May 2009 Archives

I wrote last week of my opinion that the battle for Saab was basically down to Renco and Fiat.

That was before the Opel decision. And I think that Opel going to Magna basically takes Saab out of Sergio Marchionne's calculations. Saab would have made a nice compliment to Opel if he'd got his hands on the German manufacturer. It would have given him a premium, though small-ish, dealership network in the US and some extra value in terms of cars that had tie-ins with other cars he'd be building already. Now it'd just be a whole lot of extra red-tape and negotiations for little extra margin, and that's not what Serge is about.

I think Fiat's most likely out of the game now. But that's just my opinion.

So bar any epiphany that sees Deutsche Bank go back to previous bidders that might have been good for Saab, that would suggest that Saab is Renco's for the taking. Renco have storm clouds hovering, though, and that's as good a reason as any to hope that Dagens Industri were telling the truth last week when they said that Koenigsegg are working like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest to prove that they are a viable buyer for Saab.

So here's a few thoughts about the whole issue about GM, selling Saab and selling Saab to Koenigsegg in particular.

Can you remember a time when car companies used to make cars that were 'green' regardless of their fuel economy?

Back in the mid 1970s this was as green as a Saab got. Regardless of its color, it was possibly 'greener' than most other cars due to Saab's great little four cylinder engines.

This car belongs to Phil D and it belonged to his father before that. It's got less than 60,000 miles on the clock and has only recently been "re-kermitted", which looks sensational. I think that's done via a kermittment ceremony :-)

Sorry.

Initial thoughts were that this might have been a show car, from Earls Court back in 1975. Phil's recently noted that the lack of a hatch might count against it, however.

Regardless, its great to see these old-timers still on the road and looking so fresh.

Time for a Sunday tension reliever.

Living in Tasmania can be a pain sometimes. The fact you have to jump on a plane to go anywhere is inconvenient and costly. The fact that our extended families all live either on the mainland or overseas is also difficult.

But it has its good points, too. And for me as a car enthusiast, the roads are definitely one of them.

Every April there's a tarmac rally called Targa Tasmania. You've heard me talk of it before and I covered the event quite extensively a few years ago when a mate of mine, Dan, entered his Saab 99 Turbo in the event.

After the jump, I've assembled a series of Youtube videos covering this year's Targa. If you've got an hour or so to kill then I can highly recommend you relax and take in some spectacularity (a new word, being the collective spectacular nature of the scenery, the roads and the cars).

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Important!

If you are using Internet Explorer, then there's a chance the site will crash if you try and watch these videos here. I'd highly recommend getting Firefox.

If you're one of those using IE, then part 1 of this series is here.

If you can traditionally view videos here OK, then Targa Tasmania awaits after the jump.

I've never needed to write or implement a hard comments policy. Neither here at Saab United or previously at Trollhattan Saab. The fact that I've never had to do that is something that I'm quite proud of. We have a good community here, with respectful people making good contributions to discussions - which is exactly the way Id like to keep things.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer the following guidelines.

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Good sportsmanship on the football field implies that the ball is the objective, not the man with the ball (rugby and gridiron fans, please think of other codes of football - ones where kicking the ball with one's foot is a big part of the game).

It's the same in comments.

The ball is the issue at hand and your opinion should be confined to that issue. No personal references to other people should be made (unless you know them personally and know they'll understand where you're coming from).

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Poor characterisations based on race, religion, gender etc will not be tolerated. End of story. This is non-negotiable and it doesn't matter whether you're referring to a fellow commenter or a person of note within Saab or government, or whoever.

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The key to everything is to write with respect. It's OK to be witty about GM, government or whoever else, but there should always be an underlying respect. If you're being satirical then that satire should be obvious.

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Make your point.

If people respond to you and you need to explain something about it and reiterate your point, then fair enough, but the repetition of the same thing over and over again will not necessarily help your case (especially if your case is based on a negative opinion).

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Be reasonable. Listen to others and be willing to accept their point of view. You may not agree with it but they have a right to their opinion, just as you have a right to yours.

It's the reasonable discussion of these differences that makes for healthy debate.

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I think I've only ever banned two or three people from commenting at TS and SU. I don't have plans to ban any more, but don't tempt me. I'm very tolerant and will go to lengths to help people understand what's OK and what's not, but that isn't an open-ended thing.

What I'd like is what we have here 99.99% of the time - reasonable, insightful, intelligent and entertaining discourse.

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Thanks for your attention to this matter.

The ink probably isn't even laid down on the Opel deal yet and the Swedish press are seeing it as a bad day for Saab.

ctm has provided the following reports; one a translation and one a summary of some general themes running through the media.

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First, the following report from e24.se

Saab is a vulnerable prey. A sensible buyer must be selected if the brand is to survive long term. That excludes Koenigsegg and the environment vandal Ira Rennert. The speculation about who the three final bidders at Saab Automobile are goes on with great frenzy.

But let us reverse the argument: Who could be Saab's dream buyer?

Those who with very high probability still remains in the picture are Fiat, the controversial American billionaire Ira Rennert through the Renco Group - whose main business is mining and metallurgical companies, where he has a documented bad environmental reputation - and the Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg, backed by a consortium of wealthy people. Just outside is where the parts-giant Magna, which yesterday signed a preliminary agreement to buy Opel, lies like the Old Maid. It appears that Chinese Geely is no longer in the running. So: who can save the heavily loss-making Saab for the long term?

The main criterion for a dream buyer can be summarized in two words: big bucks.

It is especially relevant in a situation where it is very uncertain whether or not Saab may write off debt at almost 1.3 Billion USD which they owe GM if GM is forced into bankruptcy. Can Saab write down the debts they still need about 1 Billion USD before they can show a positive cash flow in 2011, all according to the reorganization plan.

But that is probably not enough. Saab needs a higher volumes, fast. According to the reorganization plan Saab will sell 130,000 cars in 2011. But that does not mean long-term profitability. For that, Saab needs higher volumes.

These will not appear until the new and smaller 9-3 model. And that one is four, maybe five years away. That means even more money for development.

Then it is, to say the least, good to be part of a larger family and be able to share technologies and costs. The obvious would be to be in the same family as Opel, which they now share technologies and manufacturing lines with. Even the coming new 9-3 will share technologies with Opel.

Then Magna would be a good owner. Magna also has cooperation with the Russian Gaz and support from the Russian bank Sberbank.

Magna Russian partners has the added benefit of access to the important Russian market. The only problem is that Magna does not seem to be interested in Saab.

Both Koenigsegg and Ira Rennert, that in practice lacks both industrial and market opportunities, looks like bad alternatives in the long term - even if they in the short term would seem to be able to save Saab and get money from the Swedish Government and EIB loans.

Fiat had been an excellent partner - if they got Opel. But now their interest in Saab would be minimal - and the benefits of Saab for them is also small: Fiat is not in a position to invest in new models and in practice lacks market access in Asia.

But we do not know exactly what lures in the dark in Trollhättan. Maybe Saab has some other dream buyers tucked away, even if the chance appears minimal.

However, Saab took a small formal step on the chaotic path yesterday. Then they received information that they may continue their reconstruction to August 20. But in practice, they only continue until they run out of money sometime in the Summer.

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And secondly, a summary of some thoughts running through the Swedish press today:

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I can tell you that the comments in Swedish media today are not that optimistic about Saab after the Opel deal yesterday. The reasoning goes like this:

Fiat lost Opel and thereby Saab doesn't matter for them any longer. They see no synergies in just getting a small plant in Sweden + a brand that somewhat have the same mojo as Alfa Romeo.

Magna got Opel and can't afford Saab as well.

Swedish Govt. demand production to move to Sweden (from the Magna plant) in order to get financial aid. Is that what Magna really wants?

GM has said that they want to get rid of Saab. Magna is now in bed with GM. Why should they want a deal that keep Saab inside the GM-Magna-Opel sphere?

Opel is so much bigger and there operations is not as streamlined as Saabs. It costs so much more to run, and Opel is not a worldwide brand. Still, it only took weeks to have a new owner when the situation became desperate. Saab has been working for months to find a new owner.

May 30, 2009.

