Saab History

Saab Automobile AB Status Meeting Set For April 6th

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

As I mentioned earlier, Saab Automobile is setting up their reconstruction mid-review status meeting for April 6th.

The Detroit Free Press has also updated us on this status meeting with an e-mail over to Joe Oliver, who works at Saab Automobile AB who is the Manager, Global Media Initiatives within the Mölnlycke facility just outside of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Update: Saab History has also just received a more detailed update from Saab Automobile’s Joe Oliver to augment this piece below, with a second follow-up from Joe saying that the Detroit Free Press piece is not 100% correct, and will be removing it per his suggestion.

Here is this brief summary below:

Joe Oliver to Saab History

Background:
On the 6th April there will be a creditors meeting which will be administered by the court of Vänersborg. Saab Automobile’s reorganization team, interested creditors and court staff will be in attendance. As a result of the meeting the court will determine if Saab is on track to proceed to the 3 month point in the reorganization process.

“This meeting will act as a “check-point” for the court to confirm that reorganization plans are moving forward as expected. Our primary focus has been for some time and continues to be to reorganize effectively and attract potential new investors – we are making good progress on both of these fronts.”

“We still plan to launch 3 new cars in the next 18 months and are very confident that Saab will move forward as a sustainable, profitable company.”

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Saab Automobile AB & Fiat/Alfa Romeo?, Continued.

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

The Fiat dialogue returns as the examiner has discussed that there have been “internal” discussions with Saab Automobile & Fiat, now that it looks like the Fiat / Chrysler deal will be falling through.

Fiat, headquartered in Torino, Italy, has previously worked with Saab Automobile on the Fiat/Lancia/Alfa Romeo Saab 600 and later and well known Saab 9000 platforms in the late seventies. In fact, Fiat continued to work with Saab Automobile many years later on the Saab 9-5′s successor “premium” platform, until General Motors shelved it in 2002 that was supposed to debut in 2005.

I think that a new group could emerge with Saab Automobile & Fiat as previously mentioned in Sweden’s Expression, that involves Saab Automobile, Fiat & Alfa Romeo.

Let’s look at it for a moment, Fiat & Alfa Romeo are planning on re-entering the United States market, and what a better way to do that with an established dealership network of 226 dealerships, 76 of which are exclusive that are eagerly awaiting new product. I could certainly see a Fiat/Alfa-Romeo/Saab dealership, much better than the Saab/Hummer Cadillac dealership combination, wouldn’t you think? Fiat’s products are right-sized and may include the possibility of bringing diesel to the United States given their power train lineups. Historically in the United States Saab dealerships also sold both the Alfa-Romeo as well as Fiat. One example I can provide you right now, was Dean Hill Motors in New Hampshire that sold FIAT & SAABs. This dealership combination has had happened before in multiple dealerships, so I don’t see why it could not come back again.

I would say that a joint partnership with Fiat would be about twenty years overdue since Fiat was originally supposed to be the owner of Saab Automobile in 1989, not GM.

Here’s hoping we see more details with Fiat & Saab Automobile coming into full focus.

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Saab History Suggests That Saab Automobile USA Leave Detroit & Relocate Headquarters Back To New England

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab History

As Saab Automobile AB continues its reconstruction process and General Motors work out deals pertaining to their future, there are a lot of areas now that are being forgotten, namely the number one market in the world, the United States.

As others have also suggested, it seems clear that between now and December 31st, 2009, when General Motors ends its funding of Saab Automobile AB, it should be easily understood and obvious that Saab Automobile USA’s offices will no longer have any reason to be located within the Renaissance Center at GM headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.

I believe that Saab Automobile USA should not only leave the GM Renaissance Center, but Detroit, Michigan entirely. I am not the only one that thinks so, many now former Saab employees beginning in 2002, and again in 2005 chose not to move to Detroit.

