Ingvar, Swedish member of TTAC’s Best and Brightest, translates a report in today’s Aftonbladet:
“Aftonbladet can disclose today that Secretary of Industry Maud Olofsson fasttracked GM into the Europan Investment Bank. But GM said no. A source says: GM wasn’t interested in saving Saab.
In the late fall, Maud Olofsson had talks with GM Europe boss Carl-Peter Forster. Olofsson offered GM government loan guarantees if they turned to the European Investment Bank. But his response was lukewarm. It takes too much time to go through EIB, was his answer.
But Olofsson didn’t give up. In early december, she contacted EIB and asked them if they could fast track GM’s eventual case. The answer was positive. But when GM was told, they were only making excuses. There was obviously no interest from GM in pursuing the case, they only kept stalling, a source says.
Between holidays, the Swedish government called in consultants to review the numbers for GM and Saab. They shook their heads in despair, there was no reality in the numbers, a source says. The advice they gave: Forget about Saab.”
More news from Sweden. I don’t have time to translate the whole article, but it is about Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, and “the trap” he has been talking about the last couple of days, that he feels GM tried to trap Sweden with. And what it is all about is that GM tried to make the Swedish governement economically responisble for winding up all of Saabs american operations. That means, get the Swedes to pay for buying out all the american Saab franchises and dealerships, which would be estimated to about 10-12 billion kronor, or about 2 billion dollars.
http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/artikel_2490087.svd
why the Swedes would give GM anything is beyond me. After all, GM destroyed their vehicle brand by making it no more than a badge for US-made SUV’s, Mexican made CUV’s, and ho-hum German sedans. The 9-3 production was all moving to Russelsheim anyways, leaving the 9-5 as the only Swedish-made SAAB (and nobody buys those anymore).
The Swedish gov’t should take a note from Fiat and just offer to take SAAB off GM’s hands without paying a cent for it. There are practically no standalone SAAB dealers in the USA, so the franchise lawsuits may not be too bad.
I thinkt he best thing GM could do is cut Saab. Have you seen a Saab on the road? Those things are UGLY. And the prices are ridiculous.
The 9-3 and 9-5’s are more expensive, but no where near as interesting as other vehicles such as the CTS, the BMw 3 and the Audi A4.
GM has too many marques. No wonder they lose so much money.
I’d be happy to see GM cut back to Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Pontiac and GMC and increase quality – making profit per car sold.
@NN
Its funny, I was just thinking of Gary Small Saab in Portland. He’s been a stand-alone Saab dealer for over 20 years. He has been getting more business lately from other multi-make dealers closing.
But as a whole you are correct, there aren’t many stand alone Saab dealers.
I don’t like what GM has done to Saab, but for some reason I still have a soft spot for the funky Swedish brand. I hope someone takes them in.
It is a flat out crime what GM did to SAAB. I hope that they come back to the market again as an independent and they whoop Cadillac’s ass.
Article in English, Saab restructuring imminent: http://www.thelocal.se/17684/20090219/
GM’s new strategy of separating Saab from the mother ship to be a stand-alone auto maker seems like fantasy to me. Saab has lost money for 20 years and GM can’t buy a coffee without borrowing the money. How could Saab support itself as a money losing business? Where would it find the capital to replace its aging 2-car lineup? I think GM was talking in code to the Swedish government. Socialist Sweden has proven to be more hard headed than capitalist USA.
The Saab board meeting was adjourned after an hour, without having covered all the points on the agenda – it was convened over the phone.
No statements as to what decisions were reached, and no confirmation that Saab would request “a structured reconstruction.” Saab has stopped payments, though, and that should be quite telling.
GM has “abandoned Saab” and the Swedes are not picking up the pieces. Though there’s a pretty harsh debate in the Swedish Riksdagen (parliament), with the opposition criticizing the government for not stepping in.
Having worked with Saab, and having dealt with GM, this is just the conclusion I was expecting … GM never took Saab seriously, and tried to have it be everything it was not. Saab definitely had a future, but not within the GM “culture,” — for what it’s worth, Alfa Romeo is now what Saab could have been.
(Most telling episode: sitting in Trollhättan, in the Saab conference room, with GM honchos in attendance, and with Saab Gripen fighter planes landing on the airstrip just outside, and being told that Saabs are luxury sedans that should be aimed for the Asian markets, and that quirky individuality was completely wrong for the brand.)
SAAB has two new models coming up: the 9-4 crossover and the new 9-5. Both look very good. The current 9-3 is way too old to compete.
I think the factory for the 9-5 is more or less ready to go. Someone tossed the figure of $200 million to move the production line to Sweden from Germany. I have no idea about the 9-4 line in Mexico.
SAAB should sell itself to Opel.
Some of the German readers on the Saab boards mention newspaper stories in their country to the effect that GMNA has some questionable bookkeeping with regard to operating fees taken from Opel and Saab, to the tune of billions over the years.
Bad divorce stories? Time will tell, I guess.
Anybody know to what extent the supplier base in Sweden does business with both Saab and Volvo? Would one company going under have an effect on the other’s ability to keep going? [perhaps a parallel with the US situation, if e.g. Chrysler disappears, affecting GM and then finally Ford–any analogy here?].
