Saab Dead: GM Says "Sale Cannot Be Concluded"

donzifile says:

01:28 PM, 02/19/2010

Very sad, GM has never been able to market a boutique brand in this country, aside form Corvette, selling Opels next to Buick Electras in the 70's was also a disaster. I've owned 2 900S cars and both were solid problem free performers. They where safe, practical, durable, and more technologically advance than the average BMW or Volvo of the time. Both my 900S cars would compare favorably with my current Jetta 2.5 S. In fact as good as the electric power steering is in my current VW, the 900's variable ratio power steering was better in my view. The heated seats in the 900 where the best I've ever on. Saab pioneered 4 valve cylinder heads, inter-cool Turbos and 4 wheel disk brakes long before BMW did, and I still love the 2002, one of the most perfect sports sedans ever.

I realize that the 900 2.0 was rather uninspired as was the 9000, which I could had for the same price as my 2nd and last 1988 900S. My buddy owned a SPG Turbo and this thing was a BMW killer. I loved watching the boost gauge swing up into the red. The only reason I sold my 88 was my wife couldn't get the hang of a stick, I hated selling it. I almost bought a 9.2 Aero in 2005 basically a grown up Suburu WRX, without the garish boy racer body kit. I passed, because of the 4 speed auto, which I needed for my wife only yielded 25-mpg, the turbo lag was so acute the car would go into warp drive and could clime over traffic, it was a blast, but my wife would be driving it much of the time. I think GM expected to much from this brand, even badge engineering a Trailblazer, the 9.7, probably the best looking and handling variant from that platform, but the cheap looking gauges and the worst power mirror control ever created didn't help, I had a Envoy at the time, the in-line 24 valve 6 was the only outstanding thing in the truck besides the Boise stereo. I really felt the face left for 2009 finally made the 9.3 more upscale and the I loved the Combi Wagon and the Convertible. I was hoping the Koenigsegg deal would go though and bring Saab home again.  

gened1209 says:

03:16 AM, 01/08/2010

So, here we go again with GM's famous ax. While most auto companies look to improve their product lines GM looks to eliminate. I was annoyed with GM back in 2002 when they discontinued the Camaro and that was the last straw for me. I under stand they woke up and brought the Camaro back but it was too late for me. I have own many GM vehicles in the past and gladly switched over to Toyota. So GM, go ahead and get rid of your product line cause I'm over you guys.

wikiwiki says:

12:55 PM, 12/22/2009

Ha ha.

harrison310 says:

11:51 AM, 12/20/2009

I'm not surprised that Saab is dead. I'm just surprised that it's taken GM this long to kill it off.  Corporations acquire companies for their technology and customer bases. GM bought Saab for safety technology, much like Ford's acquisition of Volvo.  In the past 10 years, Volvo's safety technology has made its way throughout the Ford line-up - and now Ford is selling Volvo off.  (Ford sold off Jaguar without much protest.) GM wanted Saab to be its BMW-fighter with some boutique chic to compliment its GM Opel line in Europe.

I plan to buy a new car in 2010 and wanted to buy a domestic car to help the economy, but I'm not sure I'd buy any GM product with its crazy/rotating management, its gov't bail-out money and after the way it has treated its dealers, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab.

I'd like to see Edmunds do an article about buying which cars give our economy the most bang for the buck? The Mexican-made Fusion or Milan or the US-made Mazda 6?  The US-made Accord or the Canadian-made Camaro?

In Texas, we have a big push to "Buy Local" this Christmas so makes me wonder how to apply the same approach and benefits to the highly internationalized car industry.

jonthecarguy says:

10:40 AM, 12/20/2009

@r34

I agree...Our 1985 Saab always felt more like a member of our family.  It sounds weird, but non of our other cars (Dodge, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo, VW, Chrysler, Lexus) save maybe the Subaru ever had the same effect on us.

As for safety, even though it had no airbags, no abs, etc.....you always felt like you were driving a tank!  

Maybe the newer ones weren't true Saabs, but sad to see the brand go non-the-less.

r34 says:

11:03 PM, 12/19/2009

I owned 3 Saabs (2 9-3 and 1 9-5 Aero). They are good and unique. To bad to see people who had never owned or driven Saab made bad comments about Saab.

The driving experience was quiet different. Saab may not have good interior as Audi or good handling as BMW. However, it's liked your family member than a vehicle. We have to own one (esp pre-2003) to understand it.

My wife was hit by a construction truck on a highway going 80mph and then hit the median wall. She walked out fine from the Saab by herself. If she had been in a Honda or a Toyota, she would have been died already. The doctor was surpised about her condition. After the doctor found out what she drove, he made a comment "No wonder you are ok". The we kept buying Saab.

Now I have an Audi and a Bimmer. I still miss the Saab!
Too bad so sad..

shmeflech says:

03:23 PM, 12/19/2009

Who cares SAAB always was a stupid looking over priced boring car company, that lasted way longer then it deserved, GM is not to blame.
  

wjtinatl says:

01:03 PM, 12/19/2009

Unbelievable.  In just over 10 years, GM has eliminated Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and is shipping Hummer off to China.  If this isn't concrete evidence of abysmal management I don't know what is.  Consider that less than 10 years before pulling the plug on Olds, they were a 500,000 unit annually division.  Cutlass Supremes, Delta 88's and Toronado's were all robust brands within Olds that were destroyed through pathetic engineering and styling attempts.  Pontiac also was a high volume seller when Firebird, Grand Prix, Bonneville and LeMans had an identity.  The came the badge engineered versions in the 80's and 90's that when combined with abysmal quality, were ignored by everyone but Hertz and Avis.  When GM aquired Saab, the 900 was the definitive "niche" car, but was a credible alternative to the BMW, Audi and Japanes offerings of the day.  But... platform sharing, terrible marketing, no investment in the 9000 range and finally, more badge engineering in the form of the 9-2 and 9-7 marked the end.  The funniest part is, when GM badge engineered, they picked their worst products to copy!  Who the hell wants a TrailBlazer, let alone a 45k TrailBlazer with the Saab name?  Saab fans wouldn't be caught dead in one and GM fans could see that a loaded TrailBlazer could be had for 15k less at the local Chevy dealer.  Sure, investments in trucks and SUV's were paying dividends, but GM saw no reason to invest any of those profits into Saab, or Pontiac for that matter.  It's almost been like watching an old friend slowly commit suicide.  You want to help, but the though of getting caught in the crossfire scares you away.  What's the next GM brand to die... GMC, Buick?  Who wants to spend 30-40k for what might be another GM orphan in 5 years?  

saabdaddy says:

01:17 PM, 12/18/2009

GM didn't kill Saab they just couldn't bring a sick brand  back to life. The current 9-3s that were produced under 100% GM ownership are far better cars than those quirky "rickety" 90s hatch backs. I'm sad but I don't blame GM.