The siesta scheduled in the middle of the Saab Dealer Tour of Spain is now over and done. Today the tour continues in Palma De Mallorca, with the new Saab 9-5 SportCombi and 9-4x on display at Palma de Mallorca, at Iceasa Motor.
The tour will conclude Friday and Saturday, the 16th and 17th, with viewings available both days at the Tuvisa dealership in Madrid.
If you’re near Madrid and haven’t seen the new Saabs yet, give Tuvisa a call and book you place.
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This is an initiative of Saab France as well as supporter websites, Saab Actu, Saablog-In and saabsunited.fr. It’s wonderful to see gestures of support like this, done the right way.
I know from a few messages here and there that some other gatherings were in the planning stages and if they do end up happening, please do let me know. I’d be happy to pass the word around so that interested parties can attend.
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Moving north…….
I got a message from a Belgian Saab fan overnight, about the Saab 9-5 SportCombi and Saab 9-4x being shown at his local dealership yesterday.
At this point, I don’t know how long it’s going to be there, nor where else it might be showing. I’ll try and find out some more information as to whether or not there’s a Belgian Tour going on (you’ll recall there was a break scheduled in the middle of the Spanish Tour).
For today, however, the vehicles are at Saab Kegels Turnhout. The address is Ambachtstraat 3, Oud-Turnhout, Belgium.
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These guys have been trying to get this Saab 9-3 into the Swedish Touring Car Championship for a couple of years now. It seems they’re working again with the hope of getting things going for the 2012 STCC season.
I really wish them every success. It’d be great to see Saabs racing again.
Great photo, too!
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And speaking of great photos, there’s a wonderful set on Flickr from the 2011 Roger Albert Clark Rally, in England.
Amongst the set are some absolutely wonderful images of Saab 96s competing in the event.
Great stuff.
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And last, but by no means least, I’d like to thank everyone who commented on the “Why I want Saab to survive” post here, over the last few days.
I’m going to pass those responses on to our communications people in Sweden and make sure that all employees are able to see your thoughts. They were very encouraging and a testament to the work that’s been done in Trollhattan over the years.
Thanks very much.
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Amongst everything else that’s going on, it’s great to see that the Spanish Saab dealer tour has continued through the week with visits to Zaragoza and Burgos.
We have some new photos and stories from the engagements, below.
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Zaragoza
Below are some pictures from Artal en Zaragoza.
We had the local television station (Aragon TV) taking images, as well as the most important newspaper in the Aragon region (El diario de Aragón) were also there. Both of them are going to prepare reports.
This dealer has Lexus and Porsche showrooms and customers from these brands were invited. One customer who was going to renew his lease with Porsche, upon seeing the 9-4x came to ask about it and now he is thinking of changing his mind. Let’s see what happens!
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Burgos
Again, the local TV station was there, plus a lot of other local media. We get a lot of press coverage (without paying, which is always good!). Manuel Alcázar (our country director) gave an interview to “Burgos Televisión” and he talked about the products and a little bit about the company situation.
The manager of this dealer (Julián Alonso) is the president of the “Burgos Entrepreneur Association” so we had all the directors form local companies at the burgos event. It was very well received.
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Click to enlarge.
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As I’m writing this, it’s nearly 5.30pm in Ohio. At 7pm, the five finalists, their friends and family and other guests will gather at Saab of North Olmsted and someone’s going to win a car.
Each finalist will be given a key, and one of those keys will pop the locks on a display car in the showroom. The person holding that key will win the Saab of their choice up to a value of $50,000.
The five finalists are:
Who will win? And will they choose the same model Saab as the one they drove during their week in the competition?
We’ll have all the details as soon as they’re available.
Good luck to all the finalists and thanks to all the competitors during the whole Snap Up a Saab campaign.
The first two stops on the Saab Dealer Tour of Spain were in Gerona and Barcelona.
We’ve got a gallery of images from those stops below. Click.
Spirits are high amongst the attendees and Irene from Saab España even passed along a little story from the Barcelona stop:
I was talking to some customers (a family) in Barcelona and they told me that they don’t have a car at all right now. They ordered a new Saab 9-5 three months ago, and are still waiting. Their old car (an old 9-3) “died”, so they were looking for an alternative but weren’t able to find one that was suitable. So they have decided to use public transport and wait for the new 9-5 to come. Their words were “it is a sacrifice we do now, and we are sure that it will be worth it in the future”
Isn’t that awesome?
We have the best owners and fans in the world.
These tours are getting a lot of attention, especially in Barcelona. From that one tour stop alone, they had 5 orders for the new Saabs on display. The media also took a big interest in the tour: 7 radio interviews, BTV Television, the #1 newspaper in Catalonia (La Vanguardia), the most important motoring magazine in Catalonia (Cotxes), the #1 motoring website in Spain (coches.com), the top 10 renting & leasing companies in Barcelona – all took a look at the vehicles during the Barcelona tour stop.
Tour dates and venues for the Spanish Dealer Tour can be found here. Make sure you get along if the tour passes through your area.
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For those who didn’t see it via Facebook, the Saab Dealer Tour of Spain is well and truly underway. We’ll have some more images and thoughts from those attending as the tour unfolds.
Click the link above for dates and locations. Click the image below to enlarge.
Saabludos!
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Saab’s Tour de France ended earlier this week and I’ve just received some very nice images from the final stop in Bayonne.
