Another one bites the dust

[sjordan2]

This time, it's Saab.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/19/autos/saab_bankrupt/index.htm?iid=HP_LN&hpt=hp_c2

[Harry P.]

They've been struggling since GM axed them. They'll probably re-emerge somewhere down the road.

[kingiguana]

Probably the ugliest cars ever produced, all though the did improve them over the past couple years looks wise. But those ones were beyond ugly. They won't be all that much missed. At least by me.

[Joe Handley]

Wasn't Spyker going to buy them?

[sjordan2]

Wasn't Spyker going to buy them?

According to the article, they're owned by Spyker, at least by the people who owned Spyker.

Edited December 19, 2011 by sjordan2

[Junkman]

http://coldwarmotors.blogspot.com/2011/11/cwmc-agents-fall-for-cool-swedish.html

[Jeff Johnston]

Well that means my 05 9-3 will be worth about a cup of coffee soon. Great...another fine example of this wonderful world economy.

I have to partially agree with king whatever...Saab's were ugly in my opinion too. I never liked the looks until the body style changed on the 900 in the mid 90s. I bought a 97 and loved it... then I bought an 05 9-5 (5-speed) and I still love it and drive it every day. Unfortunately it looks like my best plan wiil be to drive it until it blows up at this point

[moparmagiclives]

At least GM was honest...sort of. "If I cant have it, no one can" Didnt stop them from trying to sell "Hummer" to the Chineese...hmmm...flip flopping..almost sounds political.

[Kaleb]

Send Another Automobile Back

[MikeMc]

Ugly...yup.....odd....motor comes to mind.....FANTASTIC ICE RACER AND WINTER CAR.....so when one passes you in a 12" driving snow, you will understand.

[B-dub]

" You guys really should take a quick look before you post stuff. This is already an open topic:"

just saying with the title of this thread I skimmed over it without thinking so I didn't see this one myself. The other had a more direct title.. I'm sure plenty of people wouldn't have noticed that it was already posted. so no surprise it's a re-post

never really gave saab much of a look but I remember they used to have a 2stroke powered car that was pretty neat.

[fumi]

They've been struggling since GM bought them. They'll probably re-emerge somewhere down the road.

There... fixed it for you.

[fumi]

At least GM was honest...sort of. "If I cant have it, no one can" Didnt stop them from trying to sell "Hummer" to the Chineese...hmmm...flip flopping..almost sounds political.

The Opel sell/drag-feet/won't-sell fiasco, anyone? Or how about the Saturn sell/jeopardize/made-unsellable?

Edited December 20, 2011 by fumi

[Chuck Most]

The Opel sell/drag-feet/won't-sell fiasco, anyone? Or how about the Saturn sell/jeopardize/made-unsellable?

Or the Oldsmobile 'let's reinvent the brand and try to sell it to a totally new market' tack? Or the Pontiac 'niche market' angle? Can't wait to see how Buick is dealt with.

[Jon Cole]

Here's some SAAB stories for ya:

Aero X Concept

Go to the Swedish Meatball Convention in style

A little off the top, please.

And if you can't afford a room at the Swedish Meatball Convention...

SAAB is dead.

[VW Dave]

Send Another Automobile Back

The one I heard years ago was "Something An A-hole Buys."

[fumi]

Can't wait to see how Buick is dealt with.

"Let's reinvent the brand and try to sell it to a totally new market" part 2. Of all brands within GM they have to pick the one that is least likely to attract import buyers, and position it as an import fighter. If it didn't work out with Olds back then, why do they think it'd work out with Buick this time around?

[Chuck Most]

"Let's reinvent the brand and try to sell it to a totally new market" part 2. Of all brands within GM they have to pick the one that is least likely to attract import buyers, and position it as an import fighter. If it didn't work out with Olds back then, why do they think it'd work out with Buick this time around?

The other half of it is that they see what they are doing not as reinventing Buick, but trying to restore Buick to its former glory. IE, an 'entry level premium' make. That might be workable, but I still see the same types of buyers behind the wheel of Buicks- can't think of a single person in my age group that has any kind of modern Buick on their shopping list. Even in my area, where there are quite a few current and former GM employees, you are more likely to see an Acura than a Buick- and the owners range anywhere from late 20's on up.

