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Saab has made plans to use its upcoming independence from GM to become the ‘Apple of car brands’.

Knut Simonsson, the Saab’s director of Global Brand and Sales, told a Dutch auto magazine that the Saab DNA underpinning future models will be represented by "innovation, aircraft history and Scandinavia". This can be summed up by the idea of “independent thinking” he said.

Saab could ape Apple by having a small market share but appearing to be much bigger, said Simonsson. It would be...Read the full article

Autocar:

Saab’s director of Global Brand and Sales, told a Dutch auto magazine that the Saab DNA underpinning future models will be represented by "innovation, aircraft history and Scandinavia".

Appropriate that he should have been talking to a Dutch magazine, maybe he'd paid a visit to one of their strange cafes just before the interview for a coffee and a smoke......

I think SAAB is already considered to be the thinking persons car, in much the same way Mercedes was 25 years ago.  Fair enough, the dynamics are not considered to be the best but they have a good base to build on.

 

 I still don't understand the whole SAAB = Apple idea. What the f**k are they on about, really?

manders1301:

I still don't understand the whole SAAB = Apple idea. What the f**k are they on about, really?

How will SAAB be like Apple? Well, for instance...no mundane cup-holders for Apple-esque SAAB. No, all SAABs will be equipped with latte-holders. And like Apple products, SAABs will be more expensive than their competition. Perhaps they will only be available in white, or, if they produce a retro version, with transparent body panels. They will undoubtedly be the safest car ever because, like Apple computers, they will seldom crash (unlike the competition).

Autocar:

Saab to become the ‘Apple of car brands’.

Is this not a case of 'core competency'?

I actually think SAAB are similar to Apple in terms of their latest concept cars. I love Apple products and I actually think the 9-X Air concept from Paris was very Apple-esque, especially the interior. Okay, so their production cars aren't quite as Apple, but I think their future may be. I'm excited to see what SAAB do next.

Closer to being the lemon of car makers, surely? A quarter of a century ago, Saabs were highly individual and desirable because of it. But that is a very long way in the past.

There cannot be many businesses in the World which do not aspire to repeat Apple's success. Whether Saab has the drive, the vision, the dedication, the focus and the funding to do what Steve Jobs has done is another matter. But good luck to them. Their products were once distinctive and sought after, and still have a classy image despite GM's cynical influence. I once had a 900 and a 9000, and although I wouldn't touch a 9-3 or a 9-5 with a barge pole, I would be happy to have their successors.

noluddite:

There cannot be many businesses in the World which do not aspire to repeat Apple's success.

 

I'm surprised there hasn't been more apple-bashing from the PC brigade on this thread.

I think there'd be a lot of work to do but SAAB could be pretty much the perfect 'brand' for all the Macphiles out there (myself included). They already have a rich legacy of iconic design from before GM so it wouldn't be impossible to get the company back on track so long as they have a clear vision of who they are targeting.

They don't need a huge range like Audi/BMW/Merc/Dell- a SAAB-mini, an iSAAB and a PowerSAAB should do it.

Lets accept it, what Saab was is now history. Priorities have changed for customers. Cars like the Mondeo, Insignia, Accord are catching up with the Germans (if not almost there) at really competitive prices. Saab thus has their work cut out for them, the 95 better not be another wannabe German saloon and charge a premium on the basis of its unique marketing jargon.

shortbread:

Lets accept it, what Saab was is now history.

 

Bugatti was nothing but a great history, shortbread, until someone came along and dug up the corpse.

Let's not glibly write SAAB off just yet.