Look, I haven't made a big deal out of this because that's not really my way. I like to make my point as best I can in a reasonable manner and let it sink in.

But in this instance, time is near and this is important. Hence, I'm publishing it again.

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May 11, 2009

Longest intro in history....

And to those who'd prefer just Saaby stuff, I hope to get back to that soon. But this is a moment in time that can't pass without comment.

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A few days ago I revealed here at Saabs United that an American private investment firm called The Renco Group was one of the bidders to take over Saab.

Earlier today I posted some pointers on who some of the decision makers are with regard to Saab's future ownership.

Right now I'd like to address one of those decision makers - the Swedish Government - regarding the character of one of those bidders: the Renco Group. The more I've looked into this group and the man pulling the strings, Ira Rennert, the more uncomfortable I am with the possibility of Renco being successful in their bid for Saab.

A few dot points, all of which are a quick Googling away if people would like to know more.

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-- Mr Rennert was recently listed at #57 on Forbes' list of the Top 400 richest Americans with an estimated nest egg of $6 Billion. Bear that in mind when you read some of the things that follow.

-- Renco is a private holding company owned by Rennert and it has interests primarily based in the following six companies - a partial holding in AM General (makers of the Humvee), Doe Run Peru, Baron Drawn Steel Company, Doe Run Company (US), Unarco Material Handling and US Magnesium. As a private holding company, Renco does not have to disclose as much financial information as companies listed on the stock exchange do.

-- Of concern are Renco's dealings with Doe Run (the US company), Doe Run Peru, and the predecessor to US Magnesium, which was called Magnesium Corp.

-- Additionally, there is a long history documented online of Rennert financing the growth of his operations via junk bonds, using bankruptcies to avoid obligations and abandoning stakeholders and responsibilities. BusinessWeek have a comprehensive history of Rennert's methods, written a few years ago.

-- Renco was ready to walk away from pension obligations for a steel mill it owned until the US government began to persue his private assets to pay for the pension plan

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Some more detailed info.....

It's the weekend here and there probably won't be that much writing going on. It's been another gruelling week with plenty to report on.

I'll be spending most of my weekend looking up Mazda parts that I can't afford and when I'm not doing that, I'll be putting together an all-new site from scratch for my wife. She's just started to sell some of her paintings and wants to put them online.

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This time yesterday, Opel belonged to GM. Now there's MOU's being prepared to sell it to some Canadians.

How's that for change?

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Since Reuters picked up on the Koenigsegg news, stories of Saab's suitors have spread around the 'net like wildfire. It's great to see Saab get so much positive press, though the web publisher in me is a little frustrated about that fact that we've been covering these bidders right from the get-go and Dagens gets all the links.

I don't want or need the recognition, but the inward linkage from so many highly ranked sources would have been very good for the future of this site.

About those stories then.....

These are just a few. It's great that the stories are so positive, but perhaps what's even better is the goodwill in comments to those threads.

Just about any story to do with Saab over the last few years has been laced with anti-GM snickery. This makes for a very pleasant change, I think.

Jalopnik: Koenigsegg wants to buy Saab

Motor Trend: Chinese out, Koenigsegg in as a potential Saab suitor

Autoblog: Koenigsegg a finalist in bid to buy Saab

Autospies: Koenigsegg is top remaining bidder to buy Saab

Edmunds: From jets to jets? Koenigsegg may buy Saab

Autocar: Koenigsegg bidding for Saab

The Motor Report - Koenigsegg keen to keep Saab in Sweden

Leftlane News: Koenigsegg interested in purchasing Saab

Auto Evolution: Saab Battle Down to U.S. Billionaire Ira Rennert, Koenigsegg

EgmCarTech: Koenigsegg is bidding for GM's Saab

The interesting thing is that whilst all these reports are pretty much based on the initial Reuters story, they all care about one thing - Koenigsegg.

That's where the interest is here and it's this interest that Saab could tap into from a marketing perspective and capitalise on.

I hope Koenigsegg are working their tails off to get their best bid possible on Deutsche Bank's desk. They've got a heck of a lot of good will behind them.

This has just come in via news alert from Automotive News.

Thoughts on what Fiat might try to do in response are welcome in comments.

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- General Motors and Canadian auto parts group Magna International Inc. have reached an agreement in principle that could rescue ailing German carmaker Opel, sources close to the negotiations said today.

The two sides have been trying to agree on a memorandum of understanding that would serve as the basis for bridge financing of 1.5 billion euros ($2.10 billion) as well as a trustee solution that would protect Opel from creditors in case parent GM files for Chapter 11 in U.S. bankruptcy court.

"A framework agreement has been reached. The goal is to work out as many of the details as possible before the meeting with (Chancellor Angela) Merkel in order to sign a memorandum of understanding today," one source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

The rest of the backstory is here.

Dear General Motors big boys,

I'm going to write this slowly so there's a better chance you'll understand it. OK?

You've had an interest in Saab since late 1989 (yes, really!) and full control of Saab since 2000. In that time you've benefitted a great deal (made your cars better) from Saab's expertise in safety, flex-fuel technology, turbocharging and quite possibly design as well. If you're not sure what those things are, just ask one of your engineers.

And since you've had full control of Saab you've brought just one new model to market (although well done to you for allowing a new 9-5 and 9-4x to be developed on the brink of what could have been Saab's extinction).

You've let journalists (people who write things about cars) constantly talk about Saab with the words "Swedish loss-making unit" in front of their name. I'm surprised that doesn't appear on the Saab badge now. Don't tell me you didn't think about it, you scallywag!

You've allowed a once-proud brand to settle into an under-funded GM malaise of mediocrity in terms of product and brand management and you've managed to alienate thousands of very loyal fans. Sorry, there were a lot of big words in that sentence.

You've managed to set an entire city on edge. It's called Trollhattan and it's a beautiful city full of wonderful, very intelligent people. Have you been there?

Never mind all that. Now's your chance to leave a legacy at Saab. Now's your chance to do one thing right.

This is the important bit......

Mr GM Executive: Sitting somewhere on your desk are three files. One is from Renco. Another is from Koenigsegg and the third is from China. You might have already placed the Chinese folder in the rubbish bin. Good for you! You're half way there already.

Now you just need to select one more to join it and we'll have an outcome. The purpose of this letter is to make sure it's the right outcome.

The folder from Renco - that's a baaaaaaaaaad folder. It might contain a lot of large numbers in it and that might make your eyes light up. But the guy who wrote it isn't always a nice fellow, despite his nice dinner jacket and the five jacuzzis you partied in last weekend.

That guy's made a habit out of dirtying things up and making people sick in their workplace, even in their homes. If you give Saab to him then it's quite likely that Saab will have a very difficult time upholding their environmental credentials. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that many of the current PR people at Saab would find their work incredibly stressful, with Saab's sales suffering as a result.

If Saab's sales suffer, that means they buy less widgets and whatsits from you. And that's baaaaaaaaaaad.

The other folder is from a guy with a funny last name - Koenigsegg. Like Saab, they're from Sweden. They have some neighbors helping out with funding but the latest rumours from a newspaper in Sweden (newspaper - what your assistant reads you the funnies from in the morning) is that they've got lots of money lined up.

Koenigsegg build really cool cars that go really fast. Kinda like the Corvette. Only more exotic. The fact that they're Swedish is seen by a lot of people as a really positive thing. The fact that they make super-doopercars is also seen as a really positive thing.

It's quite a contrast, really (contrast - one thing being very different from the other. Think of your bank balance and then think of Toyota's).

If you sell Saab to Renco, Saab's PR people have to try and sell Saab as a company belonging to a major world polluter. I'm sure they'll do a good job of it and I'm sure many of us can get used to it. But it's baaaaaaaaaaad.

On the other hand, if you sell to Koenigsegg, you'll be a real life American hero!!!!

And that's goooooooood. Like ice cream. Mmmmmmmm.

Now. Back to your desk. You've got work to do. Make sure you do this one thing right and sell Saab to the right people.

from Steven.

ps - if you don't feel like you have the right people lined up to buy Saab, then ask Saab's own people who the right people are. Here's a tip - Saab's management have to work with these new owners and they're very competent (good) at what they do. They will recognise other competent people too!

