Super Piston Slap: The Saab Secure Program. Yes, Really.

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta

NOTE: I received the following email from Saab Automobile Parts North America. As I was not aware of the recent details behind Saab’s parts/service operation (my bad) I felt obligated to share this, unedited, with everyone. – SM

Sajeev,

We read, with great interest, your latest Piston Slap post and the many comments in response to “ The Last Saab = good Deal?” We wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about Saab Automobile Parts North America, the exclusive authorized provider of Saab Genuine Parts in North America. Venues like yours help us to get the message out that Saab Genuine Parts and Service are available.

For your review, I’ve attached a copy of our recent press release, which announces our newest initiative, the Saab Secure Program; but also provides more detail on our company, ownership and highlights of our very busy start-up period. In a short period of time, we’ve made notable progress on many fronts, to provide a structure of strong support to current and future Saab owners:

  • Established a network of 179 Official Service Centers in the US and Canada.
  • Returned availability of Saab parts back to the high levels that existed prior to the Saab Automobile AB bankruptcy.
  • Entered into an agreement with General Motors to administer warranty services on 2009 and prior model years, providing a seamless warranty experience for those Saab owners.
  • Launched the Saab Secure program to support owners of 2010 and 2011 Saab models.
  • Launched a North America Technical Assistance Center to provide technical help for Saab Service Centers in providing high quality repairs for Saab owners.
  • Launched a North America Customer Assistance Center on January 7, 2013 to support all Saab customers in North America needing assistance with inquiries about parts, accessories, service and technical support.
  • Launched a new SPNA website, Saab.com and Facebook page to share up to date information about the company, service facilities and current promotions.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss Saab Automobile Parts North America with you in more detail. Please feel free to contact me at any time to set up an interview.

Thank you!

The Saab Secure Press Release_FINAL

Sajeev answers:

There you have it, dear readers. The press release, dated 1/10/13, is here to clear up any Saab-related quandaries. And since the Saab mother ship is listening, this is a great time to give them some more unfiltered feedback.

If you think I’m a typical media shill for posting a press release, I can dig it. But some releases are too, um, valuable to ignore. Plus, with the above music video in mind, you’ll see I’m merely keeping an Angry God from sending a Turbo Saab with Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel to my doorstep. I really, honestly, love the engineering in Saab’s seats…don’t put me in the same hole Ford left the Panther Chassis!!!

And to the detractors, it begs the question: would you consider buying a Saab now? I re-checked my link, and 6 more new Saabs showed up online!

Any other questions? Apparently Saab is listening, so speak up.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.

Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • Abqhudson Abqhudson on Jan 31, 2013

    Of course, the devil is always in the details. My bet is that they may have some parts for your Saab, but, the chances are they probably won't have the part you need for your Saab. Odds may be better for "running" parts and less favorable for cosmetics/electronics/cpus/body parts. IMO, it's still pretty much "Buyer Beware".

  • Snaab9-3 Snaab9-3 on Feb 02, 2013

    That makes me laugh because the reason I bought a Saab was because I couldn't find a E36 in my price range that wasn't hooned to death. That and Wisconsin winters with a RWD sports sedan/coupe scared my young brain. I compare my Saab to the beigemobiles that my friends were given as college cars, etc...and compared to a spec'ed out Camcord etc the Saab is by far superior. Even as far as options it seems as though my 9-3 has more than a basic 325i.

  • Varezhka I have still yet to see a Malibu on the road that didn't have a rental sticker. So yeah, GM probably lost money on every one they sold but kept it to boost their CAFE numbers.I'm personally happy that I no longer have to dread being "upgraded" to a Maxima or a Malibu anymore. And thankfully Altima is also on its way out.
  • Tassos Under incompetent, affirmative action hire Mary Barra, GM has been shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis.Whether the Malibu cancellation has been one of these shootings is NOT obvious at all.GM should be run as a PROFITABLE BUSINESS and NOT as an outfit that satisfies everybody and his mother in law's pet preferences.IF the Malibu was UNPROFITABLE, it SHOULD be canceled.More generally, if its SEGMENT is Unprofitable, and HALF the makers cancel their midsize sedans, not only will it lead to the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ones, but the survivors will obviously be more profitable if the LOSERS were kept being produced and the SMALL PIE of midsize sedans would yield slim pickings for every participant.SO NO, I APPROVE of the demise of the unprofitable Malibu, and hope Nissan does the same to the Altima, Hyundai with the SOnata, Mazda with the Mazda 6, and as many others as it takes to make the REMAINING players, like the Excellent, sporty Accord and the Bulletproof Reliable, cheap to maintain CAMRY, more profitable and affordable.
  • GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
  • Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
  • Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
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