CarSeekBlog

Devotees of Saab will be pleased to learn (via a report from Reuters) that Baard Eker, the Norwegian designer poised to swoop in and save the brand by getting investors in Norway and the U.S. to pony up the bucks, has hopes of rejuvenating the “soul and spirit” of the Swedish automaker. In fact, he wants to lead a creative rejuvenation of the whole auto industry. Modest guy, that Eker, but considering he’s 49 percent owner of the supercar company, Koenigsegg Automotive AB, he’s used to thinking outside the box.

Quoted in the Reuters report, Eker said, “Saab has to refine their quality level, their soul and spirit and we believe that this is something we can help with.” The most oft-leveled criticism fired in GM’s direction in recent weeks is that the once monolithic Detroit giant fell victim to a stale corporate culture that simply believed it was too big to need to be innovative and competitive. They were wrong. So, can a company that makes a few dozen $1 million two-seat roadsters a year take over a company (Saab) that produces about 100,000 units a year and make a success of it? Well, given the rapidly changing automotive playing field, not just in the U.S. but around the world, why not?

Eker is talking greater creativity and more environmental responsibility. Those are powerful words these days as consumers are demanding smaller, but sharper looking cars, rides that save both their pocket book and the environment but that don’t humiliate them in a stylistic sense. That’s left the Detroit big boys scratching their heads about what to build. The time is ripe for smaller, sharper, more specialized companies to snap up brands on the auction block and redefine the game.

“The auto industry survivors will be much more dependent on bringing something new to the table in terms of technology and environmental thinking” after the immediate industry crisis ends, Eker said. “Rising to such opportunities is one of our strengths.” As consumers, let’s just hope he can make good on that promise at something under $1 million a pop.

Filed under: In the News by Shorty