Saab Launches All-new 9-5 Sedan in New York; Company Executives Outline Plans of a New Era For Saab

Live coverage and Q&A session of Press Conference from the Scandinavian House, Manhattan, NY

When:

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM Eastern Time (ET)
3:30-4:30PM Central European Time (CET)

WHO:

Victor Muller, Chairman, Saab Automobile AB & CEO Spyker Cars NV
Jan Ake Jonsson, CEO Saab Automobile AB
Mike Colleran, President & COO Saab Cars North America

WHAT:

The all new Saab 9-5 sedan signals the start of a new era for the Saab brand. Sleek, sophisticated and unmistakably Saab, it combines stand-out looks with advanced technologies and brings a fresh alternative choice to the premium sedan segment.
In February 2010, Spyker Cars N.V. of the Netherlands, acquired Saab Automobile AB from GM as an independently-run business. The 9-5 Sedan will be the first all-new vehicle since the sale of Saab to Spyker Cars.

The live webcast will feature presentations from Victor Muller, Chairman, Saab Automobile AB & CEO of Spyker Cars, NV , and Jan Ake Jonsson, CEO of Saab Automobile AB about Saab’s transition to Spyker Cars N.V. The presentations will also outline Saab new business strategy including Saab’s new product portfolio and openness to share its engineering expertise.

Saab cars reflect the brand’s unique Scandinavian design ethic, which is fused with its aircraft engineering heritage. The company is a global premium car maker with a distinguished history of innovation. It is recognized for its pioneering role in turbocharging, as well as occupant safety and the introduction of flex-fuel technology through Saab BioPower. Saab Automobile AB currently employs approximately 3,500 staff in Sweden, where it operates world-class production and technical development facilities at its headquarters in Trollhättan, 70 km north of Gothenburg. Saab Cars North America is headquartered in Royal Oak, Michigan with 45 employees.

Saab Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company) was founded in 1937 as an aircraft manufacturer and revealed its first prototype passenger car 10 years later after the formation of the Saab Car Division. In 1990, Saab Automobile AB was created as a separate company, jointly owned by the Saab Scania Group and General Motors, and became a wholly-owned GM subsidiary in 2000.

WHO:

Media participating in the webcast will have an opportunity to submit questions during the live Q&A session to all presenters

WHERE:

To register and view the live webcast, please visit: http://media.xfactorcom.com/MMWW/saab20100727/

(Attention Mac Users: Please make sure you have Real Player installed before viewing the webcast)

For more information about Saab: media.saab.com (select Global)

Please join us for our 6th Annual Niagara Region Winery Tour.

Starting time: 10:30 AM
Starting place: Niagara College Teaching Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake

All club members are welcome and, as usual, we extend a warm welcome to any non-member Saab owners to join us as well.
It is a fun day spent touring the Niagara Region, sampling local wines, and enjoying the company of other Saab owners.

Please be sure to be on time as we will have a full day planned.
Also, lunch is picnic style, so plan to bring food and drink with you as we will likely not be in a location that will make buying anything easy.

Both Queensway and Budds have invited our members to their 2010 Saab 9-5 Special Preview events. Note that both events require us to RSVP!

Tuesday May 11th - Budds' Saab
Club members are invited to an open viewing of the new 9-5 between 3pm and 9pm. Food and beverages will be available, RSVP to Nadia at 905 845-1610 x4. Location: 2400 South Service Rd. West, Oakville, Ontario L7L 5M9

Wednesday May 12th - Queensway Saab
Club members are invited to view the new 9-5 at Queensway's Wine & Cheese Reception at 7pm. RSVP to Cathy at 416 253-5008 by May 10th. Location: 1652 The Queensway, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 1X1. Stacey Polyschuk (Queensway's VP) has extended a special invite to members who are vintage Saab owners: she would like to include one in the event if it's fair condition or better, and she will even throw in a free detail.

Our schools for 2010 have been scheduled for Friday May 7th and Friday October 15th and both are at Shannonville (Full Track). The price of $275 includes classroom and in-car instruction, lunch and refreshments, and a custom colour manual developed specifically for the Saab Club of Canada's Enhanced Driving School program. We do not charge GST.

A limited number of spaces are still available at all driver experience levels for our May 7th school. Click here for more info on the school, including the registration form.

Special Discount at Best Western Belleville
Discounted accommodation is available at the nearby Best Western Belleville (Phone:613-969-1112) if you want to travel to the track the night before the school (highly recommended so that you are well refreshed for your day at the track). There is a special nightly rate available for EDS participants (for 2010 this rate is $96.95 for one adult, plus $10 per extra adult). Just mention that you are going to our event at Shannonville when you call in your reservation. Note that you must call the hotel directly at the above number and that this rate is not available for Web and 800 number bookings. The hotel is a 23km (18 minutes drive) from the track.

"Spyker Cars N.V. today confirmed it has finalized the deal with General Motors Company to purchase Saab Automobile AB. The transfer of ownership took place on February 23. Prior to the close of the deal Saab exited liquidation and control was reinstated to Jan Åke Jonsson, Saab Automobile's CEO, and his management team. Going forward Saab Automobile and Spyker Cars will operate as sister companies under the umbrella of the Amsterdam Euronext listed parent company Spyker Cars N.V. This transaction secures the future of Saab Automobile and signals the start of an exciting new era for the iconic brand."

