[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I am a lawyer too, but my bankruptcy experience is strictly American, and consumer at that. It does usually mean the entity filing cannot meet its bills as they come due. If it is a restructuring, it may mean that the GM is just buying some time for a play, or it could just mean that they are killing off Saab in a way where they can say, "Well, we gave it a chance for a restructuring [that only cost us the attorneys fees]." I do not think they wanted to tell Congress that US taxpayer dollars were going to go for bail out of cars made, mostly, in Europe, by European workers. One wonders what will occur to warranty claims in the future, location of dealers, whether dealer agreements will be severed, and whether the federal regulatory requirement to make parts available for 10 years after sale of a new car will mean anything.
I do not think GM cares a fig about Saab. When they took complete control of 100% of the stock, they shortly followed up by dismissing a large portion of the Swedish engineering staff who made the cars what they are. Design and engineering were transferred to the US. Badge "engineering" took over, much as they did in the 80s with the Chevy Citation clones. They put a household goods woman in charge of the division so it could be marketed as one would laundry detergent, a basically generic product. New 9-3 model is not even to be made in Sweden but Germany. Did they think Sweden would bail them out for that purpose? Having stripped Saab of its intellictual knowledge and people, one wonders how much of an independent company is left to sell.
I thought hard about buying a new Saab this last year or two. Frankly, one of the factors on delaying was whether GM was going to continue the line for the time periods that I tend to hold a car. Even now, I wonder what the supply for parts, or the price, will be in the future. And, where will there be a trained mechanic on duty? If there are no new car dealers, that will leave some indies around, but only in some places.
The not knowing of all of this is almost as crippling as if they had just outright said that they were going to kill off the car.
It's all just very dismaying.
posted by 74.65.7...
, Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:55:09
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