Djup Strupe has passed on this newly minted information brochure for the UK market. There's plenty of 9-3 and 9-3x information to be had, but nothing on the 9-4x or the new 9-5 I'm afraid.

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Saab 9-5

The only story to tell is that there will be no 9-5 saloon in terms of the current model as it will make way for the 2010 all-new model. The 9-5 estate will be the model as we know it today.

Saab 9-5 Estate new colours: Glacier Silver Metallic and Arctic White Solid

Saab 9-5 Estate deleted colours: Pepper Green Metallic, Polar White Solid, Glass Grey Metallic

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Saab 9-3

The 9-3 sedan and combi will both receive a passenger airbag deactivation switch. It'll be located on the end of the dashboard on the passenger side and a warning light on the dashboard will indicate the status of the airbag.

The Airflow trim level has been deleted and it seems the old 1.8i engine has got the boot as well. The base specification now is called the 'Turbo Edition' and above that are the Linear SE, Vector Sport and Aero.

The 2.8l V6 and 2.0t engines have also been deleted. This includes the 2.0t BioPower engine.

The base engines are now the 1.8t and the 1.8t BioPower. Other engines include the 2.0T (high output turbo petrol), the 1.9 TiD (in both 120hp and 150hp versions) and the 1.9 TTiD.

The Turbo Edition and Aero versions will have an optional TX Design Pack available. The equipment in this pack depends on your base model, but the chart below will give you the rundown.

Click.

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Saab 9-3x

Dealers can start placing their orders for the Saab 9-3x from this week (May 27, to be precise) and the Saab 9-3x is expected on your dealer forecourts in August 2009. Woohoo!

Full prices and specs are expected late June, but you should budget for a base FWD manual TiD at around 25K.

• Available with 2.0T (210hp) and 1.9TTiD (180hp) engines (Manual 6spd & Auto 6spd)
• 2.0T engine is fitted with XWD and eLSD (1.9TTiD is front wheel drive only)
• Ride height raised +35mm versus FWD (1.9TTiD ride height raised +20mm versus FWD)

Whilst we all look over the failing Opel negotiations and tremble a little with the thought that GM might drop the ball just as badly with Saab, out comes the calming, reassuring presence that is Saab's head honcho and chief-guy-in-need-of-a-holiday, Jan-Ake Jonsson.

Via ctm in comments (sorry, no link)

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As expected, Vänersborgs District Court decided that the reconstruction of Saab may continue another three months. Saab will primarily use the time to implement the sale of the company and to complete the negotiation of new financing.

In the application for the extension of reorganization Saab's CEO Jan Åke Jonsson promised that a buyer would be appointed during the month of May. That still holds true?

- "We will designate a main candidate in the next few days, but we will keep the decision internally until we agree with the nominee to make it public," says Saab's spokeswoman Gunilla Gustaf.

How is Saab's sale affected by the situation of GM Europe, where buyers looks turn away by one by one?

- "What is happening in Berlin does not affect us at all. Saab's sales from GM is completely separated from what is happening with the Opel and Vauxhall."

If GM in the U.S. are forced into bankruptcy or reorganization, what happens to the promises of aid and forgiven debts that has been done to Saab?

- "I am reluctant to comment on what has not happened, but I can say that we are not worried on that point."

That development is surely quite likely, you have not investigated the consequences of that rather closely with the GM?

- "Yes, we have made, and the three candidates who are still in the process has also asked that question. And they are still in process even after they received the answers."

In the case of GM Europe, the candidates turned away after new economic data were reveled. Are there any pitfalls in Saab deal?

- "No."

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I had a quick chat this evening with Joe Oliver from Saab in Sweden, and he stated that they were all pleased to get the favourable court ruling in Vanersborg today. They were quite confident it would come through, but it's still a relief and another positive step along this road for Saab.

He also mentioned the reason for Saab's confidence in the midst of GM's pending bankruptcy filing.

That is because Saab have already received the funding they need to carry them through their reorganisation proceedings. These funds have been transferred, are "ringfenced" and accessible to the reconstruction team.

Barring some extraordinary douchebaggery throwing a spanner in the works, Saab are going to pull this one off, people.

Have no fear.

UPDATE:

Check comments for all the happenings with Opel.

In short, Fiat are walking away from the table due to increasing demands from General Motors. Magna seem to be pretty frustrated by it all as well.

GM - shooting themselves in the foot since 1908.

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Plenty of things happening in Sweden this morning.

The #1 piece of good news, albeit completely expected, is that the court in Vanersborg has announced that's business as usual for Saab, with another three month period granted in their reconstruction effort.

TTELA, Googly-style:

Saab have received an extended time for the reorganization of the company. The decision came from Vänersborgs District Court. The reconstruction should now be finished by August 20. None of the creditors who sent in a response to the district court opposed the continued reorganization

Saab now have until August 20 to reorganise, though it's expected they'll be finished long before that.

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As was first mentioned here at SU last weekend, Saab are expecting plenty more work due to increased orders, the addition of the 9-3 convertible to the Trollhattan line, and ramping up for the 9-5.

Again, from TTELA:

Now it's clear that Saab Automobile re-employ some of the recently dismissed. How many people can come back is not clear. The reason is that the production rate is doubled after holidays.....

....Demand for Saab Cars has increased. The difference is significant compared to just a few weeks ago. In addition, stocks around the world sold off. All the cars are set at the factory site ready for shipment is sold, states Paul Åkerlund.

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And as also mentioned here last week, the 9-3 convertible is ceasing production in Austria - and very soon.

Word is now filtering through some of the German Saab bulletin boards to further back this up and re-hiring at Trollhattan would suggest the same. You can now no longer order a Saab 9-3 Convertible made to your preference from Saab germany.

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And in other news.....

I expressed some concern about Saab being wired into GM's electronic systems and the costs of changing that scenario in the short term.

I received word from a dealer in the US during the week assuring me that they've still got Saab's old system online and working fine.

It sounds like all they need are updated codes, some testing, and they'd be ready to go again.

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Dinner time!!

Oh yeah, and I just bought another car tonight, too.

This one is planned as a long term project with a little Saabification coming eventually. Knowing me, though, long term might mean 12 months or so......

:-)

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Some news from downunder......

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Saab BioPower Promotes Alternative Fuels with Queensland Government

Building awareness for the importance of alternative fuels, Saab has provided a BioPower 9-3 SportCombi to the Queensland Government to use as a promotional vehicle for a 12 month period.

Promoting ethanol blended fuels and environmentally friendly vehicles, Saab and the Queensland Government will be a central highlight of Australia's largest free green festival, Greenfest 2009, in June.

"With Saab BioPower, the first vehicle to run on E85 in Australia, Saab really does deliver on our promise of performance with responsibility," said Director of GM Premium Brands, Parveen Batish.

The vehicle, which has gathered 5,500 kilometres to date, is also helping to spread the word on the benefits of biofuels and dispel any myths on the impact of ethanol fuel on engines by inclusion in TAFE presentations to mechanical students where they are learning about the flex-fuel technology.

Saab Australia became the first car maker to produce a renewable, ethanol-powered car for the Australian market and continues to be the only brand in Australia offering vehicles that run on E85#- a mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol - or petrol, in any combination, from one fuel tank.

Further enhancing the company's flex-fuel industry leadership position, Saab has recently announced its full model range will be E85 capable from mid 2009.
Saab BioPower combines turbocharging with the use of E85 fuel to deliver increased engine power and improved performance, as well as reduced CO2 emissions, and is available in 9-5 and 9-3 vehicles in Sport Sedan, SportCombi and the iconic Saab Convertible body styles.

Driving on E85 can reduce emissions because the plants used to make E85 help to absorb CO2 in the atmosphere. In Australia, CSR produces E85 with less than half the CO2 emissions of petrol^.

The Saab 9-3 is also being used for promotional purposes by the Queensland Government with a recent trip to the Dalby BioRefinery, the State's first large scale grain-to-ethanol production facility, in preparation for its opening in the coming months.
Other activities planned throughout 2009 include participation in the EKKA Queensland Show in August as well as ethanol informational displays at V8 Supercar series races in Townsville, Willowbank and the Gold Coast.

