Bye Bye SAAB

[Dr Mordrid]

GM couldn't agree to terms with a buyer so they'll close them down.

Link....

GM will shutter Saab after talks collapse

Robert Snell / The Detroit News

Detroit -- General Motors Co. will shut down its Saab brand after announcing today that it could not conclude a deal to sell the Swedish automaker.

It is the latest setback in GM's efforts to sell unwanted brands, including Saturn and Opel. GM officials are expected to provide more details at a 9:45 a.m. conference call.

GM Chairman and interim CEO Ed Whitacre warned earlier this week that it may close Saab by the end of the month if a deal cannot be reached with possible buyer Spyker Cars N.V.
>

[Technoid]

I'm amazed that GM didnt pull the plug years ago...

[Dr Mordrid]

Me too. Their volume was very low and a drain on the rest of the company.

[Elie]

Saab was a good company and GM absolutely sucks for shutting it down!

[Dr Mordrid]

How could they afford to keep it open? GM tried to sell it but no takers, and they need to get rid of non-performing units. Sad, but SAAB has been a niche mark for decades and hasn't been able to sustain itself nearly as long. Without GM's backing they'd have gone titsup ages ago.

[Kruzin]

Saab hasn't made GM any money in years.
Yea, for the most part they were solid, reliable cars.
But overpriced, expesive to service/repair, and lets be honest FUGLY.

GM has to trim the fat to survive, and this was an obvious choice for the dumpster. More ppl (at least here in the US) will miss Saturn more than Saab...

[Dr Mordrid]

All may not be lost - apparently the new models may be built in China. I'll post when more details come out of GM locally.

[Kruzin]

Enjoy your American GM trash

The biggest POS that GM has produced in decades has been the Pontiac GTO/G8s.

Care to guess where they were made?

[gt40]

Now I'm normally pro GM/FORD, but just comparing the money I've spent on my Navigator over the years (currently over 300,000km) and the money some of my friends have spent on their GM trucks/SUV's I am really surpised GM is still in business.
The repairs on the GM's are non-stop. Just simple things that happen to cost a fortune - A/C lines rotting, brake lines rotting, window motors, brake backing plates, electrical parts, etc... And these people keep buying them... and... slagging my Ford. I have only had one major expenditure in 300,000kms (tranny - $2100), but some of these guys spend that every 6 months.
Cost of ownership wise, I have spent less than 1/2 of some of these guys. But they keep going back.
Sheeple I call them, just following the herd. It's the only thing keeping GM alive.

[Elie]

Spyker makes new bid, this just in from Bloomberg mobile...

Spyker Cars Makes a New Bid to GM for Saab Automobile

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Spyker Cars NV submitted a revised offer for General Motors Co.’s Saab unit, two days after GM said it planned to wind down the Swedish company following the collapse of previous talks with Spyker.

GM better accept the deal now.

[gt40]

I think that most of the issues with the sales are due to GM's refusal to devulge any 'technologies' it thinks it owns. GM would rather let the line go rather than give up any 'secrets'. They won't let anyone buy out the car company in it's entirety
It makes it extremely difficult as a new owner to maintain a vehicle line when you need to re-invent many of the drive systems and electronics associated with them. Just not cost effective. At that point jyou are just buying a name and a shell of a car.

[VJ]

At that point jyou are just buying a name and a shell of a car.

And a production line...?

I hope the Saab brand doesn't disappear. It always has this exclusiveness surrounding it. And they made some very nice prototypes in recent years: if that was a sign for things to come...


Jörg

[gt40]

And a production line...?

I hope the Saab brand doesn't disappear. It always has this exclusiveness surrounding it. And they made some very nice prototypes in recent years: if that was a sign for things to come...


Jörg

I'm hopefull it won't die either. It's a great car line. It boils down to what GM wants in $$ and what it's willing to give up - to a buyer that will eventually be a competitor.

[Dr Mordrid]

Another sticky wicket is if GM were developing a Voltec version of one of SAAB's new platforms and if that tech would be part of the deal. That's what killed the Opel deal; they didn't want the Russians getting their hands on & reverse engineering the propitiatory tech documents and source codes, especially the very dev intensive part for smoothing the transitions from all electric to range extender mode.

UPDATE: Detroit News story....

[degrub]

On again

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8423363.stm