BREAKING: Saab is dead. For real this time.

[Jesda]

http://inside.saab.com/press-release-sa ... ankruptcy/

"Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 19 December 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile), Saab Automobile Tools AB and Saab Powertrain AB filed for bankruptcy with the District Court in Vänersborg, Sweden this morning.

After having received the recent position of GM on the contemplated transaction with Saab Automobile, Youngman informed Saab Automobile that the funding to continue and complete the reorganization of Saab Automobile could not be concluded. The Board of Saab Automobile subsequently decided that the company without further funding will be insolvent and that filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors. It is expected that the Court will approve of the filing and appoint receivers for Saab Automobile very shortly.

Swan does not expect to realize any value from its shares in Saab Automobile and will write off its interest in Saab Automobile completely."

----

That the aftermarket parts business, Saab Automobile Parts AB, which was spun off from the parent company, does not appear to be affected, but I could be wrong. It's always sad when a niche brand goes away. A small piece of the auto industry's soul dies just a little bit. Imagine the world without Mazda, Fiat, Alfa, Jaguar, Lotus, et al.

RIP.

I think its time for some Electric Light Orchestra:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkxVvs05_-k[/youtube]

[Bubba1]

Sad, but not too surprising. To rescue a brand during a recession plus after years of GM mismanagement was a tough road.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Thank god! Those cars suck IMHO no offence to anyone.

The only Saab I have ever seen and liked was the "DUCK" (jesda's).

[driverdriver]

I expected it, especially after they got into trouble the second time.

I've owned my Saab for nearly 7 years and still am impressed by some if its engineering and thoughtful features like:

-Final wipe on both front and rear wipers to capture any droplets that fall after the wipers are shutdown.
-Alarm siren/immobilizer backup motor, in case someone disconnents the battery and tries to steal the car.
-Clever pull for the rear hatch so you don't get road debris (especially in the winter) on your hands when opening or closing the hatch.
-driver centric controls, where mostly everything is where you expect it.
-winter mode button which transforms the car into a unstoppable beast in the worst snow/ice storms.
-acceleration, this is one of the fastest vehicle I have owned.
-reliability, I have over 200k km's on this car and only 2 power window motors, a turbo and a thermostat have been replaced.
-Incredibly comfortable orthopaedic seats that are heated and cooled. The best seats I have had in a car ever.
-Driving dynamics, not as good as the German makes, but better then then most of the American and Japanese(except J30t) makes I have owned.
-Impressive fuel economy
-An owner's manual that features step by step illustrated DIY (for those inclined) to perform DIY oil changes, serpentine belt replacement, etc.


I was going to be replacing this car in 2012. Due to all the turmoil surrounding Saab, I wasn't going to consider another Saab.

Nevertheless this car is going to be hard to replace.

[Bubba1]

Thank god! Those cars suck IMHO no offence to anyone.

The only Saab I have ever seen and liked was the "DUCK" (jesda's).

Well, you've gotta know the older Saabs (before GM ownership) to appreciate how special they were. I worked at a Saab dealer way back when when the 900 series first came out, and 99's were plentiful. Plus, those old 96's and Sonnets were even more quirky, which added to their charm. They were unusual looking cars in their day, but they were so well made, and thoughtfully engineered. They were not blazing cars, but they were comfortable, reliabile, surprisingly roomy, and fun to drive. It's unfortunate that most folks now associate Saab with the GM era, when GM pretty much eliminated the engineering that made Saabs special, and ended selling frigging rebadged Subarus, with their ignitions repositioned to between the seats.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Thank god! Those cars suck IMHO no offence to anyone.

The only Saab I have ever seen and liked was the "DUCK" (jesda's).

If everyone wished death on the cars they personally don't like, we wouldn't have anything left but Camrys and Corollas. That's not the auto industry I want to buy from.

[Encryptshun]

this news makes Chad a sad Panda.

I was just on the verge of talking my wife into getting a 9-3x wagon.

[Jesda]

US auto brands that have died in the last 20 years:

Saab
Hummer
Saturn
Geo
Pontiac
Oldsmobile
Plymouth
Mercury
Maybach

There's probably a couple more.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Eagle (and AMC before it). I never really understood what Chrysler was trying to accomplish through buying a brand, changing its name, and then slapping that name on existing Chrysler products. It seems like a whole lot of effort to end up right where they started.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Thank god! Those cars suck IMHO no offence to anyone.

The only Saab I have ever seen and liked was the "DUCK" (jesda's).

Well, you've gotta know the older Saabs (before GM ownership) to appreciate how special they were. I worked at a Saab dealer way back when when the 900 series first came out, and 99's were plentiful. Plus, those old 96's and Sonnets were even more quirky, which added to their charm. They were unusual looking cars in their day, but they were so well made, and thoughtfully engineered. They were not blazing cars, but they were comfortable, reliabile, surprisingly roomy, and fun to drive. It's unfortunate that most folks now associate Saab with the GM era, when GM pretty much eliminated the engineering that made Saabs special, and ended selling frigging rebadged Subarus, with their ignitions repositioned to between the seats.

Yea your exactly right. I like the older ones like i mentioned.. Proabably before GM took over.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Thank god! Those cars suck IMHO no offence to anyone.

The only Saab I have ever seen and liked was the "DUCK" (jesda's).

If everyone wished death on the cars they personally don't like, we wouldn't have anything left but Camrys and Corollas. That's not the auto industry I want to buy from.

I actually should edit that cause bubba made a good point I actually hate the cars that were made under GM's Ownership but before gms ownership I like them...

Sorry guys

[driverdriver]

this news makes Chad a sad Panda.

I was just on the verge of talking my wife into getting a 9-3x wagon.

If its a '09 and older model you can get it cheaper now.

According to my trusted Saab independent mechanic parts availability is not an issue for pre '09 models, since virtually everything was shared with other GM American and GM European models, and items such as hoses (made by Goodyear), Turbos (made by Garrett and Mitsubishi), awd systems (made by Haldex-same as the one used by Volvo), sound system and components (Harmon Kardon) where made by 3rd party manufacturers.

[TTkickedin]

Me and my brother learned how to drive stick in a saab 9000cs

I'll miss em. Luckily they made their best cars pre-bankruptcy.

And if they made this:

[Encryptshun]

this news makes Chad a sad Panda.

I was just on the verge of talking my wife into getting a 9-3x wagon.

If its a '09 and older model you can get it cheaper now.

According to my trusted Saab independent mechanic parts availability is not an issue for pre '09 models, since virtually everything was shared with other GM American and GM European models, and items such as hoses (made by Goodyear), Turbos (made by Garrett and Mitsubishi), awd systems (made by Haldex-same as the one used by Volvo), sound system and components (Harmon Kardon) where made by 3rd party manufacturers.

Good to know. Thanks!

Unfortunately, they aren't easy to find up here with any kind of low mileage. I wanted my wife's next car to be new or nearly-new, considering she's been beating around in a 2000 300M for about 8 years now.

[hitbychance]

this news makes Chad a sad Panda.

I was just on the verge of talking my wife into getting a 9-3x wagon.

i thought jesda was going to be the only one saddened by this,

[Jesda]

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12 ... s-aplenty/

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Hey Jesda, if you want to buy Saab for $1, I'll go halfsies with you...

We don't need GM's crappy technology.

[Jesda]

We can bring Saab back as a manufacturer of airplanes