Bye bye Saab?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13886024

Second car I ever drove:

please can they make this before they go pop?

Have a vested interest here (involved with them). Have read our obituary many times now. Still here.

Have not yet read a single opinion piece by an “expert” that wasn’t a woeful cut and paste from old news and ill informed speculation.

We’re in a tight spot. But as Churchil said – “when you’re in hell, keep going”.

Which is what we’re doing. Aiming to be back to normal in couple of weeks, accepting there are no guarantees in life…

And know what’s coming, assuming we make it. It’s genius…

bloody shame that! i’ve still got my 16yr old 9000cse and the damn thing is bombproof i can’t fault it, but then in those days they were still made by saab.

Be a damn shame if they do go, before the GM takeover and neglect (and lets be honest, most of what GM makes is shite) SAAB’s were crackingly distinctive and individual, in a world where the competition were mostly dull or conservative. They should be an offbeat and crdible alternative to the Germans, I really hope someone sees this and restores them to where they should be.

the fopster. i’m glad to hear it and for what it’s worth i hope my next car is a saab too, if i need one seeing as this one wants to keep on going!.

The V4 was my first car. Everything has been rubbish since

My first car was a white 89 900 8v turbo. Really, it was the only one of any car I’ve owned with which I feel any emotional attachment.

What a shame remember My Saab 900i which i bought has a family car
many many moons ago. Great purchase

Fopster – I hope it works out. As above, Saab has been a genuine innovator over the years and always ‘a bit different’ – always a good thing in my book.

My daily drive is a 9000 Aero (with added Abott-ness). If only GM hadn’t got their mitts on them in the first place.

Bet the Chinese will buy them soon …

My understanding was that SAAB hold some very good patents and that this would be a key incentive to any investors. That said if they have been running at a loss for so long perhaps these chance of anyone stepping in may become less likely.

Anyway as a proud owner of a ten year old 9-5 Aero I can safely say it’s been a pleasure to drive on a daily basis amid the fleets of BMW’s and Audi’s

Thanks for positive vibes folks. Isn’t STW nice. Now if you can just get my collar bone to heal a bit quicker that’d be lovely…

That sucks, really does. Never owned one but always liked them and if I could, I WOULD have one. Shame Scania isn’t interested in tying back up with them as I genuinely think that would give some stability.

The reason SAAB was sold years ago to GM was that it was making a loss.

My understanding was that SAAB hold some very good patents and that this would be a key incentive to any investors.

My understanding is that GM kept hold of those patents/interests and only sold on the right to manufacture.

I’m another SAAB Pre GM Lover, I’ve had 99 Combi Coupe a 99 EMS, and a 900 Turbo.

I really miss my old 99EMS.

😥

My old SAAB 9000 had 210k on the clocks and was still going strong

My old SAAB 9000 had 210k on the clocks and was still going strong

Yay! Mine must have at least another 160k in front of it then 🙂

My feeling is that the BBC site clip is slightly old news – the stuff about not paying suppliers has gone on for several months, and I heard a couple of days that some additional Chinese cash has already been put into Saab. Fingers crossed!

Totally concur with the negative remarks about GM. Basically, they asset-stripped Saab of its good ideas and innovations (safety features, pollen filters, build quality, etc) while merely donating their rubbish parts bin. Result – Saabs start having major mechanical problems and breaking down well before 100K miles (something unknown in old 900s and 9000s) and parts last little more than 2 or 3 years and can’t stand up to hard wear. Also, abolition of hatchbacks and introduction of ‘sports saloons’….all of which contribute to an identity crisis for Saabs – not the quirky bulletproof cars they once were, now merely average, and as the commentators say, sadly unable to compete with BMW, Audi or even Volvo (who did massively better under Ford than Saab did under GM.)

So – fingers crossed indeed, and anyone who owns one, it’s worth joining the Saab Owners Club and looking at the Saabscene site.

Have the employees thought about going on strike to learn the management?
Always sad to see a company go under, they made some of my favourite cars, but hey, this is business.

SAAB have had plenty of cash offered, but since most was from shady Russians the Swedish Govt has been dragging their heels to approve any deals.

It looks like curtains; Rover never came back from their collapse.

Sorry, but good riddance!

Lardy, gas guzzling piles of junk.

And what are these ‘patents’ then? Tronic ignition system maybe, but if you’ve ever had to replace the ignition cassette you’ll know that sucks anyway.

