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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
October 31, 2008 - 4:26 pm ET

DETRIOT -- General Motors will end the 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty on all 2009 Saab vehicles in the United States, a Saab spokesman confirmed. It's a move the brand quietly made two months ago to save costs.

In a related move, GM told dealers in a memo Thursday that it is eliminating the word "GM" in the advertising term "GM 100,000-mile warranty" in cross-divisional advertising. That's because "GM" might imply that the warranty is offered at all eight divisions. Dealers can download a new cross-divisional logo on GM Asset Central.

GM's seven other brands still carry the 100,000-mile warranty, but Saab will now carry a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty.

"In this day and age, you have to make choices, and some things were more popular," said Saab spokesman Jan-Willem Vester. "The euro versus the dollar was way out of whack, and with vehicles being imported from Sweden, we had to look closely at that to make sure we are doing a good business in the United States."

Through September, Saab sales were down 32.4 percent, to 17,362 units, compared with the same period in 2007.

Vester said Saab dealers indicated that the 100,000-mile warranty was not drawing additional showroom traffic, so Saab ended it about two months ago and reverted to the previous warranty program.

He said: "We still have the 3-year/36,000-mile no-charge scheduled maintenance, and that is something our customers have a lot of fondness for."

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081031/ANA05/810319949

 

[mgescuro]

YEaaaa. Sorta old news.
Initially they said that they removed it from Saab because "it was to bring the brand more inline with the competition." :blink:

Made no sense.
THe interesting thing though, is that Saab is the only GM car that offers free scheduled maintenance -- like BMW does. (Not counting XLR, of course.)

 

[sigma]

1) GM advertising is stupid. What is GM? Can you buy a GM? No, you buy a Chevy or a Cadillac or a Buick or a Saturn or Pontiac etc. This would be like Proctor and Gamble advertising Proctor and Gamble instead of Tide or whatever else they make.

2)Bring back the warranty for SAAB.

 

[mgescuro]

1) GM advertising is stupid. What is GM? Can you buy a GM? No, you buy a Chevy or a Cadillac or a Buick or a Saturn or Pontiac etc. This would be like Proctor and Gamble advertising Proctor and Gamble instead of Tide or whatever else they make.

2)Bring back the warranty for SAAB.

Of course GM's advertising is stupid. And GM's branding is impotent.
ANd this goes back all the way to the silly GM stickers they added to each and every car a very years back.

The brand name (Cadillac, Saturn, Chevy, et al) are what is important. NOT "GM."

The only CEO to ever understand that is Zarella. But his problem is that he didn't understand the product.

 

[Buickman]

Of course GM's advertising is stupid. And GM's branding is impotent.
ANd this goes back all the way to the silly GM stickers they added to each and every car a very years back.

The brand name (Cadillac, Saturn, Chevy, et al) are what is important. NOT "GM."

The only CEO to ever understand that is Zarella. But his problem is that he didn't understand the product.

Zarrella is a phony and a liar. besides that he was grossly mistaken in thinking that each model is a brand rather than the true divisional nature of automotive brands. he was as bad as John Smith and LaNaive.

 

[sancapguy]

Old News, Old Story! Sounds like Automotive News wants to kick em while they're down

 

[johnnyl321]

Zarrella is a phony and a liar. besides that he was grossly mistaken in thinking that each model is a brand rather than the true divisional nature of automotive brands. he was as bad as John Smith and LaNaive.

Hey JD, if you knew that GM's board of directors would heed your word, who would you recommend become the new CEO and marketing director of General Motors?

 

[Buickman]

Hey JD, if you knew that GM's board of directors would heed your word, who would you recommend become the new CEO and marketing director of General Motors?

grant me three wishes on GM management and they would be:

Chairman - Ross Perot

CEO - Gary White current VLE full size truck

Head of VSSM - James Hresko current VP Worldwide Quality

then I'd load up on the stock and sit on the beach.

