GM kills Saab

[GMJAP]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200..._saab DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co will wind down operations at Saab, its money-losing Swedish unit, after a last-ditch attempt to sell it to small Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars failed, the automaker said on Friday.GM had been in exclusive talks with Spyker to sell the 60-year-old auto brand since December after an earlier deal with Swedish luxury car builder Koenigsegg collapsed last month.GM said it would start an orderly wind-down of Saab operations. It said Saab would satisfy debts, including supplier payments and honor warranties as it begins to shut down.Saab has around 3,400 workers centered on its production hub in Trollhattan, Sweden. The brand also about 1,100 dealers.With the collapse of the Saab sale, GM has seen two planned sales of its auto brands fail and reversed a decision to sell another as the automaker restructures after a U.S.-government sponsored bankruptcy process completed in July.Under new Chief Executive Ed Whitacre, GM had set a deadline of end-December to find a buyer for Saab with financing to complete the deal in place by that time.Nick Reilly, GM's president for its European operations, said it had become clear that the talks with Spyker could not reach a deal under those terms."Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time," Reilly said. "In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution."Reilly said discussions with Spyker and representatives of the Swedish government had continued until Friday morning.He declined to detail the issues during due diligence discussions with Spyker that convinced both sides a deal could not be closed.Spyker last year sold 43 of its luxury cars at prices of 200,000 euros ($294,200) and above. Its primary backers include Russian banking tycoon Vladimir Antonov and his Convers Group.MOUNTING LOSSESSaab has been a consistent money-loser for GM during the past 20 years. Saab lost about $340 million in 2008. GM has not released more recent financial information for the brand.GM had been in talks to sell Saab to niche luxury carmaker Koenigsegg, with the backing of China's BAIC.But the deal fell through in November, and GM said it would consider other offers until the end of the year.Earlier this week, BAIC completed a deal to buy some assets from Saab, including the tooling and the intellectual property for older versions of the 9-5 and 9-3 sedans.The Saab deal is the latest in a failed run of negotiations for GM on the brands that it had planned to drop as part of a U.S.-government directed restructuring that included $50 billion in aid.First, Detroit-based dealership group Penske Automotive Group pulled out of a deal that would have had it acquire GM's Saturn brand in late September.Then last month, GM's board shifted course on a planned sale of the company's European Opel unit, rejecting a deal that former Chief Executive Fritz Henderson had backed and helped broker.A tentative deal to sell GM's Hummer SUV brand to a partnership led by Chinese machinery maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery has not yet closed and remains subject to review by the Chinese government.

[ColonelPanic]

RIP Saab... Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab all gone -- but hey, maybe we'll be able to keep Hummer around.

[Whelan]

It's kinda a shame really. I really want to know what was so horrid that it fell through so many times with these buyers. I personally felt the Swedish government could have stepped in and done a bailout to get it back in the country and startup again with new designs, engines, etc.Oh well.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »I really want to know what was so horrid that it fell through so many times with these buyers. Opel fell through after it was close to being a done deal. The Penske deal with Saturn bombed. Saab had two companies interested, neither of those panned out. Seems to be one common denominator, the General. Only logical conclusion I can come to..

[djkeev]

It should have not been allowed to live as long as it did! It was a piece of crap back in the the 60's and 70's and was a piece of crap all along. I worked in a dealership once where if you asked the entire shop"what's the worst car in the world" a chorus of "SAAB" would be your return....and we were a FIAT dealer!!Dave

[Amtron]

Convenient time to kill them eh? That new 93 Aero is soooo dirty. I love the new look of it. All their other cars are looking great too.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Opel fell through after it was close to being a done deal. The Penske deal with Saturn bombed. Saab had two companies interested, neither of those panned out. Seems to be one common denominator, the General. Only logical conclusion I can come to.. I'd guess you're right about that. Car companies come and go, though. There are plenty of companies that were big names in the 30's, 40's and 50's, etc that are mere ghosts now. Y'know, speaking of dead car companies, I read recently that someone is trying to bring back the Delorean. Awesome

[kostby]

Saab lost their Swedish soul and quirkiness when the General 'rescued them' and basically converted them to a 4-door Opel sedan platform.I owned a used 3-door '88 SPG Turbo that I nicknamed 'J.C.*'. Dark gray, leather interior, ignition key in the console, unusually-tall shift lever with a billiard-ball sized knob. Sturdy, built like a tank, rode like a truck, but incredibly fun as the turbo wound up. 20-80 in about a block, at least it felt like it.*I bought it on Good Friday, it bled all over the driveway (oil leak), and when you'd wind it out in 3rd, 4th, and 5th, passengers would yell 'Jeeeeeeeezussss...'Not my actual car...

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Saab lost their Swedish soul and quirkiness when the General 'rescued them' and basically converted them to a 4-door Opel sedan platform.I owned a used 3-door '88 SPG Turbo that I nicknamed 'J.C.*'. Dark gray, leather interior, ignition key in the console, unusually-tall shift lever with a billiard-ball sized knob. Sturdy, built like a tank, rode like a truck, but incredibly fun as the turbo wound up. 20-80 in about a block, at least it felt like it.*I bought it on Good Friday, it bled all over the driveway (oil leak), and when you'd wind it out in 3rd, 4th, and 5th, passengers would yell 'Jeeeeeeeezussss...'Not my actual car... Bought it on a Good Friday? Was it it blessed by a priest too?

[kostby]

Not exactly. But the first owner WAS a minister!

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Not exactly. But the first owner WAS a minister!Close enough.

[Tubaryan12]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »It's kinda a shame really. I really want to know what was so horrid that it fell through so many times with these buyers. .....Simple. They didn't want to pay enough for it. If all you offer GM is scrap value for the company, they would be foolish to accept that, then have to compete against the very company they sold for sales. They are better off scrapping them, keeping any technology they may want to use, and have less nameplates in the market to compete with.

[KNINE]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »It's kinda a shame really. I really want to know what was so horrid that it fell through so many times with these buyers. I personally felt the Swedish government could have stepped in and done a bailout to get it back in the country and startup again with new designs, engines, etc.Oh well.I can't say I know much about Sweden. Maybe Swedish law prevents the government from bailing out or purchasing companies. Of course that never stopped our government.

[jimincalif]

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »"what's the worst car in the world" a chorus of "SAAB" would be your return....and we were a FIAT dealer!!DaveThat's funny! I also happen to own a Fiat Spider 2000!

[djkeev]

FIAT was actually a great car, fun to drive, a lot of excitement for the dollar (and they said Pontiac builds excitement!).The kicker was this, they would start breaking down and rusting in about a year, if you were lucky. They would rust so bad that some models were recalled for major structural issues for the model years being produced! They apparently would begin to rust from the sea air on the ship over.My father knew a German auto engineer who was in the US for a period of time. When asked what would be the best car to purchase his surprising response was "FIAT, but only keep it for a year" Totally backed up my experiences at the dealer.We also had that new comer to these shores, BMW! Notable models were the 1602 and later the 2002. Back when it was a cult car driven by enthusiasts who would wildly wave at one another.Today a BMW driver is snooty, drips $$$'s and can't see the road for their self righteous nose is turned up way too high! How the car has changed.I envy you your Spyder. Keep it clean and dry. That car was only exceeded by it's sister, the Alfa.dave

[jimincalif]

Thanks, fortunately I'm in California and it has been it California all its life, so no rust (except inside the gas tank, but I've fixed that).Alfa's are probably better cars, but I always preferred the looks of the Fiat spider myself.Just a few days ago I saw a really nice BMW 2002 driving along.