Actually, a few suppliers who were asked to comment on the Saab situation stated that while they were delivering to both companies, Saab disappearing would not destroy their bottom line, and it was a manageable problem. This could be specific to these suppliers, though.
Stein X Leikanger
Right on. I knew SAAB was doomed back when GM bought it. Every time they mentioned the “near luxury SAAB” I cringed. GM didn’t have a clue about the brand.
And now it looks like it’s been driven into the dust.
I don’t know how SAAB could be a stand-alone company anymore without a massive infusion of money and time to undo all the damage.
I feel sorry for Saab. I always had a soft spot for them for some reason. Maybe if they go under, I’d be able to get one for cheap. If GM severs Opel from itself, it should put in Saab along with them, and then maybe Saab could be Opel’s high-end brand.
Other than that, maybe someone will acquire the brand and the logo for pennies on the dollar (maybe the former parent, SAAB the airplane maker?) and relaunch the brand at some time in the future…
montgomery burns
Exactly. It GM had taken them in the direction of Subaru, oh how different things would have been.
It’s like a Jeopardy question:
“What is a three word phrase for ‘brand damnation?\'”
“Entry Level Luxury”
http://www.saab.com/
As of NOW:
“The Saab website is down for routine maintenance and will be available within one hour. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this.”
Is this the beginning of the end?
hazard : I feel sorry for Saab. I always had a soft spot for them for some reason.
When I think of Saab, I think of the guy from Sideways. It was a brand for quirky non-conformists.
There are still plenty of 900s out there from the good ‘ol days.
The Swedish have earned my respect for saying fuck you to the mindless, government extorting thug named GM.
I’m worried about the US when it takes a socialist Northern European country to show us how true capitalism (not cronyism or kleptocracy) and the core capitalist principle of creative destruction work.
The original Saab 900 was an interesting car with an amazing interior and advanced for the time turbo technology. But that was really it. The 9000 required collaboration with Fiat to create, and, as Chrysler shows, when you’re so desperate that you try to collaborate with Fiat you’re already dead.
SAAB the aerospace company was smart to sell it off, and the Swedish government was brilliantly courageous not to take it back.
Stein,
in regards to your mention about GM execs saying SAAB’s are good for Asia…I lived in Shenzhen, China back in 2002 & 2003, and noticed at that time that the 9-5 was popular in that local area. I had no idea why, but I saw more of them on the road than I did in the states. They may have been onto something about that particular remark.
Axel :
February 19th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
http://www.saab.com/
As of NOW:
“The Saab website is down for routine maintenance and will be available within one hour. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this.”
Is this the beginning of the end?
The revised language is now: “Due to high traffic the Saab website is experiencing some technical issues, it will be back shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this.”
I would say: yes, this is a clear sign that Saab is going under. The German Newspapers assume that Saab will file tomorrow for bankruptcy protection.
snabster :
February 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
SAAB should sell itself to Opel.
Well, Saab and Opel both belong to GM – so there is no sense in “selling” itself to Opel. This idea would make sense only if GM really takes the turn indicated yesterday, that it might allow Opel/Vauxhall to separate from GM, with GM maintaining a 25% stake. In any case, it would probably make economically not sense to maintain the production in Sweden – the only benefit for Opel would be the brand and the current models – whether this is profitable, I don’t know.
Maybe theres a Shiek or a Hedge Fund who GM can give Opel, SAAB, Hummer, and Saturn to that can invest enough funds to let them hobble along.
Kurt. : Opel, SAAB, Hummer, and Saturn
I’m reminded of the four cows in Cold Comfort Farm: Feckless, Aimless, Graceless, and Pointless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Comfort_Farm
Some “gift.”
no_slushbox: “The original Saab 900 was an interesting car with an amazing interior and advanced for the time turbo technology. But that was really it.”
Which in turn, was based on the predecessor 99 model, which had the original Saab Turbo moniker. And the original designs for that car were conceived when JFK was still POTUS.
“The 9000 required collaboration with Fiat to create, and, as Chrysler shows, when you’re so desperate that you try to collaborate with Fiat you’re already dead.”
Well, it’s a little more complicated than that…there was a common platform, which was also shared among the Lancia Theta and the Alfa 164. The Alfisti at the time sneered at the 164 as an Italian Saab, so it goes to show that you can’t win among the fanatiques of any marque. The 9000 itself was a pretty decent ride.
The thing that kills me is that Saab’s traditional brand attributes would be so relevant in today’s market.
You want performance? How about a turbo? Fuel economy with that? Sure, it’s a four cylinder. Safety – uh, yeah. Foul weather capability? Hey, it’s built in Sweden bub. Space? You can fit a frickin shark with laser beams in the back of a 9000. Luxury? Some of the best seats in the business, plenty of passenger space, excellent visibilty, etc.
Not to mention Saab, for such a small company, was very innovative. Turbos for the masses (Saab was wringing max boost from tiny fours while Audi was still wetting itself), heated seats, active head restraints, on and on. Hell, a Saab 9000 was a crossover before the word ever entered the lexicon.