 

[igor]

well .. at least they corrected one wrong - the "GM" warranty ...


Yeah I never understood the obsession with the GM name being thrown out in ads ... hell Ford has Ford SYNC, Mercury SYNC, and Lincoln SYNC ... and it's done

Igor

 

[nascarnate326]

As long as the main brands arnt affected...its ok.

 

[roteague]

Old Buickman .... never has a good word for anybody. Must be sad to live a life like that, especially when in reality Buickman is the one with no clue.

 

[boblutzfan]

So the cost was too high they had to eliminate the coverage...what message does that send about the quality of GM cars? Even if it is just SAAB.

 

[stevecmh]

nothing to big..

as long as the other divisions have it

 

[LesabreLtd]

I remember the GM logo used to have under it... "The Mark of Excellence". That's gone... just like Body by Fisher. Amazing how bad things have gotten for GM. But they have nobody to blame but themselves. For decades they dismissed the foreign competition and kept saying that econo / small cars aren't profitable. Also those cookie cutter cars they produced in the late 70's and 80s.. ( badge engineering ) watered down and blurred the images of their seperate brands. I remember how unique the original Cadillac Seville was and in a few years, each division had a four door sedan with the same lines. Also the Cadillac Cimarron fiasco? And they shrunk the Cadillac in the mid 80's and pretty much gave away their sales to Lincoln? They saw all profits from the SUV and let their cars get long in the tooth. If they want to survive... it's time to give the public what they want... but not overprice the product.

 

[knightfan26917]

THe interesting thing though, is that Saab is the only GM car that offers free scheduled maintenance -- like BMW does. (Not counting XLR, of course.)

Sure would be nice if ALL manufacturers offered the free scheduled maintenance for a certain timeframe, anyway. I can imagine that'd be quite an expensive undertaking, but it would be encouraging traffic to dealerships...somewhat anyway.....



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ... & I approve this post
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"We're outta here" ... Steve Azar ... 'I Don't Have To Be Me 'Til Monday'

 

[Bravada]

Thank God... They should eliminate "GM" from all their advertisement... Why should I buy a pricey Saab if it is "just a GM"? There seems very little done in North American advertising and marketing (at least that I came accross) to build individual identities for the brands, built around some meaningful values and potential unique selling propositions. Most adverts could be swapped accross the brands, not least because half of them advertise prices, incentives or equipment features.

 

[sigma]

Thank God... They should eliminate "GM" from all their advertisement... Why should I buy a pricey Saab if it is "just a GM"? There seems very little done in North American advertising and marketing (at least that I came accross) to build individual identities for the brands, built around some meaningful values and potential unique selling propositions. Most adverts could be swapped accross the brands, not least because half of them advertise prices, incentives or equipment features.

Ding Ding. You don't see VW ads claiming credit for Audi. Which is exactly my point.

 

[redimpss5]

Hmmm, Saab not that good to support that amount?

 

[Steel4ring]

grant me three wishes on GM management and they would be:

Chairman - Ross Perot

CEO - Gary White current VLE full size truck

Head of VSSM - James Hresko current VP Worldwide Quality

then I'd load up on the stock and sit on the beach.

ROSS PEROT??????

And I guess your still waiting for that giant sucking sound of jobs headed to Mexico???........Never mine all of the Mexicans streaming across the border to come to work here......Ross Perot, now there is a real visionary.....still living high off GM's purchase of EDS.

 

[Steel4ring]

Thank God... They should eliminate "GM" from all their advertisement... Why should I buy a pricey Saab if it is "just a GM"? There seems very little done in North American advertising and marketing (at least that I came accross) to build individual identities for the brands, built around some meaningful values and potential unique selling propositions. Most adverts could be swapped accross the brands, not least because half of them advertise prices, incentives or equipment features.

While GM is at it.......save a few bucks and ditch the stupid GM badges on the front doors and ft. quarter panels that they now put on every car.