Saab Story

[Eye of the Tiger]

I think my next car will be the now-defunct 9-2X Aero from the now-defunct Saab. Resale value for those things should officially be in the crapper after this news.

I am going to go defunct brand shopping from here on out!

I'll take a real Saab.



kthxbai

[Cookie Monster]

WANT

[Eye of the Tiger]

WANT

Heck, I'll still take any 900, with or without turbo.

[Colin]

I trust GM are proud of themselves.

20 years of mismanagement and starving SAAB of funds........ and a screwed up half-arsed attempt to sell it which (surprise surprise)failed......

Very sad news indeed.

[Colonel Cadillac]

9-5 was a sunk cost, but they could probably have done something with it.

[dazzleman]

This is a sad development for me.  I came to like the styling of Saab quite a bit and considered buying one twice.  I used to hate the old rounded, egghead design, but Saab became pretty popular around here when they changed their design to make it more angular.  I really like the 9-3 convertible as well as the regular 9-3 and the 9-5.  Time marches on, but RIP Saab. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

9-5 was a sunk cost, but they could probably have done something with it.

I'll take a 9-5

[dazzleman]

I'll take a 9-5

I test drove the 9-5 back in 2000, before I bought my first BMW.  I really started to notice Saab in a positive way in the late 1990s when they changed their styling and body type.  Around then I started seeing tons of them on the road.  With the old rounded design, I thought of them as a car for an egghead college professor from Connecticut.  They're still probably much more popular here than in other places.  But I really got to like the general look of the Saab, though I heard some bad things about their general reliability.  I'm sorry to see them go.

[ifcar]

I test drove the 9-5 back in 2000, before I bought my first BMW.  I really started to notice Saab in a positive way in the late 1990s when they changed their styling and body type.  Around then I started seeing tons of them on the road.  With the old rounded design, I thought of them as a car for an egghead college professor from Connecticut.  They're still probably much more popular here than in other places.  But I really got to like the general look of the Saab, though I heard some bad things about their general reliability.  I'm sorry to see them go.

The other problem is that the 9-5 they're selling today is the same 9-5 that didn't even win you over a decade ago.

[dazzleman]

Yes, that surely is a problem.  I ended up not buying the 9-5 because it was a definite notch below the 5 series in terms of the way it drove.  It just wasn't as solid.  And I was concerned about the quirky repair record they have.

But I night have bought it, or a 9-3, as a second car if I'd needed one, or if I had had tighter budget constraints.

[Rich]

I hope that GM dies. They will never receive my business in the future. The company does not deserve to exist, it's management should but hung from the highest tree, and if I could burn every last one of them myself I would. I will make sure that everyone who asks me for advice on what car to buy is told never to touch anything from GM. This company should be dead. it doesn't deserve anyone's business, and it definitely doesn't deserve my tax money. Fuck every last one of them, fuck the company, and fuck their piss poor products. That company and it's management had better hope I never come into the position of being able to make a decision on their livelihood in the future, because I will sell them piece by piece to the lowest bidder, and even that would be generous to them.

Lol.  Obviously Saab sucked so bad they couldn't even get a Saab fan to buy one of it's cars

[dazzleman]

Lol.  Obviously Saab sucked so bad they couldn't even get a Saab fan to buy one of it's cars

[TBR]

That's so fucking stupid.  At the very least they should have sold it to Spyker or Koenigsegg at a loss, rather than just kill it off. Further proof GM has zero idea as to what they are doing. 

But hey, we get to see those patently false "May the best car win" BS ads a little while longer, so not all is lost. 

Uh, so taking a loss to keep a few enthusiasts happy for a few years would show that GM does know what they're doing? That makes no sense.

[omicron]

A shame. I never like to see brands die.

[Raza]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/20/autos/saab_gm_spyker_offer/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't close the coffin on Saab just yet.

Spyker, a Dutch maker of exotic cars, said Sunday that it had made a new offer to General Motors for the Swedish car brand.

Dun dun dun!

GM announced on Friday that it would let the brand die after it had failed to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg.

Early Sunday, Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller said the company had submitted a proposal that addresses the issues that had hung up a deal.

"Despite our collective 11th-hour set-back, we are returning to the table with a renewed offer, that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations and that has the full backing of the Saab management," Muller said in a statement.

[MX793]

It's not something to make a car to compete with BMW and Mercedes off of either.

Honda manages to successfully peddle "premium" cars built on Accord and Civic platforms via Acura, I'd think Saab could have done the same.  Perhaps not BMW or Merc level, but certainly on par with the entry lux crowd.

[Submariner]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/20/autos/saab_gm_spyker_offer/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't close the coffin on Saab just yet.

Spyker, a Dutch maker of exotic cars, said Sunday that it had made a new offer to General Motors for the Swedish car brand.

Dun dun dun!

GM announced on Friday that it would let the brand die after it had failed to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg.

Early Sunday, Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller said the company had submitted a proposal that addresses the issues that had hung up a deal.

"Despite our collective 11th-hour set-back, we are returning to the table with a renewed offer, that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations and that has the full backing of the Saab management," Muller said in a statement.

Good...maybe the 9-5 and 9-4 will see the light of day afterall. 

[TurboDan]

you're incorrect. An incompetent american company decided to give Saab no budget and inferior platforms to make luxury products off of. They held Saab back to keep them from stepping on Crapaliacs toes and opel. I hope both brands those brands enjoy a firey death.

Would Saab buyers ever want a Cadillac? Saab buyers wanted well-handling, nimble sedans. Cadillacs are freaking HUGE! Even the CTS is too bulbous for my liking. I doubt there ever would have been that much competition in the first place.

