Re: Merger Comments

[jack@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Jack Hagerty)]

>From: estorhok@domain.elided

>As for the "sterilization" of a marque- I sure hope what our leaders say is 
>true, that we can let Volvo keep being themselves.  I think we are doing an
>admirable job with Aston and Jag, but not as good as many of the magazines
>say we are. 

Those of you who keep your R&T's check out the Nov '96 issue which had
introductory articles on the XK8 and the DB7. They even put them together
on the cover. The two cars look like they were stamped out using the same
body dies! It took a fairly long, apolgetic article to explain that they
really had differences (in headlight covers, fender flares, etc.). And
how many long-time Jag fans can get past the fact that the marques flagship
now comes with a Ford V8?

>I guess over the next 10 years or so, we will know how much we
>plan to fiddle with Aston and Jag, and then we will know about what will 
>happen to Volvo in 20 years.

It's been about seven years now since GM took over that other Swedish marque
(one that lives next to my GTV) and I must say that although the cars are
still very nice, they have been drained of the uniqueness that attracted me
to Saab in the first place. The first thing we noticed was that the first
car out under the new regime, the "new" 900, followed some typical GM
practices. First off is the name. GM is notorious for re-using names from
successful models (how many Olds "Cutlasses" have there been?) so now we 
are burdened with identifying if we own a "classic" 900 or a "new" 900
when talking to fellow enthusiasts.

Platform design, such as Alfa has been living with since the buyout by 
Fiat, is another factor. There was nothing drastically wrong with the Opel 
platform that Saab was given to base the new 900 on, but it required three
model years of development to finally shore up the chassis weaknesses.

Finally, styling. I don't know if GM cars are deliberately styled bland
to appeal to (i.e. not offend) their base, American heartland clientele
or if their very ubiquity forces them to look bland because they are part
of the vast background of automobilia you see around you. In either case,
Saab has lost its most unique feature that made it stand out from the crowd. 
Quirky styling has always been part-and-parcel of Saab ownership, although 
I'm sure the marketing minions at GM considered it to be the biggest 
hinderance to generating "real" sales. With the new 900, the styling took 
a huge leap towards the mainstream. When I first saw one on the road, I 
thought it was a Mazda. It wasn't until I saw the front that I recognized 
it for what it was. Note to GM: it takes more than the trapazoidal grille 
to establish brand loyalty. No one would ever mistake a 96 for anything else, 
except maybe a VW Beetle on steroids :-)

- - Jack

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