Today is the first anniversary of Tim taking over Saabsunited. It has been a pretty turbulent year to say the least. Whilst Tim was setting up the new team the production “hiccups” in Trollhättan started so the new SU team had to deal with difficult news right away. As we know this did not resolve so the struggle to filter the right information from all those rumors continues until today.
For us the highlight of the past year was certainly the SaabsUnited Octoberfest where we set up an enjoyable event that was held at several places around the world. A very positive event at a time when it really looked like a solution for Saab was just a matter of days. The ultimate low was of course Saab’s declaration of bankruptcy. In between those extremes there were many, many great things I can think of. Despite it’s sometimes exhausting to conquer reliable information it is mostly enjoyable to do that for such a great readership. Having between 150.000 and 200.000 unique visitors and more than one million page views each month is a great reward for us.
At the same time we have of course been criticized for some things we did and the way we reported. Especially when it comes to opinion stuff this is quite natural and we can deal with that as long as it is expressed in a civilized way. Discussion is one of the things this site is meant for. But one thing we can’t deliver: we are not Swade. He had and has his own unique way of writing and judging things. But would you expect a restaurant to stay exactly the same if it changes owner? Probably not. Same here, we had to find our own way to handle things. And looking at it today I feel we are on the right track.
The site itself has also grown for example through the forum, messaging system and additional content like the photo archive. This is not the end, we already have plans to make the site even more interactive.
What’s left for me now is to say thank you to the SU team, our advertisers, the djup strupes and most of all to you, our readers. You make SaabsUnited such a vivid place for the community. Without you this would just be a bunch of bits and bytes. Thank you.
congratulations for the first year and i can say, that you are all on the very right way.
swade will be swade and all of you have their own style of writing.
so i find it perfect, because we all have different thoughts and only on this way, we can learn from each other and perhaps change a wrong opinion.
and now in german:
weiter so, es macht sehr viel freude hier täglich zu lesen!
( go on this way, i like it very much to read here daily)
best wishes
marcus
Conratulations!! It’s been a tough ride and overall I think you guys have done a grand job! Always difficult to follow in the footsteps of someone as talented in writing as Swade, but your mix of styles within the team has worked.
Hopefully, you’ll all be able to write some good news in the future!
Anyway, well done for all you have done so far!
I couldn’t agree more. It’s been a strange year, and you all have done a terrific job at keeping us as updated and informed as possible. It’s a testament to your work ethic that so many readers around the world check SU every day (and often throughout the day). Thanks for your hard work, and here’s to another year!
Congrats guys! You’ve done terrific job!
Today it’s also been a year since I signed a new contract with the new employer and resigned from my old job. And lost SAAB 9-3SC as a company car 🙁 When I started a new career and was about to order MY2011 9-3SC, then the production was stopped, company’s car policy was changed and I had to order a Skoda SuperB Estate 🙁
Let’s keep the thumbs up that our small & beloved car company can start the production ASAP with its new owner, whoever that might be!
Indeed, Swade’s unique style cannot be duplicated, but you’ve done an admirable job so far. Thank you for that, and let’s hope you will be reporting on much happier news in the near future.
I saw a little influence when reading “whilst” in the first sentence. I know it’s perfectly OK to use instead of “while”, but it was in Swade’s writings where I saw it first.
You have been doing a great job, and I hope that it will continue! I enjoy visiting SaabsUnited and it is my primary source for Saab-related news. Let’s hope for better news in 2012 than in 2011! Thank you very much to Tim and Till as well as everyone else in the SaabsUnited Crew. 🙂
Also from my side a warm CONGRATULATION and THANK YOU! I like the way you handle this site and you do it in your own way that is good. I visit you every day and, indeed, you are my first site for getting Saab-related news. Hm, what I can say….perhaps that you deserve that you may provide us one the news we all are waiting for such a long time: Saab is saved by…..
Keep on going and never mind on criticism, its part of the game and after all, we all are Sabbaholics 😉
By the time I found SU, my familiarity with Swade was on Saab’s site—-I didn’t even know he used to be involved with this site. I’m a newbie. I loved his commentary on the Saab corporate site. As for Saabs United, it’s wonderful just as it is. Great community and great website.
Congratulation and THANK YOU for your effort and the quality of the site!!
In my language they have a saying, vaguely translated going like this: ‘A man’s maturity is thru his writing.’ You folks are almost there. Keep calm and carry on. The writing is not on the wall yet, not yet by a long shot.
Thanks to Tim and the entire SU team. I check the site several time a day; I can’t get through my morning coffee without it! Then I usually check back later in the day to read any new postings. This is my primary and first-checked source for all things SAAB. Keep up the good work and stay positive!
There will always be people who sometimes have an opposite opinion in some questions. You can´t satisfy everybody. However, you do a great jobb and can be proud of SaabsUnited.Congratulation to the anniversery.
Obs – bra gjort! 🙂
Thank you TimR and everybody else at Su. You do a great job.
I hope you will be able to give us the good news soon. With focus on the word “you” as much as the word “soon”.
Who said we retained sanity?
But we indeed got to know how it must have been for you in 2009/2010. My respect.
I was being diplomatic. The evidence will speak for itself, of course, and is for your wife/partner to judge only 🙂
It has been a tough ride since late 2009. My respect to the former and current SaabsUnited team.
I would not have enough words to thank you all the SU Team and Tim for the incredible work they have kept doing in such difficult circumstances. Only Saab could attract such strong, smart and brave people like.
Thank you and, please, whatever happens move on. The millions of Saab cars on the road will not disappear soon anyway.
As Saab communication is over for now, we are all here happy to be able to read saabsunited, the only website that is able to give a representation of Saab drivers in the world to the medias. 200.000 unique visitors is incredible. Bravo!
SU is a well run and valuable resource under the current management, and it has a cadre of borderline insane people taking part in forums. What more could a SAAB fan ask for from a site. Great job!