To the Big 3: Give the Europeans back their car brands

In this morning’s Autoblog, Dan Roth queried if reviving the Viggen, Saab’s high-performance, limited edition 9-3 based sedan introduced in 1999, would be beneficial or detrimental to the brand. The general consensus was that Saabs, particularly the 9-3 have aesthetic appeal, but are dogged by concerns over reliability, build quality, price and power particular when compared to comparable European cars.

Until the past 5 years or so, I don’t believe their designs were at all compelling. I'm now a big fan of the 9-3 and TurboX. I was driving next to one of the latter this past weekend and was struck by how good it looked on the street. Even with these products, the challenge Saab has now in losing their core audience is that the products become undervalued, especially in comparison to other more well-known, higher volume competitors. The Viggen has some potential, but I would agree that with a relative brand clone within a few thousand bucks and ass-kickers like BMW and Audi waiting n the wings, the model would be a tough sell.

• Volvo had a storied history as a staid, but safety-focused brand which also offered value and relative reliability. Enter Ford who after taking over Volvo’s car operations in 1999, proceeded to sully its reputation and nearly run the brand into a ditch – airbags deployed, of course.
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• Range Rover has never won any awards for reliability, but it didn’t do itself any favors when it sold out to the Blue Oval in March of 2000. A $60,000+ Range Rover is worth half its value the moment a potential buyer even enters the showroom. If tony BMW thought the high-image SUV maker was not worth their time, why did Ford? Tata motors is now the new rightful owner along with Jaguar, which Ford sold to the Indian automaker for a case of motor oil and some re-treaded tires. The last remaining part of Ford's Premium Automotive Group, Aston Martin has also been sold to a consortium of well-heeled British and Kuwaiti investors.
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• Then there’s Saab, a marginal niche brand at best, even during its heyday. After its purchase by GM, a program of shared parts, badge engineering and lackluster marketing (*ahem*…the 97-X???) has nearly driven the Swedish brand into obscurity. In GM’s defense, despite a loyal following, Saab had its problems long before they entered the picture. But turning the slope-trunked 900 into re-badged Chevy Malibu? Repurposing a Subaru Impreza into a compact Saab hatchback, with a center console-mounted key no less? I bet you can’t name five acquaintances that own a Saab.
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• Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChysler...need I say more?

The big three should stick to what they (used) to do best: making cars that Americans like. The domestics need to become domestic again. Volvo is already gone, Range Rover as well. That a great first step. Hit the road Jack, and dontcha come back no more. Let Germany and Sweden manufacture the stiff riding cars better suited to 90 mile-per-hour highways. Let the British crank out the plush, luxury vehicles with more leather in them than a Coach store.

Yes, there will still be people here to by them, we just dont and shoulnt make them anymore.