SAAB – An End to the Road or Just a Turn in the Road?

Normally I keep my blog fairly targeted at technology or beer, but I’ve also posted on my love of SAAB cars and my Turbo-X. Obviously all the news about the demise of GM and the abandonment of their foreign brands (SAAB being just one) generates lots of funny comments from friends, questions from other SAAB fans I know, etc.

So what do I think? First of all – don’t listen to me – go to the best spot on the ‘net for all things SAAB. It is also a great example of what you can do with Movable Type’s latest blogging platform..see I did squeak in a tech plug! Mr. Wade really has a nice blog over there at SaabsUnited.

So I have no clue if SAAB will make it, but I hope they do. I can only say my car is a fantastic ride and has proven over 16K miles to be very reliable and really an absolute dream to drive back and forth to work. I also think SAAB is pushing the envelope in things like biofuels, fuel economy, and safety in ways other car companies do not – even BMW, Mercedes, and the Japanese brands.

What does cause me some embarrassment is GM’s behavior. As an American I expect more from an American company. Our companies should treat their employees and customers better than this. The only thing that really is clear about the entire situation is that GM has been almost negligent in how badly they have managed their brands. Its kind of shameful to chuck aside so many lives and careers – you don’t see other brands doing this to the same degree. Why GM? Its not just SAAB in this situation it is Opel, Holden, Saturn, and Hummer too.

I think GM owes something to these companies – how much I’m not sure. They should get some funding so that if they want to try and make it that they are on good footing to do so. This is what a parent should do.  This is what a company should do for its employees and its customers.

SAAB plans to attempt to resurrect itself (or Swedish terms “reorganize”) – I hope they make it. The new cars they have ready to build look very nice – the new 9-3X would make a nice replacement for my wife’s Acura MDX.