Tag: Victor Muller

Spyker Vs Saab, Victor Muller, Porsche-Porsche-Porsche and GM’s Recall

So the results from the Saab vs Spyker poll from last week – i.e……

Which car do you think we’ll see available for sale first?

  • The Spyker B6 Venator, or
  • An electric Saab?

    • …. were almost split down the middle. Spyker held a handy lead right from the get-go but the Saab pollsters chimed in later and the result evened out by the end.

    Thanks for your participation. I’m very keen to see which one will actually be built first. Actually, I’m keen to see if either of them will be built at all.

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    In related news, Autoweek has an interesting feature article on Spyker and Victor Muller.

    The article is about Spyker, but it does touch on the Saab years:

    He couldn’t help but describe the experience in Biblical terms. “It was hell on Earth,” he said, taking care to emphasize every word. “The years 2010 and 2011 can only be described as hell on earth. Dante’s Inferno. I gave everything humanly possible to try and save my company. And I think a little bit more than that. And I almost killed myself in the process. It was hell.”

    I can vouch for that. I’ve never seen someone work harder and the price he paid in terms of his health and his family was excessive.

    It’s a good read and yes, I’m still cheering for VM to make it work.

    Saab, too.

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    18 new Saabs have been registered to private customers in Sweden this year.

    As plenty of people have pointed out, the 9-3 was still a great car when it ceased production in 2011 and is, by all reports, still a good new car as made by NEVS today. But that’s according to the opinions of people who aren’t stumping up their own money to buy one. For those who are, the shortcomings attributable to the car’s age seem to be a stumbling block.

    This path was always, always fraught with danger. A lack of engagement, a lack of feasible planning, a lack of sales and now the lack of a major investor have me very worried for our little Swedish brand.

    Thanks to ctm for the sales info, via comments.

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    Would you like an update on the GM Recall that will make you shudder and laugh at the same time?

    I thought so. There’s a slight language warning with this one. And it goes on a little too long, but it’s still worth a look.

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    Just another reason I’ll never buy a car designed and made by General Motors. (with the minor possible exception, one day, of a Saab 9-3 or 9-5 wagon).

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    Some car designs we like, and some we don’t. Designers DO usually get it right, however, a point that’s only emphasised when you see their early design attempts at a particular model.

    For example, here’s how the Porsche 911 might have looked…..

    And here’s the concept car that spawned the Spyker C8 Laviolette:

    They’re always interesting to see, but thank goodness the designers kept working on them 🙂

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    And a little more Porsche, for those who like short films dedicated to old cars drifting in the snow….

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    The guy featured in this film is Jeff Zwart (and I love the smile on his face in the driving shots – it’s what driving old cars is all about). He’s made films and photos of a lot of exotic cars over the years, as well as driven cars hard in various events, including Pike’s Peak.

    He recently released a book about the Porsche 917 and it shows off his photography skills almost as much as it shows off the car. Delicious.

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    And briefly, on my own Porsche shory…..

    Parts have now arrived for my next major job – upgrading to M030 suspension. That’ll happen next month and I have a very special test drive planned to evaluate the changes 🙂

    Victor Muller on Swedish TV – Skavlan

    Friday’s episode of Skavlan is now available online at SVTPlay.

    Click here to watch the episode. The section of the show with Victor Muller starts at 38:40 and is in English.

    It’s a very candid interview and well worth watching. Victor is asked about the current situation, what the difficulties are with selling Saab and the possibility of salary payments for Christmas. He also covers some of his business background and his relationship with Russian banker, Vladimir Antonov.

    And if you enjoy excellent vocal performances, make sure you watch the last 4 minutes after the VM interview 🙂

    Victor Muller on Swedish television this evening

    For those who aren’t aware yet……

    Our Chairman and CEO, Victor Muller, will be appearing on Swedish television this evening, on an interview program called Skavlan.

    The program – recorded yesterday – will air on SVT1 at 9pm and it should be available online after the broadcast via SVT Play. I was able to access SVT Play from Australia today, so other countries should hopefully be able to access it, too.

    As Victor doesn’t speak Swedish, the interview will be in English.

    A few of the Swedish newspapers had people in the audience and they have prepared news stories based on the interview already. If you don’t want to wait for the show, you can get their reports at DI.se, Ttela, Expressen (all in Swedish).

    We’ll insert a link, or embed the show, when the online replay becomes available.