As you know, the Northeast region of the United States is where Saab began its stateside operations in 1956. The Northeast region is also still Saab’s most significant share of the market. Over the past few years, the sales in this region have been reduced due to the lack of institutional knowledge being applied to the Saab brand in the areas of Products, Promotions, Placement and dealership development. Ralph Millet & Bob Sinclair’s team at SAAB Motors, Inc. & Saab-Scania of America, Inc. respectively, did an incredible job in these areas. During their long tenures the company’s headquarters was located in the Northeast region of the United States at both New Haven (10-years) as well as Orange, Connecticut (20-years). It was location that was certainly a factor at building a stronghold in this geographic region over 30 years, it was certainly not irrelevant. Another example besides Saab, would be L.L. Bean in Maine, as a current model of this kind of geographic influence on building a strong and loyal customer base over a period of time due to proxemics.

Let’s also not forget as Saab History has been recently brought up to speed on, it was General Motors that forcibly moved Saab Cars USA, Inc. in 1992 to Norcross, Georgia from It’s Orange, Connecticut campus. This decision to make this move was against not only the wishes of the Saab leadership and staff, but also against the advisement of a Boston based consultancy firm that did a 1-month review of the pros/cons of moving out of New England. Their findings, stay in New England, your number one market. It’s one thing to relocate headquarters from one place to another, but when you’ve built a loyal following and customer base over 30 years and leave, you are not just relocating, you are turning your back on your roots. It’s time to return home.

When Saab Automobile emerges from reconstruction, there will need to be a clear and concerted effort in re-establishing itself in in the United States beginning with the relocating of the Saab Automobile USA headquarters relocating back to where it began. I can envision a new low overhead headquarters in the greater Boston, Massachusetts region named “Saab Automobile of North America, Inc”, complete with the GM Heritage Center & Saab Media Archives stacks also relocated within, as the first step in the right direction.

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The Shelved Saab 9-5 / Fiat Premium Platform Of 2002

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

The Saab 9-5 that debuted in 1997 as a 1998 model year involved many years of product development and testing.

As you may also know, the 9-5 was the successor to the Saab 9000 model that was developed through a joint venture with Fiat / Lancia / Alfa Romeo dating back to the late nineteen seventies, with the Saab 600 as the first model launched from this joint venture.

There were many designers & engineers responsible for the development of the 9-5 such as Tony Catignani to Einar Hareide to Dan Chasins as well as now President of Saab Automobile AB, Jan-Ake Jonsson.

What’s interesting is that the next generation 9-5 which was supposed to debut around 2005, was planned to be developed off of a joint venture Saab 9-5 / Fiat “premium” platform. That was the original plan as Saab history has come to find out. Of course we know that original plan was shelved back in 2002 by General Motors and now the 9-5 continues on wrapping up it’s 12 year tenure with the 2009 Saab 9-5 “griffin edition”.

I would like to know if there are still any lingering products in the future that Fiat & Saab Automobile have developed, who knows, maybe there is a future between them in some fashion?

Here are the some additional details from what someone entered in WikiPedia:

GM/Fiat Premium platform
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Premium platform is General Motors and Fiat’s high-end automobile platform. The architecture debuted with the Alfa Romeo Brera. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Premium-derived models, though no GM versions are known.

The platform was mainly developed in Sweden by Saab, with input from Alfa Romeo, Holden, and Opel/Vauxhall. Saab stopped development of its Premium automobile in late 2002; the Saab models (the 9X sports car and the replacement for the 9-5 sedan) would have used an entirely different suspension than the Alfa Romeo vehicles, which would have proved too expensive. The platform debuted in 2003 with the Opel Insignia concept car, thought this vehicle was not produced. A planned Buick model was also dropped. In the end, only the Alfa Romeo models moved forward.

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Saab History Interviews Manager, Saab Automobile USA Communications, Jan-Willem Vester (2004 – 2009)

Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile USA

Jan-Willem Vester, the Communications Manager for Saab Automobile USA (2004-2009), has kindly offered his time to discuss his career as I have recapped below for our information.

A thank you to JWV for his time and reflection on his career which led to him eventually having the opportunity to work with a company he was impressed with, from the very beginning.

A month after writing this, on April 20th, 2009 to be exact, Jan-Willem was let go from General Motors and his position with GM Premium Brands, formerly Saab Automobile USA.

