GM sees no buyers for Saab

[BigPontiac]

Link to article

[Camino LS6]

No surprise there.

[haypops]

If GM goes through with their other planned brand changes, then the 9-3 might be the only other Mid size FWD sedan to go with Malibu and the nice new Lacrosse.

[ZL-1]

If GM goes through with their other planned brand changes, then the 9-3 might be the only other Mid size FWD sedan to go with Malibu and the nice new Lacrosse.

9-5, I think. The 9-3 is supposed to go on DeltaII aka Global Compact Car Architecture.

[haypops]

9-5, I think. The 9-3 is supposed to go on DeltaII aka Global Compact Car Architecture.

Good point, but that assumes GM is able or willing to spend that kind of money on Saab. In some respects Saab is more easily differentiated from Buick than is Pontiac or Saturn so maybe GM will do that?

[ZL-1]

Good point, but that assumes GM is able or willing to spend that kind of money on Saab. In some respects Saab is more easily differentiated from Buick than is Pontiac or Saturn so maybe GM will do that?

SAAB is the only brand that GM can sell as premium or luxury that has anything resembling a global presence. And if you think about it, selling 80K cars a year with a 2 model lineup of which one is older than God Himself shows the brand has potential if properly fed.

[daves87rs]

SAAB is the only brand that GM can sell as premium or luxury that has anything resembling a global presence. And if you think about it, selling 80K cars a year with a 2 model lineup of which one is older than God Himself shows the brand has potential if properly fed.

Maybe.....

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Good news... IMO.

[Intrepidation]

I'm shocked that in a down market with most automakers in the red that there are no buyers.

[ZL-1]

Rick Wagoner said in an interview that they're talking to comapnies interested in buying SAAB. You can find the article in the autos section at the Dagens Industri website (in Swedish).

[smk4565]

No one will buy it, or even take it for free. Lutz admitted today that Saab has never made money and has lost up to $800 million a year since GM bought it. Saab probably lost GM a solid $10 billion since 1990, plus the $2-3 billion they spent to buy it in the first place. Combine that with all the billions wasted on Saturn, and it is no wonder GM is where they are today. If the $20 billion lost on those 2 brands was given to Chevy, maybe they would be dominating Toyota right now, not vice versa.

[ZL-1]

It's as good as dead, but hey... $h! happens. And I still hope they can find a buyer, at least for the brand.

[SAmadei]

It's as good as dead, but hey... $h! happens. And I still hope they can find a buyer, at least for the brand.

I'm surprised Toyota didn't buy it.

[ZL-1]

I'm surprised Toyota didn't buy it.

Toyota's business model has been very succesful. They have no need for SAAB. I could see SAAB in BMW's hands, being the BMW's group green luxury brand. but it all depends on price, financing of the acquisition, and how much of a MINI-like approach can BMW infuse into Saab...

[SAmadei]

Toyota's business model has been very succesful. They have no need for SAAB. I could see SAAB in BMW's hands, being the BMW's group green luxury brand. but it all depends on price, financing of the acquisition, and how much of a MINI-like approach can BMW infuse into Saab...

True, but sometimes you have to buy bargains when they are available... and Toyota seems to have the biggest piggy bank right now... definitely more than BMW.

If Circuit City was selling 65" TVs for $25 this month, I would buy ten... even though it doesn't jive with my "residential business model" of saving electricity and space... its just too hard to say no to the upside of a big screen in every room with a backup in case of failure. ;-)

The same thing for Toyota... they could bring SAAB back to profitability under the table using their current business techniques. It doesn't have to be a project closely associated with Toyota, but something held at a distance. They could sell it later when they fix it or when times are better.

Worse case scenario, you value the purchase like Warren Buffet... for tangible assets... low ball GM and fix/disassemble/liquidate it as needed.

At this point, for SAAB, anything is better than the General's current plan of immediate death.

[ZL-1]

I don't think the plan is immediate death, I think it's the same plan as the one behind Pontiac: not to feed it with new product until it eventually dies. The big difference could be (with strong emphasis on the word 'could') that Saab has the new 9-5 and 9-4x coming in '09 and '10. If those 2 are big hits, who knows?

Edited January 13, 2009 by ZL-1

[Z-06]

I don't think the plan is immediate death, I think it's the same plan as the one behind Pontiac: not to feed it with new product until it eventually dies. The big difference could be (with strong emphasis on the word 'could') that Saab has the new 9-5 and 9-4x coming in '09 and '10. If those 2 are big hits, who knows?

It seems possible that we may see something in Geneva regarding 9-5 if the car has future plans. As for the 9-4X considering the amount of testing that has been done and spy mules that have been spotted, I can see it in production. But then again same could have been expected of G8ST.

[ZL-1]

It seems possible that we may see something in Geneva regarding 9-5 if the car has future plans. As for the 9-4X considering the amount of testing that has been done and spy mules that have been spotted, I can see it in production. But then again same could have been expected of G8ST.

Auto Motor und Sport's sister publication here in Portugal (a weekly magazine called AutoHoje) published a calendar of model launches in which the new 9-5 is to be shown in October and the 9-4X will in November. But, the way things are going, I'm not putting much hope in seeing a 9-1 or a NG 9-3 unless the 9-5 and 9-4X sell well...

[Z-06]

Auto Motor und Sport's sister publication here in Portugal (a weekly magazine called AutoHoje) published a calendar of model launches in which the new 9-5 is to be shown in October and the 9-4X will in November. But, the way things are going, I'm not putting much hope in seeing a 9-1 or a NG 9-3 unless the 9-5 and 9-4X sell well...

I can understand why they will suspend the business decision for 9-1 and 9-3. Personally I would have liked to see 9-1 given go ahead to give SAAB a chance for establishing as an alternate fuel brand to give more focus on bottom of the market.