Runs and hides

Marko

I know it’s a little odd, but I prefer the look of the 9-3 estates to pretty much every other estate car in that class. 9-5 estate looks wrong, but the 9-3 looks aggressive and refined at the same time.

Shame there do not seem to be that many in my price bracket on the market. I wouldn’t mind one.

Saw one of these at the weekend on an 11 plate, all the black plastic bits are just stuck on as an afterthought and for an alledgedly ‘allroad’ style of car the ride height looks a bit low. Whoever paid £30k for that needs their head examined.

I’ve got a (newish) 9-3 Aero estate & it’s much like driving a Saab again – as opposed to a Vauxhall. It may be a diesel, but it’s 180 bhp, 300 torques & 50 mpg.

I would hate to see them go after everything that’s happened in the last couple of years, especially if the new models will be anything like the latest 9-5 which is a great car to drive.

Lardy, gas guzzling piles of junk.

Must admit, I looked at them but the fuel economy figures didn’t really do much for me.

And what are these ‘patents’ then?

Interesting list of Saab innovations here:
http://www.saabtrader.co.uk/history12.htm

You will notice a significant contribution to safety amongst and quite a few firsts for the industry. I hate to see any car manufacturer go under. Not only do a lot of people lose their jobs (not just at the factory but the dealer and service network), but the roads just look quite boring compared to years ago.

my dad had a 900i, it was great! 220k when sold and saw it on the road for a few years after that. I love the really old ones, wouldn’t mind one. Since GM bought them they aren’t really saabs anyway.

My old chap ran Saabs for many years, two of which were somewhat modified and felt like an Exocet missile to drive. Not that I’ve ever driven an Exocet missile, but if I did I imagine it would feel a lot like driving well built Scandinavian car with 200+ bhp going through the front wheels once the turbo has spooled up.

All GM did when they bought Saab was to starve them of investment and undermine any premium pretensions of the brand by forcing them to use obsolete and floppy GM platforms. To lose Saab this way would be an utter tragedy.

Just remember that GM came very, very close to buying Jaguar in 1990 before Ford stepped in.

PePPeR – a 99EMS? Nice. My uncle had one – very distinctive colour scheme.

My dad owned 2 99s, the went on to a low pressure 900. Even though it lacked the full beans, the exhaust note was fab and it was quick enough for him. I inherited the second 99…lovely car to drive.

Still check out the adverts on Pistonheads and the like for a likely 900 or 9-3 to replace the Scooby.

Good luck to you Fopster!

From a purely selfish point of view, I always thought I’d end up with a Saab at some point. It hasn’t happened yet, so I’d like to see them continue.

From a non-selfish pov, I reckon they must be doing something wrong to have been in trouble for so long. I don’t think they ever really tapped into the marketing opportunities available. I don’t really feel they did enough to leverage on their good image created by the fact that people actively chose them as alternatives to BMW/VAG because of the negative image associated with them.
In fact – apart from the old aircraft ads from the 80s/90s I can’t really remember a single piece of SAAB marketing.

My ex GF’s dad bought one of these in 1987. It was AWESOME. And it had a phone in it!

I can remember zooming along some narrow Devon lanes as a passenger and phoning my folks to let them know I was okay. I felt so coooooooooool.

What Alex said.

I’ve never owned a SAAB but I’ve always quite liked them. Always seemed to be the also-ran in this country though, certainly in recent years. They should be going toe-to-toe with BMW and Audi (and winning), never really understood why that hasn’t happened.

A Saab was the car my Dad aspired to own and finally bought … nuff said 😉

Derek, it’s stunning.

I just don’t think that Saab have ever understood their target market as well as BMW and AUDI have understood theirs.

They need a good branding expert to get to the heart of why people buy Saabs. Then all development should be focussed on delivering more of that. Then the marketing does itself.

My Favourite old SAAB!!

Although my Current car is this 😉

excluding the 2 stroke older saabs, the 99 and 900 (the black 900 turbo above is very nice) to me were the epitome of a SAAB..

but think they suffered a little from 911 syndrome in that they seemed to think that all the newer cars had to follow the same design style.. Porsche have made a success of selling cars that all look the same, but don’t think SAAB had.

also the 9000 was a mistake to get into bed with Fiat – sharing a platform with the Chroma.. doh!

PePPeR – nice!