Saab files for bankruptcy protection

[Galaxy]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51I3B220090220

A Swedish court will appoint someone to run the assets, they want to keep production running for now. I wonder if GM will continue to supply Saab with parts? 

[cozmik]

GM will continue to supply Saab parts. Saab is still 100% owned by GM, and unless GM decides they just want to dissolve Saab, they will have to.

[Payman]

The Swedish gov't refused funding. I find this surprising, as Sweden is very much socialist, and thought they might have had some national pride in the company. 

[Galaxy]

GM will continue to supply Saab parts. Saab is still 100% owned by GM, and unless GM decides they just want to dissolve Saab, they will have to.

GM could easily lose ownership if a new investor for Saab is found.

[Galaxy]

The Swedish gov't refused funding. I find this surprising, as Sweden is very much socialist, and thought they might have had some national pride in the company. 

The Swedish finance minister Maud Olofsson very candidly said that if GM has not been able to get Saab to make a profit, then the Swedish government will not be able to either and socialist country or not they are not going to throw their money out the window.

[GoCougs]

The Swedish finance minister Maud Olofsson very candidly said that if GM has not been able to get Saab to make a profit, then the Swedish government will not be able to either and socialist country or not they are not going to throw their money out the window.

Wow - how shockingly candid - and of course completely true.

Who would've thought that the US would be taking steps to nationalize its auto industry, while Sweden would simply let (part of) their auto industry suffer the consequences of of poor market performance.

[Galaxy]

Who would've thought that the US would be taking steps to nationalize its auto industry, while Sweden would simply let (part of) their auto industry suffer the consequences of of poor market performance.

I would not be surprised to see Sweden help Volvo though and in Volvos case I think it makes sense. Two weeks ago I took a look at the new SC 60. A very nice vehicle. Nice styling and a high quality interior. I don't remember the last time before that when I visited a Volvo dealer.  Their upcoming vehicles that they have in the pipeline sound promising as well. Saab on the other hand needs to be completly rebuilt from the ground up. 

Volvo's problem was that Ford told them to be premium but not as premium as Jaguar. In the end that was a  mistake. Volvo did not succeed in being a semi premium brand like VW and Jaguar could did not succeed in being a premium brand.

[r0tor]

I wouldn't be suprised if deep down inside the Sweedish Government is still pissed Saab is run by the americans, and giving saab money is basically just handing money over to the americans...

[CALL_911]

I would not be surprised to see Sweden help Volvo though and in Volvos case I think it makes sense. Two weeks ago I took a look at the new SC 60. A very nice vehicle. Nice styling and a high quality interior. I don't remember the last time before that when I visited a Volvo dealer.  Their upcoming vehicles that they have in the pipeline sound promising as well. Saab on the other hand needs to be completly rebuilt from the ground up. 

Volvo's problem was that Ford told them to be premium but not as premium as Jaguar. In the end that was a  mistake. Volvo did not succeed in being a semi premium brand like VW and Jaguar could did not succeed in being a premium brand.

+1

[cozmik]

I wouldn't be suprised if deep down inside the Sweedish Government is still pissed Saab is run by the americans, and giving saab money is basically just handing money over to the americans...

From what I've been hearing, Sweden would potentially help an independent Saab. But Saab is still too integrated within GM.

[cawimmer430]

Time to pick up the phone and call a Chinese investor? 

[Raza]

Shit man, that sucks. 

As for Volvo, the only cars I want from them are either too expensive, overpriced, or never fucking around in a stickshift.  At least at Saab, when you went there, you could find a car with a row-your-own.  At Volvo?  Never. 

[NomisR]

Time to pick up the phone and call a Chinese investor? 

I wonder how many auto manufactureres would be owned by Chinese, Indians, or Russians by the time this whole thing is over.

[Raza]

I wonder how many auto manufactureres would be owned by Chinese, Indians, or Russians by the time this whole thing is over.

Well, look what the Russians did with TVR!  They're booming now.  Getting so many orders they can't keep up.

[CALL_911]

Shit man, that sucks. 

As for Volvo, the only cars I want from them are either too expensive, overpriced, or never fucking around in a stickshift.  At least at Saab, when you went there, you could find a car with a row-your-own.  At Volvo?  Never. 

