The new Saab 9-5 saloon and the proposed replacement for the 9-3 will be killed off if GM winds down its Swedish subsidiary, and not rebadged in any other markets.
Speculation had suggested the new 9-5 - a longer wheelbase version of the Opel Insignia - would be build in China and rebadged as a Buick.
But now the 9-5 is poised to go down in the annals of automotive history as an unfortunate curiosity - a design that was fully-tooled for production yet never got built.
“If Saab closes, the new 9-5 and 9-3 will go, and the cost absorbed in the winding-down charge,” says Nick Reilly, boss of GM’s new Opel/Vauxhall operation in Europe.
That charge is estimated at around 50m–100 million euros (£49-98m), Reilly says. Avoiding that charge is one of the driving forces behind continuing last-minute attempts to sell Saab.
Rumours circulating Detroit on Tuesday suggested that Saab had just 48 hours left.
Reilly also confirmed that GM isn’t looking for a payment for Saab. “We’re not trying to get any money for Saab, it’s costing us to keep it open.”
He says the main stumbling block for the various bids has been their ability to provide robust business plans to back the loans they needed from either the European Investment Bank or Swedish government.
“Koenigsegg managed to do that, but they pulled out of their own accord,” says Reilly. “although it’s still not clear why they pulled out”.
Selling Saab to a solid new buyer is also a key consideration, because GM doesn’t want a new owner to collapse after a couple of years, dumping problems at Saab back on the company’s plate.
“We have a large car parc of owners that we need to support," said Reilly. "If we sell to a ‘fly-by-night’ type operation and they collapse, the owners are going to come back to us. We need to sell it to someone who can keep it going.”
As of Tuesday morning, GM was continuing to talk to Dutch supercar-maker Spyker through its owner Victor Muller, plus a consortium of Luxembourg-based financiers including F1 ring-master Bernie Ecclestone.
But GM also announced that two two legal officials had been appointed in Sweden to wind-down Saab.
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Re: Saab closure will kill new 9-5
They do, which is encouraging a throwaway society, cars being produced en masse then thrown away 7 or 8 years later, which is arguably far worse for the environment than a cars co2 emissions, but something the government dont seem to focus on (in fact they encouraged it too with the recent scrappage scheme).
Re: Saab closure will kill new 9-5
What you have just said is why Hyundai have a hold in America but also why they are not percived the same in Europe. Cars like the Focus and Golf do well because they have heritage and image unlike Hyundai. They also have what most drivers want that feel good factor and that they can handle and are good to drive. Hyundai still suffer dynamically not one car in the range can beat dynamically the class best here. As said reliability is on par with other mass market makes although again perception of the brand makes people think they are unreliable.
We see cars in a very differnt light as you have just said we will pay 30K US $ for a quality hatch, Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series prove that equally we will pay 30k for a small car our roads are narrower and more twisty and giant barges are just no fun but a good handling hatch is. A Saab is a safe and secure cruiser ideal for the motoway and hauling a family around whilst still giving some kudos and image to those who drive one. The company is not out of date nor is the badge products less the new 95 are a little dated however. But name a Hyundai that will be dynamically better and better made than the new 95 and that is from a company that you say is dead?
Simple fact is however much you love the brand they just don't cut it in Europe dynamically inferior, no badge Kudo's, no passionate following, I doubt I will ever see somebody restoring an old Hyundai like they do an Austin Mini, Ford Capri, Saab 9000, VW Beetle to name a few. They do a job and go to the scrappyard just like you buy a TV or fridge use it for so long then throw away and get a new one.
Re: Saab closure will kill new 9-5
HyundaiSmoke, I think you'll find that if you post your opinions and comments on publicly accessible websites which can be found using a simple google search for your username, someone is at some point bound to take notice of this and make reference to it. Google will index the search results depending upon which site contains the most mentions matching the search term. So it isn't all that difficult to come by this information at all. Especially when the person being searched for is as vocal as your good self and has so much to say, to so many, about so little.I only mentioned the first couple of sites that I encountered, one of which happened to have some pics of your car. I too have images of my car online. I can't claim ownership of those images any longer as they are now public.
The same is true for anyone else who uses the same username or nick on multiple websites, as I do. The information is public and is there to be used, referenced, quoted or reproduced as the public so wish, regardless of the sites user agreements as the nature of the internet makes any form of control impossible. That's the hazard of not being able to properly retain intellectual property rights or copyright of publicly posted information. Sorry if that's not to your liking. I was interested to know more about you and why you are so vehemently opposed to all things that are not Hyundai / Kia produce. I also thought the other's here might like to know too.
Why? Well quite simply because I just cannot understand the attraction to 'your' brands. I've worked for a Korean company in the past, I've been to Seoul and I've been immersed in Korean culture and I'm actually repulsed by the 'bling' and incongruous styling of their cars. I mean, it's a mystery to me how a car enthusiast can be drawn to such a brand. I agree with the previous poster who said that Hyundai / Kia signal the death knell for the car as we know it. Hyundai / Kia will manufacture cars in the same way LG and Samsung produce microwaves and mobile phones. Flood the markets. This is not a good thing. Korean culture dictates that the aim to sell the most cars and be seen as the most successful producer of cars will result in the 'car as whitegoods' being a reality worldwide.
You have managed to do something good in all of this however. You're managing to keep this thread indexed near the top of the lists on this site, ensuring that people continue to read the news about and remain informed about the fate of SAAB, the reason this thread was started in the first place. So, thanks for that man.