Falcone mourning Saab

December 18, 2009
Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

Bob Falcone, who was the only Saab dealer in the Indianapolis area until he closed in April, says he could foresee today’s announcement that General Motors would kill the brand.

Falcone swung a deal with Fifth Third Bank to unload his $5 million in Saab inventory and close the dealership in exchange for the bank’s financing his takeover of the former Duke Gold Volkswagen Subaru on the outskirts of downtown.

But Falcone is still mourning the passage of a brand he sold for 20 years and continues to service at Falcone Volkswagen Subaru & Saab Service.

“I’m crushed and heartbroken beyond a shadow of a doubt. But I’m going to survive this,” he says. “I’m just very glad to be a survivor.”

General Motors announced it would stop trying to find a buyer for Saab after it decided earlier this year to unload the brand as part of its turnaround strategy. Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars has rebuffed GM after a Swedish sports car manufacturer, Koenigsegg, turned down an offer to buy Saab in November.

Falcone thinks Saab would still be a going concern if GM hadn’t insisted on such hooks as forcing buyers to continue using GM platforms.

Nevertheless, it’s over. Falcone sold 600 cars a year, making him the 7th-largest Saab dealer in the nation. He also often was recognized by the company for heavily outselling rivals Volvo and Audi in the Indianapolis market.

Saab buyers were a tough crowd, Falcone recalls. They ranked among the highest—if not the highest—users of the Internet. So, they made decisions slowly and deliberately. Not the kind of people who respond well to high pressure.

But Falcone is heartened that a number of former customers are moving with him to Volkswagen and Subaru even though few, if any, of the models of either brand are considered entry-level luxury buys. The Saab customers are splitting their choices roughly evenly between Volkswagen CC sedans and Subaru Legacy and Outbacks.

“I will be 100 percent fine,” he says.

What are your thoughts about the end of Saab? Of Falcone’s migration to Volkswagen and Subaru?

 

ADVERTISEMENT
  • Saab Story...
    joeDecember 18, 2009 12:59 PM
    ...it's too bad that GM screwed Saab too...while I never owned one (Volvo driving liberal of course) always thought they were unique and solid cars, plus more affordable and practical than the high-end German cars. I understand Hummer and Pontiac getting axed but Saturn and Saab were worth saving for a number of reasons...and the GM execs that did these deals are all long gone with their golden parachutes!!!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • sob story
    PaulDecember 18, 2009 2:13 PM
    Sob story....whoops!... I mean SAAB story.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • Screw GM
    KurtDecember 19, 2009 7:15 AM
    GM sucks. They screwed over Saturn [personal favorite] and Saab. Makes me want to consider changing vehicle brands. GM's screwing over Saturn was a big middle finger to some of the most loyal customers the american automotive world has seen. I'm giving that middle finger right back to the fact cats at RenCen. Ford is looking better and better every day.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • Even though
    JoeDecember 21, 2009 12:30 PM
    Even though I never owned a Saturn or SAAB, I still held them with the up most respect. I have been a chevy man, but if worst came to worst and I had to choose a different vehicle (when they exists), I would have gone with Saturn or SAAB for reliability.

    Just like some of the other comments, I can see Hummers going down. They were monstrous machines which had a bad rep. But Saturn and SAAB? Not just that, but back in 2003, Chevy Axed the S10 and replaced it with the (what is called) new truck. Are they trying to kill themselves?
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

Post a comment to this blog

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

ADVANCED SEARCH
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

  1. So the Mayor adds another non value added layer to having a vehicle towed? Whereby the City Government RECIEVES AN ILLEGAL KICKBACK FROM A LGOISTICS COMPANY THAT SUBS THE WORK TO LOCAL TOW COMPANIES? What is the service the City performs for receiving the "tribute"? This is RICO!!!!! What a corrupt and unnecessary layer. What a dirtbag Mayor and his cronies.

  2. Owner occupied housing. Clear enough?

  3. So people think I am paranoid. It's from experience in dealing with puds requested by developers who make major donations themselves to representatives, have nice fund raisers for those running for office and hide through pac's. then there are the public relation firms. You will note some pr comments below. You there Clyde Lee? My opinion. Commercial along 421, great. Multifamily housing, terrible idea that will change the town. Senior condos or zero lot line homes west, great. I suggest keeping all entries to commercial areas at 421. All entries to owner occupied on sycamore. Will keep the traffic on sycamore down some. Two other things. You can't trust what will be there in 10 years. Steve builds quality stuff, but areas change over time. Look at the changes at the wall mart center at 86th and 421 over the last 10 years. Look at the apartments and neighborhoods behind St Vincent's. Raintree properties WILL decrease in value if commercial and multifamily goes in near. It has already been happening around the bridges area. The houses that have been sold recently are way below market. Several deals not closed due to the Illinois construction and the whole unsurety of the bridges. It's pretty simple, Zionsville will approve the whole thing because the city council has been groomed over a LONG period of time for this. I might even suggest some are in their position as a result of this.

  4. Esta, do you have a dog in this fight? You seem to really want to knock anyone against this project. No, I didn't move to Indiana for the architecture. I moved here for that red barn in the field. The horses and fields of corn. A place that is NOT overdeveloped. There are plenty of nearby places in Indianapolis that could be REDEVELOPED instead.

  5. RKW - OK, we get it, you're paranoid. The question is, are you paranoid enough? Greg - Yes, Pittman(s) is (are) at it again. They are developers, they build things. It's what they do. So when you go to work tomorrow, Greg, you're at it again too. Cliff - Really? You moved to Indiana for its progressive architecture? That's like moving to England for the cuisine. Zionsvillain - The house you moved to was once a field or woods. I'm willing to bet folks were upset when that ground was plowed under and a house was built. But I guess now that you are in, everything should stop? "My house was OK, but the next one is sprawl." SE Guy - Please don't paint us with such a wide brush. Most reasonable Zionsville residents welcome planned, measured development.

ADVERTISEMENT