This is true, and honestly, neither Saab nor Volvo have anything really that great to offer (except the C30 and TurboX). It's all about how lucrative the brand is, and Volvo's got Saab beat.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I would not be surprised to see Sweden help Volvo though and in Volvos case I think it makes sense. Two weeks ago I took a look at the new SC 60. A very nice vehicle. Nice styling and a high quality interior. I don't remember the last time before that when I visited a Volvo dealer.  Their upcoming vehicles that they have in the pipeline sound promising as well. Saab on the other hand needs to be completly rebuilt from the ground up. 

Volvo's problem was that Ford told them to be premium but not as premium as Jaguar. In the end that was a  mistake. Volvo did not succeed in being a semi premium brand like VW and Jaguar could did not succeed in being a premium brand.

That is another example of how Ford has been better run than GM. 

[Laconian]

(from TTAC)
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/flash-saab-declares-bankruptcy/

Today, the Supervisory Board of Saab decided to declare bankruptcy, Automobilwoche <sub>writes. The 4000 employees of Saab are being informed at a meeting how the company will continue. The company is now under the supervision of an insolvency administrator. Since Sweden?s government had turned down bailout requests of the mother ship GM, according to Swedish media, one possible solution would be a merger of Saab with a spun-off Opel.

[Here?s a link to the document filed today at the court. The English version starts on page 7 of the pdf.]

Reuters reports that Saab made a loss of about 3 billion Swedish crowns ($340.1 million) in 2008, according to documents filed by the company with a Swedish court. It expects a similar loss this year. ?We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab, and it was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,? Saab Managing Director Jan-?ke Jonsson said in a statement.

In its court filing, Saab said GM has said it ?would not fund further the projected losses of the company (Saab),? but would provide liquidity for the company to pursue a reorganization.

Swedish daily Dagens Industri said on Friday that Saab parent GM is prepared to pump in US$400 million to help make its Saab car unit profitable if the Swedish state guarantees a further loan of US$590 million to Saab.</sub>

[2o6]

There's some good and bad to this.


Bad: Uh, saab is going over into nothing ness. No more weird, quirky Swedish cars.
Good: Saab prices will depreciate into nothing, so picking up a Saab 900 or 9-3 for my first car is totally cool!

[Raza]

Repost: http://www.carspin.net/forums/index.php?topic=17707.msg1002376#new

[Raza]

This is true, and honestly, neither Saab nor Volvo have anything really that great to offer (except the C30 and TurboX). It's all about how lucrative the brand is, and Volvo's got Saab beat.

The old 9-3 convertible was the best selling convertible in the UK.  I wonder why it never did so well here. 

[CALL_911]

The old 9-3 convertible was the best selling convertible in the UK.  I wonder why it never did so well here. 

The MBs and BMW's weren't that much more expensive?

[Nethead]

Opel may follow suit if they don't get at least a billion right away.  They, too, have had their difficulties for awhile now.  

[LonghornTX]

Guys, they are not going away, only reorganizing under Sweden's version of Ch. 11. Saab will still be around, rest assured.

[CALL_911]

There's some good and bad to this.


Bad: Uh, saab is going over into nothing ness. No more weird, quirky Swedish cars.
Good: Saab prices will depreciate into nothing, so picking up a Saab 900 or 9-3 for my first car is totally cool!

They aren't going away...

[TBR]

They aren't going away...

Yet.

How long as it been since Saab has made money? I am not convinced that bankruptcy would change that in Saab's case.

[dazzleman]

What makes anybody so sure that they're not going away?

[Raza]

The MBs and BMW's weren't that much more expensive?

Well, if you look at them now, BMW and Mercedes convertible are more like 60 grand than 50, and the Saab is around 40, fully loaded. 

The last generation 9-3 sedan started at 26K or so.  The outdated and purposely uglied 9-5 (what was wrong with the old headlamps?  That looked great.) was not much of a value, but the 9-3 was.

[S204STi]

From what I've been hearing, Sweden would potentially help an independent Saab. But Saab is still too integrated within GM.

So basically the Swedish government has more brains than ours and isn't willing to throw more money at a dying company.

[dazzleman]

So basically the Swedish government has more brains than ours and isn't willing to throw more money at a dying company.

Though I think they indicated that they may help an independent Saab, so it's still a question whether they're refusing the money because they're smarter than we are, or because they don't want to subsidize an arm of an American company.

[S204STi]

Though I think they indicated that they may help an independent Saab, so it's still a question whether they're refusing the money because they're smarter than we are, or because they don't want to subsidize an arm of an American company.

Well, good for them either way.