Drive for SAAB (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Drive for SAAB

4:33pm Tuesday 19th January 2010

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SAAB owners and those depending on the iconic Swedish make for a living converged on the General Motors UK HQ in Luton on Sunday to fight for the brand’s survival.

They were led by ‘Mr Saab’, rally legend Erik Carlsson.

American-owned GM is liquidating Saab, having started the rundown while still talking to bidders including Dutch company Spyker.

But with time running out there have been passionate global demonstrations that the brand must survive and return to its Swedish roots, with protest convoys around the world.

At Luton convoys from across the country gathered out of town under the direction of organiser Josephine Gatsonides – niece of the rally champion speed camera inventor Maurice – before quietly parading past the GM UK HQ Griffin House where the Saab flag still flew high.

Then they headed to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford to celebrate the brand’s aerospace heritage and the car’s 62 years, led by rally legend Erik, 81, who married Stirling Moss’s rally ace younger sister Pat in 1963. She died in 2008.

Erik, joined by famed show-jumping daughter Suzy, should have had a knee operation on Sunday but the winner of the 1962 and ’63 Monte Carlo rallies for Saab had it postponed to join the parade, saying: “I can’t believe that any other make would get so many cars together!”

The Swede bought his first Saab in 1952 and rallied full-time for the marque from 1954 to 1977, with classic victories including the British RAC Rally in 1960, ’61 and ’62, before turning to development driving.

At Duxford Erik cut a special Saab prototype-shaped cake to celebrate 62 years of success, and raised a glass with Josephine to salute her team from the British Saab Owners Club which has 2,200 members, and the hundreds who had turned out.

He said: “I have been lucky with Saab all my life and I hope Saab will continue to be true Saab” – a sentiment echoed by Josephine.

She said: “Negotiations with Spyker are still ongoing and we understand that GM will probably retain some preference shares but hand over management so that Saabs are made in Europe by Europeans.”

Heading the UK’s Southampton contingent was Southampton Saab MD Ian Johns, since 2001 owner of the WhiteQuay group – the biggest privately-owned UK Saab group with dealerships also at Newbury and Reading, as well as Alfa Romeo, Skoda and Suzuki franchises.

He was joined by staff volunteers and customers. Stepping from his regular Saab 9-3S he took in as a part-exchange to clock up 100,000 “totally reliable and very comfortable” miles between dealerships in four years, he said “it would be a tragedy for it all to go.”

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