Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 19:08:13 GMT From: "Sigurd Kallhovde" <sigurdkREMOVETHISnopsamo.com> Subject: Re: Best built recent Saab?
> What is the point in ending up with a load of different cars > which are targeted at different segments of the market > purely based on the badge they carry? This might be old news, but my newspaper (San Diego Union) published an article today about the new CEO of Saab USA quoting that her main strategic goal for the brand is a Saab SUV. Why exactly is it that Saab needs a SUV? And why is it that GM need _another_ SUV? Seems to me, even if one subscribes to the philosophy that the SUV market will continue to grow "for ever", that the last thing GM needs is another SUV, as well as the last thing Saab buyers are looking for. GM is today a rag-bag of unfocused brands, even more so than in the past, none of which make any attempts of differentiating themselves. Cadillac is one example of brand-mismanagement: It used to be perfectly marketing positioned for well-healed, often older, buyers looking for luxury and space in a sedan or coupe. Then the Cadillac SUV and truck were launched, and all of sudden, the Cadillac brand strategy was as messy as all the others, effectively destroying the brand in terms of differentiation and market segmentation. The idea that Saab needs a SUV is, at best, a US-centric attitude, and at worst, a marketing and commercial blunder for a brand which needs to stay focused. Sigurd N 32ƒ 48' W 117ƒ 14'
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