Photo Credit: Saab History

Saab History will be traveling to Detroit to join up with the others in the “SAVE SAAB” campaign, thanks to Cold Brook Saab in Skowhegan, Maine. You may recognize them from earlier, as they are the Saab dealer that have the 10-year partnership with Shipyard Brewing Company here in Portland, Maine.

The purpose of the “SAVE SAAB” campaign is to gather nearby the GM world headquarters at approximately 1pm to show unwavering Saab spirit. The Saab owners and enthusiasts traveling (some great distances) in short notice, will be lining up their Saab cars in the parking lot, holding signs, taking group photographs and speaking to the press about important it is to sell Saab.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I cannot see a future without Saab and if there are enough Saab owners, enthusiasts parked outside of the GM Renaissance center in Detroit along with good media coverage, we could really show them how serious we are in wanting Saab Automobile to be sold so that it will have a bright future.

For more details on this campaign, please visit this link.

Saab History has just learned that GM Premium Brand’s, Saab USA Advertising & Sales Promotion Manager, Steven Haener, has just left his position for another position within GM at this time.

This means that there is no longer anyone managing Saab Automobile’s advertising, promotions, merchandising efforts in the United States at a national level. It’s effectively the dealerships fending for themselves with their own regional advertising, promotional and merchandising (parts) activities at this time.

Steven Haener managed national advertising, sales and promotional activities such as the Saab Performance Drive Team Appearance & Born From Jets Mobile tour, Saab-Mavic Bicycling Partnership and the Saab-Salomon XWD Ski promotional program in the United States.

We first met in 2005 at the Born From Jets tour at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. when the tour began, and he was kind enough to connect with me there at the event.

It is unfortunate to hear that he is now, no longer there with no replacement in sight, just a week after Jan-Willem Vester, former Saab Automobile USA communications manager departed. This news also continues the trend, three months ago, since the director of marketing, Roger McCormack departed, and before that, the product director, John Libbos in December. I think that this departure makes Steve Shannon who I just interviewed, the only remaining ‘Saab USA’ employee, albeit under the ‘GM Premium Brands’ umbrella at the Saab USA HQ at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. I wonder if this is due to the fact that he is member of the Saab Automobile AB Management board?

It’s clear now more than ever before, that we need an aggressive relaunch of Saab Automobile in North America this year, because at this present time, it’s ‘effectively’ just the customers and the dealerships with some loose “support” from GM in Detroit.

Photo Credit: Saab History, February, 2007

I have recently heard that on April 20th, 2009, Jan-Willem Vester formerly of Saab Automobile USA Communications, is no longer working in this capacity.This also means that there is no longer any official voice for Saab Automobile USA, just the GM Premium brands channel.

It was just almost exactly one month ago since his departure that I managed to have an exclusive interview with him about his long career and continual interest in the Saab Automobile. It seemed like just yesterday that I met him for the first time during the picnic alongside Jan-Ã…ke Jonsson at the 2005 Saab Festival in Trollhattan, Sweden.

His responsibilities were numerous from communications to having inroads with the Saab USA Heritage Center, Video Archives and Heritage Collection, and more. I sometimes wondered how he managed to do it all so well, with a smile and humor.

In all of my communications with him, he has been incredibly professional and always followed up and certainly brought his passion for Saab to the table. It has been an honor to work with someone who is clearly a Saab enthusiast and a dedicated ambassador of the brand.

Jan-Willem, as you know started his career with Saab Automobile USA in August of 2004, when the brand team began their operations at the Renaissance Center within GM Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. In the September of 2008, Saab Automobile USA was no more, having been merged into what is known as “GM Premium brands”.

In the meantime, I wish Jan-Willem and his family well. If he’s reading this, I hope to hear from him soon and hope he attends the 2009 Saab Owners Convention with all of the other former Saab USA employees attending, now topping out over 100 strong!

All of us in the Saab community wish you nothing but the very best and thank you very much for your hard work all of these years.

Film Credit: Saab History

At the North American debut of the Saab 9-3x Cross-Combi at the 2009 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), I had the opportunity once again with the help of colleague Todd Agostini, to interview Steve Shannon, Executive Director of GM Premium Brands (Saab/Cadillac/ Hummer).

Last year, I interviewed Steve Shannon with Jan-Ake Jonsson, Managing Director for Saab Automobile USA at the NYIAS, this year, I worked with Todd of Cherry Hill Saab in New Jersey on this interview, which I must saw was quite nice in terms of the questions we asked and the answers we received.

This month of April marks the two-year anniversary of Steve Shannon’s tenure managing Saab Automobile since he replaced Jay-Spenchian back on April of 2007. I was delighted to hear his response when we reminded him of this.

A thank you to Todd of Cherry Hill Saab as well as Steve Shannon & Jan-Willem Vester of Saab Automobile USA for making the necessary arrangements for this interview to take place.

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.

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”.

Photo Credit: Saab History

This week, General Motors are submitting their ” plan” so that the United States Congress will respond with a “bridge loan”. The plan will be submitted on December 2nd, but a decision will be made on Friday, December 5th when an actual hearing is scheduled to take place.

There are a lot of rumors that are surrounding this plan, beginning with Bloomberg’s first posting that they have an “inside source” that cites that Saab is in their plan for sale.

Autoblog and the local have also followed up on this story with their own speculation as well, but I think the best piece comes from the New York Times as to what a structured bankruptcy would really mean for General Motors opposed to receiving such a “bridge loan”. It almost appears that bankruptcy would be more in GM’s interest than a loan, because as we know from the past, loans are systematically squandered by GM, so if Congress does approve, the writing will be on the wall, but we’ll see just how many “strings” are attached to this bridge loan if approved.

It should be quite an interesting week for General Motors, I just hope that Saab Automobile ends up on top!

