Officially official: Saab is dead

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/18/breaking-swedish-patient-succumbs-deal-for-saab-is-dead-on-th/

Autoblog said: ...GM will immediately begin the "wind down" of the much-loved yet perpetually unprofitable cult brand, but says it will continue to honor warranties and provide spare parts and service – presumably through other GM brand dealers – as Saab dealers go offline. Officials note that this is not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation situation, so outstanding creditors should still expect to receive payment.

Well, that sucks. One has to wonder what the hell GM's doing in its negotiations that ends up with every sale-able brand getting the axe...

probably trying to foist as much debt into the deal as they can

I thought that guy who was the head of that Swedish supercar company was taking over. The company he heads, I should say.

wheelsmithy wrote: I thought that guy who was the head of that Swedish supercar company was taking over. The company he heads, I should say.

Nope. They backed out a couple weeks ago.

wheelsmithy wrote: I thought that guy who was the head of that Swedish supercar company was taking over. The company he heads, I should say.

Koenigseggeggegegeg? I had heard he backed out. Which is really sad, as the thought of putting an unpronounably-branded car in my driveway has a certain undeniable appeal.

wheelsmithy wrote: I thought that guy who was the head of that Swedish supercar company was taking over. The company he heads, I should say.

No such luck, apparently.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/koenigsegg-saab-no-more-2009-11-25

I was sort of amused when Fisker was sniffing around as well... IIRC, he's the same guy that designed the z8, and that sort of design, and then the Karma, couple with the quirkiness that is/was Saab, we coulda had some REALLY interesting cars on our hands.

That's just terrible. My first car - well the first one I paid for myself and actually liked was a 1978 SAAB 99. I subsequently had a '79 EMS and an '80 Turbo. Miss them all!

I had really hoped that if GM went away SAAB might return to their wonderfully quirky roots.

RIP SAAB 1947-2009

Not much more to say, really. I wasn't buying a new car (from anyone, not just Saab), so I don't feel entitled to scream too loudly.

A lot of negatives led to this, and anyone who was paying attention saw it coming years ago.

I know that this probably won't increase the value of my old-and-busted-SAAB collection, but I have to wonder if the late model stuff will become even cheaper. Maybe its time to move from the DD '78 99 to something a bit newer and more GM. Who nose.

ok that just sucks ass...

MiatarPower said: I know that this probably won't increase the value of my old-and-busted-SAAB collection, but I have to wonder if the late model stuff will become even cheaper.

I hope you're right n' I'm wrong. My thought was, "So much for buying a neat old SAAB someday, now they're all instant collectables."

Does anyone other than me wonder whats going on with all the GM brand sales falling through after much investment of effort (and probably millions of bux) by potential buyers? Saturn, Opal and now SAAB deals have fallen apart late in the process, only the most worthless brand, Hummer, has been sold. Is GM sand-bagging these deals on purpose?

I'm very sorry to see SAAB go, but I think every one saw it coming. GM and SAAB couldn't have been a worse miss-match in corporate personalities, and the griffon just became another one of the generals worthless & badly played pawns.

Maybe some day SAAB will get annother chance and a clean start under a better owner like MINI's resurection under BMW.

So who would be the best candidate to start building neo 99 turbos and EMS models?

I hope Saab will return, but they need to be Saab. Funky and quirky. Unique. Saab was Saab and nothing else, and nothing else was Saab. They got thrown into the corporate parts bin and after surviving repeated dunkings over the past two decades, it was just a shell of what Saab used to be.

They where dead to me when they luanched the current 9-3 with no available hatch.

GM has the rare ability to turn everything they touch into complete crap......with a few exceptions of course. I always wanted a Saab and when I could finally afford one they had already been gutted, stuffed and left for dead by GM. Now apparently they are gone. Good job GM you suck.

Saab? Killed by GM? No, there were no indications whatsoever of that.... I've never been a Saab fan (sort of comes with working a dealer parts counter for them back in the "debut of the 9000" days), but they were unique and appealed to a particular part of automotive society. GM did all they could to kill that uniqueness and make it just another brand under their umbrella. I'm just glad they didn't drag Subaru down with them, though not for lack of trying...

yes.. unique and GM do not go together.. but then Unique does not go with Ford, Chrysler, Honda, or Toyota either...

Feedyurhed wrote: I always wanted a Saab and when I could finally afford one they had already been gutted, stuffed and left for dead by GM.

+1

In fairness, SAAB was on life support when GM came in to save them. Unfortunately, GM wanted to harvest organs (mostly the brand loyalty) rather than revive the patient (the design and technology).

It baffles me that GM didn't get that the brand loyalty was a direct result of the design and technology (quirkiness, if you will). Then again, there's apparently a lot that GM doesn't get--including my business.

HappyAndy wrote: Does anyone other than me wonder whats going on with all the GM brand sales falling through after much investment of effort (and probably millions of bux) by potential buyers? Saturn, Opal and now SAAB deals have fallen apart late in the process, only the most worthless brand, Hummer, has been sold. Is GM sand-bagging these deals on purpose? I'm very sorry to see SAAB go, but I think every one saw it coming. GM and SAAB couldn't have been a worse miss-match in corporate personalities, and the griffon just became another one of the generals worthless & badly played pawns. Maybe some day SAAB will get annother chance and a clean start under a better owner like MINI's resurection under BMW. So who would be the best candidate to start building neo 99 turbos and EMS models?

Yes I have. I have been a tech in GM dealerships for 20 years & things are so berkeleyed-up right now. I don't see how they can have thier heads so far up thier asses. The sad part is the dearership owners are becoming the same way. berkeleying the employees & customers for a quick dollar.

Ok, off my soapbox for now.

mad_machine wrote: yes.. unique and GM do not go together.. but then Unique does not go with Ford, Chrysler, Honda, or Toyota either...

But unique goes PERFECTLY with GRM- what do you say, Tim? It's GOT to be every bit as good an investment as SubieSport. GRM could do AWESOME in a whole new way owning a company like Saab!

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the top brass at GM think everyone out there is stupid enough to not see past a rebranding. I guess that goes back to the days when there wasn't a lot of difference between the various models based on a common chassis except the amount of chrome and the price.

This one's a WAY bigger bummer than the loss of Saturn (brand-wise, at least).

Saab made some neat cars and had great history. Damn shame for them to vanish.

Plymouth, Saturn, MG, Rover, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saab.

Hasn't been a kind decade to car makers. At least Eagle escaped the list.

Looks like there is some 11th hour dealing going on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/business/global/21saab.html

Long shot at best. What would be GMs motivation to not let any deal, even a bad one, go through? Tax advantage for the write off? I'd think they'd be willing to take just about anything to get rid of these makes.

Jeff wrote: Looks like there is some 11th hour dealing going on. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/business/global/21saab.html Long shot at best. What would be GMs motivation to not let any deal, even a bad one, go through? Tax advantage for the write off? I'd think they'd be willing to take just about anything to get rid of these makes.

how many minutes til midnight?