[TurboDan]

For the record:

I loved my Saab. I hated paying for it twice when factoring in the repair bills. The damn car was a bomb, and everyone else I know who's had one from the NG900/9-3 generation seems to agree. I don't think there was an original part left in the thing by the time it finally bit the dust for good on the Garden State Parkway. I'm surprised I didn't bankrupt AAA with all the tows I had on that thing.

RIP Saab, but damn, you people did it to yourselves by building a car that was awesome in every way except for being reasonably reliable. The day I bought a Passat (which is a little bit quirky in its own right) was the happiest day of my life. The few issues I've had with it have been normal car issues that everyone has. I do not know the people at the VW dealership by name like those at the Saab dealership.

[TurboDan]

Saab NEVER tried to play with BMW and Mercedes.

I agree. Their cars were all FWD, for one thing. I'd say Saab's competition was more Acura and Audi than BMW or Mercedes.

[Raza]

I agree. Their cars were all FWD, for one thing. I'd say Saab's competition was more Acura and Audi than BMW or Mercedes.

Tier 1 (ultra luxury): Rolls Royce, Bentley
Tier 2 (luxury): Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Cadillac
Tier 3 (near and entry luxury): Volkswagen, Volvo, Saab, Acura (Mercury, Lincoln; if you're being generous)

That's how I always saw it. 

[ifcar]

Mercury? Not at all. Volkswagen? Pretty questionable. Not with cars that sell under $20,000.

[Raza]

Mercury? Not at all. Volkswagen? Pretty questionable. Not with cars that sell under $20,000.

I only listed each marque once, otherwise I'd have to duplicate Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Lexus in Tier 3 and Mercedes in Tier 1.  If they had cars that fit and could compete in that class, I listed them.  Yes, Volkswagen also sells economy cars, but a 9-3 and Jetta GLI are extremely close competitors if you look at the stats.  Both are compacts, both have turbo four cylinder engines, both cost around $30,000, both are FWD, and the Jetta even has a better interior.  So I didn't base it just on price, either. 

In someone's mind, Mercury is a near luxury brand.   

[565]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/20/autos/saab_gm_spyker_offer/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't close the coffin on Saab just yet.

Spyker, a Dutch maker of exotic cars, said Sunday that it had made a new offer to General Motors for the Swedish car brand.

Dun dun dun!

GM announced on Friday that it would let the brand die after it had failed to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg.

Early Sunday, Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller said the company had submitted a proposal that addresses the issues that had hung up a deal.

"Despite our collective 11th-hour set-back, we are returning to the table with a renewed offer, that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations and that has the full backing of the Saab management," Muller said in a statement.

Hmm it's interesting it's always these small quirky supercar firms that try to buy Saab.  Birds of a feather...

Still it's interesting they mentioned Volvo's possible sale to Geely in the article.  Ideally the Chinese companies are the ones with deep enough pockets and desperate enough for car technology to buy failing car companies (like MG).  Seems like in this case the Chinese weren't interested in the SAAB nameplate at all (admittedly a pretty worthless nameplate in China), but rather just gutted some old technology from the company and left.

It seems there's just some north European pride attempting to keep SAAB alive.  It's probably hopeless.  Without some deep pocketed partner like the Chinese firm Koenigsegg found to partner up with and pump money into it, I don't see how Spyker could afford to run SAAB effectively.

Maybe they should just let SAAB die for now, and if GM does better in the future, they can revive the brand for some speciality cars as other companies have done with MINI, Bugatti, Maserati, and Maybach.

[MX793]

Maybe they should just let SAAB die for now, and if GM does better in the future, they can revive the brand for some speciality cars as other companies have done with MINI, Bugatti, Maserati, and Maybach.

Maserati was never killed off and later revived.

[Rupert]

you're incorrect. An incompetent american company decided to give Saab no budget and inferior platforms to make luxury products off of. They held Saab back to keep them from stepping on Crapaliacs toes and opel. I hope both brands those brands enjoy a firey death.

Did you cry when you heard the news? Crikey...

[Rupert]

I'm a big fan of all of the older Saabs. 96, 99, 900... Awesome. But the only thing they've made since the 900 was discontinued that I like was the Viggen. It's a sad thing in the sense that it's sad that they ended up sucking enough to have to close shop.

[565]

Maserati was never killed off and later revived.

My bad, I always assumed they were.

[dazzleman]

For the record:

I loved my Saab. I hated paying for it twice when factoring in the repair bills. The damn car was a bomb, and everyone else I know who's had one from the NG900/9-3 generation seems to agree. I don't think there was an original part left in the thing by the time it finally bit the dust for good on the Garden State Parkway. I'm surprised I didn't bankrupt AAA with all the tows I had on that thing.

RIP Saab, but damn, you people did it to yourselves by building a car that was awesome in every way except for being reasonably reliable. The day I bought a Passat (which is a little bit quirky in its own right) was the happiest day of my life. The few issues I've had with it have been normal car issues that everyone has. I do not know the people at the VW dealership by name like those at the Saab dealership.

I really liked Saabs, but stories like yours are the reason I never actually bought one.

[TurboDan]

Mercury? Not at all. Volkswagen? Pretty questionable. Not with cars that sell under $20,000.

Historically VW wasn't a luxury brand. But come on, their midsize sedan MSRPs for $27K for a stripped base model ($7-10K more for a decent package) and their SUV for $41K stripped (figure $7K more for a decent package). That's pretty much the same as Acura and pretty close to where an A4 starts.

I know the international market is different, but the majority of VWs I see are Passat and Touaregs, not little Rabbits and New Beetles.