- by Ray Bernard
Don't pamper an icon is 'way to success'
14 April 2003: GM's vice-president Bob Lutz, whose ownership of his own ex-USAF fighter plane reflects his shoot-from-the-hip attitude to carmaking, says Fiat's success with Alfa Romeo is an example of how GM should deal with Saab.
'Don't pamper an icon to uneconomic' might be a translation. When Fiat bought Alfa in 1987, it worked on adding quality and profitability to a brand that had heritage, aficionados only equalled in their conviction by Ferraristas, and an abysmal build quality.
But it was sexy. And, while its own brand was crumbling around its axles, Fiat brought Alfa into the 20th, and now the 21st centuries by incorporating management expertise, cross-platform components compatibility, and that Italian flair that overcomes even a bad mussel in the inevitable evening portside restaurant menu.
Most of all, it gave the brand its own Fiat platforms and engines, which in several respects are still state-of the art.
That's now happening - albeit belatedly - to Saab, which GM actually took control of many years ago and completed its takeover in the millennium year.
The current Saab 9-3 is built on the latest Epsilon platform, which it shares with the Opel Vectra and on which the next Alfa 156 will be built under a current on/off love-fest between GM and Fiat.
A new Saab SUV is proposed for the US, to be built there and be based on an existing GM vehicle.
Brand purity in the motor business is gone the way brand loyalty has among its customers.
©2003 irishcar.com