I received an email this morning from a Saab blogger in France named Remi. He runs a site called Saab Actu and he took part in the Paris leg of the Saab’s Tour de France last weekend.

It’s emails like this that give me such a boost as a Saab person, knowing that grass-roots efforts like the Dealer Tour are reaching people in a very personal way. One-to-one opportunities to see our new vehicles up close are very important at a time when support for our company is so crucial.

I get the chance to attend the event in Paris : it was fantastic! I have made a little video of the event

The video has some images from the Paris event, as well as a quick 9-4x test drive at the hands of a Porsche Cayenne owner, who comes away very impressed with the 9-4x……

Saab Actu, along with Saablog-in, is running a photo competition from the Tour….

I have received great photos from enthusiasts for our Photos Contest – from customers as well as from dealers.

This Tour has given everybody a good smile. The 9-4X seduced most people, even the “900 lovers”. I also had the chance to take a ride and this car is much more than a SUV. It reaches a premium top level on every point, really. And with a Saab design.

The people at Saab France are worth meeting. This tour has been a good outcome from the Saab financial issues. It has made us closer and given us unexpected occasion to meet skilled people who generally work behind the curtains. The Saab Team is like a family of car lovers, of Saab history builders.

Thanks a lot for this Saab Tour and whatever happens (the better way I want to imagine) I hope there is going to be another Saab Tour de France in 2012

And I guess that’s the big payoff here. The sense of camaraderie, the relationships that get built in tough times.

Of course, we all want those tough times to end and some good times to begin. We want to start to create some good Saab Family memories based on positive circumstances. Personally speaking, I’d love to do an Inside Saab tour around the world, bringing the cars and some of the stories from inside the gates to dealerships, clubs and fans all over the globe. I’d love to expand the Saab Family across all borders.

We need a few things to go our way before that can happen, but it’s good to see the Dealer Tour concept that started with the guys at Saab Germany catching on and spreading so well.

Congratulations to Saab France and the participating dealers for conducting such a wonderful set of events. And thanks very much to Remi for the feedback.

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BONUS

Some images from recent stops on the Tour de France….. from Limoges and the very picturesque La Rochelle.

Click to enlarge.

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The Saab Dealer Tour de France has been a fantastic success and it’ll all coming to a conclusion on Tuesday 22nd November. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the new Saab 9-4x and 9-5 SportCombi, this will be your last opportunity on French soil as part of this tour.

The final two days of the tour include visits to the following:

November 21

0930-1200 – SAAB SELECT AUTO
4 r Jean Deméocq
17000 La Rochelle
Tél : 05 46 45 48 22

0930-1200 – AUTO VIP
115 Chemine de la Fauceille
66100 Perpignan
Tél : 04 68 82 00 00

1530-1900 – ESPACE PERICAUD LIMOGES
123 r Feytiat
87000 Limoges
Tél : 05 55 31 34 37

1530-1900 – GARATGE SPORT
10 Verge del tilar
099 Andorra la Vella
Tél : 00 376 809 144

November 22

0930-1200 – ESPACE DECOUVERTE AUTO
Avenue d’Aquitaine
47550 Boé
Tél :05 53 96 04 42

0930-1200 – SOCIETE NOUVELLE CENTRALE GARAGE SIGNATURE
zone artisanale Bourgade
31670 Labège
Tél : 05 62 71 68 68

1530-1900 – VS AUTOMOBILES SARL
ZA Saint-Frédéric 2 – RN 117
Rond Point du Grand Basque
64100 BAYONNE
Tél : 05 59 55 16 26

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A report from the Saab guys in France:

Since our last update, the tour has visited a huge number of dealerships around France and has been met with overwhelming support and interest.

On Saturday, the Saab marathon stopped by the downtown Paris Saab Dealership “Saab Rive Gauche”, which is ideally located nearby the Eiffel Tower.

The 9-4X and the 9-5 Estate (the Sport Combi) were presented by Patrice Lamouroux, Saab Rive Gauche MD and Philippe Van Der Meulen, the head of Saab France. Saab fans walked in to take a look at the new Saabs all day long.

Around 100 customers and prospects took a chance to seat themselves in the cars. The unanimous response was: When can we meet again for a test drive? When can we order the cars, I want one …..

The press have shown a strong interest in the tour as well. We’ve already seen one report about the Saab 9-4x popping up in the French media and I’m sure there have been more reports about the tour, too.

After the tour concludes on Tuesday, the vehicles will move on to Spain for a new tour. I’ll have dates for that one later today.

Some images follow, which are from Paris, Rouen, and Provence. Special thanks to Jeff from Saabsunited.fr for forwarding the Viggen vs 9-4x images from Provence, which were taken by Saab France staff.

Click to enlarge.

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The team from Saab France have sent through a gallery of images from the first days of their tour. It’s wonderful to see people getting the chance to experience the new Saab 9-4x and 9-5. And it’s not just prospective customers, either.

One definite thing that is common to all stops around France so far …. The smiles on the faces whether it is from the customers or the dealers and their staff.

The cars are consistently praised as being the best Saabs ever from all aspects, technical or design.

The show must go on …

These dealer tours have been very important in terms of giving people a chance to see our news cars. Just as important, though, is the injection of insight and hope it gives for the staff in our distribution channels. For national organisations like Saab France, it’s a chance to deal with their contacts with new products, a welcome opportunity. And for dealers and service staff, it’s a chance to engage their customers with these new products and get some happy faces into the dealership.

It’s a welcome change for everyone. Here’s to making it a permanent one, and soon.

These images from three of the initial stops along the tour – Melun, Saint Quentin and Lille. Click this link for all of the dates and locations for the Saab Dealer Tour – France.

Click the images to enlarge.

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