Photo Credit: Saab Automobile USA

Saab Automobile USA President, Steve Shannon has left his position as General Manager after only 1 year 6 months of tenure, however he will be continuing in a similiar capacity while taking on additional responsibilities.

Update:

According to Saab Automobile USA Communications recently, Steve Shannon will, in addition to managing of the Saab Automobile USA brand, will now also be responsible for managing the “premium brands” which consist of Cadillac as well as Hummer.

With the tenure of less than his predecessor solely in a Saab-only capacity, Jay Spenchian at 2 years, I wonder what this means now that he’ll be working with other brands in addition to Saab.

The other big question I have here is, why can’t there be someone leading Saab Automobile USA that spends 100% of their time on Saab? I’ve been running this resource full-time for the past year and a half now, so with all of the work I have and all the work that needs to be done, I would believe that there is much more work in the capacity of a general manager at Saab USA.

Photo Credits: Saab History (Jan 2008)

As you may or may not know, the General Motors Renaissance Center is the headquarters for Saab Automobile USA and not North America as Saab Automobile Canada is located Oshawa, Ontario Canada and Saab Automobile Mexico is Mexico City, Mexico.

In the last few days, there have been a few blogs, one being autoblog and another that I will refrain from indicating, apparently misinforming people about the status of the General Motors Ren Center.

With this misinformation, I have decided to take the initiative and flat out ask the folks at GM what the status is of the Renaissance Center in Detroit (Saab Automobile USA’s Headquarters).

From rapid response I received, I am glad to hear that Saab Automobile USA’s office won’t be relocating because they’ve moved a lot over the years in their leased facilities from New York City (1956), to New Haven (1961) & Orange, Connecticut (1971) to Norcross, Georgia (1992) and finally to the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan (2004).

I leave you with the official statement about the Renn Cenn from Tom Wilkinson Director, GM News Relations

GM’s Worldwide Real Estate operations has been exploring options for monetizing the Ren Cen, a fancy word for borrowing money against the value of the building. This is a common practice for companies that don’t want to tie up large amounts of capital in real estate. The company can invest the capital in the business, and pay back the investors with income from the property.

The previous financing package on the building, initiated in 2003, expired in May 2008. At that time, GM said it would pursue a new financing opportunity when the credit and real estate markets allowed.

Because one type of financing alternative is structured as a lease-buyback, the media reported that GM was considering selling the Ren Cen.

GM has no intention of moving its corporate headquarters from its present location in Detroit. We will continue to explore financing options for the property, although the current credit and real estate markets make the timing for such a deal uncertain.

Tom Wilkinson
Director, GM News Relations

Photo Credit:Saab Automobile USA

Saab Automobile USA’s president, Steve Shannon, who I interviewed most recently at the New York Auto Show in March, will be speaking at the 2008 Saab Owners Convention.

Shannon, a native of Pembroke, Massacusetts, who I met with again this past May during the Saab 9-3 Turbo-X test drive event in North Andover, Massachusetts, said some great words about Saab’s Turbo-X, so here’s to his “State of Saab” presentation on Saturday night, at 8pm.

If you have not yet registered for the 2008 Saab Owners Convention, please do so before Sunday, August 17th, otherwise you will be unable to attend this particular segment of the convention.

I am bringing this article to light because I think it is important to share with us news that some strong undercurrents moving these days are forcing industries to change their old ways of thinking when it comes to how they think, create and otherwise affect the air, water and land in which we all live with.

Here is a snippet from the article that discusses the march a number of students initiated towards the auto industry alongside GM’s global headquarters in the renaissance center in Detroit:

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency refused in late 2007 to grant California the waiver it needs to require automakers to slash emissions, young people and college students responded. Fifty Michigan students rallied at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, demanding a clean energy economy with sustainable transportation as the centerpiece. The students marched throguh downtown Detroit dressed in green hard hats and blue coveralls – a dynamic symbol of the reinvigorating potential of green jobs and energy-efficient auto manufacturing for Michigan’s economy.

Source & Photo Credits: Solar Today May/June 2008

So here’s a question for you, what kind of responsibilities do you believe that the automotive industry has in society, with the understanding that many infrastructures today (especially in the U.S.), are dependent upon private transportation?

Secondly, what do you think that GM & Saab Automobile need to do or do more of?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credits: Saab History

The Detroit International Airport’s GM Collection Store finally shows some Saab spirit!

As my significant other was in Detroit recently, even staying a number of nights at the GM Renaissance Center, she got the chance to snap some photographs of the GM Collection store that resides in the Detroit International Airport.

I am happy to see not only the Saab 9-3 Convertible displayed in the store as well as some of the Saab Expressions items, especially since my first experience personally back in the summer of 2007. At that time I was passing through the airport to attend the Saab Owners Convention. During my walk by the GM Collection I noticed that there was no Saab representation at the store then. When I walked into the store and asked the people at the store, why I did not see any Saab items there, the people at the store said and I quote: “What’s Saab?”.

Today, I am happy to see this representation and look forward to a consistent representation here as well as any other GM related outlet in the future.

On January 15th, shortly after my visit to the GM Heritage Center, I was afforded the opportunity to visit the GM Media Archive where the “official” Saab Film collection is stored for Saab Automobile USA.

The GM Media Archive is located in Livonia, Michigan about 30 minutes from downtown Detroit and about 45 minutes from the GM Heritage Center.

Upon my arrival I was granted the ability on a per request basis per photo to take snapshots, but digital video was not an option at this high security facility. I began my visit by getting a nice introduction and primer as to how this facility was managed, how the media material is stored and safeguarded and what their backup/contingency plans are for keeping the material in the event of a disaster.

Photo Credits: Saab History

The first part of the actual tour started out with a walk through the various film libraries ranging from media in 8mm, 16mm, 35mm films to Digital Betacam. Of course, I was focused only on the the “Saab Film Collection” as I am calling it, which is a very small percentage of what this facility maintains covering all of GM’s brands. This Saab Film Collection consists of a number of films roughly totalling around 300 as I understand it, and are mostly converted over already to Digital Betacam format and in some instances, electronic format as well at this time.

