The SAAB brand is fighting for its life. After being pronounced dead last week, there is a glimmer of hope this morning. I think it’s important that SAAB survive. Not just because thousands of jobs depend on it but because we need brands like SAAB to push back against the commoditization of the automobile industry.
There are lots of reasons to let SAAB go. It hasn’t made money in years. It doesn’t sell enough cars to compete in the global auto industry. GM has starved it for product. It lost its uniqueness years ago. It was really never “iconic,” just “quirky.” The list goes on and on, and many of the reasons are very sound.
I hope that GM will allow Spyker to buy SAAB. An independent company like Spyker could enable SAAB to reclaim its position as a niche brand with a unique product and a loyal enthusiast base. We need a brand like SAAB to prove that interesting, well engineered products still have a place in the industry and can be successful.
In its effort to make SAAB appeal more broadly and therefore justify volume levels that would make it “viable,” GM turned it into just another undifferentiated near-luxury entrant. The world does not need another undifferentiated automotive brand and from that perspective I understand why people think SAAB should go away. SAAB would be yet another automotive brand that was once distinctive, chased volume using the MDIBTYD volume forecasting methodology and ultimately failed because it lost sight of the core values that actually made the brand “viable” in the first place.
http://autoperspectives.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/brand-150x150.gif 150w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
http://autoperspectives.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Tii-front-threequarters-offside-150x112.jpg 150w, 