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    Thoughts on the sale of Saab Automobile

    The deal to sell Saab came through in the late afternoon for me here in Australia. There were a couple of conference calls back to the office and a few emails here and there, just to try and share the moment with my colleagues back in Sweden. It’s hard being so far away, sometimes.

    I wanted to provide some personal thoughts in a more timely manner, but bottom line……. I had to sleep on this one.

    Right now, I have mixed feelings for a number of reasons. They’re much more positive than negative, but I can’t say it’s a case of parades and marching bands inside my head right now.

    Strap in. This is another long-ish one.

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    The good news – the overwhelmingly good news – is that Saab survives and gets a chance to fulfil the promise that it’s had for the last couple of years. I forget the number of times that I’ve spelled out exactly why Saab should be given this chance, but it goes a little something like this:

    Product: We have the biggest product portfolio we’ve ever had, with cars that are going to meet the marketplace better than ever, and more new product on the way very soon. Some of the technical innovations we’ve got coming are very, very exciting indeed. Some will be firsts for Saab and some will be world firsts. I’m so very happy that Saab fans will get the chance to see them.

    Continue reading Thoughts on the sale of Saab Automobile

    Victor Muller speaks about Saab sale

    Saab’s Chairman and CEO, Victor Muller, spoke with Swedish Radio this morning about the deal just announced to sell Saab to Youngman and Pang Da.

    As you can tell, the whole thing’s been pretty tiring for him and the Saab executive team. Saab lives, as we all believed it should.

    Lyssna: Victor Muller om att Saab blir kinesiskt

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    Coverage from the last 24 hours of Saab news

    A few pieces from the web that I think people should check out as they try to digest the news from today……..

    Firstly, there’s an interview with Saab CEO Victor Muller on Radio P4 West, from Sweden. It’s in English.

    Lyssna: Saabs vd, Victor Muller, om företagets situation

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    From the observer/enthusiast point of view, Life with Saab has summarised the day’s events quite well. It’s a piece of reasoned and measured analysis that I personally think sums up the situation nicely.

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    If I can provide a rather basic summary of what’s transpired:

    • Saab had agreements in place with Youngman and Pang Da for the distribution of vehicles in China and the formation of a manufacturing joint venture. Some of these agreements were binding and some still in development. These involved Youngman and PangDa taking an ownership stake in Saab totalling just over 50%. The agreements were subject to approval to the NDRC and this process was progressing well, having passed provincial and local approval with national approval very close to being decided.
    • Mr Lofalk is reported in newspapers as having investigated a 100% takeover of Saab by Youngman and PangDa. This is in spite of the aforementioned agreements, and regardless of the fact that Saab’s reorganisation submission was based on the above agreements, and also without Saab’s knowledge.
    • Saab had a bridge financing agreement in place with Youngman for an amount of 70mil Euros, however there seem to have been complications with this agreement, to the point where Saab could not count on the full amount of the agreement being received in a timely manner. An instalment has been paid.
    • Saab sought and found alternative bridge financing arrangements in the United States, announced yesterday.
    • Despite this deal, Guy Lofalk has indicated that funding is not sufficient to continue reorganisation and has submitted an application for the reorganisation to be stopped. Saab will seek to appeal this and have Guy Lofalk replaced as administrator.

    That’s not comprehensive by any means, and does not include all the side shows such as Geely, etc, but I think you should get the picture.

    Some further resources:

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    Statement: Further clarifications made by Victor Muller in respect of salary payments

    In the past few days Saab Automobile AB’s CEO and Chairman Victor Muller has made statements that the company is in a position to make salary payments to its employees but would not be able to do so because of legal restrictions.

    These statements have unfortunately led to the interpretation that the funds would be available within Saab Automobile AB. However, Victor Muller reiterates that the funds to which he referred to are not and have never been within Saab Automobile.

    Victor Muller stresses the fact that Saab Automobile in every aspect is in full compliance with Swedish legislation as to the disclosure process in respect of the Swedish enforcement agency ‘Kronofogdemyndigheten’ and has been and will be totally transparent in this respect. Victor Muller regrets that his statements have been misinterpreted.

    Saabosphere – things we liked this week

    Greetings all. Sorry for the lack of posting in the last few days but I had one or two things outside of Inside Saab that needed finishing in quick time. Back on deck now.