In addition, participation in the Ayr Centenary Show in July and a visit to the CSR ethanol production facility in Sarina are planned.

The 2.0t BioPower engine delivers peak power of 147kW* and 300Nm* of maximum torque on E85. Running on E85 the BioPower 2.0t engine produces at least an additional 18kW* (147kW vs. 129kW*) and an extra 35Nm* of torque (300Nm vs. 265Nm*) compared to running on regular unleaded petrol.

Saab BioPower is part of the broader Saab environmental strategy EcoPower, which combines the enjoyment of a dynamic driving experience with the efficient use of resources to achieve responsible performance.

The EcoPower strategy blends turbocharging, engine rightsizing, Saab BioPower, aerodynamic performance and weight-saving design.

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*Figures as per ECE regulations
#E85 is of limited availability in Australia, visit saab.com.au for bowser locations
^According to CSR website: www.ethanolfacts.com.au/myths

Saabs United - 9th May, 2009

Several sources have indicated to me that one of the US based bidders is a private investment company based in New York called The Renco Group, which is the parent company of AM General.

Reuters - 28th May, 2009

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish luxury automaker Koenigsegg is among the remaining suitors of General Motors' loss-making unit Saab Automobile, a Swedish business daily reported on Thursday, citing undisclosed sources.

The other front-runner for Saab, which was granted protection from creditors earlier this year, is U.S. financier Ira Rennert and his Renco Group, Dagens Industri reported on its website.

Will people now stop talking about Ripplewood?

Not likely, but I think this saves me from the threat of the nudie run, doesn't it?

Some may have been watching the Swedish news services enough to know that they've been following SU's commentary in the last few weeks, so in a way, some might say that Reuters may be quoting Dagens, who on odd occasions on this subject may have quoted me. So the logical next question is whether or not this is anything more than just me talking again through several filters?

Well, one would assume that a big service like Dagens or Reuters would do some further digging before committing to print. Me? I'm just a blogger with some excellent connections.

It's Spring in the northern hemisphere which means all those garaged Saabs are coming out to grab a few months in the sun. And what a welcome pleasure it must be!!

Long-time friend of SU and my fellow Detroit Auto Show correspondent, Greg Abbott, recently got his Cardinal Red 1978 Saab 99 Turbo out for a spring clean and wax and I've got to say, the results make me long for my short-lived ownership of a 99T in the same spec a few years ago.

This looks like a shot taken in the middle of the waxing process:

And here's a shot of the finished product - absolutely magnificent. I've said it before and I'll say it again here and now: the 99T, with it's shorter nose and aggressive look is the most balanced Saab shape there's ever been. I love it.

Greg, you may disagree and consider your 9-5 Aero or your 900 convertible to be more likely contenders, but judging from this brief perspective, I'd say your 99T would be the best looking and most individual car on your street!

Is it just me, or is the #1 badge ever stuck on an automobile?

If you can think of a better looking badge than the 99's TURBO badge, please let me know in comments. The only possible equal I can think of is the Viggen badge.

It's great to see old timers, especially rare old timers like this one, getting their day in the sun.

Thanks for the images, Greg!!

Some time soon, Saab will announce who their new owner is.

In the past on this site, I've made very-well-educated guesses as to who's who in this drama and if the final three aren't who I've proposed, I'm still promising that nudie run outside GT.se's offices (as long as their writer, Jan-Erik Berggren, promises the same if he's wrong).

I'm making not-so-well-educated guesses in this post, but I still feel very confident in my predictions.

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FIAT

If FIAT are still in the game - and Maud Olofsson's saying they are - then it's because someone is happy to circumvent the proper process and let them through the back door.

Let me reiterate again - FIAT were not one of the original bidders and are not one of the official final three. But that doesn't seem to mean that the door is shut to them.

And nor should it be, IMHO.

I was opposed - and still am - to the idea of Saab being brought into a huge conglomerate with Opel still in the fold. They've been there with GM and they don't need to go there again.

But it looks like FIAT are going to miss out on Opel. And that opens a door for Fiat and Saab in my mind. There are a number of people at Saab that I've spoken with in the last few weeks - and a number of Swedes outside of Saab - who are in favour of a takeover by Opel FIAT.

The Italians and the Swedes seem to work well together, for starters, and Saab seem to feel that they've got something substantial to contribute to Fiat.

Perhaps Fiat leaves a better taste in the political mouths of the Swedes, too, which brings us to....

Renco

It's been all quiet on the Renco front. But I have a feeling that the PR crew at Saab are working overtime trying to figure out how they're going to sell Renco to the general public.

I'll go on the record here and now. Out of the three official bidders that I believe are in the running for Saab - Renco, Koenigsegg and BAIC - I think Renco is the most likely to win the day.

I've heard rumours that Ira Rennert may have lost a truckload of cash when Wall St rogue Bernie Madoff went under, but he's still well connected and said to have a personal wealth of as much as $6 billion.

He's well connected, should be well funded, and familiar with the suits at GM. What he wants with Saab is unknown, but according to Saab all three bidders have seen Saab's business plan, have committed to it and have proven they've got the funding to carry out what they've committed to.

Some have wondered whether Renco are really involved given that the Greens in Sweden reviewed the contenders and gave their thumbs up. Folks - it says more about politicians and marketing than anyone else and no-one should be surprised by a politician making the best of a photo opportunity.

I'll place my bet on Renco winning the prize. I may not like it, but I think that's the way things will go.

We'll see in a few weeks, I guess.

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The others.

I get the increasing feeling that whilst they're probably the most cashed up of the lot, the Chinese bidders are out of this race. Whether it's reluctance on their part after seeing an opportunity for a bigger fish in Opel, or reluctance on the part of GM or the Swedish government, or both, I think they're out of this race.

Whispers are coming down the lines that Koenigsegg weren't as well funded as the others, which may be a big obstacle.

You've all seen the Saab marketing posters where they mention a 9-4x and a 9-5 and maybe a smaller Saab coming down the line..... I think that the bidders who could see the value in planning for a smaller Saab and made some inclusion of this in their plans for Saab were probably better received than others.

Just my 0.02c

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Le Figaro are claiming that Fiat are one of "the three."

GT.se now say that Ripplewood, who were until recently a bidder for Opel via their spinoff company, RHJ, are one of "the three" and the likely winner.

Both incorrect. Nudie runs.

UPDATED - thanks to SR in comments......

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Ah, the things you overlook when things are busy....

We're all eagerly awaiting some sort of announcement from Saab with regards to who their new owner might be.

By the way, I'm betting on it being Renco. I don't like it, but that's who I (still) think will win the day. More on that later....

But in my own haste and absence from writing here in the last few days, I overlooked one important thing that Saab have to tick off their list before they can enter the final stages of negotiations with their most likely party.

Saab are still awaiting approval from the courts in Vanersborg for their 'composition' proceedings an extension to their reconstruction application, which will give them to August 20 to get things tied up.

A ruling from the court is expected on Friday, so Saab could possibly be in a position to ink some signatures some time next week.

Via a news story at DN.se (thanks to ctm!) we can see that the only concern with this decision is a supplier who wasn't happy about Saab being a little late paying the rent. They've said that as long as Saab are on time with the next payment, everything should be fine.

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Saab also have to gain approval for their composition proceedings, which involve Saab gaining approval from creditors to slash the amount owed to them by 75% and prolong payment of this remaining amount for up to a year.

That's a big bitter pill for any supplier to swallow and it will put them all under some sort of duress, but the Saab people will say that it's better than the lesser amount they'd receive otherwise and with no future possibility of further contracts (if Saab were to go under).

Support is believed to be strong for this proceeding and GM, being Saab's largest creditor, have approved the proposal. The news around town is that more than 50% of the proxies received so far have also approved, including the Swedish customs service, who were one of the shaky ones last week when composition proceedings began.

You European types are all over this already, I know, but for the late sleepers out there.....

German officials held 12 hour talks last night with the bidders for Opel and the end result of this marathon?

One potential owner withdrawing from the talks and quite possibly, the whole sale, and a 300million Euro hole.

