GM & the Sad Saab Saga (sold to Spyker)

[jwight]

GM says reaches deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg - Yahoo! News

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden's Koenigsegg, a niche manufacturer of some of the world's fastest and most expensive sports cars, has struck a deal to buy loss-making Saab Automobile from General Motors, the companies said on Tuesday.

In one of the most unlikely pairings in automotive history, the tiny sports car firm of 45 staff is expected to take over a company that employs around 3,400, a cherished Swedish brand that became a national icon for stability and reliability.

[The Rigger]

The Top Gear lads are gonna have a field day with that news....

[John_H]

Has anyone noticed that this is just another saab story?

(My comment might make more sense to someone from Massachusetts)

[Old smart]

One could wish that Scania had taken back Saab. And, would it then revert to the original SAAB (Svenska Aeroplan AtkieBolaget)?

[Neonspinnazz]

Koenigsegg? You're kidding me! Saab joining the high performance exotics car manufacturer? HA HA!!

Then again, high performance sounds good.
Then again, so does a Chrysler Fiat 500.

[JPaul]

Posted this morning

PARIS (Reuters) - General Motors will wind down operations at its loss-making Swedish unit Saab after an attempt to sell it to small Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars failed.

GM said in a statement the move was not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation process, and it expected Saab to satisfy debts, including supplier payments. GM would start an orderly wind-down of Saab operations, it said on Friday. GM Europe president Nick Reilly said it had become clear that "the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time."

Saab would have needed a quick resolution in order to maintain operations, he added.

GM had been in talks to sell Saab to niche luxury carmaker Koenigsegg, with the backing of China's BAIC.

But the deal fell through in November, and GM said it would consider other offers until the end of the year, and then decide whether to close the unit.

BAIC said earlier this week it had agreed to buy some assets from Saab, including the intellectual property for the 9-5 and 9-3 sedans, as part of a push to develop its own-brand cars.

Saab has around 3,000 staff, and about the same number are employed in ancillary industries.

PS: changing the thread's title slightly...

[jwight]

Saw that; another classic case of GM taking over a going concern and running it into the ground. At least they haven't managed to ruin Opel/Vauxhall (yet.)

[forestacademy]

The more I thought about this the sadder I get.

The car I loved driving and owning the most before the smart was a 80 something SAAB I owned in the Mid 90's. It was one of the last Hatchbacks for about a 10-15 year period and it was cavernous when you needed to move everything to the other side of the country.

During the 90's it seemed Hatchbacks got a stigma as a cheep car and for some reason the auto world abandoned them. I was so happy when they returned in something other than SUV's.

SAAB was lost years ago, but it is still sad to see the final nail put into the coffin.

[EdwardDennis]

Growing up in NY, I bought a used '68 96 V4 deluxe; white, with red interior. A great car. Got me through much of high school and college. It carried me to many concerts at SPAC [Saratoga NY] (...the Who, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Greatful Dead, etc, etc,) Dependable in upstate winter weather, and pretty easy DIY maintenance. By the time I sold it, the lower doors were just about rusted-out from winter road salt. The car still ran great. Pristine vinyl interior lasted for years.

We even had a rural, sole Saab-dealer located down the road from us--- in case you needed parts or required some significant mechanical work. Good, simple times.

My family and friends still residing in NY have been Saab customers for years (99 and 900 models, of course).

Another chapter, unfortunately, closes...

[JPaul]

PARIS — Spyker Cars, the tiny Dutch automaker whose last-ditch bid for Saab was rejected Friday by General Motors, came back Sunday with a renewed offer for the struggling Swedish icon, which G.M. has said it plans to shut down.
A spokesman for G.M. reacted cautiously to Spyker’s new offer, which many industry insiders consider a long shot. However, he said other potential buyers had expressed interest in Saab since Friday’s announcement.
“We continue to wind down Saab but during that process we’ve received several expressions of interest and we evaluate these offers as they come, but beyond that we’re not making any comment,” said Chris Preuss, the G.M. spokesman.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/bu...er=rss&emc=rss

The thread's title is (will be) changed to reflect the latest developments...