According to Automotive News, General Motors has yet to find any potential buyers for its Saab brand. GM has never officially said that the Swedish brand was for sale, but it was put under "strategic review" months ago.
The lack of buyers is hardly surprising. Saab sold all of 21,368 cars in 2008 and according to one of the sources cited in Automotive News, the poor dollar to euro exchange rate means that nearly every Saab is sold at a loss in the United States.
firstwagon says:
03:18 PM, 01/ 8/09
Another good reson for lack of interest is lack Saab in modern Saabs. Todays Saabs are more GM then they are Saab. Other then the name, I'm not sure what you would be buying (except perhaps a GM dealership).
huyracing says:
03:35 PM, 01/ 8/09
SAAB has a good look and some nice luxury features, but they lack something called fun.
The Turbo X was supposed to be their ultimate performance offering and at over $42k, it definitely fell short.
hondacura4 says:
05:30 PM, 01/ 8/09
"SAAB has a good look and some nice luxury features, but they lack something called fun."
The last Saab I sat in (my local Cadillac/Saab/Volvo dealer) felt like it was made in the early 90's. It felt ancient and cheap with the least bit of substance. The sticker was over $40K! I believe it was the Saab in the above picture.
rick8365 says:
07:03 PM, 01/ 8/09
I think SAAB's cars peaked in the 80s early 90s with cars like the 900. An attractive car IMO and it was very unique and SAABish.....SAAB appeal, if you will.
It'll be a shame if the brand goes away...but it kind of already has.
dzajic says:
08:20 AM, 01/ 9/09
I owned a 2002 Saab 9-5 wagon (Aero) from 2004-2006. It was a superb car. Yes, some of it was GM, but at the time, there was nothing comparable, except maybe the Audi A6 wagon. All the other wagons either had terrible fuel economy, or were nowhere near as big. I managed to average 34.5mpg over 300 miles at freeway speeds on one trip. It was a blast to drive, and handled incredibily well in the snow. My only complaint if any was that the 5 speed automatic wasn't as good as my Lexus LS, but that's not really a fair comparison. I now have a brand new Saturn Astra XR which I really like. For less than half the price of the Saab it has a similar Euro feel, most of the same luxury features and all of the same safety features. It gets better mileage, and obviously costs a lot less to insure and eventually, to service. I would love to have the 9-5 wagon again, but I wanted a new car with a worry-free warranty, and I didn't want to spend $700/month on car payments for the Saab. I think the bottom line for Saab's demise is just that, the bottom line. I'm sure there are lots of people who would love to own them, but the price is perceived as too expensive compared to more popular alternatives. The extra cost must be going into marginal improvements that most people don't appreciate (e.g. safety features), and/or that it's made in Europe. Apparently GM is also losing money on every Astra they import, as well. I'm just glad I got one before they started making them in the US.
desmolicious says:
02:31 PM, 01/ 9/09
I don't buy the "due to the exchange rates every car was sold at a loss" line at all.
Other European cars are sold here at a profit. Plus the SAAB is an amalgam of other cars under it's shell so that is cheaper.