A digital search for traces of the Saab past

We all leave digital traces. More or less pronounced. Certainly more fragments than all generations before us. Digital archeology will have a lot of work to do in the future. In case someone wants to take the trouble to analyze this flood of information. The result might not be particularly flattering for us, I'm afraid. Much of what we have successfully suppressed, the digital search for clues washes back to the surface without mercy.

Digital search for traces: How was that back then, 10 years ago?

I try to keep my digital archive clean and tidy. Admittedly, I only succeed in this partially, which is due to the size of the data, but is not completely negative. Because some information that has not been deleted may still be (or again) interesting a few years later.

A few days ago I dived very deeply into my digital Saab archive. It was about 10 years ago. Summer 2011, the upcoming and then canceled IAA. I wanted to write an article about it, short and compact, in order to bring the events of that time out of the basement.

To my surprise, I “found” a sub-archive in the archive with all the mail traffic from that time. I created it years ago and then just forgot. Reading through the emails, I discovered how sketchy memories can be. You have some key experiences ready, even many years later. But the incidental events are forgotten. It is precisely those that are important if one wants to judge the events of that time fairly.

An inside report from 2011

The idea with the post, which should be short and compact, of course no longer worked. The result was a long insider report that tells things that were previously unreadable. It illustrates two things. On the one hand, the effort that went behind the scenes to make the 2011 IAA a success for Saab. A story of hierarchies and creativity, and that crises can bring out the best in people.

On the other hand, it becomes clear how our world has changed in just 10 years. Specifically in relation to the auto industry and how we feel about it. In 2011 everything was different, the protests against the IAA were still subdued, and discussions were not primarily ideological.

This week, subscribers can immerse themselves in a Saab world as it existed for a brief moment before the end of the brand. Exciting and definitely not a bit boring.