In a world where GM is generating most of it's revenue from sales of SUV's and trucks, it is easy to dismiss the value of having a premium European Brand in the portfolio. However, looking just a little down the road, probably less than five years, the SUV craze will probably be over. I thought it had peaked 5 years ago, but of course, it hadn't. IMHO, the reality of driving great big hulks of inefficient, often poorly designed, monsters, will wear off the vast majority of the buying public. Fads are often a case of "The Emperor's Clothes", and this is much of what drives the SUV market. One thing that I think will be a lasting product of the SUV boom is that the average American will no longer be happy to buy an average domestic sedan. At the end of the day, people buy cars towards the top of the price range they can afford. European makes like SAAB, Volvo and Audi are price competitors of the bulk (pun not intended) of the SUV market - Grand Cherokee, Explorer, etc. If SUV's suddenly go out of fashion, Joe-keeping-up-with-the-Joneses won't want to trade his Trail Blazer for a Lumina. He will want a Cadillac or a SAAB. There is no way in Hell that this image-is-everything buyer will be caught dead behind the wheel of a Chevy or a Ford Sedan or wagon. GM has nothing in this market apart from SAAB and Cadillac. They are reinvinting Caddy in an attempt to get the median buyer age somewhere below 60, but that will be a tough sell... and launching a whole new brand ain't all that easy... (GM knows from Saturn)... only Lexus has been an unqualified success in this respect in recent memory. To me, it makes a whole lot more sense to invest in SAAB, and focus on that, in addition to Cadillac, as the Premium brands, taking on Volvo, Audi, etc... SAABs are already significantly based on European Opels (nothing particularly wrong with that, as far as I'm concerned... every SAAB ever built borrowed from other manufacturers, and raiding Ford's parts bin never hurt Lotus, raiding FIAT's didn't do any harm to Ferrari), so why not bring the Astra here with 1.8 and 2.0 liter Ecotec Turbo four cylinder engines? Think taking on the Golf with ALL models being turbocharged! Produce a crossover vehicle based on the 9-5, have AWD available on all models, and Federalize the Opel Speedster as a SAAB, and voila, we have a hip, happening Brand, with five models to sell, not two and two mongrels. (I don't care how great the WRX is, GM ain't going to pull the wool over anybody's eyes that it's a SAAB). Not long ago VW and Audi were on the way out of the US, Volvo was on the way out, period. All I want to know is, how will GM reward me for developing their brand strategy for SAAB?

posted by 68.160.1...

• Why GM needs SAAB, K-9, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 12:44:08 <-- Viewing This Message
  • I like my Saab and my F150!, John in Bismarck, Sat, 2 Aug 2003 08:07:19
  • Doesn't anybody here go camping? SUV a must..., BGreen, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:30:39
    • aye, Dan W, Tue, 5 Aug 2003 06:34:57
    • Here's the problem., Chuck, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 17:19:58
    • surely you must be mistaken, no one goes off-road, MJM , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:22:43
      • Huh ???, Maple Saab, Sat, 2 Aug 2003 11:40:13
  • Look closely at SUV alternatives that escape derision, Ken , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 09:52:20
  • Something that still amazes me about some of you, Texron, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 09:34:12
    • image? this is Fort Wayne, IN, Aero'ed, Sat, 2 Aug 2003 09:16:36
      • Re: image? this is Fort Wayne, IN, Spiros Trianta, Sun, 3 Aug 2003 08:00:15
    • Ha!, Sean H., Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:12:11
    • Here's why they bug me, phred, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:37:29
      • crowded planet?, Yak, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:51:47
    • Re: Something that still amazes me about some of you, Chan, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 09:57:02
  • read this book on SUVs, Brian_in_MA, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 07:04:01
  • SUV is not a craze..., compaqted, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:24:27
    • agreed... was expecting the fad to die... wrong, Scott Paterson , Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:09:40
    • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Ken , Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:52:37
      • A 9-5 wagon with good winter tires has no problems, AdamB , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:26:25
      • Yeah it's AMAZING how they can live without 4WD, AdamB , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:17:28
      • 4WD and skiing, compaqted, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 09:00:18
      • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Brian Lee, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 06:27:59
        • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Ken , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:32:13
          • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Sean H, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:18:40
            • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Ken , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:26:09
              • Try these comparisons..., Sean H., Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:42:04
                • Re: Try these comparisons..., Ken , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:54:05
                  • Re: Try these comparisons..., Spiros Trianta, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:50:49
                  • Re: Try these comparisons..., Yak, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:01:33
      • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Spiros Trianta, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:58:26
        • SUV are good..., Alexandros, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 06:20:40
        • SUV, 4WD, skiing etc.., Noel, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 05:55:20
        • Re: SUV is not a craze..., Ken , Thu, 31 Jul 2003 22:14:30
          • I think he's arguing that you could take 2 cars...., Sieglo, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 06:28:22
      • Re: Building what people want..., Noel, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 17:45:11
      • Re: SUV is not a craze..., kgoetz97, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 17:25:30
    • Re: SUV is not a craze...(longish), Noel, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:49:47
  • You'll have to split it with me, phred, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:04:41
    • And me..., ootpek, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 05:04:53
  • Agreed!, Sean H., Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:54:30
  • Well said (-), Mark J, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:28:35
  • SUV Craze, MisplacedYankee , Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:05:19
    • SUV's gaining in Europe....., Mike Lynch , Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:28:37
  • Why women need men., J, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:04:01
    • I'm not a woman, but ..., MJP, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:09:49
      • 10 oz bottle of water is $1.50. SUV have been around+, Jon906, Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:34:43
        • SUVs are more rare than exotic sports cars here, AdamB , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:44:33
        • Re: Pepsi/Coke is cheaper than bottled water, Ed NC, Fri, 1 Aug 2003 05:34:22
          • And super-unleaded is cheaper than soft drinks (n/m), IrieTom , Fri, 1 Aug 2003 08:48:17

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