SAAB Bankrupt.

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12 years 9 months

Posts: 759

As from today the SAAB Motor company is officially bankrup. The Chinese put up a buyout/rescue package , but a previous owner ( GM ) will not allow the Chniese to use GM engines, underpinings or designs .....So the Chinese told the Americans/SAAB to get stuffed.....Bye Bye SAAB!!

Original post

Member for

15 years 9 months

Posts: 1,684

The problems at SAAB are huge and have been for some time

The problems at SAAB are huge and have been for some time.

Some of it stems from ultra unionised attitudes in many Swedish companies.

I cannot blame the US for blocking the GM engine going Chinese, but on the other hand how long would a competent modern lab take to re-engineer the engines. It then becomes an Intellectual Property battle on a no win result.

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19 years 7 months

Posts: 112

SAAB

Please note that this has nothing to do with the aircraft manufacturer SAAB. It's the automobile manufacturer SAAB which is in dire straits. And it has nothing to do with the engine, but rather the "chassis."

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13 years 9 months

Posts: 8,306

I may well be wrong, but isnt the floorpan etc made by Vauxhall, as used on the Vectra,and also used for the same SAAB cars?.
Jim.

Lincoln .7

Member for

12 years 9 months

Posts: 759

Yes !! in the end it was the worse case of Badge engineering --latter SAABs were Vauxhall ( GM ) Vectras with different bodies , some engine modifications & adorned with SAAB badges ....A shadow of their early rally winning days .

Dutch Spyker cars along with a financial house , poked their noses in for some time , but like GM they also gave up .......

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13 years

Posts: 2,841

I wonder what Erik Carlsson, aka ("Carlsson on the roof") thinks about all this.

I used to follow his exploits as a kid. Great Driver!

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12 years 9 months

Posts: 759

Yea paul..the days of proper rally cars ...Sad !!

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19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

The fact remains, it's very hard for a small to mid-sized independent automaker to survive.
It's been that way since then end of WWII, and we've seen the ranks of automakers shrink accordingly. The UK used to have several, but one-by-one they were either swallowed or folded. At least you still have Morgan.

Porsche only survived because of high prices and fanatics who are willing to pay them.

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13 years 11 months

Posts: 1,335

All very nice but what did it win as a rally car apart for a reputation of killing people?

yep pretty much simmilar to the metro 6r4 very high performance go cart with little more than a one layer fibre glass shell

http://youtu.be/4sj9yTWP1fA

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13 years 11 months

Posts: 1,335

nicest saab our family has ever had was a white with bottle green interior saab 96 v4 (realy nice car ) that used the ford v4 engine ( tricky to work on sometimes as you had to remove the rally bracing bars to effect some jobs )we also had a few 99s i blew a starter motor once ( again a nightmare to replace as i needed to strip all the surrounding engine parts )

the biggest trouble for saabs market place sales was getting involved with other car companies

i personaly feel once saab departed from its individual marketing base evolved from aircraft manufacture to mass car manufacture it killed thier traditional market

after all why pay a premium for what is basicaly a vectra

as a traditional saab family none of us would buy the newest sh*te !!

Member for

13 years 11 months

Posts: 1,335

travelled many a mile in one of these http://forum.keypublishing.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=201986&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1324327668, if i remember correctly it was also columb change , have to say it was one of the very few cars that as a kid left a lasting impression !!