Talks aimed at saving General Motors Europe's Opel unit broke down amid acrimony between Germany and the United States on Thursday as fears mounted for tens of thousands of jobs across Europe.

The marathon negotiations were aimed at finding a suitable buyer for GM's struggling European operations, with the German government willing to offer billions of euros (US dollars) in loan guarantees to any potential investor.

Two bidders, Italian car giant Fiat and Canadian auto parts maker Magna International remained in the race after a third bidder, Brussels-based investment firm RHJ International pulled out during the talks.

German officials blamed the breakdown on a last-minute request from GM for an extra 300 million euros (415 million US dollars) of funds for Opel, lashing out at General Motors for "scandalous" negotiating tactics.

"We are not amused" would be an understatement....

Speaking to reporters in the early morning, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said: "We were unpleasantly surprised when this new demand came out of the blue at 8:00pm local time (1800GMT). We found that pretty scandalous."

"GM again confronted us with new figures," said Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, adding that the US government "could have made more of an effort" with its choice of representative at the discussions.

"We have made a fresh request to the US Treasury and we expect a response before Friday," he said, calling its input so far "marginal, to put it politely."

I'm not sure there's a limit to the number of people GM can annoy during one calendar year, but they're sure exploring the outer limits.

New talks are scheduled for Friday, after the participants get a chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep, and in the case of the German officials, do some of that pesky running-the-rest-of-the-country stuff.

And for Saab.......?

UPDATED!!

There's a new article from Fairfax press here in Australia which covers a little of the comment from Saab. The GP article, below, has more details, though.

Saab Automobile, owned by US giant General Motors, was confident it would find a new owner and not be impacted by a possible bankruptcy of its US owner.

"We are working on our process, and GM is selling Saab and that process is not impacted at present," Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs told Swedish radio news.

Gustavs said the group was "optimistic" and the attempt to find a new owner "was in its final stretch."

Thanks Richo!

The GP article is below.....

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With GM's entrance into Chapter 11 looming closer by the day, many are wondering how it might effect Saab and their reconstruction and new-ownership plans.

The following article appeared in the Gothenburg Post.

A few notables in this Googletrans:

1) Saab's new models and the tooling are all covered and paid for.

2) Saab are technically owned by a Canadian subsidiary of GM

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Saab 'sit quiet in the boat"

Saab Automobile say they sit calmly in the boat despite the storms around owner General Motors.

- Our plan will continue, regardless of GM's position," said Joe Oliver, spokesperson for Saab, told TT.

- We are on track to cut Saab [out from GM] and into an independent company and align with a new owner. The work is ongoing and will continue whatever happens with GM. We feel no panic," he continues.

While Saab is completely dependent on GM's cash. Since the month-long state wage has ceased Saab during reconstruction paid suppliers and salaries with borrowed money from GM. The loan is 150 million U.S. dollars, equivalent to 1.1 billion. Approximately one third have already gone to.

The question is what happens to the money if GM goes into some form of bankruptcy.

- The money is in an account earmarked for Saab and as the administrator has access. What we know so far, the account will not be affected," said Joe Oliver.

Saab and GM believes that the chances of survival depend on the creditors agreeing to forgive a large part of their debts. For Saab's part, GM is by far the largest creditor, with 90 percent of the debts of 10.5 billion kronor. GM has said that it agrees to Saab's proposal for a composition, where only 25 percent of the debt is due within one year. But chords hearing is not until June 17 when GM might be contained in a reorganization.
GM has also promised to pay for the tools to build Saab's new models, including the Saab 9-5. There are costs in 1,5-2 billion.

Saab remains formally owned by a Canadian subsidiary of GM. The sale will be under the administrator's lawyer Guy Lofalks plan made clear in June.

There are ongoing negotiations with the three remaining speculators. This week, they have resulted in that only one candidate is left, but on Wednesday was the three. In all cases, according to Saab's official version.

The speculation talk the most about Italian Fiat and the Canadian Magna, which also presented bids for the Opel, Chinese car maker Geely, Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg, backed by Norwegian financiers, and Renco Group is a U.S. investment company.

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I think the overwhelming message there is that Saab should be able to proceed with their plans despite GM's bankruptcy proceedings. Saab are such a small part of the process that I'm sure the courts in the US will allow things to proceed without a blink.

Saab have been getting more and more into the interactive media scene in recent times. It's heartening to see, though I'd still love to sit down with them and have a chat about doing it in a more cohesive manner.

The potential is huge for a company that wants to connect to their enthusiast community properly and if Saab don't take ownership of it themselves, others are going to set stuff up that looks very Saaby, but isn't genuine.

I've already been tapped about one such venture and to my surprise, I received an email from them this morning saying "thanks for subscribing" - an act that I hadn't committed to at all.

And the scary part about it is that it looked like the real deal. I thought it was from Saab themselves. And others will too.

Note to Saab - you need to cover your bases and tie it all up on a proper website to disseminate the news, provide the proper company perspective, and distribute goodies to your fans. Do it properly and reap the rewards.

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One such move is an official Saab company account on Flickr.

There's not much there, but I like the recent addition of Saab copmany ads being posted there. They're not huge, but it's good to see them online in a form that people can download and share.

I'm not sure where Caldwell Park is, but it sure looks like fun.

Some incredible Saabs in this set at Flickr. Go take a look when you get sick of reading all the Chinese stuff, below.

I'm off to get some Z's. It's been a long day. It's good to be back home!

We have a few stories coming out today about Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC).

I think there will be more to come. And I think we're looking at the Chinese company that has placed a bid for Saab.

How it's all happened:

BAIC were identified as being a company that placed a late bid for Opel. Their bid is most likely very well funded, being authorised by the Chinese government, but as it was late, GM are said to be ignoring it and dealing only with the three bidders for Opel who have already been identified (FIAT, Magna and RHJ).

German publication, FAZ.net, wrote that BAIC were using a German Bank to front for them in negotiations. And this is the important link.

All sources have said that Saab had a Chinese bidder amongst the ranks. Geely were ruled out by their own admission and externally to me by several sources. That bidder was not known, however.

GT.se and Auto Motor and Sport both mentioned that a German Bank was in on the process. GT.se had the opinion - several times - that the Germans were fronting for GM as a control in the negotiations. AMS heard that it was Magna.

I think it was BAIC and that this is the Chinese company that are bidding for Saab.

The questions that remain now are:

• If they're interested in Opel, does that mean they've lost interest in Saab?
• Would GM be interested in dealing with them?

One interesting thing about BAIC bidding on Saab is that would quite possibly take the Swedish government out of the equation as a deciding factor. I'm sure they'd still have an influence somehow, but BAIC would be financed so well that the EIB loans the Swedish government have offered to guarantee would quite possibly not be required.

The story of Beijing Automotive's interest in European vehicle manufacturers continues to unfold.

This is a rather poor Googletrans from a German publication, FAZ.net, which includes a little info on BAIC and who's been representing them.

Meanwhile, BAIC [unknown trans] a large German bank with the mandate to safeguard their interests in order to - in spite of the expiry dates of previous bidders - yet to be considered. BAIC is already a partner of the German auto group Daimler. Among the Chinese leadership to be Opel brand will be occurring globally, there is no product overlap. BAIC wants information from this newspaper after 4 billion euros in loan guarantees. The bid is the support of the sole shareholder, the City of Beijing.

What that's saying is that BAIC have been working through a large German bank, making them a faceless part of the negotiations.

Now if you'll remember back to last week, there were stories around of a German bank being one of the three bidders for Saab. GT.se had them pegged as a front for General Motors, which I've dismissed here several times.

But this makes sense now. Saab had a Chinese bidder. That much I know. GT.se and AMS heard that a German bank was representing someone.

I think FAZ.net in persuing the Opel story have cracked they mysterious German bank and who they're representing in the Saab story.

We all knew this was coming as a result of recent events, but here's the story on how it's broken down in the last 24 hours.

From Automotive News:

DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) -- General Motors has failed to persuade enough bondholders to accept a debt-for-equity swap, setting the stage for the largest-ever U.S. industrial bankruptcy within days.

The event marks a critical disappointment for GM, once considered the bellwether of U.S. manufacturing....

