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found the article Posted by ryan [Email]  (#2222) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from ryan) on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:48:58
In Reply to: post link! nm, ryan [Profile/Gallery]
, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:08:52
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After failing to find a buyer for Saab, GM to close Swedish brand
By Peter Whoriskey
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Adjö, Saab.
The iconic Swedish car brand will be closed, General Motors announced Friday, after attempts to sell the troubled unit foundered.
"Like everybody, we would have preferred a different outcome, and we all worked very hard for that different outcome and we've come up short," GM Vice President John Smith said.
With the decision, Saab joins the tally of brands, including Saturn and Pontiac, that General Motors has left at the curb as it seeks to reorganize itself during the recession.
The recession has hurt Saab more than other automakers in its two main markets, Europe and the United States.
Through October, Saab sales in the United States this year plunged 62 percent, to 7,441 cars. In Europe, sales dropped 59 percent over that period to 23,590 vehicles.
General Motors had been trying to sell the brand since February, first to a small Swedish luxury carmaker, and then to Spyker, a Dutch sports car company. Negotiations between GM, Spyker and the Swedish government broke down Friday.
Saab has about 3,400 employees, most in Sweden, and about 1,100 dealers.
"The Swedish government has tried very hard to be supportive," Smith said. "They were working very hard in trying to make a shoestring catch. . . . It's fair to say they are disappointed, as we all are. . . . We discovered issues that could not be resolved."
Despite its troubles, the brand had a devoted fan base that coveted its eccentric designs.
Founded in the 1930s as an airplane maker, Saab began building automobiles about 10 years later when it produced a car that in profile resembled an airplane's wing.
GM bought a 50 percent stake in Saab for $600 million in 1990. In 2000, it purchased the remaining shares for $125 million.
"Saab has always been about the feeling of driving -- a sports car designed in a family-car body," said Anders Johannesson, a native Swede who is now a shop owner in Los Angeles, mechanic and Saab fan. His Web site features Saab history. "The teardrop shape, going back to 1947, was the look of Saab. People loved it."
"Given our restructuring, we need to move on," Smith said.
posted by 76.173.10...
, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:46:50
, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:28:59, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:25:19
, Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:10:29, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:08:52, Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:48:58 <-- Viewing This Message, Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:15:32, Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:22:22
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