Spyker Submits New Offer for Saab

[question everything]

Source: WSJ

General Motors Co. said it had received several new inquiries about its Saab business but still planned to wind it down after talks collapsed with as Dutch sports-car maker Spyker Cars NV. Spyker tried to resurrect a deal with a new offer it hopes will overcome the obstacles that caused talks to collapse. The U.S. auto maker Friday said unidentified and unsolvable issues had arisen in plans to sell Saab to Spyker and it would wind down its Swedish business.

(snip)

GM said Sunday it had received several inquiries about Saab and it was looking at all the offers. GM didn't disclose the other parties interested in Saab.. The Dutch company said its new offer is an 11-point proposal addressing each of the issues that arose during the due-diligence process and would "remove each of the obstacles that were standing in the way of a swift transaction." Spyker said the new offer has the full backing of Saab management and eliminated the need for a loan from the European Investment Bank.

(snip)

Saab employs 3,400 workers globally and had 1,100 dealers. If Spyker or one of the other interested parties can't strike a deal with GM, it would mark the near-certain death of one of Sweden's most storied companies and a car brand with a small but devoted following. GM has struggled to finalize a deal to sell the unprofitable Saab, mainly because it has proved to have too small a following to attract large auto makers looking for scale in a global recession. It is the second time this year that GM's plans to sell an ailing brand have collapsed. Its efforts to sell Saturn also failed, and the company reversed itself on plans to sell its European car maker, Opel. Disposing of Saab is part of a broader GM strategy to slim down the company and focus on the four brands—Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick—it believes are its strongest.

The Swedish government, which Friday criticized GM for not doing more to save Saab, Sunday said it was still ready to act as a guarantor to any EIB loans that may be required but hadn't been involved in Spyker's new bid.. In the meantime, the government is preparing to provide assistance to the local community in Trollhattan, where most of the Saab workers are based. "GM had their reasons for stopping the deal on Friday but that was their call. The government is concentrating on helping the people of Trollhattan and we'll be meeting with stakeholders—unions, local government officials and Saab—Monday to look at ways to give Trollhattan a new start if Saab closes," Mr. Hagglund said.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107604574607791131579248.html

[dysfunctional press]

1. Sunday said it was still ready to act as a guarantor to any EIB loans that may be required

EIB?

so now rush mcfuckhead is interested...? :silly:

[chandler2]

2. Saab WILL be purchased. What's going on is merely sales...

strategies by GM and potential buyers. GM wants to SELL Saab. They need the money. Prospective buyers are holding back to
get the best deal. Time is on THEIR side and they know it. So does GM. Saab sale? Yes, and SOON COME.

[msongs]

3. maybe they can sell it to....ABBA nt

[ShortnFiery]

7. ...

:spray: :thumbsup:

[vinylsolution]

4. 10 years ago....

... SAAB was one of the most coveted brands, with a customer demographic that was the envy of the whole auto industry.

So GM mis-managers starved it of investment, and neglected it - almost to death. Amazing.

I hope a deal can be struck ASAP, the company and its workers deserve much better treatment than GM ever gave them.

[question everything]

5. I can't help wondering about Ford and Volvo

They ruined it and now, I think, are seeking a buyer.

Why take small, reliable brands with loyal customers base and ruing them?

[Kickin_Donkey]

15. Ford is currently deep into talks about selling Volvo ...

to Geely, a Chinese automaker.

If the deal goes through, it will be the death of the Volvo brand.

Volvo aficionados will leave in droves, including me.

[question everything]

16. We were Volvo aficionados for 25 years, though only two wagons

and we left two years ago when the wagons "shrank."

We purchased a Toyota Highlander, instead.

[boppers]

6. They messed with the brand, and quality, by trying to turn it into another SUV brand.

The 9-7X was sold as a Saab, but rather than being made in Trollhatten, it was made in Ohio, using the GMT360 (think: Chevy Trailblazer) technology base. Most expensive Saab ever built, wasn't a Turbo, wasn't an eco-drive, basically wasn't really a Saab (didn't even have night driving mode!).

If they dump the 9-7X, and even the 9-3 convertible (It's made in Austria), and just make 9-3's and 9-5's, then can get back to making one really freaking awesome product, instead of trying to saturate markets with different product types.

[naaman fletcher]

9. What they didn't get..

Is that the standard GM routine of using the same parts and chasis and such across brands, mixed with the enviable customer base, just didn't work. The whole point about the enviable customer base was that this upwordly-mobile crowd bought Saab's precisely because they were different.

I could have told them that.

That being said, I own a 92-X which is really a Subaru Imprezza. Best care I have ever had. I was looking to buy an Imprezza until someone pointed out to me that during the 2005 GM dealer pricing scheme the Saab was actually cheaper than the comparable Subaru.

[boppers]

11. Well said. The "quirks" were the attraction.

"Wait, it has to be... in reverse... to remove the key?"
"It's a turbo... 4-cylinder... sportscar?"
"The car runs a pre-flight test on startup, and warns me if a brake light is out?"
"It has a special side lamp than comes on with a turn signal"?

Since I'm a geek, all these little toys were part of the attraction. That, and I got a decent used one. That being said, the Suby line is high on my list for future vehicles, as well.. does the 92-X have a bunch of quirks, too?

[naaman fletcher]

12. 92-X was cancelled..

They were only made in 2006. No, it does not have a lot of quirks. The only reason I got one was that I like Subaru's, and normally the 92-X was more expensive than the comparable Imprezza in order to get the Saab look and leather seats, but in 2005 they were cheaper due to the big GM sale.

[jmowreader]

13. They need to rethink the 9-3

That car is based on the Opel Vectra, which uses the same platform as the Chevy Malibu. I mean, the engine's even in wrong--it's supposed to run lengthwise, not crosswise, so you can work on it easier. Plus there's no three-door option.

If I was in charge over there, I'd bring out a 900 that starts all the time. That's the Saab people loved.

[Celtic Merlin]

8. SAAB is still a good car. I own one.

The GM influence is lamentable (they do things so wrong), but a new owner can turn it into the brand name it once was. What it was before GM screwed it into the ground.

For the good of the industry, this sale should go through - and it will. GM needs it. Europe needs it.

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[yellowcanine]

14. I had a Saab 96 Monte Carlo 850

It had a V-4 substituted for the 3 cylinder/3 carb 2 cycle engine.
But it was still a screaming machine with the V-4 - lots of torque and a ton of fun to drive with the 4 speed on the column and a free wheel option. Unfortunately it was pretty beat up and eventually I got rid of it.

[Psephos]

10. Very funny!

For a moment there, you had me. ;)