You can read the press release on Saabs United.

GM and Spyker have reached an agreement on the purchase of Saab. The press release states:

"General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome".

The official press release is found here, and of course there's always more detail on Saabs United.

Christian Skovbjerg of Aktive Motors has put together details for a Save Saab convoy for Saturday January 23, 2010. If you aren't aware of the activity of the Save Saab convoys around the world, I would suggest you visit saabsunited.com for details.

Christian invites all Saab owners/fans to attend and be a part of Saab history and show your support for the brand you love. Departure time from Aktive Motors is 12:00pm sharp and there will be refreshments for those who wish to show up early.

Further details can be found at aktivemotors.ca, click the SAVE SAAB banner for all the information. That link also contains files for Save Saab banners that can be printed ahead of time and displayed in your Saabs.

More details in the forums.

These are challenging times for all Saab enthusiasts but we are confident that there is still a chance that our marque will survive. There is currently a global E-mail campaign underway to persuade GM to sell Saab instead of wind it down.

Steven Wade of saabsunited.com has articulated it perfectly:

"We have one chance only to put across our point of view as Saab owners and enthusiasts. Saab have a business plan, new vehicles and an efficient factory to produce them. They have a passionate base of supporters and the right cars to win new customers to the brand.

The time is now.

The email address for Ed Whitacre, the Chairman and CEO of GM is eewjr [at] gm [dot] com

If you care about the future of Saab then I invite you to write a brief, polite and passionate message to Mr Whitacre, outlining why you think Saab should be sold, rather than closed.

I can't emphasise this enough: make your message passionate, but polite. A passionate message that clearly states a point of view will be read and considered. An angry message will only find its way into the trash."

Subject: Saab
From: Scott Hutchings
Date: Sun, December 20, 2009 8:30 pm
To: Ed Whitacre

Sir, I write to you as a passionate Saab owner and as the President of one of the longer standing Saab clubs around the world.

“Passionate Saab Owner” - This was the phrase that Magnus Hansson had printed on shirts used by myself and my club members when representing Saab at the Toronto International Auto Show when he was the head of Saab Canada. Our goal at the show was to simply to talk to people about Saab. We weren’t trying to sell them a Saab, but we were trying to sell them on Saab.
Saab to us is not just a car, not just an appliance to get you from point A to point B and back again.
A Saab is about making a choice.
A choice for something different, something better.
We attempted (and succeeded in many cases) to get this message across to them.

I drive a Saab first and foremost because it is one of, if not the, safest car on the road today.
I also drive a Saab because it is fun to drive, but at the same time, one of the more economical cars out there.
Saab uses a phrase; “Responsible performance”.
That just about sums it up for me.
Saab has never been about extremes. They take the concept of an average car and make it better.
Saabs are safer, more fun to drive, more ergonomically sound, much more fuel efficient than their competitors, and they make the best seats in the industry.

Saab is also a company with a vision driven by passion.
They have always been at the forefront of technology and innovation and I have confidence, given the opportunity, they could be there again in no time.
There is talk of over production in the automotive industry. There is additional talk that because of that, Saab should be left to die.
But I ask you, without Saab, would the automotive world be the same as it is today?
Would we have headlight washing systems to ensure that we can see where we are going? Would cars today have ABS systems as advanced? Would BMW, one of the premiere auto makers, be pushing turbo charging technology? Would we have heated seats? Would we have cabin air filters? Would we have active read restraints to help prevent neck injuries? Would we have ventilated seats?
Today Saab has the most advanced AWD system on the road in the XWD. Saab has the safest complete line up of cars of any manufacturer. One of Saabs safest vehicles today is the 9-5, a car that started its life more than 12 years ago … and yet is still able to lead the industry in safety. Saab has one on the Top 10 engines in the world available in the 9-3 Aero.
The list goes on.
Saab has made a significant mark on the automotive industry even with the few vehicles they sell every year.

I would ask you to look at the recent history of Saab.
During this last calendar year, Saab has spent most of it fighting for their life.
Yet during this, they have been able to bring the latest Saab, the 2010 9-5, to the verge of hitting the street.
This is a Saab that has already done more than any other Saab ever … it has won the praise of the automotive press around the world.
The management team in Sweden has also managed to trim the company down significantly.
All while trying their damndest to save the company they love so much.

Given all of this, plus a customer and fan loyalty second to none in the automotive industry, strike that … second to none in any industry, I ask you, can their not be a better end to the GM / Saab relationship than for Saab to close up shop?
The world has lost some really good companies recently.
With the interest that exists in Saab, you have an opportunity in front of you to save one of them.

As opposed to closing the brand and putting additional financial burden on General Motors (not to mention the US and Canadian tax payers), I implore you to go that extra mile and find a way, any way, to work out a deal to sell Saab to someone willing to help them get back on their feet and back to a leadership position among the automotive elite.

Thanks,
Scott Hutchings
President, The Saab Club of Canada

The Saab Club of North America will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Longest Day at Nelson Ledges victory by holding its annual Owners’ Convention in Aurora, Ohio from July 22-25th, 2010. The festivities will commence with an optional Track Day at Nelson Ledges Road Course on Thursday, July 22, where attendees will have the opportunity to drive the very course where Saab’s turbocharged 900 showed its stuff to the country.

http://www.saabconvention.com/