AUTOMOTIVE NEWS: Volvo Has, In Fact, Not Been Eaten by a Chinese Dragon But Saab Has Been Abducted b
About eight years ago I predicted that Volvo was going to be dismantled and turned into a pseudo-limousine company after being acquired by the Chinese industrial giant; Geely and that Saab was going to rock the world with 21st Century Swedish quirk under the free hand of the General Motors Corp. (GM).
It seems as if my soothsayer skills were garbage, cuz brotha ... I couldn't have been more wrong.
Here is a tale of two wholly unique car companies of Swedish descent that veered in wholly different directions. The year was 2009 and take-over bids were afoot ...
SAAB
It was 1981 when I first laid eyes upon a sleek black Saab 900turbo. I was living in rural Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan, in a lighthouse. One of the few kids living in the area was Scott Houpt and his father had a Harley Davidson/Saab dealership. Quirky combo? Yes, quite! but it worked and that's where I first laid my eyes upon a black 1981 Saab 900 Turbo. It was sporting a crazy rear spoiler, a cockpit that was lit up in green and lifted right out of a fighter jet, with a bizarre key insertion slot fitted next to the emergency brake. I was awed, intrigued and kind of smitten ... WTF was this thing?!?
It was a “Svensk bil met flykqvalitet” or "Swedish car with aircraft quality," that harkened back to Saab's aviation past. There was simply nothing like a Saab. Heralded as the safest car in the world for decades, the folks in Trolflhättan didn't bother conforming to convention. Instead, they built brilliant cars that were inspired, clever and often times, blisteringly fast! Case in point, that savage 1981 turbo was the 5th quickest car sold in America in 1981.
In 1990, GM outbid Fiat Corp and essentially grounded the automotive company of flight by using it to platform share with boring Opel/Vauxhall products. They did away with the classic 3 door combo-coupe style and slowly homogenized the lineup to better suit their needs albeit to purist's woes. They didn't allow the Saab family to do what they did best, which was to create remedies for the ever challenging Nordic driving conditions.
In 2009, GM decided to slam the doors shut on Saab due to losses after no new innovative products were developed which they, ultimately, didn't allow to emerge. They cock-blocked Victor Muller of Spyker Cars, who took over the company, from ever having a chance at success.
The quintessential business quote of the day was as follows...
"The autopsies for the Saab car company are rolling in. Forbes' Joann Muller wrote that Victor Muller, head of Spyker Cars, which bought the company from General Motors, "learned, as so many before him . . . that it takes an enormous amount of capital to operate an automotive company. And this industry already has too many brands, and too many factories for all to be profitable." Forbes' Patrick Hanlon wrote that "Saab was never a brand at all. . . . And because the car held no real meaning for consumers, and no reason for being, it ceased to be."
The idea that there are too many automotive brands is a corporate fart in the face! The idea that Saab "was never a brand at all," is an undemonstrative remark for if nothing else, Saab exuded brand and emotion. Saab had meaning, innovation and happiness. All the kooky Saab owners that I'd ever met (in my nearly 49 years) were truly smitten with their super quick utilitarian hatchbacks (albeit annoyed on occasion, at their coat sleeves that turned their ignition off whilst shifting gears).
Now, alas, the only remnants of Saab will be found on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara for the rights to the 9-3 have been bought by the Turkish government to serve as their National Car. Any chance of a proper Saab revival have been squashed by legal rights that GM still owns and that have kept any Chinese company from acquiring the brand.
Which leads me to Volvo and their acquisition by Geely...
VOLVO
One of my favorite cars of all time is the Volvo P1800ES or shooting brake. Me, being a single man, the idea of a sports car that could haul a bunch of crap around when needed makes me gleeful (no wonder I drive a VW gti). Form and function are rare traits but the folks in Gothenburg embraced it like they were on some nordic tundra left to their own devises...
...that is, until the Ford Motor Corp. decided to take over the reigns in 1999 to acquire the safety oriented prestigious European automaker. The marriage ended after Ford realized that they married a quirky Swede that didn't want to conform to illogic and things that ...vell ...don't make very much sense.
Along comes Chinese industrial giant Geely, whom I stupidly thought was going to make Volvo a boring limousine fleet ... Well, they have not!
Instead, the big bad red dragon tossed several billion dollars into Volvo's future and has released a roster of head turning sedans, wagons and SUV's. What they've done is bring this odd Swedish car company to the world stage. For the first time in its 89 year history, Volvo sold more than a half a million cars in 2015.
Volvo started its line-up revamp with the scrumptiously svelte S90 and V90 luxury sedan and wagon. Then came the full-size XC90, the mid-size XC60 and the mini XC40 SUV's. And just this week, the gorgeous and über efficient V60 wagon has been revealed ahead of its Geneva Motor Show premiere.
With practicality and efficiency being covered, Volvo has been developing their high-tech sports division called Polestar. The first model, set to be revealed in Geneva is the Polestar 1 hybrid luxury coupé (based on the stunning 2013 Coupé Concept that harkened back to the "Saintly" P1800).
The coupe is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four paired with two electric motors drawing juice from a 34-kWh battery pack. The two electric motors will churn out 218 hp, while the 2.0-liter gasoline engine will produce 382 hp. Combined, this pairing will produce 600 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque, with a pure-electric range of 93 miles. Volvo is obviously taking aim at Tesla.
Now they just have to make a Polestar version of the 2014 Estate Concept and I'll gladly bump the P1800ES outta my top ten for this utilitarian beauty.
So fair thee well Saab, you will be missed ... and hello Volvo and the Polestar division.
Post Script... There's so much I could say about these magnificent manufacturers of the auto world but I'm tight on space. More to come as in the form of a weekly live radio broadcast called "Kooks and Cars" with auto aficionado, Turtle O'Toole.
Post P.S. If you're an auto freak, please check out NetCarShow.com
...and the $3 membership is well worth it for the eye candy alone.
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