Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:17:58 -0500 From: ma_twain <ma_twainnospamo.com> Subject: Re: Possibility of Saab closure
I can't remember the web site, but it listed the number of Saabs sold in the US for every year. Prior to the GM purchase, Saab was able to sell every C900 brought to the US - even the lime green Saabs. This may reflect either a very good prediction of sales volume or Saab could not make enough cars to satisfy the demand. Does any one remember that web site? Dima wrote: > To all of you guys who pointed out that Saab lost money after it was > acquired by GM, I think, this is a bit unfair. I believe (even though I do > not have the data handy) that Saab began to loose money even before that, > and that is why Investor (the financial company who was one of the chief > Saab owners, and represented an influential Swedish family) wanted to unload > it. Anybody who wants to add to the history of the buyout, of the > profitability of the Saab right before the buyout, please feel free, I would > love to learn. > > I think their main problem is that they never found a marketing niche for > the car, big enough to keep it profitable. I personally think that > mid-nineties "Find your own road" was a great slogan - but like in many > other cases, they did not stuck it out. I once, in a moment of my madness, > wrote an article about why I like Saabs for the Nines - US Saab Club > magazine - but never sent it out. After I was done, I could summarize what I > wrote in one sentence: "I like Saab because of its practically, sportiness, > and most importantly, individuality." Find your own road, indeed. > > -Dima > > > > > > "Dexter J" <lamealameadingdongnospamlamelame.org> wrote in message > news:opskh18fsxngtaownospam.eastlink.ca... > >>Salutations: >> >>On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 08:53:52 -0500, Tex <texnospamm101.org> wrote: >> >> >>>Ugh... >>> >>> http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6811980/ >>> >>>- tex >>> >>> >>> >>I think the key comment in the article is this: >> >>"Saab has lost money in all but one of the past 10 years and GM has >>steadily reduced its autonomy over the past 18 months. Manufacturing, >>engineering and most design decisions are now controlled by GM Europe >>executives, based in Germany or Switzerland, reducing Saab's local >>management to controlling branding and marketing" >> >>Basically - it's lost money since GM bought it out. Which I always took to >>be for it's technology and/or some bizarre fit of corporate pique rather >>than actually producing better cars and selling more of them. >> >>On the upside, it might mean the supply of dealer diagnostic tools and >>manuals suddenly increases. >> >>-- >> >>Radio Free Dexterdyne Top Tune o'be-do-da-day >>Louis Prima Keely Smith - Hey Boy Hey Girl >>http://www.dexterdyne.org/888/146.RAM >> >>all tunes - no cookies no subscription no weather no ads >>no news no phone in - RealAudio 8+ Required - all the Time >> > >
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