Comments on: Saab to break from General Motors

By: Tony

Tony — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:47:51 +0000

I checked those figures again. Saab sold only 93,000 cars in 2008; not 98,000.

By: Tony

Tony — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:38:22 +0000

The Swedish Court will appoint an Insolvency Administrator who will manage the Saab company henceforth. He has 3 months to obtain new funding or wind up the business. The Swedish government re-confirmed its earlier stance that it will not risk taxpayers’ money to bail out this unviable business, after the filing of the Corporate Insolvency by Saab on Friday.

Saab has lost money in 19 years out of the previous 20 years. In 2008, it only sold 98,000 cars across the world. GM has been trying to sell the business for months but did not get a single bid.

Saab’s existing management is placing some spin about its prospects of remaining open for business, but this is merely to try to sell off existing stock. Saab will soon be history. In 3 months from now, it will be all over.

By: onepoppa

onepoppa — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:44:10 +0000

Many people who contribute to this blog have pretty strong views, often expressed pretty colourfully, but we don’t need comments like the one above.

By: Captain Mainwaring

Captain Mainwaring — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:36:41 +0000

the 12 year old 9-5 doesn’t actually look any more modern than its predecessor the 9000, and depreciates just as fast. The brand is severely in the crap, the GM tenure was no help at all, so where does it go from here?
Answers please, on the back of an envelope.

By: Cupid Stunt

Cupid Stunt — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:38:59 +0000

I agree with O regarding the 95 – given that GM didn’t invest enough in Saab it’s not actually a bad car considering. The current 93 is OK on the eye although behind GM’s current product the Insignia.
I reckon Saab will turn itself around to become profitable again but they do need a greater range of cars to do it.

By: Pablo

Pablo — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:07:10 +0000

Who is going to buy a car from a company that is under external administration?
It’s not the kind of sales pitch that will stimulate sales.
Saab surely cannot get out of this hole…

By: phillip

phillip — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:58:21 +0000

Are you kidding O? The 9-5 screams 1990s. Saab should have withdrawn it 2 years ago until the new model was ready, instead of making itself a laughing stock by attacking it a chrome gun and calling it a new model.

By: zahmad

zahmad — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:13 +0000

Finally, now bloody roll out new models on that new GM Epilson II platform!!!

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:31:11 +0000

I realise that they are “different companies” in the same way Toyota and Lexus are “different companies” but as they’re owned by the same “parent company – who also own Scania.. why couldn’t Saab make their cars [particularly the interior] look morelike the cockpit of one of their jets?

They came close with the roadster [above photo] but that is a concept which is unlikely to ever see the light of day.

By: Acfsambo

Acfsambo — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:30:41 +0000

The amazing thing is how badly a hole GM are in, especially when they sell the most(or second most behind Toyota) cars in the world. Shows you how badly GM are at management. Sure all the car companies are feeling the pinch, but not as many are going from everything to nothing, look at Toyota.