tommallett

Manufacturers have long since been searching for ways to miraculously turn around their waning fortunes. Advertising campaigns are constructed and publicity stunts are staged. However, the question remains as to whether all this makes an awful lot of difference?

Mercedes is an example of a great manufacturer falling from grace before a return to its former glories. It is well known that Mercedes let its standards slip in the mid 1990’s. The previously bullet-proof cars squandered its reputation for reliability in a few badly judged years. Mercedes had let the penny counters have their way, and it showed.

In the last few years Mercedes has gone back to basics. It has endowed the engineers with a little bit more of a say in the direction of the company and it seems to be back on track. Now, when you get in an S-Class, new SLK or even a humble C-Class there is a feeling of solidity that was missing from the previous generation.

The question is where am I going with this ramble? I will tell you. It seems that there is no substitute for quality, and not only that, but the public at large catch on pretty quickly when a manufacturer loses its way. They vote with their feet and move to other brands, in the case of Mercedes it was Audi and BMW that picked up the baton and capitalized upon Stuttgart’s nightmare.

Mercedes is on the way back up, and Ford, through a similar process has regained its position at the centre of our affections with the revolutionary Focus in 1998 and other similarly excellent models.

Saab on the other hand has failed, and we are yet to discover whether there will be a last minute savior. I hope there will be, but I suspect the new owners will have to do quite a lot better. A nice name and some clever marketing will not resurrect a Saab line-up that falls short on quality. Saab’s only option is to produce better cars. I would like to be able to think of a better and easier route to safety for Saab, but I can’t. So I hope a new owner has deep pockets, as producing genuinely world beating process is not cheap and it isn’t done over night.

It will come as no surprise that the market always sorts the wheat from the chaff when it comes to car makers. Darwinism, it would seem, stretches to the motor industry too.

Sorry for the pessimism Saab.