3/18/2009 10:00am

As we began our interview, Jan-Willem illustrated his beginnings as a young child growing up in the Netherlands with a family that worked in the automotive industry. His Father, worked as as a teacher at a local automotive school and owned a number of family vehicles such as the Peugeot 404 and 504. It was during this time, that Jan-Willem’s interest and curiousity continued in this industry where he began visiting a local auto museum in the area. It was after a number of visits to this museum, which ran numerous films that he first encountered a Saab 96 with legendary rally champion, Erik Carlsson at the Safari Rally.

As he got older, his interest and curiousity about the Saab continued even though his region was effectively split up into only two automotive enthusiasts’ camps, the BMW or the Alfa-Romeo. It made Jan-Willem wonder if there could be something like an even smarter go-between. In his travels around his neighborhood following that first taste of a Saab on film, he began noticing more Saabs in real life such as a bright white ’72 Saab 99 and an orange ’73 Combi Coupe, owned by a local architect. And so the fascination for Saab continued.

It was in the latest seventies when he really started paying attention to the Saab scene when the ’78 Cardinal red 99 Turbo was introduced, followed by the first Saab 900 5-door a year later. He indicated that these vehicles were “instant dreams”, and now wanted to figure out how he could obtain one of these.

In an effort to continue his interest in the automotive industry, he chose an academic path in the dutch language, journalism and graphic design. Following his studies, he bought his first Saab, now 5-years old, which was a ’79 Saab 900 GLs 5-Door, which later turned out to be the first milestone of almost 25 years of continuous Saab ownership.

In 1985, he accepted his first official job in the automotive industry as a journalist, with a bi-weekly publication called AutoVisie, founding magazine of the European Car of the Year election in the Netherlands. Two years later, he began receiving international travel assignments, the first big one being a trip to Detroit with General Motors. During this visit, he got to see everything from the corporate headquarters, all of the divisions including the technical design center in Warren. He was very impressed at this experience from his perspective coming from Europe as a Dutch automotive journalist.

The following year, he was invited to cover his first Saab event, the 1988 global launch of the Saab 9000 CD (Classic Design) in Nice, France. It was during this event where he first met up with a younger Bob Sinclair, then President & CEO of Saab-Scania of North America. His necktie that he showed me during last year’s 2008 Saab Owners Convention in Massachusetts is one of the pieces of memorabilia he still has from that milestone event for his Saab career.

His first exclusive Saab interview took place in early 1990, when he had an opportunity to speak with then-president of Saab Automobile AB David J. Herman shortly the formal announcement of the General Motors AG & Saab Automobile AB 50% acquisition. That was an experience he would never forget!

In April of 1991, Jan-Willem was invited to visit Trollhättan, Sweden, global headquartes for Saab Automobile AB, nearly a year and a half following the merger. During his visit, he did a feature on the Saab Car Museum while also having the opportunity to interview Bjorn Enväll, Sixten Sason’s successor and contributing designer to the Saab 99, 900, EV-1, 9000 and new generation Saab 900 models.

It was just two years later that he was hired by General Motors as PR Manager for Opel and GM U.S. Products in the Netherlands. One of the reasons he took the opportunity was that following his coverage and understanding of the merger some years earlier, he saw that there could be the opportunity to work with Saab sometime in the future, so he accepted the position. When he did make the switch from AutoVisie to General Motors, many of his friends questioned his decision, he continued his arguement that “maybe there’s a chance to work with Saab!” He worked in this capacity for approximately 4 years.

His next assignment was to transfer to the Renaissance Center in Detroit, a place he first visited 10 years earlier. He was chosen to head this position as the head of Cadillac at that point, John Smith, wanted someone from Europe on his PR team. At this point, Jan-Willem’s responsibilities included developing an international PR network prior to launching an all-new product portfolio for Cadillac while pushing for Cadillac to expand beyond the U.S. He felt like he was getting closer to his dreams now being able to be on the “inside”, and chose to get the ball rolling in buying a ’94 Saab C900 S Convertible, which he still owns and drives today. It was here during this new position, where he met Jay Spenchian, who he connected with about 7 years later as he became the Saab Automobile USA President from April, 2005 until April, 2007.

