Saab RIP: 1937 - 2009 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 12-18-2009, 09:13 AM

Quote:

GM to Close Saab After Ending Sale Talks With Spyker (Update2) - Bloomberg.com GM to Close Saab After Ending Sale Talks With Spyker (Update2) By Katie Merx and Ola Kinnander

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. said it will shut the money-losing Saab unit after talks collapsed on a sale to Spyker Cars NV, the second failure in less than a month to keep the 72-year-old Swedish brand alive.
GM and Spyker, a Dutch maker of $235,000 sports cars, faced “certain issues” that couldn’t be resolved, according to a GM statement today. Saab is expected to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and the unit will honor warranties and provide service and spare parts, GM said.
Closing Saab caps more than a month of reshuffling of GM’s European operations. On Nov. 3, the Detroit-based automaker reversed plans to sell the Opel unit and opted to keep it, and Koenigsegg Group AB backed out of a Saab purchase agreement three weeks later, creating an opening for Spyker.
“If you were a gambling man, you would have bet this deal would not close because none of the other deals have closed,” said Mike Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura Securities in London.
GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre said Dec. 15 that the Trollhaettan, Sweden-based unit would be shut unless he had a sales accord by month’s end.
“We were so incredibly close,” Spyker CEO Victor Muller said in a text message to Bloomberg News. “I have no words.”
Spyker fell 33 cents, or 15 percent, to 1.86 euros at 3:59 p.m. on the Amsterdam exchange. The shares touched 1.62 euros earlier for the biggest intraday decline since Sept. 30, 2008.
‘Complex Transaction’
“Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time,” GM Europe President Nick Reilly said in the statement. “In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution.”
Saab’s closing will be “an orderly winddown,” he said, and “not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation process.”
An agreement announced last week for the sale of Saab powertrain technology and tooling to Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. shouldn’t be affected by the shutdown plan, GM said.
Whitacre told reporters in Detroit this week that Spyker was the last bidder for Saab, which traces its roots to aircraft company Svenska Aeroplan AB, founded in 1937 to secure production of Swedish warplanes. The first car left the factory a decade later.
Sales, Jobs
GM bought half of Saab in 1990 and took full ownership in 2000. U.S. sales of Saab models tumbled 61 percent through this year’s first 11 months, and the biggest U.S. automaker identified the brand as one of four -- along with Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer -- it would shed to streamline operations.
Saab employs about 3,500 workers at its Trollhaettan plant, and its closing puts thousands more jobs in the region and among auto suppliers in Sweden at risk.
The Swedish government found out early today that the Saab deal collapsed and doesn’t know why, Industry Ministry spokesman Haakan Lind said in a phone interview. Industry Minister Maud Olofsson and State Secretary Joeran Haegglund, the government’s main liaison to the auto industry, visited Saab’s headquarters and plan a press conference at 4 p.m. local time, Lind said.
Spyker emerged as the front-runner to buy Saab this month. Spyker used Koenigsegg’s business plan in its bid, Muller said yesterday.
GM is focusing on the Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands in the U.S. Saturn is being wound down after a planned sale to Penske Automotive Group Inc. fell through in September. GM has agreed to sell Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., pending regulatory approval.
To contact the reporters on this story: Katie Merx in Southfield, Michigan, at kmerx@bloomberg.net Ola Kinnander in Stockholm at okinnander@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 18, 2009 10:06 EST

What a shame. Really, I always thought that SAAB was a good solid brand with interesting designs and innovative engineering. I was really hoping that someone would have been able to pick up the brand, but alas with the world in the state that it is in, it will not come to pass.

Baraka_Guru · 12-18-2009, 10:02 AM

It's a bit of a shock to see this. I've always viewed Saab as a reputable and quality brand. I even like the look of most of them.

I really hope someone picks it up when things get back on track. It'd be a shame to have it fade into history.

I can't really blame GM for shedding it though. It was probably a good move for them in the long run. They need to concentrate on their core.

LoganSnake · 12-18-2009, 10:05 AM

So the warranty and parts will still be available?

I just bought a Saab a year ago. This is pretty disheartening.

SecretMethod70 · 12-18-2009, 11:27 AM

I'm not a car person, but Saab is a brand I've always thought highly of.

Baraka_Guru · 12-18-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

So the warranty and parts will still be available?

I just bought a Saab a year ago. This is pretty disheartening.

Yeah, the above article mentions that.

Also:

Quote:

The wind-down of Saab will commence immediately, the company said. Drivers of the vehicles will still be able to get warranty service, and parts for the vehicles will continue to be made available.

"We expect Saab to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and to wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner while looking after our customers," said [Rick] Reilly, [president of GM Europe].