.....The largest U.S. automaker had so far failed to gain anywhere near the 90 percent of bondholder support desired to stave off bankruptcy, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday. Bondholders had until midnight to make their final decision on the tender.

As of midday Tuesday, the source said the company had only a "low-single-digit" percentage interest from bondholders......

.....GM had no comment on the bond exchange. The automaker said it would detail results of the exchange today. Reuters sources said GM could file for bankruptcy some time after midnight Tuesday but before June 1.

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From GM:

The exchange offers expired at 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 26, 2009, at which time the principal amount of notes tendered was substantially less than the amount required by GM to satisfy the debt reduction requirement under its loan agreements with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to meet the debt reduction objectives under its viability plan, or to meet the minimum tender condition of the exchange offers as required by the U.S. Treasury. Since these conditions, as well as certain other conditions, have not been satisfied, the exchange offers will not be consummated.

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Memo to GM - don't take Saab down with you.

Make your final act where Saab is concerned a good one by choosing a good new owner.

It's the least you can do after so many years of neglect.

The Wall St Journal are reporting that whilst Beijing Automotive (BAIC) have sent an expression of interest for Opel, they were too late and that GM are not going to entertain their interest.

BEIJING - General Motors Corp. has received from Beijing Automotive Industry Holding an expression of interest in acquiring the U.S. auto maker's German Adam Opel GmbH unit, but does not plan to pursue getting an offer from the Chinese auto maker, according to a person familiar with the matter.

GM received a letter from Beijing Auto Thursday last week, one day after the bid deadline. The letter, however, did not include a specific offer for Opel, the person said.

An official in Beijing Auto's media relations department said Wednesday the company had no information to announce on the topic.

The presence of a Chinese bid for Opel was first mentioned by Germany's Economic Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, because they deemed the existing offers from Magna, FIAT and RHJ to be insufficient.

FIAT has since lowered its demands for loan guarantees.

Magna is emerging as the government and union favourite, though some industry experts are apparently sill very wary of them, saying they don't have sufficient cash.

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German officials are meeting with US and GM officials later today as they want to get this finalised before GM get pulled into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Its interesting that no news is coming out of Sweden conveying the same urgency, but then Saab is a much smaller piece of the pie and spokespersons at Saab seem quite convinced that GM's chapter 11 proceedings wouldn't have much impact on Saab's sale.

But if a GM bankruptcy is imminent, it is nothing that affects Saab Automobile in Trollhättan.

- Not very practical, no. We are working on with our process and assumes that GM sells Saab and the current situation does not affect the bankruptcy process at all, "says Gunilla Gustavs, Information Officer for Saab, to Swedish Radio West.

Thanks Dippen!

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The news that GM will not entertain this bid from BAIC means that they're possibly back in the game with Saab - if they were ever out.

The Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Company, or BAIC, has emerged in the news as a late bidder for Opel.

From Reuters:

Chinese carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC) has submitted an offer to buy Opel, a source close to BAIC told Reuters on Tuesday.

BAIC's plan envisions preserving all four Opel plants in Germany for at least two years and foresees no job cuts in the country, a financial source said, adding the concept called for less than 5 billion euros in state aid.

BAIC would invest 660 mln euros in equity.

This is especially interesting not only for Opel-watchers, but for Saab-watchers as well. A few days ago, I wrote this here at Saabs United:

There's some talk coming from Djup Strupe to the effect that GM Europe might be stalling the Saab sale process a little. The word is that Deutsche Bank are actually having a hard time getting GME on the phone to make a decision of any consequence.

Maybe the Opel deal has them all tied up. I hope we still get a decision soon, even if it's not announced, just to know that it's been made will start the closure process.

I'm now quite convinced that the two are related.

I'm pretty confident in stating that BAIC were one of the Chinese companies that toured the Saab facility and with Geely out of the running, they could quite possibly be the Chinese bidder amongst the final group of three bidders.

This last-minute grab for Opel could well be why things have gone quiet between Deutsche Bank and GM Europe in relation to Saab. An extra bid to evaluate would tie up some resources.

And then there's the question about whether BAIC are still interested in Saab given their apparent interest in Opel. Do they want both, like FIAT did? Or have they lost interest in Saab, or been told they're not going to be successful with Saab?

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BAIC has long-term partnerships with DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai, as well as joint venture operations with Lear, Visteon and Johnson Controls. They also make their own group of rip-off designs for their domestic market.

I've had to travel 40 kms on a killer winding road just to check my email and write this. And here I sit in a community online center listening to some guy called 'David' yapping away in the background about how life's so hard and he doesn't know whether to stay here or move to Newcastle and someone's messing with his business and something about surface to air missiles..........surface to air missiles??????

Anyway.....

Thankfully nothing's changed with Saab whilst I've been away. Hopefully that'll continue for another short while until I get home.

In the meantime, I'd like to promote this comment from Kroum to be a post here on the front page. It was written in response to some debate over current ownership prospects and like others, I thought it pretty well constructed.

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I think this very healthy debate could use a sober retrospect of Saab's previous ownership history and the individual drawbacks and benefits associated with each. For 60 years of existence, Saab has roughly had three parents.

The original Saab - the plane-maker cum military conglomerate - is of course the mother of Saab Automobile. Romanticism aside, the car unit was not really profitable and Saab AB lacked the resources needed to grow the marquee. A few times there were suggestions it merge with Volvo. Pros from this era included freedom to design and execute, world-leading safety expertise, access to advanced engineering resources within the hotbed of Swedish industrial innovation and hi tech research, the association with a jet-maker (exploited early on in Saab's U.S. marketing), the numerous wins in motor sports. Cons: limited economies of scale, lack of investment in new technologies, rising labour costs in Sweden which troubled Saab's then value brand image.

Saab ended up married to truck- and coach-maker Scania and as we all know Saab-Scania was a very tense relationship due to the fact that Scania's profits were consistently being cannibalized by it's little brother Saab. Under Investor AB, the two, however, had more in common than the automotive division had with the aerospace mother company. Rising labour costs coupled with increased R&D forced Saab to consider moving up-market in order to remain somewhat competitive. Part of this effort was designing a large V8 engine to compete with the other luxury marquees in North America. This project ended up being replaced by means of borrowing Scania's expertise in turbocharging and adapting it to an automobile with all the associated engineering and endurance requirements. Turbocharging instantly became a Saab trademark trait.

Saab, however, continued to struggle to make profit and unable (or unwilling) to further invest in the unit, so it could grow, Investor AB ended up selling it to General Motors, at that time still a mega-corporation ontop of the world. A controversial part of Saab's history to be sure, but at long last Saab was part of an automaker and could thus gain access to platforms, parts and enormous economies of scale. We all know it didn't work, and there is probably no single answer to the question "why?". GM did not really understand Saab and for the most part was not very willing to invest. Their idea was to utilize Opel platforms and parts bins for all theur European operations, which of course ran counter to Saab's core philosophy of being, if not better, at least different. The Swedes also proved a rather unruly bunch, pissing off GM at many an occasion to the point where after the development of the new 9-3 was completed GM was seriously considering shuttering Saab. The punishment came with split personality - part Subaru, part Chevy Trailblazer. And just as the two seemed to finally get to understand each other, GM entered he final stage of its long, agonizing trip down the death spiral.

What I'm getting at is that at the end of the day Saab's destiny is that of a trouble child. L'enfant terrible, yes. So it doesn't matter if the owner is a jet maker and a military conglomerate (Saab AB), a heavy equipment maker (Scania), an investment group (Investor AB) or a large diverse automaker (GM). It doesn't matter is Saab has freedom to do as it wishes or if it is tightly restricted and works under a budget... No matter what the circumstances and who the owner, Saab will be Saab and this is part of its charm. Under the moving designs, practical hatchbacks, turbocharged engines and class leading safety there is this difficult character. It is a critical part of Saab's infamous quirkiness - the quirk in quirkiness itself.

So in summary: there is no "right owner" for Saab.

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Saab will have a new owner. Soon.

Regardless of who they are, I'm looking forward to it and the way Saab develops into the future. It's going to be challenging in a number of ways, but it's a trip I'm looking forward to.

