Date:         Tue, 26 Aug 2003 11:23:57 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      NVC: Saabarus for the USA
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Subaruvanagoneers might be interested...

Looks like USA is going to get Subarus with Saab badges. GM wants the
Impreza WRX to badge "Saab 9-2"; Subaru thought it meant the
pain-jane Impreza, and refuses to let GM use its WRX.

The Legacy may also end up with Saab badges in USA. Smacks of GM
buying Toyota Corollas and marketing them as Chevrolet Novas, Geo
Storms, Holden Apollos...

It is possible that Subaru might supply floorpans for Saab to add its
own bodies too, but if the Saab version of the GM Trailblazer is
anything to go by, I'd bet on its buying the whole car and just
screwing its badges onto them.

Who agrees that such badge-engineering stinks?

Well, if Subaru (in which GM is a very minor shareholder) was given
control of Saab, it might mean that AT LAST Saab can make good cars,
not the Opel-based dungers it presently makes (its own home-grown
efforts were pretty awful too).
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
64 (3) 473-8863
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh & VW/Toyota van nut