Let me ask the question before you do – What’s that silver/grey convertible?????
I’ve made enquiries and will let you know what I hear. It looks like on of Leif Mellberg’s custom creations to me. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.
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I received an email this morning from a Saab blogger in France named Remi. He runs a site called Saab Actu and he took part in the Paris leg of the Saab’s Tour de France last weekend.
It’s emails like this that give me such a boost as a Saab person, knowing that grass-roots efforts like the Dealer Tour are reaching people in a very personal way. One-to-one opportunities to see our new vehicles up close are very important at a time when support for our company is so crucial.
I get the chance to attend the event in Paris : it was fantastic! I have made a little video of the event
The video has some images from the Paris event, as well as a quick 9-4x test drive at the hands of a Porsche Cayenne owner, who comes away very impressed with the 9-4x……
Saab Actu, along with Saablog-in, is running a photo competition from the Tour….
I have received great photos from enthusiasts for our Photos Contest – from customers as well as from dealers.
This Tour has given everybody a good smile. The 9-4X seduced most people, even the “900 lovers”. I also had the chance to take a ride and this car is much more than a SUV. It reaches a premium top level on every point, really. And with a Saab design.
The people at Saab France are worth meeting. This tour has been a good outcome from the Saab financial issues. It has made us closer and given us unexpected occasion to meet skilled people who generally work behind the curtains. The Saab Team is like a family of car lovers, of Saab history builders.
Thanks a lot for this Saab Tour and whatever happens (the better way I want to imagine) I hope there is going to be another Saab Tour de France in 2012
And I guess that’s the big payoff here. The sense of camaraderie, the relationships that get built in tough times.
Of course, we all want those tough times to end and some good times to begin. We want to start to create some good Saab Family memories based on positive circumstances. Personally speaking, I’d love to do an Inside Saab tour around the world, bringing the cars and some of the stories from inside the gates to dealerships, clubs and fans all over the globe. I’d love to expand the Saab Family across all borders.
We need a few things to go our way before that can happen, but it’s good to see the Dealer Tour concept that started with the guys at Saab Germany catching on and spreading so well.
Congratulations to Saab France and the participating dealers for conducting such a wonderful set of events. And thanks very much to Remi for the feedback.
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BONUS
Some images from recent stops on the Tour de France….. from Limoges and the very picturesque La Rochelle.
Click to enlarge.
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Saabludos!
With dealer tours now successfully completed in Germany, Austria and France (well, almost), it’s time to announce the dates for the Saab Dealer Tour España!
The Saab Dealer Tour of Spain will begin on November 25 and continue through until its conclusion in Madrid on December 17. See dates and locations below.
The tour will criss-cross the country with one group whilst another group will host corporate customers in Madrid and Barcelona. The Saab 9-4x and Saab 9-5 SportCombi will be available for both groups to view at all times, so no-one will miss either car.
The dates and locations are as follows:
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The Saab Dealer Tour de France has been a fantastic success and it’ll all coming to a conclusion on Tuesday 22nd November. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the new Saab 9-4x and 9-5 SportCombi, this will be your last opportunity on French soil as part of this tour.
The final two days of the tour include visits to the following:
November 21
0930-1200 – SAAB SELECT AUTO
4 r Jean Deméocq
17000 La Rochelle
Tél : 05 46 45 48 22
0930-1200 – AUTO VIP
115 Chemine de la Fauceille
66100 Perpignan
Tél : 04 68 82 00 00
1530-1900 – ESPACE PERICAUD LIMOGES
123 r Feytiat
87000 Limoges
Tél : 05 55 31 34 37
1530-1900 – GARATGE SPORT
10 Verge del tilar
099 Andorra la Vella
Tél : 00 376 809 144
November 22
0930-1200 – ESPACE DECOUVERTE AUTO
Avenue d’Aquitaine
47550 Boé
Tél :05 53 96 04 42
0930-1200 – SOCIETE NOUVELLE CENTRALE GARAGE SIGNATURE
zone artisanale Bourgade
31670 Labège
Tél : 05 62 71 68 68
1530-1900 – VS AUTOMOBILES SARL
ZA Saint-Frédéric 2 – RN 117
Rond Point du Grand Basque
64100 BAYONNE
Tél : 05 59 55 16 26
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A report from the Saab guys in France:
Since our last update, the tour has visited a huge number of dealerships around France and has been met with overwhelming support and interest.
On Saturday, the Saab marathon stopped by the downtown Paris Saab Dealership “Saab Rive Gauche”, which is ideally located nearby the Eiffel Tower.
The 9-4X and the 9-5 Estate (the Sport Combi) were presented by Patrice Lamouroux, Saab Rive Gauche MD and Philippe Van Der Meulen, the head of Saab France. Saab fans walked in to take a look at the new Saabs all day long.
Around 100 customers and prospects took a chance to seat themselves in the cars. The unanimous response was: When can we meet again for a test drive? When can we order the cars, I want one …..
The press have shown a strong interest in the tour as well. We’ve already seen one report about the Saab 9-4x popping up in the French media and I’m sure there have been more reports about the tour, too.
After the tour concludes on Tuesday, the vehicles will move on to Spain for a new tour. I’ll have dates for that one later today.
Some images follow, which are from Paris, Rouen, and Provence. Special thanks to Jeff from Saabsunited.fr for forwarding the Viggen vs 9-4x images from Provence, which were taken by Saab France staff.
Click to enlarge.
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