I was told that these films that are housed in this collection arrived shortly after Saab Cars USA relocated to Detroit from their former headquarters in Norcross, Georgia in 2004. This material that was shipped from Norcross, was split up so that the videos would be stored here and the photos and paper material would be stored at the GM Heritage Center, for better maintainence and cataloging as I have depicted earlier.

I was then shown their computer cataloging system which gave me a good idea of what this collection consisted of, and for all intents and purposes, appears to date back to the late eighties, which is a lot later than I would have thought it did. It is great to hear that this collection exists, but I must wonder where all of the films from the late 1950′s, 1960′s, 1970′s and early to mid eighties have gone before this move? I even asked this question to some of the friendly staffers which indicate that these situations are all too common in this industry, believing that many of these collections have typically ended up in former employees hands over the years. I certainly concur, given that we have received a number of these films as donations dating back to these years from former employees for our enjoyment here on Saab History.

During my visit, I got the chance to see everything from their duplication room to their storage archive. I was initially hoping that I could walk down an aisle of Saab videos, films, etc. and just browse like I was able to in the Saab Archive back at the GM Heritage Center. This opportunity to browse, was not the case here at all. These films are all cataloged with bar codes and there were no distinctive visuals or writing cueing you into identifying them as a “Saab Video” in a browseable manner. These films are also cataloged in terms of quality, not by brand, which made browsing certainly not a realistic option. The method in which one looks up film is actually a bit easier than I thought and it is not surprisingly done by computer. Their computer system accesses a database and within that database you can narrow your search down by brand, so we of course immediately directed our efforts to everything labeled “Saab”, and not “SAAB” since the archive did not go back to 1969 or earlier. The films that showed up included a variety of areas, all classified by what was literally written on the films, so if the labeling on the film wasn’t accurate from whomever originally produced the video, neither was the description that ended up in the database. I took the opportunity at this stage to do a few hypothetical run-throughs requesting films to literally pull off of the shelf and view. The first film I viewed was a film produced in 1993 featuring Saab Cars, USA’s PR representative test driving a 1993 9000 CS model on a track (note the labeling as depicted on the photo above as “Saab 900″ being clearly incorrect here).

I was really impressed with this process where one could request a film, then they look it up in their computer database, then simply walk to where it would be located on the shelf and pull it from the bar code identification, then pop it in one of their expensive “VCRs” and play it in broadcast quality.

The ability to easily access this material in an intuitive format is great and it is nice that Saab Automobile USA has a tool like this available, but it certainly brings up again an incredibly important issue. Currently, this information is not available to the public to enjoy like I have on my website here in the Saab Video Archive. I believe, that we all need to enjoy every film in this collection in the same way we have already been enjoying the existing collection on Saab History. I owe it the myself and the Saab Community at large to see to it that we can enjoy this collection as well in a similiar method that so far, people really enjoy here on the this website. Please wish me well in this pursuit in the spirit of furthering our education on all things Saab moving ahead.

All in all, I was delighted that the schedules worked out so that I was able to get a tour of this facility shortly after visiting the GM Heritage Center earlier. This last day in the greater Detroit, Michigan area following the 2008 North American International Auto Show where the Saab 9-4x BioPower premiered was certainly a great way to end such an eventful and exciting trip.

A sincere and appreciative thank you goes to the staff at the GM Heritage Center, the staff at the GM Media Archive and Saab Automobile USA for making this happen in order to share this experience with the Saab Community.

As part of my final day in Detroit, Michigan during the 2008 North American International Auto Show, I had the fortunate opportunity and privilege to visit the GM Heritage Center where I previously visited for a dinner banquet in a group for the 2007 Saab Owners Convention back in August.

The GM Heritage Center, not open to the direct public, houses a rather large collection of vintage and rare vehicles spanning all brands which include the Saab USA Heritage Collection. This facility also has an archive where all of the current Saab Press Releases, Photographs and other material (excluding videos) are held. The purpose of my visit was to explore, identify, reconcile and best understand what this archive consisted of.

If we look back at Saab Automobile USA’s moves over the years, we now see a definitive timeline. This timeline that I depict below should help us realize that in all of the relocations that took place, the remaining material from all of these moves can and should be referred to as being now located at the GM Heritage Center in paper, photograph, slide, cd, magazine & book form.

From New York City to New Haven to Orange, Connecticut to Norcross, Georgia and finally up to Detroit, Michigan, the historical material is again in safe and in secure hands with the staff at the GM Heritage Center.

The material that I got to see, as you will you experience in a short video clip I taped as I entered the collection, indicates that there is material ranging from 1956, when SAAB Motors, Inc. had that headquarters in New York City as well as their depot facility and training school in Hingham, Massachusetts all the way to the present time.

Film Credit: Saab History

As I began to browse through each year of the collection that is comprised off the single side of the stack, I was impressed by how much was there, but I also surprised by a lot of material that I have in my collection here that “should” be there. I’m willing to bet that there are others with material that would also significantly help compliment both of our collections, Saab History’s as well as the Saab Archives at the GM Heritage Center.

Photo Credit: Saab History

After this experience going through the Saab archives at the GM Heritage Center, one thing became abundantly clear to me. The material that I have amassed over the years is without question, extremely beneficial to us because of it’s immediate “availability” online here on Saab History, and for the most part “free”. It is important that we keep this material available to the public and “free” for public consumption and over time, obtain and showcase the material that is in Saab archive at the GM Heritage Center and elsewhere, and make it also available for the public’s consumption here on Saab History. It’s great that I had the opportunity to visit this facility, but it will be even better that we all get to enjoy all of it online in the near future as well.

