Fighter jet and trucks
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, allow me to introduce you to the GMC Saab 9-7. (Just don’t tell Bob Lutz that you know it’s a Yukon underneath!) If you read Lutz’s writing on the Saab, you’ll see some of why I american cars don’t appeal to me. Lutz explains how they made many changes to the 360 platform (the yukon/saab suv platform) To make it more expensive Saab like. The car as a result has better steering feel, better interior trim and less road noise. Just makes me ask one question, GM, why the fuck aren’t you doing that with all of your cars? Is there someone out there that wants shitty steering feel, a crappy interior, and a noisy ride? Ahh well. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the commercial for the 9-7 shows a fighter jet transforming into an SUV. Riiight. Precision, performance, and stealth, all things that the new Saab 9-7 has gobs of.
Saab is an acronym that stands for “Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget” which means “Swedish Aircraft Company.” The fighter jet turning into a car is a metaphor about there history.
Thanks for the comment! How did you happen upon my blog? It’s always cool to get comments from outside my readership of 6 friends!
I know about their history as an aircraft manufacturer (my dad and I are both pilots). It’s a great campaign– a fighter jet turning into a 9-2x or a 9-3 or 9-5 is pretty cool…but turning into a 9-7 SUV? That’s just a little too much for me. The metaphor breaks down for me, as nothing about the SUV other than the name reminds me of their previous engineering marvels.
It’s a great metaphor, but (for me) there’s a breakdown when comparing a fighter jet to an SUV.