In 2001, Jan-Willem’s PR position changed internally where he took up a job as PR for product development for the GM technical development team in Warren, Michigan highlighting the work of the Vehicle Line Executive (VLE), a Canadian by the name Gene Stefanyshyn, who previously worked with Saab and Opel, 3 years respectively.

2002 was the year when Saab Cars USA, Inc. effectively began the full transition out from their headquarters in Norcross, Georgia to the Renaissance Center in Detroit. This process took two-years. In an effort to stay in the area, then Saab USA PR director Kevin Smith actually chose to take a new position at GM’s Southeastern regional office also located in nearby Atlanta doing PR for all of GM’s brands in August of 2004. This created an opening in this capacity within the newly created Saab Automobile USA brand team, now located in Detroit, Michigan at the Renaissance Center.

Jan-Willem began his new position as Manager, Communications for Saab Automobile USA in August of 2004, initially working with Debra Kelly-Ennis the then Saab Automobile USA President. Their first event together was the 2004 Saab Owners Convention that took place in Washington State. His first PR responsibilities that fall included working on the tail end of the 9-2x and new 9-3 Convertible media launches which had been introduced earlier that year.

In April of 2005, Jan-Willem reconnected with Jay Spenchian who replaced Debra Kelly-Ennis as Saab Automobile USA President. Together, they helped start the new “Born From Jets” campaign, along with Leslie Bublin, the former marketing director. Their first event involved the Saab 9-7X SUV with a ride and drive event for the media in June 6-14th in Quebec, an appropriate rugged location for the vehicle where Saab engineers Kjell-Ake Eriksson and Per Jonsson were present to discuss the Swedish engineering aspects in the 9-7X. In our discussion together Jan-Willem indicates that the 9-7x was a good “bridge product” to the 9-4x crossover that is around the corner. In June of the same year, I met Jan-Willem for the first time at the 2005 Saab Festival in Trollhättan, Sweden at Folkets Park during a very nice outdoor bar-b-que. Prior to this event Jan-Willem assisted with the media launch of the 9-3 SportCombi. A few months later we reconnected in Stratton, Vermont for the 2005 Saab Owners Convention!

2006 marked the 50th Anniversary of Saab in the United States (1956-2006), and with that, the first event of the year took place in New York, the same city where Saab’s first corporate office started, with a stand showing the Saab Sonett I at the New York Auto Show. That spring, Jan-Willem arranged to have the 2nd update of the Saab 9-5 press event in Atlanta, Georgia nearby the Delta Air museum, as a continued tribute the ongoing “Born From Jets” campaign. This year was also the 20th anniversary of the Saab Convertible, in which Jan-Willem worked with Bob Sinclair, the one who first launched the convertible twenty years earlier for a ride and drive media event in Santa Barbara, California akin to the hollywood film “sideways” as a thank you. A special limited edition anniversary edition convertible was produced, of which just 412 were manufactured for the United States . The Aero-X concept car, also debuted this year, and Jan-Willem was responsible for ensuring that it was present at the 2006 Saab Owners Convention in Lake George, New York.

