What do the statistics say? Fewer and fewer people are interested in cars and driving pleasure, and one of the reasons could be the fact that manufacturers have greatly diluted their “ethos”, brand characteristics and model character in the past decades.
Profit and Comformizam
Car manufacturers are largely to blame for that, and if we are going to create a broader picture, the blame lies in neoliberal capitalism itself, which knows and recognizes only one value – profit. Precisely for the sake of being profitable and in step with the competition, companies are trying to copy some successful recipe, at the same time forgetting what made them great and significant in the past, and created their identity.
Because of all this, we are witnessing a “flood” of various SUVs or crossovers, which are a hybrid of several types of cars, and in fact none of them. Most car companies give up their identity and stop producing cars that are specific to their design line. Comformism, and following the wishes of customers.
“Identity” is what distinguished them from others, identity was nurtured and was a generator of emotions, but in the feverish search for profit it was simply erased as a relevant attribute.
Saab Cars Identity
There are no more new Saab cars, but the identity of the Saab cars we drive and maintain on the roads remains somewhat preserved. And as long as there is a Saab car fan somewhere in the world, this brand will still exist.
It was this short thought that led us to the text written in the comments by our loyal reader and fan of the Saab brand Lawrence, and we thank him for these words:
“There is no question Saab was a company that had many impressive innovations and concepts. For the most part, they were a well designed and engineered automobile. I believe Saab could and should make a comeback. In order to do that successfully, Saab would need a consortium of investors who love the company and has the commitment and fortitude to endure difficulties, while providing financial stability that would allow concepts to become reality.
Saab has never been a mainstream brand, but always enjoyed a loyal group of customers. Any new ownership group should allow Saab to stay true to who they are, while making prudent decisions in order to incrementally expand their customer base, without abandoning their core customers. The story of Saab doesn’t have to end. With the proper ownership group, competent leadership and management, financial stability, commitment, hard work, and a fighting spirit, Saab can reemerge stronger and more successful than ever before”
We hope you agree with these words, and that there may be opportunities in the future to revive Saab brand in some way.
That’s also my ultimate dream.
Unfortunately I don’t see that coming in the near future.
Car brands have consolidated (for example Stellantis) where it’s hard to make a unique car brand. In my opinion only Alfa Romeo and Jaguar are currently exception to that if we’re talking about “regular cars” almost everyone can afford.
It would take someone similar to Geely or Tata to purchase the remains of Saab from NEVS, lease the brand name from SAAB and start producing new cars. NEVS have already wasted almost ten years with their fiddling so they’ve done enormous damage to the brand. No wonder SAAB withdrew the rights to use their name.
Nevertheless, let’s pray.
SAAB’s Swedish style and performance, can withstand the trend of the times, so it does not understand the story (story) after someone takes it, does not know how to bind it/