DETROIT — Saab may be on the verge of being snuffed out for good, as GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said on Wednesday that he is "not confident" about any last-minute deal to rescue the Swedish brand and that GM is "proceeding with the wind-down."
"I don't really know how you can try any harder," said Whitacre in an hour-long media roundtable discussion in the run-up to next week's 2010 Detroit Auto Show that covered many topics, including Saab's future. "We've solicited buyers, we've talked to a number of people. I don't know that you could do anything more than we've done."
When asked what could be done to save Saab, Whitacre bluntly said: "Just show up with the money and you can have it. Nobody's come with the money. We're in the wind-down mode."
His comments seem to dash hopes that the Saab brand will survive, even as the media continues to speculate that Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker could pull together an 11th-hour deal to save the beleaguered brand.
Whitacre was more positive about the sale of GM's Hummer brand. He said the deal to sell Hummer to Chinese machinery manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. is "proceeding."
"The date on that is January 31," he said. "That's the date it's supposed to close."
On a more positive note, Whitacre said that the automaker is pinning much of its hopes on the Chevrolet Volt and electric vehicles. Regarding the Volt, which is due out in the fourth quarter of this year, Whitacre said: "We're going to put out some early. How early? I don't know." When asked if it would be earlier than November, he replied, "yeah," and said these Volts would be intended for consumers.
Whitacre was asked about a time frame for the production of the Cadillac Converj, a luxury gas-electric touring coupe concept that debuted at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and uses the Volt's hybrid-electric powertrain. There has been media speculation that the Converj may be on tap as a 2012 model. "You know more about this than I do," he said. "We've talked about all that. We continue to talk about it. We have a sense of urgency around those places we might have to be urgent."
Whitacre spoke briefly about the future of GM's Opel brand, saying a restructuring meeting with "all the involved parties" would be held on Thursday. "We have some decisions to make on the finance side, on the structural side," he said. "We're working our way through that. By the end of the month, we'll have all that in place. We still have some work to do. But I think we'll get there."
Whitacre is preparing for his first Detroit auto show. When asked about the importance of the show following GM's bankruptcy proceedings last year, Whitacre said: "I don't know that I can answer that. I asked, 'Do we sell any cars at the auto show?' I guess we do, through the media and our image. We will present a futuristic look. Who is the new GM? It's very important. Not having been through one of these, it's certainly important from who is the new GM. My role? I'm supposed to walk around and smile."
Inside Line says: Saab appears to be dead in the water, according to the big boss. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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fajardog says:
01:56 PM, 01/07/2010
One last comment: It doesn't seem right that GM gets bailed out with tax payer money, but as part of that the Swedish people have to part with an iconic automotive brand that has been around since 1947.
fajardog says:
01:49 PM, 01/07/2010
I think it is very sad that GM has taken an established brand like SAAB and done nothing with it. Volvo: Once known as just safe and stodgy, under Ford they produce some of the most intriguing and beautiful exterior and interior designs on the market today and they're still known for safety. SAAB: Once know for innovative turbo charged driver's cars that were different from anything else on the road, under GM they produce some of the most forgettable cars on the market today (platform sharing with the Chevrolet Malibu and a badge engineered Subaru as two examples). It seems that in the 20 (+/-) years that GM has owned SAAB they have done nothing but allow an iconic brand flounder and fail.
redmenace says:
08:35 AM, 01/07/2010
Also, in case anyone's interested:
http://www.saabsunited.com/2010/01/late-breaking-news---genii-capital-to-bid-for-saab.html
Apparently the Luxembourg-based capital firm Genii is supposed to be submitting a bid for SAAB -- and they are willing to "come with the money."
So Ed, what's it going to be? Are you going to sit there and tell us there aren't any serious offers for the brand, or be straight-up and tell us why you don't want to sell it?
You do realize your company is running on OUR money, right?
redmenace says:
08:30 AM, 01/07/2010
Okay, that's great Ed. Now let's hear the WHOLE story.
No, it's okay. We'll wait.
While we're waiting, we can discuss why GM is willing to sell Hummer to the Chinese, but not SAAB.
3ricchu says:
06:07 PM, 01/06/2010
This is the right move.
It makes NO SENSE to sell Saab without AMPLE compensation for gaining GM engineered tech.
alloway70 says:
06:02 PM, 01/06/2010
Lucky GM, the US government rescues GM from poor management and abysmal financial management yet GM asks "where's the money" for Saab. Where was the GM money for Saab? They ran Saab into the ground and GM expects top dollar? As much as I wouldn't like to see GM employees loose their jobs, I really believe GM needs to be boycotted.
ielshareef says:
05:17 PM, 01/06/2010
It would be sad to see the SAAB go.
tp660 says:
05:04 PM, 01/06/2010
"Nobody's come with the money?" What about Spyker? I'm pretty sure they made an offer. GM is such a greedy company. How much do they think they are going to get for Saab, considering how they've been treating it all these years? They should just sell the brand to the highest bidder and be glad they got something. They need all the money they can get to pay off those government loans.