Yesterday I attended a rather special event. I’ll term it that way because it involves an automotive brand which has always held a certain appeal to me. You see, I like cars with, shall we say, “Personality”. Vehicles which bring out the enthusiast from within its owners, and who can deny that Saab has done a grand job with brand loyalty over the years?

Of course, the famous Swedish auto manufacturer has had its fair share of woes in recent times, name me a car company which hasn’t, but for a while there, it really did look as if the historic motoring name was going to disappear entirely. Now as someone who witnessed the sad demise of the British car industry, I didn’t relish the idea of the Swedes going down the same road.

The rumor mill went spinning out of control at this time, as is the norm within the automotive industry. Would it be the Chinese to the rescue? Would the Swedish Government step up to bat for its ailing car industry? Could a management buy-out be on the cards? I actually lost track of the names involved, but then, just as Saab looked set to become another automotive Titanic, the name Spyker emerged. At first I thought, “How can a relatively unheard of car manufacturer which over the past ten years has only managed to produce 250 cars, take on an iconic brand like Saab?”. I’m thinking that I was not the only journo pondering those thoughts, but I wished them luck anyway, and looked forward, with fingers crossed, to the outcome.

Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to not only learn about the future of the pride of Sweden, but also, a little more about the company behind its salvation. That in itself was quite an eye-opener for me. In fact, in many ways, it confirmed something which I’ve often held as true, that some of the smaller guys in an industry can often pick up on things which the big names occasionally overlook.

To explain this further, let me relate to you a little story I heard once... So it goes, there was a sales guru from one of the large automotive manufacturers visiting the Morgan car plant in the UK. During a meeting of the minds, this gentleman (I believe he was from a large U.S. manufacturer) tried to explain to the Morgan sales executive how, if they did this and they did that, they could sell a lot more cars. The man from Morgan listened intently and then, placing his feet upon his desk replied, “Here at Morgan we have a sales strategy in place... we wait for the phone to ring”. At that time, Morgan, although a rather small concern, boasted a customer waiting list of 3 years, whilst the much larger company was sitting on huge amounts of unsold product. A strange tale if it’s true, but there’s a lesson in there somewhere!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Now I attend a number of media events throughout the year. Of late, most tend to be made up of, “forget what you’ve heard, we’re doing just fine”. This is typically followed by a spin on numbers to back up those words... “Oh yes, we’ve sold more 2.9L DOHC V6 SUV’s than all of our competition combined”, which sounds pretty impressive until you recall that the company stating this little known fact has the only 2.9L DOHC SUV in the market.

I get rather irritated by this, not to mention mind-numbingly bored at times. In fact, most journalists develop a keen sense of smell for this type of spin and can tell when we’re being fed, well, you know what! Often during these speeches I grab the opportunity for a short power-nap until we leave la-la land and return to the real world.

However, I didn’t manage a wink during the Saab press conference held in Oakville. Far from it. In fact, not only was I listening intently to what was said, but was actually enjoying what I was hearing. There was none of the usual baloney, just plain and honest car talk. In fact, Victor Muller, the Chief Operating Officer for Spyker astounded me when he came out with, “We don’t need new customers, we need our old ones back”. Think about that for a moment. We often hear the blurb about “retaining our valuable and loyal customers”, but often this is just that, BLURB, because they then waffle on and on about how focused they are on gaining new market share. It’s true what Victor said though, if Saab could recoup its old customer base, the company would be doing fine.

This was quite refreshing to hear from a car executive, the truth, especially for an old-school car enthusiast like me. I’ve been involved with a number of local brand enthusiast clubs over the years and can tell you, the parent’s love and support which some companies boast of, is not always as forthcoming as they’d like you to believe. Not so with the new Saab however. In fact, I was actually sitting next to a proud member of the Saab owner’s club, whilst in the car park, another enthusiast had traveled to the event in his rather rare 1974 Saab Sonett sports car (Apparently, he owns three of the seven currently residing in Canada). This man then announced that he was hoping to become a new Saab dealer...Boy, I wish there were more brand enthusiasts lining up to become dealer principals. Most nowadays are driven by their bank statements rather than any real enthusiasm for what they’re selling!