My time on this PC is up. Can't wait to get home to regular access again.

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I'm sorry about doing this, but if there's any important news, please continue to keep yourselves informed. We will return to regular services here very soon.

Please be kind to one another.

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And "none", let me save you some time: we're all aware of the fact that you won't buy a Saab from Renco.

We're all aware. Thanks.

OK, it's time to try that Saab ownership poll once again.

The options are the same, except I'm just looking for first preferences here. Who do you want as #1.

GRRRRRRRRRRR - It seems any poll I try ends up in an IE abort. Freaking software giving me the irrits!!!!!

Hopefully this one will work OK.

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I am away with work again, and pretty remote this time, so I'm not going to be able to access news as easily as usual.

I'm not expecting anything big until mid-week, when The US government might push GM a little early into bankruptcy proceedings.

If there's anything big happening, please keep each other informed in comments.

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I had my first episode of carsickness in years today. And I was driving!!

Mount Arrowsmith is the longest rally stage in Targa Tasmania and as I was driving that road today, I thought I'd give it a burst. A beautiful road, by the way. You should come and drive it.

My problem was that I'd eaten something that wasn't agreeing with me, so all the twists and turns, whilst fun, left me a little green around the gills.

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There's some talk coming from Djup Strupe to the effect that GM Europe might be stalling the Saab sale process a little. The word is that Deutsche Bank are actually having a hard time getting GME on the phone to make a decision of any consequence.

Maybe the Opel deal has them all tied up. I hope we still get a decision soon, even if it's not announced, just to know that it's been made will start the closure process.

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I've been thinking about the Koenigsegg bid some more and you know....I'm reeally getting seduced by it.

I can barely see a downside.

Yes, scale is an issue, but Saab management will still be in place and are used to running the Saab site. One must assume that the pockets Koenigsegg are fronting for are deep enough.

The marketing side is a HUGE upside. It's not that Saabs and K-Seggs would be in the same showrooms together, because they won't.

It's just the association.

You know how motoring journos immediately write about the association, which in GM terms means bad things like badge engineering, etc. Here, the association is nothing but cool, totally Swedish and desireable to anyone with a pulse.

The only possible downside I can see is a systems issue to do with ordering, parts, communications, dealers, etc. Saab have been integrated into the GM system for some time, so setting up a new one could be a drag.

But I like the idea more and more.

Found on a GM website on the internets, what we have here is a preliminary VIN key for the upcoming 2010 Saab 9-5. Click to enlarge.

Now, I say it's a preliminary VIN decoder because there are some details that we know have changed from this.

• Russelsheim's out the door.
• The 2.9l diesel is out the door as well as GM gave up on it.
• There's most likely going to be a 1.6T engine as well, which isn't mentioned here.

Still, it's a little bit of insider fun for those prospective new 9-5 owners of the future.

We own two Saabs.

My mate Turbin in Victoria owns two Saabs. So does SAB, as does Alex. Drew B has so many I've lost count. Greg Abbott has multiples - and those five people are just the first five that pop into my head. Joe Lobo, Hawkeye. I'm pretty sure Eggs still has two at the moment, though one might be coming up for replacement.

We Saab owners aren't afraid to double up when it comes to furnishing the family garage.

In addition to that, we're not normally ones to shift brands too often. Sure, there are a lot of companies making different products who can claim that, but we Saabists tend to be a very loyal bunch of serial monogamists.

This first "family" falls into the second category, that of multiple Saab owners. I'll have some more on the latter, later, as I've received a few emails of that type in the last few weeks.

These pics come from Claudius, in Switzerland, and show his very handsome driveway with two very handsome Saabs parked there.

I see a Hirsch badge on the back of that convertible!! Niiiiiiiiiice.

Actually, both cars were bought from, and are tuned by Hirsch. Yowza!!!!

If I were Claudius, I reckon I'd have both sets of keys in the same place and just close my eyes in the morning when I picked up a set. Let fate decide which car you take that morning - Saab surprise!

I'm sure there'd be no disappointment whichever car 'beeped' at you when you got outside :-)

Beautiful work, Claudius. Thanks for the email!

I posted a poll earlier today asking readers who they consider would be the best owner for Saab out of the candidates believed to be left in the running.

The results have predictably fallen Koenigsegg's way, with Renco pulling in a strong win in the separate, second place poll. It seems the Chinese aren't favoured by anyone.

But the voting has been far from smooth and the voting patterns certainly raise a few eyebrows.

Here's the results as of right now:

As you can see, that's a rather large 64% to Koenigsegg with one quarter of votes suggesting that the whole process should be stopped and re-commence anew.

Notice I said "votes" and not "voters".

This whole poll is somewhat stuffed by the fact that it's organised by Google and I have no ability to restrict voting to one vote per IP address. This leaves the vote open to corruption and this poll is quite likely to be as thoroughly corrupted as an African politician.

The thing that really raised my curiosity was that "start again" vote. We may not be totally happy with all the available candidates at the moment, but I see every comment that gets posted on this site via email and I know that sentiments have not been running this way to this degree. There are not one full quarter of commenters at this site who think that Saab, being this close to being released from a soon-to-be-bankrupt GM, should drag out the process for another 4-6 months to get a result that will most likely be the same as the one we've got now.

So I looked into it.

It's time for another visual feast of cars, saved via my RSS feed from Flickr.

Sorry, but aside from two that you'll see below, there are no links this time. I just didn't have time. But looking up Saab shots on Flickr is pretty easy if you're needing to get a fix.

Some of these are absolutely fantastic.

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A brilliant Monte Carlo yellow Saab 9-3, which I assume must be a de-badged Viggen? Or an SE with Aero bumpers??

Some art with an early Saab 9-5:

A beautiful Saab 95 photo

This is long overdue, isn't it?

We're near the final stages of Saab's ownership search, and whilst I've got a good idea as to who will top this poll, it'll be interesting to see just how it shakes out.

This is the first time I've run a Google Docs poll, so hopefully it works out OK. Polling plugins for Movable Type can be quite complex and I'm feeling lazy, hence this experiment.

UPDATE:

OK, it's compromised. There's no way I can see to ensure only one vote per IP and there's no way for you to see the results without voting.

I'll ask you to play fair and only vote once and I'll post periodic updates to keep you all informed.

I couldn't resist this one, from Magnus in comments:

Todays Dagens Nyheter (The Daily News, which is the biggest paper in Sweden) quoted SAAB's head of marketing Knut Simonsson who made a statement in DI (Dagens Industri) on who's bidding for SAAB:

"They have both the financial resorces and management capacity and eat using the right kind of cutlery"

I guess that leaves the Chinese out ...

Maybe it means Knut loves a good Yum Cha?

It's an interesting comment, no matter which way you play it. It's certainly not something you'd expect the marketing boss to come out with. It's more like something you'd expect a blogger to say.

Maybe there's hope for Saab doing a real-world grass roots communications effort after all.

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TTELA are reporting that Saab orders are rising at the moment. They're rising to such an extent that Saab may soon be in a position to reinstate some of the 700 workers they laid off recently.

A doubling of work means that the number of produced cars per day would increase from 100 to 200. And that in turn would, according Åkerlund, permitting Saab needs to "pick the staff" to meet production. How many jobs could be considered, however, he does not want to speculate on at present.

It's still a comparatively low production number, but it's encouraging to see that things are picking up.

Thanks Michael!

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There's a very good chance that General Motors will be forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings next week. GM's time is officially up on June 1, but there are rumours that it could happen as early as Wednesday 27th.

The big question is whether or not GM's Ch11 proceeding will have any significant impact on Saab's sale process.

This from DN.se

- I do not think anyone can say with certainty what is happening with the Saab if it becomes a chapter 11 of the GM. But clearly, if we are very close to a deal with a new owner, so I find it difficult to see that there is something of interest in America to not pursue it, argues Paul Åkerlund, chairman of the IF Metall in the Saab.

Gunilla Gustavs at Saab Automobile information indicates, as well as Rolf Åbjörnsson, that much can happen if GM ports in chapter 11.

- It is a process with many variations. We can not speculate on how Saab affected. It is possible that there may be no significance at all. But we must try to prepare ourselves, "says Gustav TT.

