Photo Credit: Saab Automobile AB

In the next month or so, Saab Cars North America is expected to launch an all out marketing blitz as part of the launch of the all new Saab 9-5 in the United States according to Business Week.

“There’s a huge wave of media and communication” that will start in Sweden when the 9-5 goes on sale June 19, Adrian Hallmark, executive director of sales, said in a phone interview. Saab will spend more than $150 million on marketing in the second half of 2010 after spending “nothing” on promotions since the sale by GM, he said.

The All New Saab 9-5 has been launched to the media over the past few weeks. There have been approximately 250 international journalists and bloggers that have attended the event. The video above depicts this experience from a behind the scenes perspective.

Experience the launch of Saab’s new 9-5 from a journalist’s perspective with a 24 hour programme condensed into just a few minutes. Behind the scenes footage including presentations, factory tours and test driving.

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile AB

The reviews of the 2010 Saab 9-5 begin to arrive from the international press. If you know of reviews that are not listed here, please add them below in the comments.

United States

Automobile Magazine – “My, how you’ve grown”

Auto Critical – “Ready for take off!”

Autoblog – “Skål!”

Car & Driver – “Retro Cues, Not Retro Design”

The Detroit Bureau – “Worth the wait…and more’s coming.”

Racer – “This is by far the best Saab ever made”

Auto Week - “Competent? Absolutely. Exciting, maybe not so much.”

Popular Mechanics – “The new 9-5 is a worthy also-ran in an incredibly competitive class”

United Kingdom

MSN U.K. “It’s certainly something different and it’s decent”

The Telegraph “Blame GM for its shortcomings”

Car Magazine – “Is the new 9-5 going to rip up the rulebook? Hardly.”

Auto Trader – “The new Saab 9-5 is a tremendous statement of intent”

Auto Express U.K. – “If you are looking for the ultimate driver’s machine, this Saab clearly isn’t it.”

What Car – “The 9-5 is a stylish, unfussy car”

France

Auto Info – “It remains only to wish that this new Saab model is that of the new era.”

Motor Legend – “Sophisticated equipment”

Caradisiac – “car of renewal”

Sweden

TTELA – “The car sits glued to the road. It is quiet and comfortable,”

Expression – “You can not ignore “the new Saab”

E24- Pure “saabismina”

Italy

Motori24 – “Saab back on track with the new 9-5″

Singapore

The Straits Times – “Saab has a real shot at success with this one.”

The first all new Saab 9-5 promotional video has just arrived, please let me know what you think!

“The film ‘Introducing The New Saab 9-5 ‘ was produced in mid May. It will be the intro to the new 9-5 section on the Saab website. It was done in Saab’s photo studio in Vänersborg and location shots in central Gothenburg. Art direction and project management has been done by Saabs agency Valentin & Byhr and film production by Edit house, both located in Gothenburg.

Henrik Gustafsson, Art Director, Valentin & Byhr
Niclas Bergman, Film Director, Edit House
Jens Jansson, Photography, Edit House”

Just three months after its sale by General Motors, Saab Automobile is hosting 250 of the world’s top media at its state-of-the-art production plant at Trollhattän in Sweden. They are hearing about what has been achieved so far, test driving the all new 9-5 sedan and receiving updates on the company’s future plans.

The two men responsible for Saab’s renaissance – Victor Muller, Saab Automobile Chairman and Spyker Cars CEO, and Jan Ake Jonsson, CEO of Saab Automobile – give candid assessments of progress and talk about their expectations for the success of the all new Saab 9-5.

Journalists attending are the first in the world to drive Saab’s much-anticipated new flagship model, which arrives in dealerships this summer. Unusually for a car manufacturer launching a new product, Saab chose to host the event at its own factory, underlining the company’s commitment to its Scandinavian roots.

Reuters has recently written a good article about how Saab is putting their hopes on the all new Saab 9-5 in order to rebuild the company’s brand identity, now that they are owned by Spyker.

Saab pins hopes on new 9-5 after Spyker rescue

* First model since Saab take over by Spyker

* Goal is to “rebuild confidence and trust”

* Entire line-up to be overhauled within two years

By Reed Stevenson

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden, June 1 (Reuters) – Saab is launching its first new car, the flagship 9-5, as it hopes to restore buzz and sales to the iconic Swedish brand after its rescue earlier this year by Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker (SPYKR.AS).

Amid anaemic demand — global auto sales sank 13 percent in 2009 to a seven-year low — Saab is aiming to more than double yearly sales to 85,000 by 2012 to avoid losses. Last year, it sold nearly 40,000 cars.

At Saab’s headquarters in Trollhattan, where thousands of employees gathered in January to cheer Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller’s gutsy $400 million deal to buy Saab from General Motors [GM.UL], Saab’s chief executive promised to restore the brand and the company at a launch event on Tuesday.

“The biggest challenge we have right now is to rebuild confidence and trust,” Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson said.

Read more »

Here’s a video of the 2010 Saab 9-5 undergoing product development and production at Saab’s headquarters in Trollhattan, Sweden

Photo Credit: TTELA

Saab Automobile has invited 250 international journalists to Trollhättan today to test drive the all new 2010 Saab 9-5 Sedan.

Here’s a snippet from the Local that are reporting on it as well as a link to Trollhattan’s own TTELA who also have reviewed it.

After many months of waiting, 250 foreign journalists visited Trollhättan on Monday to test Saab Automobile’s new flagship vehicle, the new second-generation Saab 9-5.

The verdicts of the journalists will be a crucial test of Saab’s efforts to convince the world that it has a future. Since the 9-5 was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September, the company has been fighting for its survival.

Read more »

Interview With Saab’s Vehicle Line Executive, Anders Svensson on the all new 2010 Saab 9-5.