stava. (Men jag tror att kanske det är lite konstigt, vad jag skrev). Det var har varit väldigt länge–16 år–sedan jag studerade svenska i universitet. Det finns inte många amerikaner som kan även lite svenksa, vet du….
Du behöver inte ta illa upp för det. Du har bara lyckats skriva ett ord som såg lite kul ut och som startade folks fantasier. Inget illa ment.
I don’t think you need to feel bad about it. You just managed to write a word that sounded funny in swedish, which started the imagination of people. A simple misspelling that even a Swede could make.
And Google can make hash out of the most proper sentences. 🙂
Let me guess (before subjecting this to Google): 16 år–sedan jag studerade svenska i universitet stands for ‘a Swedish college student with a 16-year old Jaguar sedan’? Or maybe a 16-year old student with a Jag sedan, although I consider that a mite improbable.
🙂
Ivo
I was impressed by how good are at Swedish, and even more so if it was 16 years since you learnt it.
(I don’t think that katar1na meant anything bad, just found it amusing that skört=basque, and wrote it in a way that could be misinterpreted since we’re not as good in English as you are. 😉 )
Don´t mention the gas mileage, please…. 😉
9-3X XWD AT = heavy gas mileage
9-3X XWD AT = Loads of fun
Ok, so windows and linux users can give the F5 key some rest 🙂 … for now
There are great people working at SAAB, that’s for sure !
Well, obviusly DI still have their sources at least. So somebody still likes to talk to the media…
http://di.se/Default.aspx?sr=23&tr=294999&rlt=0&pid=248912__ArticlePageProvider&epslanguage=sv&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fdi.se%2FNyheter%2F%3FCollapseTopMenu%3Dtrue
They have nothing to write, that’s why they wrote this… :S
But it would be interesting to know who the source is
@Jeff: I trust the words you write, and I hope you are right.
Less you are asleep it is clear, there are far to many parties that want Saab to continue. I’m not talking about bloggers now. I’m talking about companies, and governments. You are going to have some type of Saab company, I don’t know what it is going to look like, but there will be one. Our job will be to support whatever it is, and guide so that it will become the company we see in our minds.
Chris
p.s. Tim R, get well
I really really hope the chinese are sincere this time, all this reminds me of the end of Rover in UK, everyone believed the chinese promise to invest and save the company only for them to pull out at the very last minute leaving no time to find another alternative forcing Rover into bankruptcy. They then came in and bought the production lines and property rights for next to nothing and shipped everything to china – no more Rover! It all felt contrived, I hope Mr Muller stands firm on intellectual property.
It just feels like deja vu
I for one don’t want add fuel to the fire while we wait, so all I am going to say is that I am staying positive, and taking advantage of Saab UK’s special offer on servicing: http://www.saabserviceclub.co.uk/ssc/fixed-price-servicing.php
PS best wishes to TimR for a speedy recovery whilst admiring the scenery!
That is exactly what I wanted to say as well, but you do it so much better Allan B.
+900
SU up!!!! 🙂
I agree with you, Allan.
Mrs Olofsson do know a lot of things about Saab and what they need. Maybe she is the DI secret source?!
😉
http://di.se/Default.aspx?sr=23&tr=295043&rlt=0&pid=249031__ArticlePageProvider&epslanguage=sv&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fdi.se%2FNyheter%2F%3FCollapseTopMenu%3Dtrue%26refresh%3D1
I feel bad for her. But I feel like with she’s trying to preserve her own legacy more than Saab’s with this particular interview.
That is not true, we are very proud of our companies, but mostly the enginering part and not nececery the ownership
Then what about Saab? It’s all engineering, isn’t it?
Ivo
Well, the point I want to make is VM has no excuse to any delayed payment, and he had underestimated the risks of his business plan at the first place or he just wanted to gamble without sufficient secured funding.
Very well stated Rune!
Let us now keep our fingers crossed for a good outcome of all this
STILL want my NG9-5SC!!
Griffin up!
Please don’t get the causal relationship into wrong direction, VM have done all these BECAUSE of poor risk assessment.
And if it was me, I’d rather let SAAB die in a complete shape in GM’s hands, instead of tearing it into pieces by myself.
There are a lot of people in Sweden who would love to let Saab die.
I am not one of them.
CJ was and is a great Saab supporter but he was never going to be allowed to buy Saab, especially in light of his own financial situation.
CJ’s financial situation? Do you know something about that personally?
ANA, a question for you: if Y represents a group consisting of X, Z and Q — is Y’s personal wealth/economy of any relevance?
What exactly is it you are trying to say this time?
+1
If you go down JH22’s list slowly and answer all the questions honestly then I believe the misgivings are clear. I don’t want to fall out about this but sometimes it does seem like there is a bad case of ostrich’s-head-in-the-sand-syndrome from some of the more vocal people.
+1
JH22
Very well written, you have echoed many of the points I have brought up (and have subsequently been attacked for).