In 2007, was another anniversary year, this time the 60th Anniversary of Saab Automobile (1947-2007). In January, I met with Jan-Willem in Washington, D.C. where I previously lived, to reconnect and discuss the possibility of launching a Saab event at the newly constructed House of Sweden. A month later, I was invited by Jan-Willem Vester to attend a special anniversary event in San Diego, California along with Seth Bengelsdorf of Nines Magazine, to test drive the anniversary edition Saab 9-3 and 9-5 models. Given the location, Bob Sinclair was also present which was very special, in fact, I had the privilege of having him drive with me as my passenger as we head to an air field to test drive the Saab USA Heritage Collection vehicles on a runway! Upon my arrival, I noticed that legendary Erik “On The Roof” Carlsson was also present to drive his proud SAAB 96 along with the rest of us, a great experience nonetheless! The press package for this year was incredible as Jan-Willem managed to get all of the heritage vehicles professionally photographed and presented in a press book complete with print and electronic photography! Following that event, Jan-Willem’s colleague Jay Spenchian was replaced with Steve Shannon, who continues as executive director for Saab Automobile USA as part of GM Premium brands. Later that summer, I managed to propose a Saab Television Channel to be had at the Saab Owners Convention which took place in Troy, Michigan, near Detroit, and it was accepted thanks to Jan-Willem Vester. As the Saab Owners Convention wrapped up, I managed to return to D.C. on the same flight with Jan-Willem Vester as well as John Libbos, to attend what I proposed in January that year, which was the 2008 Saab 9-3 media drive event beginning at the House of Sweden! The event was stunning, and was where I first experienced the 2008 Saab 9-3 sedan and sportcombi and cross-wheel drive, including getting the chance to meet with Knut Simonsson for the first time, again, thanks to Jan-Willem Vester.

In 2008, Jan-Willem helped organize and invite me to the Global Launch of the Saab 9-4X BioPower event at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. This was my first taste of Detroit and the GM Renaissance Center. Through his connections, I managed to interview a host of Saab management at the Saab stand which was quite helpful and informative to my visitors here on Saab History. In March of the same year, Jan-Willem invited me to the “Saab Reflective” event prior to the New York Auto Show, the following day. I attended this event with Carl Levine, and managed to film the event and also had the great time interviewing both Saab Automobile AB President, Jan-Ake Jonsson and Steve Shannon together! May of 2008 was the last event I have had the pleasure of participating with Jan-Willem on with regards to media events, which was the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X Media Drive event that took place just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Once again, Carl Levine was there to assist and cover the event here on Saab History. The last time I met up with Jan-Willem, was during the 2008 Saab Owners Convention where he showed me the tie he received 20 years earlier when he got his first taste of Saab during his first exclusive Saab event.

2009 signals a change for Saab Automobile within General Motors ownership over the past two decades since the announcement on February 17th. I have asked Jan-Willem what his roles and responsibilities will be between now and December 31st, 2009 when GM indicates that they will no longer be funding Saab Automobile AB, and thus, predictably will no longer have a Saab Automobile USA office within the renaissance Center in Detroit any longer.

In his own words he believes that he will continue to “maintain open communications with the target audiences, and believes it will help the ongoing presence in the United States”. He also said it is “too early to tell”, but is “optimistic for the future” and says that “given the importance of the United States for Saab, I cannot believe that it won’t be here in some shape or form”.

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Saab Automobile & GM Cooperate On Technology

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

Sweden’s Dagens Industri reports that Saab Automobile & General Motors have made an agreement on trademarks.

Interesting insight here, especially when it comes to reconstruction, indicating that

Here is a loosely translated version of that article that I managed to update here and there for more clarity from the original translation.

GM cooperation secured for Saab
Updated 2009-03-25 07:41

Saab Automobile reorganization group has secured the cooperation with General Motors, GM, for a long time to sell the Swedish car company. It reveals Saab Automobile CFO Lars Heron Castle. “GM will be a vital partner for Saab for at least five to ten years, where we are with a new owner has access to much of the technology we need,” says Lars Heron Castle.
di.se

“We change their technology to our offering of our safety technology, competence for chassis tuning and engine technology. But we retain our most advanced turbo technology, the reeds most safety technology and themselves, to maintain the strength of our brand,” says Lars Häger Borg, who has worked in Saab Automobile since 1997 and has an important role in the reconstruction effort.

Collaboration with GM planned so that Saab will begin with a number of cooperation agreements on technology and services that will gradually cut to be phased out after perhaps ten years and be replaced by cooperation with other partners.

This means that Saab can use GM’s platform technology to produce cars for a long time.

Reconstruction of Saab Automobile has lasted more than a month and it needs to come to closure in order to ensure market confidence. Lars Häger Borg does not believe that it is possible to have a buyer fully ready before the three-month recovery period expires.