GM to shutter Saab after sale talks fail -- latimes.com

Scorps · 12-18-2009, 01:45 PM

That's to bad I thought the sale was done, guess not.

Ilow · 12-18-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scorps

That's to bad I thought the sale was done, guess not.

yeah, I thought it was a done deal with that Koeniggseggseggeggkegg guy. I didn't ever hear about that deal dying in November. I never really cared that much for Saabs and i think their brand sort of lost their way over the last 20 or so years, but it is too bad to see Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, and the others bite it in the same year. There is a part of me that is a little happy because there was something sort of snobby about the company like "we're born from jets, we're better than you," so in that way their comeuppance is sort of fun. who would have guessed in 1950 Saab would be dead and VW would be one of the biggest manufacturers 60 years later...

absorbentishe · 12-18-2009, 09:32 PM

Saab, people either really loved them, or totally hated them. I worked for a market research company that did all their satisfaction studies. People really loved the car unless you got one that just couldn't get fixed. There were more lemon laws used on these vehicles than any other. Loved the looks of the vehicles.

fiatguy85 · 12-20-2009, 08:03 AM

Not dead yet

Cynthetiq · 12-20-2009, 08:17 AM

I read that this morning. Hopefully it makes a compelling argument.

hunnychile · 12-20-2009, 01:03 PM

It's just another saab story!

Cynthetiq · 01-26-2010, 10:53 AM

I guess the fat lady hasn't sung yet...

Quote:

G.M. Strikes Deal to Save Saab - NYTimes.com
G.M. Strikes Deal to Save Saab
By NELSON SCHWARTZ

PARIS — General Motors said Tuesday it had reached an agreement to sell its struggling Saab Automobile arm to the small Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars, saving Saab from what seemed like certain extinction after earlier bids had collapsed.

G.M. had begun the process of shuttering Saab’s production line and other facilities in Trolltattan, Sweden, at the beginning of the year, but the deal with Spyker will halt that process and buy time for Saab to begin rolling out new cars, according to an official close to the negotiations. The official did not want to be identified because he spoke before the formal announcement was made.

It was the latest turn in a saga that had riveted workers and politicians alike in Sweden, as well as Saab’s famously devoted customer-base.

Still, it will be an uphill battle for Saab to survive over the long-term, auto experts said, noting that just finding a buyer took more than a year for G.M. Amid the uncertainty over the company’s survival, sales plunged 50 percent in the first half of 2009, to 24,000 cars, far too slow a pace for Saab to operate profitably.

Even so, taking over Saab will be a huge leap for Spyker, which sells 30 to 50 made-to-order cars a year for about a quarter-million dollars each. In 2008, Saab produced more than 90,000 cars. And while Saab has 3,400 workers, mainly in Trollhattan, Spyker has just 110.

LoganSnake · 01-26-2010, 10:58 AM

Spykers are awesome cars. I hope they can redesign the Saab to incorporate some of that sexy Spyker aesthetic. If so, I may buy another one when the time comes.

12-18-2009, 10:02 AM	#2 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	It's a bit of a shock to see this. I've always viewed Saab as a reputable and quality brand. I even like the look of most of them. I really hope someone picks it up when things get back on track. It'd be a shame to have it fade into history. I can't really blame GM for shedding it though. It was probably a good move for them in the long run. They need to concentrate on their core. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

12-18-2009, 10:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	So the warranty and parts will still be available? I just bought a Saab a year ago. This is pretty disheartening. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

12-18-2009, 11:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	I'm not a car person, but Saab is a brand I've always thought highly of. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

12-18-2009, 01:45 PM	#6 (permalink)
Scorps Lost!! Location: Kingston, Ontario	That's to bad I thought the sale was done, guess not. __________________ A.K.A. PainTrain

12-20-2009, 08:17 AM	#10 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	I read that this morning. Hopefully it makes a compelling argument. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

12-18-2009, 09:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
absorbentishe Boy am I horny today Location: T O L E D O, Toledo!!	Saab, people either really loved them, or totally hated them. I worked for a market research company that did all their satisfaction studies. People really loved the car unless you got one that just couldn't get fixed. There were more lemon laws used on these vehicles than any other. Loved the looks of the vehicles.

12-20-2009, 08:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
fiatguy85 Crazy	Not dead yet

12-20-2009, 01:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
hunnychile Alien Anthropologist Location: Between Boredom and Nirvana	It's just another saab story! __________________ "I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

01-26-2010, 10:58 AM	#13 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	Spykers are awesome cars. I hope they can redesign the Saab to incorporate some of that sexy Spyker aesthetic. If so, I may buy another one when the time comes. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques