SAAB Day: Saving the last Saab and Saab Talk from Trollhättan

Tim Rokka and Till Drescher of Saabsunited have launched an initiative to preserve the very last Saab for the Museum in Trollhättan. The Saab, an 9-3 Griffin, is currently being completed at ANA and is reserved for this project. Not all cars in the museum are secured in the long term, especially not all newer models. The Saabsunited Initiative wants to make this last Saab available to the museum in the long term.

More details at Saabsunited. Tim also believes that the new owner could put Saab on hold for 3-5 years to develop new products during that time.

If his information is correct, then we have a long dry spell ahead of us. For a particular bidder, I think this scenario is very likely to sustain production during this time with other products. The waiting period would then be bridged to us with studies, so that the brand does not completely disappear from the radar.

The situation may be good for the bank account and our Saab fleet, in very good condition, will survive this time. If necessary, an additional Saab can be added. Saab is without an alternative. But, hand on heart, is it the news we like to hear? I don't think it is.

Still, there are guesses and nothing is confirmed yet. That's good. In the next few weeks, we will be sure and until then we should try to see things relaxed.

For Trollhättan 3 years ice age would be a horror scenario. Although 717 1.400 former Saab employees have found a new job after the bankruptcy of the car maker. Most of them on better terms than at Saab times. This is what the TTELA in Trollhättan writes today.

Many of them have been housed in startups funded by the state. Others were hired by Saab Parts AB or found a job at Semcon, or

What happened to the Saab workers is not written by the newspaper. There, the situation is far from being as good as it is for the employees. A little bit is the message like the whistling in the dark forest. Because the suppliers around Trollhättan have quit their mostly semi-skilled workers and new jobs are not in sight. For them, a restart in the stablebacka is the great hope.

There was also sad news from Sweden. Saab veteran Bo “Bosse” Hellberg passed away at the age of 80. Hellberg was the man behind the careers of Erik Carlsson and later Stig Blomqvist and Per Eklund. Since 1962 he has been organizing Saab's motorsport commitment with the always limited resources available. The Saab world and motorsport in Sweden have lost one personality.

Bosse is now in another world and our compassion is for his family. Farewell, Bosse Hellberg.

Text: tom@saabblog.net