[Chuck Most]

There is a good reason why GM doesn't want Saabs or any of their tech in China:

http://content.usato...uick-in-china/1

You can beat a dead horse all you want by "reinventing" Buick here in the states, but the Money & therefore the sales are in China.

I'm sure that Saab gained a lot of R&D funding by being under the GM shadow, But in my opinion, GM killed the brand by "dumbing down" what used to be a competitive & cutting edge Euro brand.Personal opinon? GM Needs to pair down a little further & concentrate on not trying to be everything for everybody. And stop wasting money. Seriously.

Seriously- I can see Buick becoming a 'China-only' brand. They've been an 'old man's' car for too long, but in China they seem to have established an image similar to the Buick of old. I suppose we'll see.

GM's decision to make each brand 'everything for everyone' is what got them into their current sitiuation. Instead of diluting a well-known brand such as Saab, why not strenghten and maintain it, instead of making it into something it isn't. Thing is, GM has cut back so far I think that's a lesson they don't need to learn. I'm fairly sure one day it will be just Chevrolet and Cadillac- main line and premium line. That setup seems to work pretty well for the Japanese manufacturers (Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti).

[Junkman]

Saab always had it's community of loyal customers. For six decades, it fed this slightly eccentric crowd exactly what it wanted - quirky cars that made them stand out. This was a winning formula, but there was little, or no room for growth. A steady going business so to say.

Enter GM with it's (stereo?)typical concern policy of growth and milking, and Saab automobiles were quickly watered down to appeal to a wider client base, losing much of their originality in the process. This backfired both ways - new customers still couldn't be lured into Saab ownership and old customers were driven away because the cars became too much like the cars they wanted to avoid exactly by buying a Saab.

GM should have known better. The concept had already failed with Opel/Vauxhall, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, but GM won't stop until they are finished with Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet, too.

But there is no reason for them to learn. If things to too wrong, they are bailed out with tax money. We all pay off a GM car despite it isn't parked in front of our house.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Junkman

[Rob Hall]

It's too bad SAAB hasn't been able to survive on their own...they had some interesting, quirky cars...back in the day my sister had a '91 900 Turbo coupe...I drove it a few times in the Boston area back then...fun car.

[fumi]

Buick's success in China is largely irrelevant to the North American market. In China it competes mostly with the Camry, the Accord and the Passat. Not exactly a prestigious brand, more like mid-market, which is the fastest growing segment right now. And it never got saddled with the old-man image.

GM's beancounting and badge engineering practice is what killed Saab. Saab played in a niche market where buyers perceived the engineering of their products to be superior to the competition, and were willing to pay a premium for something different, to a point of being eccentric. Then GM bought them, and replaced the whole lineup with Opel stuff while still charging for a premium. And when that didn't work out, they came up with the brilliant idea of rebadging a Subaru as a Saab. They might as well kill the brand outright.

I think Buick in North America is on the same path. Brilliant cars, but wrong brand image. The Regal is supposed to rival the Acura TSX and the Audi A4 with a high performance turbo 4 and a slick 6-speed manual transmission, but how many potential Acura or Audi customers would consider a Buick? I couldn't even convince my 65-year-old mom to take a look at the Buick; she mentioned something about old-man cars and bought a VW instead. On the other hand, would Buick customers care for any of that?

[Rob Hall]

Buick is in a tough spot in the US now in that they have to fill the mid-market gap between Chevy and Cadillac where Pontiac and Saturn also recently existed. Sort of like how Mercury was filler between Ford and Lincoln. The problem is how they can be distinctive without overlapping Chevy or Cadillac at each end too much. They also overlap GMC on the CUV side to a degree. For example, The '13 Malibu is also going to be on SWB Epsilon II like the Regal, and the '14 Impala will be on LWB Epsilon iI as is the LaCrosse and upcoming Caddy XTS.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Rob Hall

[Luc Janssens]

It's too bad SAAB hasn't been able to survive on their own...they had some interesting, quirky cars...back in the day my sister had a '91 900 Turbo coupe...I drove it a few times in the Boston area back then...fun car.

The costs to create a whole new car are astronomical....

[Madd Trucker]

Whatis sad if if you own one still under warrenty guess what Saab announced today they are dropping all warrenties