Immediately following my visit to the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan (approximately 45 minutes from downtown Detroit), I was also given the great opportunity to visit what is known as the “GM Media Archive”. The GM Media Archive holds the “video” portion of the Saab Archive and are also not available to the public. This facility is located in Livonia, Michigan which is equidistant from both the GM Heritage Center as well as downtown Detroit. Please expect to hear about this visit, in my next installment.

In the meantime, please check out the brand new GM Heritage Center website that they just launched to learn more about this incredible resource.

A sincere and appreciative thank you goes to the staff at the GM Heritage Center, Saab Automobile USA and of course my site sponsor, Saab Colorado, Inc. for making this happen in order to share this experience with the Saab Community.

This was certainly a historic day for Saab History!

Photo & Film Credits: Saab History

As a guest invited by Saab Automobile USA & General Motors, it was a privilege and an honor to be present for this world premiere of the first introduction of this crossover product segment for the Saab brand. I also realized that much like I did previously with the Turbo-X launch, it was important to once again provide good video coverage in addition to photography. With that in mind, I took the initiative to solicit contributions and in that process, Donald Koziol of Saab Colorado, Inc. came in at the nick of time to sign up as a site sponsor. This support ultimately faciliated the ability to cover costs to rent a professional camcorder to film the event.

I began this event by flying out early from National Airport in Washington, D.C. en-route to a blistery cold, yet clear and sunny Detroit, Michigan. This was the first time I visited this city, but the second time I visited region which took place in August during the 25th Anniversary of the annual Saab Owners Convention that was held in Troy, Michigan. On that day, I took advantage of getting acclimated to the region by seeing some of the sights through a few nice tours.

The same evening, I was invited to a limited engagement, in its second year running for General Motors, called the “GM Style Event”. The GM Style Event is an “evening celebrating artistic convergence of vehicle design, fashion and music,” said Ed Welburn, the Vice President of Global Design for GM, and a graduate of Washington, D.C.‘s Howard University Design School. It was at the GM Style Event, where Saab Automobile USA showcased the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X, the halo vehicle for Saab Automobile’s XWD ‘Cross-Wheel Drive’, which I covered the North American Premiere back in November at the Boston Auto Show, also a great event. I enjoyed this fun-filled exciting launch event because it put this vehicle in an atmosphere where enormous coverage was had in a cross-section of media outlets that wouldn’t normally be present at an auto show. This media included Style magazine and others who clearly helped to compliment the automotive industry’s coverage of not only Saab Automobile as an automotive manufacturer, but one of their most important production launches of the new year, the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X.

On Saturday, January 13th, I woke up early to get to a complimentary OnStar breakfast where along with other bloggers and social media sites, we got to see some behind the scenes perspectives from their OnStar Command Center which was conveniently located in the GM Renaissan Center. At approximately 11:20am, the much anticipated and long awaited Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept Global Launch took place at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan not more than a few blocks from where the GM Renaissance Center is located. This launch signified an important milestone for the Saab Automobile brand with what it represented. The Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept identifies among all else, two systems that will be deployed in this new “crossover” segment. These systems include the recently premiered Swedish designed and engineered XWD Cross-Wheel Drive system, recently premiered in the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X. Secondly, the 2.0 Liter inline 4-cylinder BioPower Engine, also Swedish designed and engineered which takes into consideration the use of cellulosic ethanol (E-85).

Where the Turbo-X is touted as the halo vehicle for the Saab Automobile brand with XWD ‘Cross-Wheel Drive’, the 9-4x BioPower is being referred as the halo vehicle for E-85 in North America. This concept car as stated will become available in about 1 year’s time for purchase. Unlike previous production models launched by the Saab Automobile with the ‘x’ designation, this Saab embodies more Swedish engineering, more Scandinavian Design, more Safety, more Performance, more Utility and therefore has more Saabiness all integrated into a well planned and executed concept car. It is also important to know that this concept currently embodies approximately 85-90% of what we will see in the final production model. With this in mind, and as the recent poll that I have posted here on Saab History suggests, it appears that these figures will not be a problem as the general consensus in the Saab community appears to be giving this vehicle a warm welcome to the Saab product range as-is. It is good that Saab can now proactively compete in this segment, especially with the statistics where nearly 40% of Saab owners moved into other brands for SUV or CUV type vehicles as President of Saab Automobile AB, Jan Ã…ke Jonsson, states. This important day for Saab Automobile with the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept launch also meant that the embargo, I respected, was now officially released so I could post the complete media press kit on it.

Immediately following this premiere for Saab Automobile, I began to prepare for a number of scheduled interviews on the premiere stage as well as the Saab stand whichwere pre-arranged with GM’s Social media department. Their preparation, attentiveness and hard work that day as well the following day allowed for more than a fair share of informative interviews by Saab Automobile representatives in Sweden, the United States and Germany. These interviews were quite important for many reasons, for starters, it was immediately important for face time in order for us to contextualize the people that are responsible for the direction of Saab Automobile’s future. Secondly, better understanding the what, why, when and how aspects of that direction for Saab Automobile. These interviews also provided more than I expected, in particular with some great insight reflecting into Saab’s incredible history as way to harness this past to move the brand ahead in the future. They also provided some extremely educational information about where Saab is today, namely the reasons why the Saab 9-4x BioPower was designed, how it was designed and what it means for the Saab Automobile brand. There were numerous other take-aways from these interviews that I suggest you enjoy as well at your leisure in order to form your own opinions.

The Engineers:

The first area I focused on was within the area of engineering by the chief engineer behind the entire Saab BioPower program in Sweden from the beginning, none other than Kjell ac Bergström. Kjell ac Bergström, President & CEO of Saab Automobile AB’s powertrain, illustrated the ongoing developments of this important program for Saab Automobile and their energy priorities today while also explaining the capabilities of the powertrain in the new Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept. The other engineer I met with was Kjell-Åke Eriksson who is the vehicle line director for Saab Automobile. During our interview, one of the most important take aways I had, was the fact that he describes the Saab Automobile brand today is more focused on the automobile side of things whereas during the Saab-Scania era, it had more of a focus on the industrial side with regards to heavy trucks and the aircraft industries. If we look at the technical specifications of the Saab 9-4x BioPower as a consideration, I am beginning to finally see this prioritization today.