I then went on to chat with a Budd’s employee (The event was held at Budd’s in Oakville) who was a Saturn/Saab fan prior to becoming a salesman for the company. This also impressed me as enthusiasts are not always looked upon as ideal sales staff by some companies, which totally astounds me as I would have thought customers would love dealing with someone who knows the brand intimately. In fact, the only problem I could see arising from this situation would be if the company lacked in the area of customer service and were afraid of the word getting out. It’s rather well known that enthusiasts groups can be a brand’s best unpaid sales staff, but they can also be you’re worst enemy as they tend to know all the nitty-gritty nasty stuff also! Therefore, if you have nothing to be ashamed of, faithful enthusiasts are exactly the people who should be working in the dealership.

Perhaps it’s my European upbringing which makes me think along these lines, but then again, possibly it’s the fact that Spyker, being a Dutch company, allows them to view things likewise.

So what else will be different with the new Saab?

Well, from what I’ve seen and heard, quite a number of things. For a start, Spyker may well be the company which has saved the Saab name from extinction, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be the be-all-and-end all when it comes to the day to day running of the company. Would you believe, and this is straight from the man himself, Victor Muller, “Saab will manage itself”. He then went on to explain that his company which has been around for ten years now, understands both its strengths, and its weaknesses. Spyker is a high-end vehicle manufacturer. Its strength therefore lies in its understanding of product quality and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, it’s had quite the eye-opening experience, because in February when it officially took over the Saab plant, the facility was almost stripped bare. Very little stock was on hand, components were in seriously short supply and together with a host of other unpleasant surprises, the new team quickly grasped the fact that it was not going to be a simple task to resurrect the company. Fortunately, there’s real enthusiasm behind the Saab brand now and although the executives on hand fully admit that the road ahead will not be pure cruising, they’re up for the task and comfortable in their expectations.

Now I have so far failed to mention General Motors is all this, and they really should be given credit for keeping the company alive until the hand-over. Yes, I’ve heard the grumblings from Saab enthusiasts when it was first announced that the General was taking over. I’ve also heard of a few loyal Saab customers who bailed ship rather than take their vehicle into GM dealerships. However, credit where credits due, GM did its best, but when faced with the choice of closing factories in the U.S. or, unloading its foreign cousin, there wasn’t really an alternative for them was there? 

So what does the future hold for the new Saab?

Well, the company’s plans are well-founded in my opinion. First, is to build-up a network of dealerships that are willing to step up and fully satisfy the needs of its customers (There are 20 former Saab dealers who have already put their names forward and many more are expected to follow). As you’ve already heard, the plan is to try and recoup some of those lost souls who ventured away from the brand during its troubled years, and selecting the right dealers will play a major part in that. Then, over the next few years, we shall see a steady and progressive launch of new and updated Saab vehicles. I can foresee a certain amount of Spyker input on this, maybe not in the actual design of the new models, but perhaps more in the overall look and feel of the product. Spyker I feel understands the value of brand loyalty and customer satisfaction in a way that perhaps GM finds slightly harder. This is often the way with smaller companies. The guys with the larger market share have a tendency to embrace the idea that there’s always someone there to replace those lost. When you’re talking of a somewhat niche market product like that of Saab, it’s tough to get a second chance with customers. You have to be on the ball and listening to what the faithful want. Only then can you venture forward and try new ideas. One comment which I heard from the new team at Saab summed this up perfectly, he said, “Heritage is of utmost importance to us but at the same time, we hope to be a little more daring”. For me, that sums up what Saab used to be all about, and hopefully, what they will again return to.

Saab will be back in business this fall and for the 2011 model year, there’s a brand new 95 Sedan which is rumored to be a rather exciting vehicle. This will be followed in April next year by the Saab 94X. The 95 Sport Combi shall follow that, and 2012 will finalize an entirely refreshed lineup when the company’s bread & butter car, the 93 is launched. There was also talk of a possible smaller Saab to come at a later date, a Saab 92 perhaps.

I’ll summarize by saying that this was one of the best car manufacturer announcements that I witnessed to date. It was honest, not boastful or wishful thinking, and delivered by people who showed some real enthusiasm for what they’re involved in. Victor Muller from Spyker truly impressed me, and when he announced that, “The Company is here to stay”, I totally bought into it. Now if he can convince me of that, then he’s certainly on the right track because I take most of what the car exec’s say with a pinch of salt.

Saab is back in the car business and I’m truly pleased about that, so join with me and help spread the good news!