“Our ambition is to have come far in the process during that time, with very specific facts about a new ownership structure. Then we have something to negotiate with the Government, so that it can put up a guarantee for a loan to make it easier for us to move forward, “says Lars Häger Borg.

He turns against Saab’s future opportunities are often judged on what has happened historically.

“We draw lessons from that Saab has been difficult to create profitability, but is aimed now at a future competitive Saab with acceptable profitability,” he says.

These parties are now talking with Saab may take part of descriptions of a company with an operating margin of 1-2 percent, a sale which is gradually growing and in 2013 reaches 140.000-150.000 vehicles, and a pace of development in which models are replaced after six years as competitors normally.

Saab claims that his company will meet the new objectives of a Development of 5-6 per cent of turnover, which is considerably less than the approximately 10 percent Saab has had before.

“By working smarter, it should go. It is no wonder that we have found it difficult to earn money, with full development and where the models often have been delayed or stopped. Our 9-5 model is now quite aged, and 9-3X was been out on the market before, “says Lars Häger Borg.

Buyers of Saab will be attracted by the value that has already been done in the next generation of 9-5 model and the new 9-4X. He indicated that 9-5 could be a month late and will be launched early next spring. 9-4X will be launched in the second half of next year. So far, approximately 6-8 billion invested in the new models, according to the DI.

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Saab History Interviews Mats Hilmersson, Director of Hybrid Engineering At Saab Automobile AB

Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

I have recently interviewed Mats Hilmersson, Director of Hybrid Engineering at Saab Automobile AB with some quick questions about what he does and what’s going on within the hybrid engineering department.

His succinct response about the future of hybrid engineering at Saab Automobile helps us think about the future, following the previous information from the former director Mats Reimark.

A thank you to Mats Hilmersson for his time in sharing a bit about his role and the future of Hybrid Engineering at Saab Automobile AB.

Saab History: How and when did you start working at Saab Automobile AB?

Mats Hilmersson: January 1998. Engine development.

Saab History: What you currently do for Saab Automobile AB when it comes to Hybrid Development & Engineering?

Mats Hilmersson: I’m the department manager for Hybrid Engineering at GM Powertrain Sweden AB.

Saab History: What hybrid projects are you working on, what and when would we expect to see them?

Mats Hilmersson: We do Pre-Development engineering activities within GM Powertrain’s hybrid pre-development projects. We work with different variants of GM’s exisiting technology and the next generation of hybrid systems. Concerning expectations regarding projects to the market I have to refer to the GM Information department.

Saab History: What kind of inspiration and positive news can you provide my readers about the future of Saab Hybrid products?

Mats Hilmersson: Saab will meet customer expectations regarding the future hybrid roll out. Saab is dedicated to the Responsible Performance statement and that includes a clear step towards next generation powertrains where the hybrid variants are vital. I’m confident that Saab will convince, I know it, since I’m in the middle of the technology development.

Saab History: Anything else you would like to share with the readers on Saab History?

Mats Hilmersson: It’s interesting to see the trends in the industry slowly turning towards the traditional Saab value down-sized engines with supercharging in order to reduce engine friction losses and thus reduce fuel consumption. It’s good to be able to stay on a winning path rather than having to change to it. The downsizing and hybridization works very well together, good for us!

I look forward to your response and thank you for your responses.

Mvh,

Regards
/Mats

This mail has been sent from General Motors Powertrain – Sweden AB
Registered in Sweden, Registered Office c/o Saab Automobile AB, SE-461 80
Trollhättan, Sweden
Reg Num 556602-9038
VAT Number SE55660290 3801

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The Saab Automobile Global Parts Facility Nyköping, Sweden

Posted on 23. Mar, 2009 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile AB

Saab Automobile AB has had their parts facility in Nykoping since approximately 1969 when the Saab Car Division of Saab-Scania was created when that partnership began.

This facility effectively serves up the global parts demand for Saab Automobile that you see above. If anyone has more details on this facility, please let me know.

SAAB AUTOMOTIVE AB
S-611 81 NYKOPING – SWEDEN PH. 46 0155 244000 FAX 46 0155 244608 DUNS 350275251

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