"Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile), Saab Automobile Tools AB and Saab Powertrain AB filed for bankruptcy with the District Court in Vanersborg, Sweden this morning."
After countless failed bids to save the company, in the end, there was no plan B and Saab has finally filed for bankruptcy. GM was the final and constant hurdle in the deal as they simply refused to allow their intellectual property to be transferred to a Chinese competitor.
There doesn't appear to be any roadblock in the bankruptcy plan, though "The Board of Saab Automobile subsequently decided that the company without further funding will be insolvent and that the filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors...Swan does not expect to realize any value from its shares in Saab Automobile and will write off its interest in Saab Automobile completely."
stovt001 says:
09:12 AM, 12/19/11
Someone will buy it. The Saab name will not go quietly into the night.
ed124c says:
09:45 AM, 12/19/11
@stovt001: Really? Pontiac and Oldsmobile might take issue with your comment. Unless you meant that existing SAABs will hang around like a house guest that won't leave.
SAABs may have been good cars for the money, back then, but more recently they have been overpriced and not competitive. Anyway, that is what I have read over the past 10 years. I have never owned one.
I had a buddy that bought them used, because they didn't hold their value. Then he started buying used Aztecs because THEY didn't hold whatever little value they had. He enjoyed the SAABs and the Aztecs and, as far as I know, he is still driving one in South Florida. (Haven't seen him in four years.)
blueprint1 says:
09:52 AM, 12/19/11
Swan song.
justinlink says:
09:54 AM, 12/19/11
Never thought I'd see the day. It's about damn time.
throwback says:
10:15 AM, 12/19/11
Saab's last great car was the 900 Turbo. It's long since past time for them to go. It's happened to many brands some great, Packard, Duesenberg etc. Some not so great Hummer, Hillman etc.
stovt001 says:
11:00 AM, 12/19/11
@ed124c: in the past few months Saab put up a fight against death that even Rasputin would probably call excessive. It died hard. Just to spite death one last time, I give it even odds of coming back again.
m93 says:
11:13 AM, 12/19/11
im surprised by all the people who are wanting this little swedish boutique brand to die? its like you all are just happy with the typical bland automobile and are happy to see one brand die who was just trying to stand up for its future. pathetic really, what did saab ever do to you?
mikemidd says:
11:24 AM, 12/19/11
GM killed Saab, not once but twice. First when it tried to force Saab to act like any other GM brand, rather than let the company do what it had done well for years. Second when it forced the company to this position by refusing to allow it to move on with new investors. Shame on them.
I never owned a Saab. But as a car fan, I think any time a unique brand dies, it's a bad thing. Think about small brands: Saab, Lotus, Bentley, Porsche, even a brand like Audi in the mid-80s after the acceleration scare (they sold just 12,000 Audis in the United States in 1991!). Each one has character, something special, whether it is because they are fast or big or luxurious or quirky. It would be a shame to lose any of 'em.
transpower says:
12:47 PM, 12/19/11
I agree with mikemidd: it's a shame when a brand like Saab goes down. I always wondered why they didn't just merge with Volvo....
brn says:
05:58 PM, 12/19/11
Killing them now would be an act of mercy.
firstwagon says:
07:09 PM, 12/19/11
It's a shame GM couldn't let SAAB survive. Maybe it would have hurt their egos too much if the Chinese made it work when they failed. Long shot I know but I bet they would have tried a lot harder to succeed then GM did.
brn says:
07:57 PM, 12/19/11
Yea, because the Chinese are so righteous in business. /s
They'd do to Saab what they're currently doing to Curtis Mathes. Produce crap under the name.
The only difference being they'd actually be buying some tech too.
I'd rather see Saab die than live that way.
firstwagon says:
09:13 PM, 12/19/11
Like I said it would be a long shot but it's hard to believe they could do a worse job then GM did.
Not sure what tech they would be getting. SAAB really isn't the cutting edge these days. I think it was just the name they wanted.
scorp76 says:
04:26 AM, 12/20/11
Shame to see them come to an end. Such a unique brand and one that had so many industry firsts and innovations.
I give the slow clap to Govenment Motors; bang up job there, killing an entire brand two times. Too bad their home country isnt able to give them handouts to keep the doors open; maybe then they would get another chance like SOME companies....
jkp1187 says:
07:26 AM, 12/20/11
It seems to be quite trendy for the SAAB fanbois to use GM as a whipping boy here, but the truth is that the brand was overpriced and under-engineered since well before the General took over. Hell, the General probably kept the brand going longer than it deserved. Quirkiness isn't enough to keep a marque alive.
And while I am no GM fan, it is perfectly reasonable for it to try to protect its IP rights. Good for them.