Comments on: Wars of Perception

By: Cornelius Mertzlufft-Paufler

Cornelius Mertzlufft-Paufler — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:52:00 +0000

I just so wish SAAB would restart The Production soon. Griffin up!

By: Pierre Terrien

Pierre Terrien — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:08:00 +0000

Excellent read! (again)
After driving the 9-4x and seeing the 9-5 SC at the SOC, let me say that the product SAAB is doing just fine thank you. Crossovers are not my cup of tea but they are spot on when they say they made the 9-4x a SAAB before they made it a crossover. And for those smothering at the fact it’s made in Mexico, the build quality and fit & finish is irreproachable. This vehicle is custom tailored for the NA market. Can’t wait for both SAABs merging into one great SAAB car company.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:53:00 +0000

To quote Radiohead for all the haters and sloppy journalists:

“When I am king you will be first against the wall. With your opinion which is of no consequence at all.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:39:00 +0000

I do hope someone keeps notes of all these thing. There needs to be a book written. I think it will be a terrific read.
Keep up the good work!

By: Steven Wade

Steven Wade — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Noted, and corrected. I was going from the linked story where they must have Anglicised his name. Thanks for the correction, Johan (hope you’re well).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:40:00 +0000

A good read as always, Swade. However, I would like to correct the name of the CEO of the shareholders association: it´s Günther Mårder (not Marda). All the best, cheers!

By: Curt Sehon

Curt Sehon — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Swade, I totally understand your frustration. It’s inexcusable for the press to consistently report erroneous facts or to spin the facts to put Saab in a bad light (TTAC). I don’t envy the job that you have. It must be difficult to not respond to every rumor, spin, or simply poor fact checking by the press. At least you’re keeping the hopes up of the true Saab fan. Keep up the good work.

By: Saab RedJ

Saab RedJ — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:37:00 +0000

I’ve said in one post at Saabsunited related to the sales figures in Sweden. It is a miracle that Saab sells one single car in Sweden if you read the always negative on Saab newspapers and news sites.

Volvo may make good cars, but there must be some proud Swedes that don#t want to drive just another Volvo, even among the press.

By: Steven Wade

Steven Wade — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:56:00 +0000

I agree, Curt. There’s a certain inevitability when it comes to press reports about Saab and that’s not totally unexpected in the circumstances we’re in, but the wrong reports becoming factual as if by osmosis is frustrating in the extreme.

As you say, the only way we can stop that is taking it away as a story, by getting things done.

By: Curt Sehon

Curt Sehon — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:50:00 +0000

Nice clarifications, Swade. However, the press is the press. It’s alway reported the negative side of things as bad news sells. There’s not much we can do to change this or to change public perception right now. To change public perception, Saab needs to produce cars uninterrupted for a numbr of months and sales has to increase. Saab aslo needs to start an advertising campaign to announce that it is back and will be staying for quite some time. Unfortunately, I think the news in the next few weeks will get even worse as the debt collection moves forward. We need “The Deal” to come quickly to cover the debts and perhaps get production going again. Then, we can work on public perception.