Saab will stay 'a little bit different'
 |
|
||||||||||
DALLAS - These are tumultuous times for Saabers.
First, the passionate owners of Saab's Swedish-made cars learned a year ago that General Motors was increasing its 50 percent stake in the automaker to 100 percent. Then Saab, the new GM subsidiary, said it intends to double its sales in the United States over the next five years.
All of which has some Saabers wondering: Is one of the auto industry's great eccentrics about to be fitted with pinstripes and shoved into the mainstream?
"Of course not," said Daniel B. Chasins, president of Saab Cars USA. "I think our appeal is broader today, and we want that. But we are still different. And if we are known as a little bit different, that's OK.
"Over time, there will inevitably be more possibilities to have shared opportunities with (GM)," he added. "But everything that drives Saab is based in Sweden - not Detroit."
In 1999, Saab sold 39,541 cars in the U.S. - a tiny number compared with more conventional makes. But that was a 28.6 percent increase over the previous year, and Chasins expects about a 5 percent growth in sales this year. Saab's biggest year here was 1986, when it sold 47,414 cars.
The automaker has only two basic models: the 9-3 and the slightly larger 9-5 - platforms that Saab uses to build 13 varieties of coupes, sedans, convertibles and station wagons. The cars range in price from about $26,500 to $45,000.
By 2005, Saab plans to increase its major models to four, including a sport-utility vehicle of some sort.
"We think growth will be fairly modest this year and next," Chasins said. "But the flow of new product will start with model year 2003, which will be late 2002, and we anticipate strong growth then."
Between now and then, the company also hopes to more clearly define the Saab brand, which is often overshadowed by the other Swede, the much better-selling Volvo.
Among its cult-like owners - who now provide GM with some of its best demographics - Saabs are relished for their unorthodox blend of style, performance and safety. Their ignition switches have been on the console for years, for example, and previous Saabs had upright, wrap-around windshields that appeared to have been lifted from an old, small airplane.
In addition, in an era of V-6 and V-8 engines, Saab extracts big performance from small, turbocharged four-cylinder power plants.
The company says it is developing a variable-compression five-cylinder engine that will produce the power of an engine twice its size but use 30 percent less fuel and have 30 percent fewer emissions.
"To be honest, our image is not as clear as we would like it to be," Chasins said. "If BMW is all about driving pleasure and Volvo has the high ground in safety and Audi is the style leader, Saab is right in the middle of all of those - and typically a better value than the others. It's a little bit the conundrum of how do you express that when you do a lot of things well?"
Saab is viewed mainly as just being "different," says Jim Mateyka, vice president of Michigan-based A.T. Kearney, the industry's largest automotive consultant.
"I see Saab moving away from this quirky image and moving more to an image of cool," said Carl Sewell, chairman of the Dallas-based Sewell Automotive Cos. "It's got a touch of fashion about it, because it is unique. What we're trying to do is take Cadillac and Lexus treatment and provide it to Saab customers."
"They really had fallen on such hard times that Saab was the dusty car in the corner of a multi-make showroom," Mateyka said. "I think a guy like Sewell has the opportunity to build an image for them there."
Saab wants to be seen "as safe, sporty and a thinking man's car," he said. "Certainly, they want to be seen as an alternative to a Mercedes or BMW. They view themselves as a more engineered car than a Volvo."
GM's purchase of Saab has provided an infusion of cash that the company is using to develop new products and expand in areas outside its traditional sales base in the Northeast.
In the Southwest, Saab considers Sewell to be a big part of its ambitious plans. According to Saab's demographics, the typical buyer is a college graduate in his or her mid-40s with a household income of more than $100,000. They are divided more or less evenly between men and women.
For now, many Saabers are guardedly optimistic about the car's survival in the GM era, said Clay McNeely of Hereford, Texas, president of the Saab Club of Texas. Some also think that Saab has its best chance in years to grow.
"All I know is that no matter what the outcome is, Saab has been a major part of many peoples' lives," McNeely said in an e-mail. "Saab will always live in the hearts of many, and, depending on the decisions of a few people, may continue to grow in the future."