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Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2000 10:35:36 -0700
From: "Jeremy Brown" <JBrownnopsamech.com>
Subject: Re: The end of Saab as we know it?


In 't Veld <cintveldnopsam.nl> wrote in message news:3981593D.E8BE8E72nopsam.nl... > > Ok some stuff: > > 1. To compete with Mercedes, MBW, and Audi Saab will need to expand their > > product line. > > European? Those are German. Hello, Germany is in the middle of Europe, the largest member of the EU. That would be like me say Kansas isn't in the US. > > I think Saab needs a V-8 to compete with the Audi A-8, S-series Benz, or > > 7-series BMW. > > Ford will be doing the same thing with Volvo, and GM must stay compettive. > > Remeber these are all European companies. > > I don't really know whether Ford will be doing the same with Volvo. They are not > planning any huge SUVs, V8s, rear-wheel drives or something. I must say Ford is > doing pretty well with their Euro-daughters (Volvo, Jag, Aston) they seem to > know the European car spirit much more than GM does. If GM needs to build cars > like these to stay competitive with the German manufacturors why do they use > Saab? Saab has not anything to do with these huge cars. In Europe these cars > don't sell, so Saab would only be producing it for the American market... why > can't this be under an American GM brand? The American lines are very distinct: GMC is heavy/commercial trucks. Chevrolet is personal trucks, the value line, and motor sports. Saturn is their Japanese fighters. Oldsmobile is the middle line luxury. Pontiac is luxury-sports. Cadillac is the high end line, but it has a rep as being old (see below). Saab is their European line. Ford has announce a Volvo SUV that is under development as we "speak". > > 5. Don't assosciate a V-8 Saab with the Caddy behemoths, that is very bad, > > almost unnatural. The only people in the US that buy those tanks are senior > > citizens, the mafia, the police, or limo companies. (Group politicians in > > with the mafia) A well off American will more likely buy a SUV or highend > > Japanese\European luxury sedan. Exactly the market GM wants. One more thing > > about the big, American cars- Ford has discontinued it large, full size cars > > and GM has only two or three of that size model left. > > > 7. Why must Saab expand? To survive, it must. Period. > > Mmm, original American thinking, eah. Why do you all seem to think Big is so > good and smaller companies will not be able to survive? Okey, Saab would be dead > without GM, I agree and I am thankfull. But, Saab can be really profitable at > 300.000 to 400.000 cars a year. Using GM platforms and materials off course. The > bigger companies (Ford, DaimlerChrysler and GM) are not better than smaller > ones, they are even having very serious problems lately. It is not American thinking, the smaller car manufacturers are colapsing. Fiat, BMW, Rover, Opel, Jaguar, Kia, Mazda, Volvo, Saab, Chrysler, Subaru, Rolls Royce, and others have all been aquired because they could not keep up with the cost of changing technologies in the world. It is not that we American's think big is better, look at AT&T, Microsoft, Standard Oil, United Shoe, and other companies the US government broke into small groups. It is basic economics going back to Adam Smith, "Economies of Scale," the bigger companies can do things cheaper because they have the clout to demand better prices. Dalmier-Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and Daewoo are non-American examples of this (No mater what Dailmer says, Chrysler is no longer an American company). The smalls one just can't compete any more, no matter how good the product. > One of the nice things of Saab is it's distinctiveness... Every farmer who wins > the lottery buys a Merc or a BMW. I can't agree more, it is the same in the US. Saab and Volvo have always been New England favorites here, especially in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. New England is the most European part of the US. Jeremy

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