Most liked posts in thread: RIP SAAB?

Autocar UK reports 100 Saabs will be sent to the crusher....

Saabs on way to crusher - Autocar.co.uk

 

Very sad, inevitable but still very sad indeed....

 

:frown2: :cryin:

 

Not to be an arse but I'm not too heart-broken over Spyker. Aside from the cool shifters they didn't impress or inspire me.

 

Interesting that GM screams for bailout money for themselves, but then let another car company they own -- who actually makes a decent product -- die off... Just another indicator of really bad business decisions by GM and why they really need to be left to die a natural death. Trust me, we would be better off in the long run because the void would be filled eventually by a company that is much better run with much more competitive products.

 

Would it really?

Can a company that sells 10 million cars worldwide yearly really be all that bad, or are they simply not meeting your expectations, which seem to be different (not worse, not better, just different somehow) than those of the 10 million people a year who vote with their wallets.

I think if GM disappeared today - simply ceased doing business - vanished from the face of the earth, Toyota and VW would simply fill the void. And I can't really say they're that much better - or even any better.

I'm not a fan of GM cars or trucks, they simply don't resonate with me, and I'm sure as a corporate entity GM is no saint, but I also respect what it takes for any large company to be in business today, and I think GM serves a purpose in the great scheme of things. Their cars are inexpensive, fairly reliable and cheap to service,insure and own - I know there are exceptions and not every car they make is, but by and large they are.

Should the government be allowed to intervene in whether or not they survive - I don't know, I think from the gummint's perspective it was more about keeping people at work and not losing the rest of the economy to recession and depression rather than saving the corporate entity that is GM.

 

Obviously 10 million is not enough. If they were a healthy company schlepping stuff people wanted, why did we have to bail them out? If they had brands people wanted, why are they not selling enough to survive? They are selling what is there because they are practically giving it away, and it shows. Your response doesn't add up to reality. They sell ugly, poorly designed cars that are not, in the scheme of things, reliable. Reliability comes in many forms... Will they run for a long time? Typically, yes. However, will they be constantly falling apart in that same time frame? Yes, they will.

 

Do you have first hand knowledge of this "falling apart" on 10 million cars or are you simply parroting popular rhetoric?

What sank GM was not poor quality of construction or engineering, it was legacy costs and unions. Their labor cost per car were totally out of whack with the rest of the industry, wherreas their warranty costs were completely inline with the other major US mfrs. Now that they have those costs in hand (by dropping them on us the taxpayers or by simply walking away from those folks who made them what they are today - their retirees) they're profitable on far fewer cars per year, and expanding their growth into new markets, where they can sustain those costs and continue to be profitable. They also got out of a lot of ill conceived and poorly managed ancillary businesses that cost them billions.

How about the Fiat fiasco? $4 billion thrown away - paid FIAT $2 billion for a share, then paid them $2 billion more to get out of the deal! Where do you think FIAT got the money to buy Chrysler? From GM!

I am not by any means a GM fanboi - I don't own their cars, as I said before, they don't resonate with me, but I don't think they're unmitigated crap like some other people do.

There are quite a few former MINI owners who think our beloved little pocket rockets are pure junk too. Unfortunately, at times it's hard to agrue with them.....

 

Saab = Zombie car company? :shocked:

 

So there GM.... Now your future with "Volt" will be crushed with new electric competition. Not that it would take much to do.....

 

Report Saab owner may speed up relaunch with gas-powered 9-3



National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the new owner of Saab, has good news for you if you happened to miss out on picking up a 9-3 before the company plummeted through bankruptcy. Automotive News Europe reports NEVS may offer a gasoline-powered 9-3 in 2013. That move would effectively step up the brand's re-launch plan by a full year. Originally, the company planned to introduce an electric vehicle in 2014, but NEVS is currently investigating ways to start production next summer using "a 9-3 with a traditional powertrain" in order to generate more cash for the electrification effort.

NEVS purchased Saab earlier this year with the intent of resurrecting the brand with a fully electric product portfolio. The new EVs would theoretically ride on the Saab Phoenix platform and be manufactured at the automaker's plant in Trollhattan, Sweden. The report of a resurrected gasoline model came courtesy of Mikael Oestlund, a company spokesperson familiar with the company's workings.

source: Saab owner may speed up relaunch with gas-powered 9-3