Slashdot Mirror
A Requiem For Saab
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that auto enthusiasts across the country are dismayed by the news that General Motors is planning to shut down Saab, the Swedish carmaker it bought two decades ago, after a deal to sell it fell apart. Even with its modest and steadily declining sales, Saab, an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, or Swedish Airplane Company, long stood out as a powerful brand in spite of itself. 'It wasn't designed to be a fashion statement,' says Ron Pinelli, president of Autodata, which tracks industry statistics. 'It was designed to provide transportation under miserable weather conditions.' Many Saab owners consider the brand's glory days to be the 1980s, when Americans began buying cars again after a recession and energy crisis. 'The cars were communicative,' says Pinelli. 'They didn't try to numb the experience like cars do today.' The cars had odd touches and appealed to those who appreciate the unconventional. Swedish engineers assumed drivers would be wearing gloves, so they designed big buttons for the dashboard. Though the cars were compact, with long hoods and short rear ends, there was plenty of headroom inside. Now Saab, a brand that once had one of the clearest identities in the industry, seems headed for extinction just as automakers are searching for more distinctive designs to help set them apart. 'It's a shame that Saab is a victim,' adds Pinelli."
Just as in the US they tried to get the government to bail them out using taxpayer's money, arguing it would save jobs, but the government rightly refused saying it was up to the companies themselves to sort out their finances.
Just goes to show. Even Sweden will let the free market actually do its job. Kinda ironic seeing how the neocons of other governments like to describe us.
Oh and while we're on the topic of governments acting sensibly, our presently rigth-wing government has lowered taxes AND cut carbon emissions. They basically reduced income tax and started taxing fossil fuels instead with the overall effect being a net reduction in tax revenue. So much for global warming just being a scam to tax us...
Toyota/Honda, I suppose. Something reliable and of reasonable quality. Certainly not American.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
Let's hope so. This would be a bit of a sad Christmas present from Obama to all the workers.
This just in from CNN -Tiger's ex-wife Elin Nordegren is consulting with a high-powered Hollywood divorce attorney to work on a bailout for the beleaguered Swedish company.
Movie at eleven
Atlas Shrugged. GM is no longer interested in anything other then being a social experiment for the government and the unions. it stopped being a company interested in technology, innovation, profits and being the best in its field the second Obama confiscated it.
But what is it with Americans preferring numb cars that totally insulate them from what the car is doing?
They can't feel anything through all the layers of fat anyway...
We live, as we dream -- alone....