The Designers:

The Saab Designers that were present during and available at the Saab Stand following the world premiere of the Saab 9-4x BioPower were Anthony Lo, Mark Adams, Andrew Dyson and Bryan Nesbitt respectively. I first met with Anthony Lo, who I had chatted with online a week prior to the event on a GM Next website opened up to people in the social media arena. Anthony Lo began working with Saab in 2000 and worked alongside longtime friend and colleague, Michael Mauer, Saab Automobile’s former design chief. Anthony Lo, who has had a huge run on concept car design with Saab since then, being responsible for the Saab 9-X, Saab 9-3X, Saab 9-3 Sport Hatch, Aero-X had nothing but truly positive news and inspiration for the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept. It was nice to hear in his own words, how the distinctive design elements were designed such as the newly raked 3-port fully opened grille, signature lighting in the glass-block inspired headlights & tail lights, the aircraft inspired sleek design, especially with the wrap-around windshield, c-pillars and more. Mark Adams, the VP of GM Europe Design who manages Saab’s design staff both in Russellheim as well as in other global design studios, indicated that they are well trained and have a good handle on Saab’s design philosophy thanks to the incredible nucleus that makes up the Saab Brand Center in Sweden. Mark helped to clarify how the Saab Brand Center in Sweden closely manages the design process from conception to production. This was helpful understanding the relationships in the design process. The Chief Designer of Advanced Design at the GM Europe Design Center, Andrew Dyson gave quite a bit of time to explore the design intent of the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept that he was entirely responsible for overall. His pride in the execution was clearly exhibited by the attention to detail in the walk-around exploratory style interview we did. I enjoyed the information he was able to share, but also was happy to hear that he was a Saab Enthusiast and currently drives a 1989 Saab 900 “Aero” as his daily driver. It’s good to hear that his inspiration also comes from real life experience from piloting an original classic Saab 900. The Final Designer I spent time with was Bryan Nesbitt, who I met and interviewed back in November at the Boston Auto Show. This time around, Bryan Nesbitt offered some impressive and convincing reasons why Saab chose to execute the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept and how those signature cues as he describes will be continued moving ahead in Saab’s future product offerings. The detail communicated by Bryan about how Saab was previously “invisible” in terms of brand visibility is a significant take away from this interview and it is now beginning to be quite clear to me why this new design language is the way it is, using the more prominent SAAB grille lettering as an example.

The Management:

The direction in my interviews continued into upper management of Saab Automobile as a whole, beginning with the chairperson of Saab Automobile, Carl-Peter Forster. Carl-Peter Forster is the GM Europe President as well as Chairperson for Saab Automobile and has been instrumental in drumming up financial support for the brand recently. It was great to hear what he had to say with specific mention about how support was previously directed to areas that people really did not notice or directly appreciate, and now that is changing. This was certainly good news and helpful in understanding some of the decisions over the past 5 years with the brand and the products. If we look at the current direction of Saab Automobile in Sweden as well as the United States, we see Jan-Ã…ke Jonsson as the current President of Saab Automobile AB and Steve Shannon of Saab Automobile USA. Jan-Ã…ke as well as Steve Shannon both offered their time to answer some questions with me on camera shortly after the world premiere. I first met with Jan-Ã…ke Jonsson at the 2005 Saab Festival in Trollhättan, Sweden at Folkets Park during the Saturday evening dinner after being introduced to him by former Saab Automobile USA President, Jay Spenchian. I was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to interview him during the 2008 NAIAS in Detroit, Michigan. My immediate take away from this interview is that I think the focus looks strong, directed and bright for Saab’s future looking ahead with the “right products” coming soon. My interview with Steve Shannon gave some strong indications that the new Saab 9-5 will also be launched about the same time as the production version of the Saab 9-4x does. This is truly great news for the brand and I also understand that both will be sharing similiar design characteristics, and that sounds like a great idea, given that they were both inspired by the much appreciated Saab Aero-X Concept car that continues to be showcased as the halo vehicle for Saab Automobile’s future design direction.

The Communication:

Eric Geers, the Director for Global Communications of Saab Automobile was one of my final subjects and was very excited and direct with the answers to all of my questions and for that, I am very appreciative and thankful. His Twenty One years working with Saab in multiple capacities really shows as he indicates that Saab’s past has not been consistent in their products which has translated in the way they communicate who they are. Today, be believes that the company is better focused and has prioritized their work in order to focus on consistency and clarity in the brand and image portrayed on a global scale. I think you will agree with him, after you enjoy his convincing interview with me.Roger McCormack, Saab Automobile USA’s appointed Marketing Director although newly appointed was kind enough to offer up some good information about Saab Automobile’s new plans for advertising & marketing in the United States. From this interview, it seems abundantly clear that the Born From Jets campaign will be continued, and consistency is a plus, but it will be more understated. What will be heavily communicated now, are the brand pillars in concert with the Scandinavian and Aircraft inspirations in the new advertising campaign with the new advertising agency that is working with Saab USA, McCann-Erickson. These brand pillars will be more detailed, defined and elaborated on, so that clarity and education about the new product offerings in the United States are clear to perspective customers. As Roger McCormack stated, Saab Automobile USA is now starting fresh with new eyes both internally at Saab USA and externally with McCann-Erickson on a new campaign, so this new beginning should have the most flexibility to get these advertising campaigns right. With the right products coming out such as the the 9-3 Turbo-X and Aero models with cross-wheel drive, and the BioPower vehicles also in due time, this new advertising campaign is now the most critical component of Saab Automobile’s future in the United States.