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    The hardest working man I’ve ever seen in my 40 or so years on this earth. Unbelievable.

    …… from yesterday.

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    Your must read for this week is an article that’s actually a few weeks old.

    John Simister is a writer with Octane, a classic and performance car magazine, and he owns a two-stroke Saab 96.

    He recently had the good fortune of visiting with Mr Saab, Erik Carlsson, and took his 96 along for the trip. What ensued was the sort of thing that automotive enthusiast’s dreams are made of.

    He got to see his own classic car in the hands of the master, and then got to drive the master’s Saab 96 for himself.

    It really is fantastic reading for any Saab fan.

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    Yes you do. Nice 9-5, that one.

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    Car Design Community is an online hangout for people interested in the topic. They seem to have a regular competition called SketchFighters where they ask community members to provide designs using various criteria.

    One tricky condition of the competition is that members only have one hour to design and then post their designs on the website.

    Earlier this week they tackled Saab and it’s always fun to see what others come up with in terms of future Saab designs.

    Here are a couple of my favourites, but there are plenty more at SketchFighters.

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    Ever driven across the United States?

    Phil L recently picked up a MY2000 Saab 9-5 in New Jersey and decided to bring the car home to Seattle…. with a camera.

    What he’s put together from that trip is a 3,000+ mile timelapse – one photo every 10 seconds – that will take you from Boston, though New York, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin (wet!), Iowa (home of next year’s Saab Owners Convention), Minnesota (is that dead bug on the windscreen giving him the finger?), South Dakota, Wyoming (Cowboy Up!) and Montana before he crosses into Washington and gets home to Seattle.

    It’s 24 minutes, so you’ll need some time, but it’s very watchable. It’s interesting to see the changes in landscape, the clouds and even the vehicles on the roads. Great drums on the soundtrack, too. Enjoy.

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    Victor Muller addresses Saab workforce

    Saab Chairman, Victor Muller, addressed the assembled Saab workforce at 12:30pm today.

    UPDATE: Notes from Victor Muller’s address are now posted below.

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    Notes from the address by Victor Muller to Saab employees – Tuesday 17 May

    – Victor began the address with a heartfelt apology to staff for having put them in this position. He mentioned a commitment made to Jan-Ake Jonsson when they made the Saab purchase that they would not let this company slide and he is very mindful of that commitment. Of course, this is a different situation to the purchase, however, because now Saab are their own masters.

    – “I got us here. I’ll get us out”. There was a definite feeling of personal responsibility in the address.

    – VM was heartened by the good news that Saab has received through this situation, the reviews of the Saab 9-4x from the drive event in Washington DC, in particular. Whilst it’s been a bad time for Saab, there have been encouraging things happening on the product side.

    – In speaking about press coverage of the situation, VM said that whilst the press have applied a high level of scrutiny to Saab, the only reason they’ve been able to do this is because we gave them the opportunity to do so.

    – On the collapse of the Hawtai deal, VM indicated that there were a number of potential suitors at the time the deal was done. Hawtai had great potential but the deal was ultimately thwarted by the regulatory structure and the challenges that would provide to getting the deal done in a timely manner. Indicated that Hawtai executives were heartbroken when they had to advise that they couldn’t complete the deal.

    – The collapse of this deal was quite unfortunate, but it did give Saab the opportunity to learn from it and construct a better deal second time around.

    – Pang Da will make for an incredibly good partner and their focus on sales and distribution should mean more business for Saab, plus the opportunity to execute parts of the deal straight away such as the commitment to purchase cars straight away. Buying cars is Pang Da’s business and does not require regulatory approval, which is the benefit of this deal for Saab at this time.

    – It is too early to say what the medium-long term ramifications of the recent stoppage will be for Saab, but as well as challenges, there are also opportunities and the deal with Pang Da presents such opportunities.

    – The required negotiations with suppliers, as well as supplier ramp-up time mean that it could take several weeks for production to recommence.

    – VM is mindful of the fact that Saab operates in a glasshouse environment, where everyone is watching what we are doing. We have to take steps and build strength in the organisation so that we are protected from this sort of situation ever happening again.

    – As with the sale process from GM, the recent situation has demonstrated the loyalty and commitment of Saab employees once again. VM expressed a profound gratitude for their loyalty and vowed to reward it with a healthier company. He will continue to source deals and partners that can assist in building stability into the Saab business.

    – His final words: “Never, ever give up”

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