General Motors to shut down Saab

[demoleft]

Source: al jazeera

General Motors (GM) has announced plans to shut down Saab, its Swedish automobile brand, after talks failed to find a buyer for the money-losing unit.

The Detroit-based vehicle manufacturer released a statement on Friday saying that it had failed to reach an agreement with Spyker, a Dutch sportscar maker.

GM said that "during the due diligence, certain issues arose that both parties believe could not be resolved".

"In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution. We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars," Nick Reilly, the GM Europe president, said.


Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/12/20091218155139562863.html

[CreekDog]

1. Goodbye stupid ignition placement (sniff)

:cry:

[midnight armadillo]

22. not stupid, carefully engineered!

You can't whack your knee into your keys in an accident. It's a safety feature.

[CreekDog]

24. of course your kid can reach over and turn your car off

:rofl:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

26. Also, the keys didn't jingle jangle around constantly.

I always liked that feature.

[Romulox]

2. Good riddance. nt

[zonkers]

3. So much for being "born from Jets". Loved the body design my my 1987 900. Drove great. But...

once it started to go it and being no mechanic, it became too expensive to fix. waterpump - 450. transmission -- thousands. The A/C never worked even when it worked. I did like the simplicity of the hand crank sun roof and windows. On a nice day, that car was a blast to drive and turned like a top. RIP, Saab.

[Kolesar]

8. A/C was tricky in the first few years after ozone-destroying freon was discontinued

I would not expect Scandanavians to prioritize that feature.

[postulater]

4. I love saab stories!

My 1985 900T had 225K when my wife finally had it towed.

I saabed for a week.

:silly:

[RussWorld]

5. Our axiom since owning a 900 turbo in the eighties has been

"Buy a Swedish car and saab forever"

[FarCenter]

6. I liked this reader comment

This is what you can expect when you do business with a U.S. company. The "corporate culture" in the U.S. is composed of a fairly tight knit group of sociopaths and criminals who will deal with you in the most predatory and underhanded manner imaginable. These are the same people who brought down the entire world's economies, bankrupted Iceland and wrecked retirement investments across Europe. These companies, with the complete approval of the U.S. government (and Obama's government, at that) have hiked interest rates on consumer credit cards to 80%! The routinely run ad's to defraud people desperate people out of their life savings on U.S. television. ANd you would expect them to deal differently with Sweden? Come on! Grow up. These are international criminals...think Hitler's S.S. What is needed are international tribunals and trials for them and their U.S. political allies.

Comment on "GM set to wind down Saab" http://www.thelocal.se/23928/20091218/

[Kolesar]

7. He should not complain--the US taxpayer bailed out foriegn bondholders

...in the T.A.R.P. program.

[Psephos]

9. Interesting that the commenter uses Hitler's S.S. as an example of evil...

...when Sweden so studiously ignored Hitler during WWII and refused to lift a finger to do anything about him.

In fact, Sweden sold vast amounts of crucial iron ore to the German war industries via a port proxy in Narvik, Norway.

The commenter is a study in envy and myopia.

[Romulox]

10. Umm, Saab is for sale. Some deal could be arrived at for a sale at any number > zero...

So perhaps the lippy Swede should whine to his own government to get a checkbook out? :shrug:

[FarCenter]

13. Most likely, even if the cash price is $0, the buyer would be stuck with a bunch of obligations

In other words, the package on offer is likely worth less than 0.

[Romulox]

14. Doubt it. The problem is likely the same as with Saturn: GM doesn't want to provide future product

(or engineering.)

And automobile R&D and design is simply too costly for a small automaker. Which is why almost none exist any longer.

[FarCenter]

17. It was after GM bought Saab that th edesign vitality went out of the company

Before being bought it was a leader in innovation.

Once GM got it, the marketing and accounting suits effectively killed it.

[Romulox]

18. Saabs are niche vehicles that have traditionally had a reputation for unreliability.

I have no doubt that quality at Saab improved substantially under GM.

At any rate, the proof is in the lutefisk: if there is a brain trust of Swedish auto engineering that can do better, they can have Saab for a song. :hi:

[Dover]

12. GM bought up a strong competitor and then killed it. Saab probably would still be alive

had it not fallen into GM's hands.

An excellent car, far superior to anything America has turned out.
I'm really sad about this.

[Romulox]

15. If Saab was a "strong competitor" for anybody, a buyer would come forward.

Likely it is no longer economically feasible to produce cars in Sweden. Which is why no private (nor public) buyer can be found. :hi:

[flvegan]

20. That commenter must spit on every Porsche and VW he/she sees.

Considering Hitler was largely Genesis for the both of them.

[edc]

11. 1974 EMS

In that year my Saab came equipped with front wheel drive, aluminum alloy wheels, overhead cam, fuel injected engine, halogen headlights, 5mph impact bumpers, orthopedic (heated seats), shoulder harness seat belts, a drivers door that would not lock from the outside without a key (impossible to lock keys in car), headlights that went out when the ignition was turned off (no dead batteries), a blind spot mirror on the passenger door, rear window defroster, a console ignition that locked the shift lever (precursor to locking steering columns). It didn't have airbags (they hadn't been invented), but it handled like a sports car, and it went anywhere in the snow like a plow and still got 25mpg. Best damn car I ever owned. There wasn't an American made car on the road could hold a candle to it.

[hayu_lol]

16. Always hard to see the demise of another car that was...

considerably different from the 'cookie cutter' cars we are mostly offered now.

As to the precursor lock on the shifter...the 1929 Pontiac had such a feature. The built-in lock was at the base of the gearshift.

[ejbrush]

19. Oh, I miss my SAAB 900...

A car as ugly as a SAAB? It needed you as much as you needed it.

I had two. One died a quick and painless death via a curiously placed concrete culvert. The other, ah, just faded away, creeping winter road cancer got to it. Superb design, exquisite handling, actual decent ergonomics. Went through the snow like a Ski-Doo, and it had one hell of a good heater (important in Wisconsin).

Reliable? Eh, here's the thing. They were a throwback to a time when people understood that cars are mechanical things, imperfect and in need of human attention on a regular basis.

The 900's were probably the last cars that had a real tool kit included with the car. Pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, spark-plug wrench and so on. Opening the hood revealed an engine where everything was accessible, and the tools included were enough for every bit of routine maintenance, and about 90% of the repairs needed. Fuel pump inside the tank, out of the salt and road gunk. There was an actual access port under the rear seat so you could service the pump without dropping the tank (amazing!) It included a jack which could lift the whole car if you got the balance right.

Replacing the clutch? 45 minutes. Starter? Less. With a 33mm socket and a breaker bar, the CV joint and front axle could be swapped out over a long lunch break.

I became convinced that the SAAB dealers grossly inflated their labor rates to compensate for the absolute ease and rapidity of fixing the little gems.

I have owned Japanese cars, and while they are depressingly reliable, they have no soul. Sorta remind me of a remorseless cyborg from Terminator.

[m3e92man8850]

21. Good

[cqo_000]

23. Saab's were WAY overpriced. Not much of a loss imho.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

25. RIP, SAAB.

I loved my old 900.