The Consumer:

This interview comes from a completely different perspective, that of one being an actual end-user of the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept by the name of Kaj Zackrisson who is a professional skier who is sponsored by the Saab-Salomon collaboration. Kaj was introduced to this particular project for Saab during the design process in order to best explore some practical utilitarian ski equipment storage solutions which really turned out quite nicely.

The Press:

The positive responses from the press & other media outlets as a result of the world premiere of the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept for Saab Automobile have been simply in support of this idea and direction.

Hear what they have to say:

“Saab Boasts BioPower for a New Crossover” – The New York Times

“This little Saab gets more powerful when running green.” – CNET

“A mix of ‘road car and crossover’ technology” – Autocar

The Enthusiast:

There were numerous takeaways from this world premiere of the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept for me:

I should start by stating that as an owner of a 1992 Saab 900 Turbo 3-Door also in white, there were a lot of parallels in terms of design and technology that immediately came to my attention. These parallels consist of the following:

On Performance, both Saabs include a Swedish 2.0 Liter turbocharged engine, one that runs off of gasoline coupled with a Garret Turbocharger, the other that runs off of 85% Ethanol and includes a zero-lag Twin-Scroll Turbocharger.

On Transmission, they both have a strong transmission, one that employs a solid front-wheel drive system with ABS, the other that involves a sophisticated Swedish designed and engineered cross-wheel drive system combined with an electronic limited slip differential.

On Safety, both Saabs have airbags and safety cages but one has the third generation of the Saab Active Head Restraint System first issued in the first year of the Saab 9-5 model back in 1998.

On Utility, both use a hatchback utility function where one offers up to 56.5 cubit feet of storage and the other exceeds that.

On Design (exterior), both in white include 3-port grille, signature headlights & foglights as well as a distinctive wrap-around windshield and Saab hockeystick C-pillar design cue and that’s just the beginning. The wheels that both vehicles use are directional aluminum alloy, aircraft inspired wheels, and both are asymmetrical.

On Design (interior), the 900 and 9-4x both include similiar shapes in the cockpit inspired interior that utilize green lighting throughout, just in different interpretations, arrangements, and shades. The innovation of the ignition key location of course, continues to be strategically located in the center console just as they have done since 1969, as Svenska Aeroplan Aktie Bolaget (SAAB).

All in all, the connections between past & present with the new Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept are numerous and I am extremely delighted to welcome this new segment into the Saab Automobile brand.

I am also thankful that Saab Automobile & General Motors were able to invite me as their guest to the 2008 North American International Auto Show this year to cover this important world premiere in Detroit. I would also like to thank my all of the Saab enthusiasts that supported this effort in raising some extra funds to cover miscellaneous expenses. Of course, I also want to show my gratitude to Saab Colorado, Inc. in Denver, Colorado for sponsoring the site and helping to keep the continuity of video coverage for events like this here on Saab History.

I lastly want to thank everyone who visits this site and supports my efforts, for believing in me, the purpose of Saab History, and that a resource like this is an extremely important and integral part of continuing Saab Automobile’s history in a fun, intuitive and educational way now and into the future, for generations to come.

I hope that you have been thoroughly enjoying this content that I bring to you and that it continues in the same high quality enthusiast driven fashion that you have come to expect.

- Ryan / Saab History

Film Credit: Saab History

I had the great opportunity to get a taste of Saab Automobile’s new advertising direction thanks to an interview with Roger McCormack, Saab Automobile USA’s new Marketing Director.

Roger McCormack has been working as Saab Automobile USA’s product manager for the past year and a half and now has the new opportunity as Marketing Director as of the first of this year.

From this interview, it seems abundantly clear that the Born From Jets campaign will be continued, and consistency is a plus, but it will be more understated. What will be heavily communicated now, are the brand pillars in concert with the Scandinavian and Aircraft inspirations in the new advertising campaign with the new advertising agency that is working with Saab USA, McCann-Erickson.

As Roger McCormack stated, Saab Automobile USA is now starting fresh with new eyes both internally at Saab and externally with McCann-Erickson on a new campaign, so this new beginning should have the most flexibility to get these advertising campaigns right. With the right products coming out such as the the 9-3 Turbo-X and Aero models with cross-wheel drive, and the BioPower vehicles also in due time, this new advertising campaign is now the most critical component of Saab Automobile’s future in the United States today.

Film Credit: Saab History

Steve Shannon, President of Saab Automobile USA was on hand during the 2008 NAIAS at the Saab stand to entertain an interview by Saab History. I am glad that he was able to share his time and insight into Saab’s future, specifically in the United States market.

One of the most interesting pieces of information I think is worth mentioning from this interview is that the new Saab 9-5 appears to be taking on design characteristics of both the Saab Aero-X concept as well as the Saab 9-4x BioPower Concept, so this means that the new 9-5 design will be quite unique, but also very connected to other models in the Saab brand. This consistency should certainly help refine and bring more clarity to Saab’s image in the decade ahead.

Thanks again to Saab Automobile USA, General Motors, Saab Colorado, Inc. and of course my devoted visitors like myself who are Saab owners, perspective customers and of course passionate enthusiasts.

Photo Credits: Saab History

I must say that while I spent most of my time at the Saab stand througout the 2008 NAIAS in order to maximize the experience, the Scandinavian influence was clearly present. This presence communicated through the semi-transparent ice-block inspired flooring to the electronic displays integrated into curved partitions was unlike any other automobile manufacturer’s showcase and clearly got people’s attention.

This being said, I also must admit that the consistency was clearly also apparent from Saab Automobile’s global marketing department and I wonder if this will be showcased even more in the North American market like it was here at the 2008 North American International Auto Show.

This consistency from the global brand image to the North American brand image in my opinion should also continue in not only the auto show events like this one, but also the advertising area as well. I believe that much like this stand, the “Born From jets” campaign in the United States can be continued as a more subtle tagline while elaborating on the brand pillars such as Safety, Efficiency, Performance, Design, Practicality, and individuality in a more “intelligent” way.

Having the opportunity to meet with Saab Automobile USA’s new advertising & marketing company, McCann-Erickson briefly, I did get the idea that this was the direction that the new campaign would be heading. I hope that with more input from the Saab community, we can seriously provide some input into ensuring that this new advertising campaign is bulletproof.

Consistency & Communication while Connecting to the Community of perspective Saab owners both new and existing are Critical in this new opportunity for Saab Automobile USA’s advertising campaign.

Film Credit: Saab History

This evening, I covered the GM Style event. This event acts as the introduction of the 2008 North American International Auto Show and what an event it was. This celebrity & design inspired event featured music celebrities such as Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, as well as Kid Rock. If you get the chance to watch this footage of these celebrities talking, I think you will enjoy it. I was able to ask at least one question to Maroon 5 which was “If they write their music, do they think about how it would sound when driving and listening to it afterwards”? Check out their response! These celebrity discussions will be live on GM’s website shortly as a webcast, so please tune into that when you have time.

Here again is the snippet about the event:

GM Style will be held in a football field-size, climate-controlled pavilion on the Detroit River, just east of GM’s Global Headquarters at the Renaissance Center, and will be simulcast on gm.com. In addition to kicking off the world’s largest auto show, which opens to the media the following day, GM Style kicks off a series of activities, called GMnext, leading up to the start of GM’s next 100 years. The corporation turns 100 on Sept. 16, 2008.

At the GM Style Event, I managed to capture the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X which was one of the vehicles showcased at the event. One thing I should point out in this video, for the first time, the Saab Turbo-X was showcased without the wheels indicated in the Turbo-X North American premiere back at the Boston Auto Show I filmed in November, why is that?

A thank you again goes to new site sponsor, Saab Colorado, Inc. of Denver, Colorado, I was able to film this and the rest of the NAIAS! Please enjoy the segment that featured the only Saab displayed amongst the other GM brand products, the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X above.

It’s good to see everyone applause when the Saab Turbo-X came out onto the stage, I know I was excited!

Photo Credit: Saab History

I landed safely this morning in sunny, Detroit, Michigan For The 2008 NAIAS. The weather is beautiful, a bit cold, but great for photographs as you can see above.

Tonights schedule looks quite interesting, which is known as the GM Style Event. At this event, I understand there will be an appearance of the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X amongst the celebrities and others that will be present. I will be doing my best to cover this event, so wish me well!

Here is a summary about the GM Style Event from the GM Media website:

GM Style will be held in a football field-size, climate-controlled pavilion on the Detroit River, just east of GM’s Global Headquarters at the Renaissance Center, and will be simulcast on gm.com. In addition to kicking off the world’s largest auto show, which opens to the media the following day, GM Style kicks off a series of activities, called GMnext, leading up to the start of GM’s next 100 years. The corporation turns 100 on Sept. 16, 2008.

Photo Credit: General Motors

This week I am preparing for my travels up to Detroit, Michigan for the 2008 North American International Auto Show that begins on Saturday, January 12th, 2008 and runs until Tuesday, January 15th, 2008.

The much anticipated Saab Premiere of the 2009 Saab 9-4x Crossover Concept will be premiering at the NAIAS on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 11:20am.

I won’t be posting much between now and then, so please sit tight and be patient while I get you the high quality material you have come to expect here on Saab History.

Photo Credit: Nordic Reach

Nordic Reach has again granted Saab History permission to repurpose an article about Steve Shannon, current President of Saab Automobile USA who stands alongside Knut Simonsson, Executive Director, Global Brand & Sales Operations for Saab Automobile AB in Sweden.

Both Steve Shannon (right) and Knut Simonsson (left), are posing at the arlie airfield in Warrenton, Virginia during the Saab 9-3 Media Drive this past August here in the Washington, D.C. area. It is good to mention that I enjoyed the company of Knut Simonsson who was my co-pilot during the test-drive that took place on the second day of the event from Washington, D.C. to the airfield. There was a lot of interesting material I learned about Saab’s future and I look forward to meeting him again for a good interview.

In the meantime, enjoy the piece below that involves Steve Shannon.

In The Driver’s Seat

Quick Look At:

Steve Shannon, who has had a stellar career with GM that’s taken him from field sales, marketing, and product planning in both the US and Europe – most recently and until the beginning of this year as General Manager of Buick – to now serving as General Manager of Saab USA. Shannon started working with GM in 1982, and his appointment to the position with Saab is generally seen as a sign of GM’s strong commitment to the Swedish-born brand.

Lives in: Bloomfield Hills, MI with Wife Cindy and three kids
Last Read: Freakonomics
Last seen on TV or Big Screen: The Office
Favorite Pastime: Watching his children’s sports activities
Stays fit by: Biking – completed his first cycling “Century”
(100 miles) ride in one day this past summer.
Drives: Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible, Nocturne Blue/Blue Top

With a BA from Harvard and an MBA from Columbia, are you the stereotypical Saab driver?

Doing my best to fit in, I can certainly relate to most of the Saab circle of friends. Where I still lage is in years of ownership. We have many longtime faithful Saab owners – one of them just logged a million miles in his 1989 SPG. Makes me realize that I have a long way to go…

Your all-time favorite car model (other than a Saab)?

1953 Buick Skylark

Your favorite Saab?

Black Turbo – both for its classic guise from the 80′s as well as its modern-day execution, in the 2008 Turbo X with 280 hp V6 and Cross-Wheel Drive. One and the other are clearly born from Jets!

What do you predict for the future of Saab?

It is bright because Saab brings a young, affluent and well educated customer group to General Motors, which the corporation otherwise would not reach. In return, GM is investing in Saab with an array of new products, patterned after the universally well-received Saab Aero-X concept car.

What would you like people to know about you?

I donated one of my kidneys to my son.

Have you ever made Swedish meatballs?

No, but I have eaten my fair share!

Steve Shannon was also recently in attendance at the 8th annual Swedish Car Days in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Preview: Turbo X Enthusiasm

11.12.2007

By Steve Shannon
Saab Automobile USA General Manager

I want to infect you with the same enthusiasm I’m feeling for the upcoming Boston Auto Show, which opens to the press just after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27.

You see, at the Boston show the ultra-hot Saab Turbo X will make its North American debut. Bringing the ultimate expression of Saab performance to U.S. soil is pretty cool in itself.

But now, imagine if you will, adding a recently acquired classic 1985 Saab 900 Turbo SPG, to the debut. Now that’s REALLY exciting. I don’t think I’m alone in my excitement. I fondly recall my younger days on the East Coast and seeing the first of the Black Turbos zipping along Wall Street, Madison Avenue and even on some university campuses. Saab really rocked in the mid-80s, beating sales records month after month, reaching an all-time high in 1986. Saab had cult car status. I can’t wait to see it again.

So, maybe it’s a little bit of “back to the future” (maybe black to the future would be more appropriate) that’s put a little extra spring in my step. Maybe it’s the fact that the limited edition Saab Turbo X is a superb modern-day interpretation of a classic. Maybe it’s visiting my old stomping grounds again. Maybe it’s just that Saab is a great place to be right now. Maybe it’s all of the above.

Should the “blog lords” allow, I’ll be back with more on the Turbo X and the Boston Auto Show later this month. Right now, I just wanted to share a little bit of my anticipation with you.

Photo Credit: Saab Aero Academy

This just in from the Saab Owner’s Convention committee:

If you plan on attending the 2007 SOC, and have thought about entering in the track event, now is the time to sign up for it and register for the convention as well. A special thank you goes out to the SOC committee as well as the Saab Aero Academy in Atlanta, Georgia for providing a great track photograph with a moment’s notice.

You will be in for one incredible time around the track with your beloved Saab, so please sign up today.

Here is the recent press release from the SOC team regarding the Saab Autocross event at the 2007 Saab Owner’s Convention in Troy, Michigan.

The SOC07 track event is now going to be a one-day event, held on Thursday August 23rd at Waterford Hills (same setting as before). Due to the low response so far, we had to make a decision for the track, so took a more realistic approach of offering a lower-cost one-day event for $175. Based on some initial responses, this may go over well, as some people have expressed a concern about getting additional time off to attend this. We still need more people to sign up for it to be a “go”, however, as we cannot subsidize this for a handful of people. However, the overhead is much lower, so it will take less than 30 for it to fly… all good news for those of you who want to or are considering attending.

We hope this appeals to everyone, but if its not a “go”, please understand we are doing our best to offer reasonably-priced competitive events to those interested among the Saab community. Continue to watch www.saabconvention.org for updated information. Registration is available at http://soc2007.eventbrite.com

Where: Waterford Hills Road Racing facilities which are located on the grounds of the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club, 4770 Waterford Road, Clarkston, MI 48346.

When: August 23rd, Time: All Day – 9am-5pm

Who: Anyone can participate, but they must pre-register asap.

Image Credit: Great Lakes Saab Club

The 2007 Saab Owners Convention is just 37 days away from us now and with that in mind, it is a good time for another reminder. The Saab Club of North America and the Great Lakes Saab Club are proud to host this years 25th Annual Saab Owners Convention. The Saab Owners Convention or “SOC” will be taking place in Troy, Michigan between August 23rd and the 26th, 2007.

It has been mentioned that the expected attendance is well over 1000 Saab owners and Enthusiasts from from North America and abroad will be participating in this truly incredible event. This 25th year of the Saab Owners Convention will have a strong emphasis on the Saab heritage because 2007 marks the the 60th anniversary of Saab Automobile.

Some of the convention highlights include confirmed guests such as rally legend, Erik Carlsson, Saab Museum curator Peter Backström. In addition, current Saab Automobile USA President, Steve Shannon will be unveiling a new 2008 production model Saab. You can also expect an expanded Saab Automobile USA Heritage Collection to be on display throughout the convention.

There will even be an autocross as well as a dyno to really test both the performance and real world capabilities of your Saab!

Here is a recent press release from the Saab Owners Convention committee and don’t forget to register online below as soon as possible.

The 2007 Saab Owners Convention is just 38 days away. Register now!!!

Don’t forget, the track event is dependent on 35 paid attendees by August 10th or it will be canceled.

Onsite hotel rooms are still available at the Troy Hilton.

What awaits you at the 25th Annual SOC?

Hightlights:

* US model release of the 2008 Saab 9-3 with an introduction by newly appointed head of Saab USA, Steve Shannon.
* Keynote speaker Fritz Henderson
* Born From Jets interactive display trailer
* Tours of the GM Heritage Center which also serves as host venue for the Saturday evening buffet
* Round table with members of Saab USA
* Saab Club of North America annual membership meeting
* Saabs, Saabs, and (you guessed it) more Saabs
* Tech sessions, Seminars, Parts Tent, Vendors Area, Concours d’ SAAB, People’s Choice, and more!
* Autocross Track Event at 7 minutes, 36 seconds into this link to the 2004 Saab Owner’s Convention video.

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Important Resources:

Saab Owner’s Convention Website (Information)

http://www.saabconvention.org

Saab Owner’s Convention (Lodging)

Troy Hilton

Saab Owner’s Convention(Registration)

Questions: Please direct all inquiries regarding the Saab Owner’s Convention by either contacting SOC committee directly or simply contacting Saab History and we’ll do our best to forward the questions to the right individual(s)