Stating the obvious I suppose, but GM really failed – badly – to capitalize on Saab’s stengths. I’d love to see some entity buy them up and just let those wacky Swedish engineers run wild.
Right on. I knew SAAB was doomed back when GM bought it. Every time they mentioned the “near luxury SAAB” I cringed. GM didn’t have a clue about the brand.
WHAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF SAAB?!
PartsUnknown:
Some of Saabs better “wacky Swedish engineers” have found work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koenigsegg
PartsUnknown:
Some of Saabs better “wacky Swedish engineers” have found work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koenigsegg
Nice – throw a hatchback on the back of that and put the ignition between the seats and BAM – Saab 900 SPG reincarnated.
As of “now”, the Saab Automobile web site only displays a blank page with a broken icon.
Sad to see Saab fade away. Yet, the Saab products at the Portland Auto show were basically clones of other products, with little to set them apart from the competition.
@NN :
February 19th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Stein,
in regards to your mention about GM execs saying SAAB’s are good for Asia…I lived in Shenzhen, China back in 2002 & 2003, and noticed at that time that the 9-5 was popular in that local area. I had no idea why, but I saw more of them on the road than I did in the states. They may have been onto something about that particular remark.
Trouble was that Saab, as a very small brand, was extended all over the effing planet, into mature and emerging markets, and that GM’s call for entry level luxury (well, the strategy papers said “BMW challenger”) was out of synch with what the people designing and engineering the vehicles had in their blood.
At the time that GM wanted to aim for Asian luxury customers, there were literally hundreds of movie stars, entrepreneurs, media personalities, cultural figures, and others with excellent networks who drove and loved their Saabs. Free advertising that other brands pay fortunes for.
At the time, Saab never paid as much as a dollar to have their cars featured in movies or on television.
The number of movies and tv-series with trend setting actors driving Saabs to accentuate their characters was/is legion. Heck, even Seinfeld drove one in his series. We had a list of movies longer than my arm with characters driving Saabs, you had to use dynamite to get Nicholson out of his, in various movies.
But GM didn’t want to mine this segment, because it didn’t speak to the upper class luxury cachet they wanted to develop (“Tired of Woody Allen and effing professors in deerstalkers!”)
God knows what spreadsheet they were working from.
A lot of effort was put into Asia, seeking to get a foothold, drawing resources from markets that were better developed.
Look at the US, for instance, instead of boosting efforts on the coasts and Chicago, GM opened a SAAB USA headquarter in Forth Worth, TX. I kid you not. That worked as well as a Hummer on The Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy. The office was then moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Should have been where the customers were, of course. Silly to be opening new markets with a brand that nudges 130.000 cars in a good year, you can do wonders in the established markets. Dealers on the East and West coasts were crying for support, but the resources had to be spread around the globe.
Ah well – there were some good times, too.
===
What should Saabs have been?
“The lowest you can fly.”
@Stein X
Look at the US, for instance, instead of boosting efforts on the coasts and Chicago
Amen, brother. I think Saab’s demise is right up there with pocket lint to the majority of people in the flyover states, but here in New England you can’t swing a dead cat and not hit a Saab. Lots of devotees here (me and my trusty 9000 included) who have cringed at what’s happened to the marque, will likely curl up in the fetal position upon hearing the final death rattle.
Still, to me, it was more a product issue rather than the location of the headquarters. Every Saab dealer in the nation should have an A4-crushing 9-3, a 5-series-smiting 9-5 and something, anything SUV-ish to replace the damnable 9-7x. Just ain’t happening.
I’m PartsUnknown and I approve this message. No cats were harmed in the making of this post.
@PUnk
“Saab was wringing max boost from tiny fours when Audi was still wetting itself”.
Back from the Chicago auto show yesterday and this “truth about cars” was never more apparent. Yeah, alot of Toyotas and Hondas stand out(but they cant sell their stuff right now either).
Just loads of V6s, averaging 18-25mpg?. All the double parts and weight of the complex variable valve timing gears, catalytics, O2 sensors, etc…for what? Way more 4 & 5 cylinders, diesels, twinturbos and hybrids would in order.
GMNA is just SO lost in some “time-warp”. The Saabs(12YO 9.5 excepted) and Saturns(Belgian Opels?)and the Corvette were really the only GM standouts.
The sooner GMEurope controls its destiny, the better.
It’s obvious that GM thought Saab was doomed sometimes last summer, not even worth the time a day, but looking for someone else to pick up the bill of killing off the brand. Criminal conduct? Criminal negligence? They didn’t seek out those loans, because they know already then that no loan in the world would have saved Saab anyway. They didn’t care, they didn’t even give a shit, all they wanted was doing nothing, hope for the best, and when the shit hit the fan, send the bill somwhere else.
“snabster :
February 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
(…)
SAAB should sell itself to Opel.”
Ehhh…???
Let me grasp it… so you’re suggesting Saab should sell itself to GM ergo in other words GM should sell Saab to itself (GM)?
If yes then whatever is that you’re smoking there I want a bag of it… :D