Now that’s its all over bar the shouting (Saab has filed for the Swedish equivalent of bankruptcy), the shouting begins. Saab’s new owners (themselves) say they need $1B to stay in the game, and they want GM to pay it. (Reparations?) Automotive News [sub] reports that GM is willing to surrender a big chunk of your taxes to cut bait and [Swedish] fish. But not a billion. “GM Europe’s head of communications Chris Preuss said GM was prepared to provide some funding for Saab but the brand needed outside money as well.” And who in their right mind would provide the lion’s share of this IV drip? “We have asked the Swedish government for loan guarantees for $600 million to give Saab a balance sheet as an independent unit which will allow it to continue.” The Swedish government has said no. So Saab is hitting up the European Investment Bank for a €500m loan. So . . . now what?

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An overview of what happened in other parts of the world while you were in bed. TTAC provides round-the-clock coverage of everything that has wheels. Or has its wheels coming off. WAS is being filed from Beijing until further notice.

Opel needs more money: Up until now, Opel had mentioned that they may need €1.8b in loan guarantees “just in case.” Now Manager Magazin reports that Opel will definitely need twice the amount. There are mounting indications that the German government will only part with the money if Opel is spun off and totally separate from GM. States where Opel has plants have indicated that they would take a stake. Also, there is pressure from Berlin that GM finally transfers the €1b which it owes Opel. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is still waiting for a viability concept promised, but not delivered, by Opel.
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[Editor’s Note: This is the third part of a four-part series by Dr. Rob Kleinbaum. Parts one and two are still available.]

What is fascinating about GM, and offers some hope, is that it really has two cultures. The one described above is an accurate depiction of the culture in North America and Western Europe but there is another in the rest of the world that is very different. The culture of GM’s operations in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, is much more progressive and it is in these areas that GM is doing very well. On almost all of the measures listed above, they would come out on the progressive side. Working for GM in Asia Pacific, Latin America or the Middle East, you would think you were in a completely different company. People are very forward looking, they are capable of making the tough decisions, they are business focused, debate is tolerated but discipline is enforced, relations with their labor force and dealers are usually positive, and authority is genuinely dispersed to the smaller business units within each of the regions.

Today, the Supervisory Board of Saab decided to declare bankruptcy, Automobilwoche [sub] writes. The 4000 employees of Saab are being informed at a meeting how the company will continue. The company is now under the supervision of an insolvency administrator. Since Sweden’s government had turned down bailout requests of the mother ship GM, according to Swedish media, one possible solution would be a merger of Saab with a spun-off Opel.

[Here’s a link to the document filed today at the court. The English version starts on page 7 of the pdf.]

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More news from Sweden:

“On thursday, supplier P-E Plast stopped their delivieries of parts to Saab in Trollhättan.

The owner, Patrik Ekwall, who runs the company since some months back, is afraid he won’t get paid for his deliveries, reports Swedish Radio (SR).

At Saab, no one answered when he phoned them. “We are wating for a reply” he says.

The last month, P-E Plast has delivered parts for 400 000 kronor (around 80 000 dollars) to Trollhättan. The company makes plastic details for the car industry, and a third of its sales goes to Saab.

In spite of the current circumstances, Patrik Ekwall hopes to keep the eleven employees.”

[thanks to Ingvar for the link and translation]

Since the beginning of Detroit’s slide into federal dependency, TTAC’s Best and Brightest have applied their razor-sharp wit to this sad, sad situation. But the bailout boondoggle beggars belief—overwhelming any attempt to subdue it with sardonic humor. To wit: the TTAC meme called American Leyland. On a scale from absurd to certifiable, the marriage of the two ailing American automakers comes pre-wrapped in a straitjacket. Earlier today, I suggested it was too stupid a concept to fade from federal consideration. And the more I think about it, the more it seems inevitable.

In a rare turn of truth-embracing, the Freep is printing the total cost of a fully-funded auto industry bailout: a cool $97.4b. That’s “up to $39 billion in survival loans for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, a $25.5-billion rescue sought by auto suppliers and $25.4 billion in requests to retool auto plants to build more efficient models” plus $6b for GMAC and $1.5b for Chrysler Financial. “And,” admits the Freep, “it’s likely not the end.” They even mention the minor detail that “the aid sought by Detroit’s automakers is many multiples of their current market values,” but not before forcing the reader to sit through some choice relativism from Clinton Labor Secretary, Robert Reich. And they wonder where the love is?

Alternative headline: “Extortionists Are People Too”

“It’s worth wondering why Detroit’s automakers are still having such a tough time winning public support. Do Americans still not grasp the consequences of a GM bankruptcy? Have the companies so soured confidence in their products that Americans think them unworthy corporations? Are their CEOs so uninspiring that Americans just don’t trust that they’ll turn things around?

Hard to figure how these companies, which employ millions, and whose spinoff industries reach into every nook of the manufacturing sector nationwide, can’t get more support than they are. They’ve got detailed plans. They’ve been forthcoming about their circumstances.

Do people really believe the nation would be better off if they didn’t survive?”

The Daily Mail reports on a warning by the UK’s Unite union to Chancellor Alastair Darling. The union told Darling that 100k jobs are at risk by the “imminent” closure of a car factory. “We made it absolutely clear that the prospect of a plant closure will have a devastating effect on UK manufacturing,” Unite’s Derek Simpson told the paper. “Immediate and effective intervention is required from the Government.” That would be a £13b bailout. Yes, yes. Who’s in danger of going belly-up, then? As, the Brits would say, that would be telling. Keep in mind, that the union boys are throwing around the 100k number in the same way that the infamous CAR study claimed 3m U.S. jobs would be lost if Detroit didn’t receive a federal bailout. You know, counting anyone even remotely affiliated with the car biz, like gas station attendants. Anyway, according to the Mirror, “All the major car manufacturers denied they are considering shutting down factories in Britain.” So I’m thinking . . . Vauxhall told its UK CEO to “send the boys ’round.”

With BMW’s newest Z4 hiking the roadster’s size and weight, Auto Motor und Sport says the Bangle-less Bavarians are planning a downsized Z2 Roadster for 2011 (planned European release). And they waste no time making Mazda Miata comparisons. The Z2 will be built on a downsized Z4 platform, but don’t expect a trademark straight six. It seems that nothing larger than a two liter four-banger will make it into this lightweight roadster. This translates into about 150 hp from a 1.8 liter four cylinder engine at the entry level, and up to 300 hp from a possible turbocharged M version of the two liter four. There’s even talk of a hybrid version. Active steering and suspension and dual-clutch transmissions will be standard, but despite all the techno-frippery the top will be fabric. Interestingly, Auto Motor und Sport lists the price in dollars rather than euros. And they say fewer than 30k of them will make a Z2 yours. Look for an auto show debut sometime in late 2010.

The Washington Post reports that “many analysts say the [TARP] pot isn’t big enough to address current plans to fix the financial system, let alone prop up the auto industry.” Since the first round of auto industry bailouts came from TARP, many considered the Toxic Asset Recovery Program the logical source for tranche deux. But if that money is needed for banks, as analysts indicate, the Obama Administration may have to return to congress for more funds. “From where I sit, it’s an executive decision,” says Republican Senator and bailout critic Bob Corker. “[The Treasury] fully understands we’re coming in with additional requirements,” said GM’s Ray Young after GM’s viability plan was released on Tuesday. “It will come as no surprise.” Who looks surprised?

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