Dear JH22, you raise some valid points, but I’d like to correct you on point 1 and add a point 1a. Saab was not supposed to make a profit for the first 2 or 3 years. There was something of a ‘break even’ point of selling 80,000 (later 50,000) cars, not selling enough new cars would be my point 1a. I’m not a marketing person, so I won’t try to explain why not enough cars were sold.
Btw, I would be very careful using the words ‘stupid’ and ‘idiot’ while addressing our hosts (i.e. SU crew), it is not polite.
GerritN,
You are correct the plan was to be profitable in 2012, but I think it is safe to say that they deviated from the plan.
But then please stop and blame it on the SweGov, Lofalk and Maud also…
pelle, the short answer is: That is our choice to make.
The longer answer is that we are usually quite specific when criticizing those you mention. E.g. swegov kept Antonov at arm’s length, thus directly jeopardizing Saab’s future. It was a very odd move to make, and one that deserves close scrutiny.
But, Pelle, the Swedish government as a whole, Maud Olofsson, probably Guy Lofalk to some extent, and, in addition, the EIB, various Chinese would-be partners, possibly Jan-Ake Jonsson and one or two other parties certainly did contribute to Saab having to navigate the dire straits they are in now. Why shouldn’t it be said that they ought to shoulder (at least a part of) the responsibility for that when guilt is being apportioned? It was not only Victor Muller and the Saab people who have erred in judgment.
Ivo
I think you are fighting shadows, I didn’t mention VM.
Jeff
Yes I did write those words, and I stand by them – and when you placed them here, out of context, you could also have also mentioned the following:
1) They were mostly comments on a post entitled ‘Victor step down?’ so I was not hijacking another topic
2) They were 5 days ago and, as I felt that I made my point, since then I have not instigated anything similar
3) The tone of my exchange was a lot more measured than some of the people I was discussing with (Rune’s for example)
Of course ANA doesn’t know and that was my point above. We never know because we are always in the dark because that is what businesses do to us all the time. They keep their consumers in the dark as much as possible. They promise things they can’t deliver and then when people complain they use the tired excuse that there were many things they could not foresee. Bla, bla, bla.
It just gets old.
Right on Gerrit.
BTW, are you anywhere near the New York area for the 2013 Formula One race?
I live for 11 months a year on Long Island, in August I’m usually in The Netherlands. With my luck the NY F1 will be in in August 🙁
I used to go to the F1 races @ Indianapolis, not too bad a drive from Memphis. But I’d love to fly up to the big apple for 2013. Maybe you’ll get lucky & be stateside.
Cheers!
So now your the victim…? Funny. I’ve only ever heard you talk negative about Saab, the management and their products. Being such a supporter, what Saabs have you actually owned?
Never heard of those either.
People earn respect by their conduct. JH22’s attitude is totally different from what yours have been in the past. Although you have toned it down lately, which is a good thing.
RS, thanks for reminding me. We forgot to ban Leeloo’s IP. Problem solved.
Dear Leeloo. Have you got any idea what the difference is between a blog and a forum? I suggest you look it up. If you strongly disagree with the contents and general direction of a blog, there is a quite simple solution to your problem. 1. Do not visit the blog again 2. Start your own blog where you express your own mind on the subject.
Leeloo has left the building 😉
Thank you.
Jason
I do not, in any way, subscribe to the TTAC way of treating Saab nor do I condone Saab-bashing for the sake of it. As has been made clear earlier on this post I have some strong views about other things however I feel that at least some of my views and predictions will be vindicated as will I. Overall I will sincerely rejoice if Saab is saved.
You need 2 years learning to speak but 50 years learning to be silent (Hemingway). 😉
One question is why doesn’t SAAB pay the salaries?
http://di.se/Artiklar/2011/10/26/249075/saab4-Inga-besked-nar-lonerna-kan-komma/
SAAB should have money according to SWANs latest promise:
http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/saab-tvivlar-pa-pengar-fran-kina_6567525.svd
I asked the same question. It comes down to who do you take money from when you’re broke and need a hand out? There are several hands reaching down to help you out of the hole you’re in, but you need to make the best decision you can to pick the right one so that when you’re out, you don’t regret your decision. That’s why there’s a delay. Sucks, but that’s why it’s there.
Hope that we can save SAAB!
Shanghai daily reports that the workers haven’t been paid.
From the article….
Saab was supposed to pay its 1,500 factory workers on Tuesday, spokesman Eric Geers said yesterday by telephone. Saab has received funds from the Swedish government to cover salaries through last Thursday, while the company must cover the rest of the month itself.
“Paying salaries is our absolute highest priority, so it’s not good they’re being delayed,” Geers said. “We’re looking at the full picture and aim to pay as soon as possible.”
How do you think it will go today??
Fingers crossed from my side…
This is not okay! The workers doesn’t get payed but: http://gt.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2604078/mullers-jattearvode-18-miljoner-kronor
You can multiply that amount by ten before it would pay a month’s worth of salaries for Saab’s employees.
Meanwhile, VM has been spending a lot of time securing Saab’s finances and has brought the company millions of Euros. A broker shuffling that kind of money on Wall Street would earn more. (which I personally think is iffy, but such is the world we live in)