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Something to think about when you're concerned about the pockets of our three bidders.

• All have been reviewed by Deutsche Bank
• All have seen and agreed with Saab's business plan - bringing production, design etc back to Sweden and building the 9-3x, 9-4x, 9-5 sedan and wagon.
• All have proven that they have the access to sufficient funding to bring Saab's business plan to fruition.

So in terms helping Saab back on to their feet, all three should be capable. It's whether they can carry Saab if things don't work out, and whether they can bring more new models to Saab's future that may be of some concern.

Magnus Nordberg is the man on the ground in Trollhattan and he's been doing excellent work covering the situation with Saab since this whole story began back in February.

He's just published an editorial at TTELA as a lead in to what might be the eve of Saab's decision, which will hopefully be made (if not announced) next week.

Here's a Googletrans of the article.

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Who will Saab choose next week?

The moment of truth is approaching. As early as next week Saab might select the favorite among its three remaining ownership candidates.

TTELA suspects the choice is between an American billionaire, a sports car manufacturer and a Chinese company. And that's if Fiat can really be discounted.

When Saab went into reorganization on February 20, there were not many who gave the company a good chance to survive. Three months later the situation is much brighter.

27 stakeholders heard about Saab. Since then, these stakeholders have visited Saab, and Saab with Deutsche Bank's help, have narrowed the to three. Most speculations were about Geely. The privately-owned Chinese company were among the ten candidates who were invited to Trollhättan.

But Geely is, according to data from several sources, no longer in the picture. Another company involved in recent discussion is the Canadian subcontractor Magna. But IF Metall spokesman, Paul Åkerlund has said to TTELA that Magna's interest all this time was only around Opel - not Saab.

With these two removed from the list, it points to The Renco Group, Koenigsegg and a Chinese manufacturer that remains.

Behind the Renco Group is one of America's richest people - billionaire Ira Rennert.

Behind the sports car manufacturer Koenigseggs interest is the primary owner, the Norwegian Bård Eker. He has to Norwegian site e24.no said that "it would be a dream to buy Saab."

We also know from the SAAB-staff that the factory had a visit from a Chinese company, in addition to Geely. But it is unclear who it is.

Do we ignore Fiat? Fiat was simply not included in the sales process Saab runs. By contrast, Fiat has gone to GM and said they want to take over GM Europe.

The latest news is that Saab is not included in the bid Fiat made for Opel on Wednesday. But in the automotive industry anything can happen so to fully deduct Fiat may be premature.

Fiat is the favorite solution among many industry experts. And to some, it could be a long-term stable and good solution, but there are risks that have not be spoken about enough.

Why is everyone so sure that the new Fiat Group would be a success if the boss Sergio Marchionne received through their plans?

To bake together with Chrysler Fiat, Opel and Saab is an extreme challenge, in everything from product planning to the internal fight that teaches about the decision on employment.

If Marchionne could succeed in building a large group, he will be remembered as the genius who understood [unsure of the translation here, but I think "to strike when the iron is hot" makes sense]

But if he fails ... yes, there is risk for Saab to be with a weak owner. Fiat's economy is, from what I understand, really nothing to boast.

In addition to that, Saab would be back as the little brother. In GM they were on the back burner. Would it be the same with Fiat?

And what does it mean for employment in Trollhättan? The tools to the next Saab 9-5 is in Rüsselsheim and would remain there for Saab and Opel ended up in the same nest.
So while Fiat has an upside and a downside.

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Stakeholders:

The Renco Group

U.S. investment company with billionaire Ira Rennert, 74, in the lead role. Has its headquarters in New York and owns companies in several industries. Renco Group is linked to the motor vehicle via AM General, which manufactures military jeep Humvee and Hummer.

For: Would be a very strong capital owners. It is difficult to see that Renco would have short-or long-term plans to move operations from Trollhättan.

Against: Renco Group and Ira Rennert has (or had) a bad environmental reputation through some of their companies. The story also contains a bankruptcy which is considered doubtful.

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Koenigsegg

Sports car manufacturers, since a few years back has series of small scale. Is based in Angelholm. Norwegian Bård Eker is a principal owner in Koenigsegg now also want to take over Saab.

For: marketing dream for Saab brand. A Scandinavian owners that makes sports cars in a former air hangar. It includes almost all the elements that Saab wants to be associated with.

Against: Is this the strong owners Saab need? Manufacturing cars is one thing, the mass production of them is another.

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Chinese manufacturers

TTELA think that a Chinese manufacturer is still in the picture. But it is unclear which.

For: Can open the door to the massive Chinese market.

Against: There are many suspicions against the Chinese owners, as they could move operations east. But the biggest question mark is whether GM is ready to share its technology with the Chinese, and if the state is prepared to provide loan guarantees?

It's been a long time since I've played Gran Turismo on a Playstation. We had trouble with our playstation breaking down all the time, actually, so we ditched it in favour of an Xbox, which has proven to be totally reliable. Or so the young fella tells me; I haven't played a video game in years now.

One that I used to love was Gran Turismo. Apparently there's a new version in development and due for release soon. It'll be Gran Turismo 5.

GTplanet is not an official GT site, but it looks like they're pretty well hooked up. A browse there is quite interesting, actually. Some of the driving controls they market for playing this game are incredible. How much gaming do you have to do before you seriously consider putting one of these controllers in your living room?

GTPlanet are running a voting system where you can place your vote for a car you'd like to see in Gran Turismo. If you want to give Saab a boost, then follow these steps:

1. Click here to go to the voting front page.
2. Type Saab in the "I Want...." panel
3. Select the Saab you'd like to vote for, or create one if it's not there.
4. Rinse and repeat. You have 20 votes to play with.

I'm not sure this carries any weight with the developers of GT. The game's probably well and truly on the way to being finished. But if they're smart, they pay some attention to their enthusiast communities, so it can't hurt.

Personally, I'd vote for the 900 Aero, the Pikes Peak Viggen and the Aero-X.

Thanks Eirik!

There seemed to be a lot of theorising in comments to the Magna/Opel post about what Magna might do, why the might need Saab, and what problems they may or may not have if they get Saab.

I thought writing this in a headline might clarify things a little.

Magna are not bidding for Saab and are not one of the final three bidders for Saab. Unless the whole process starts anew and they decide they'd like to bid for Saab, this is not a relationship that's going anywhere.

Saab will not belong to Magna in the future. Period.

I wonder if Fiat will try and take their back-door route for Saab a little harder now?

From AFP:

Canadian auto parts maker Magna is in pole position in the race to take over struggling General Motor's German subsidiary Opel, a key local politician said Friday.

Magna's offer "responds best to the needs" of the public authorities and the workers, said Roland Koch, premier of the state of Hesse, where Opel's headquarters are situated.

On the other hand, Italian giant Fiat's bid is "a long way" from what authorities had hoped for, Koch said.

The third bidder in the race, RHJ International, whose main shareholder is the founder of the US investment fund Ripplewood, has placed a "very interesting" offer, he added.....

......Magna and RHJ were expected to ask for five billion euros (seven billion dollars) in guarantees while Fiat was reported to be requesting seven billion euros.
The Canadian firm is also the candidate preferred by GM, according to press reports.

It's starting to look like all FIAT's Sergio Marchionne managed to achieve was to get his name in the press a lot.

He's missed the boat on Saab and now it looks like missed the boat on Opel.

Oh well, at least he got Chrysler.

Pffft.

It sounds like the deal for Opel could be decided really soon. They've only received bids in the last few days and the government are talking about making a preliminary decision possibly as early as today.

Saab have had their three bidders in place since early last week - almost a full two weeks ago - and we're still waiting.

There must be an announcement coming soon, right?

Thanks Gregg!

Our Saab dealer friends have been doing it pretty tough in Holland.

Saab's Dutch importer collapsed a few months ago and since then, they haven't been able to get any new cars into the country, no matter how many orders they had outstanding.

I've just heard, however, that the new importers will commence work on Monday, May 25th.

You might remember that I've recently been in touch with some guys in Apeldoorn, in Holland. These guys took the extraordinary decision to open a Saab dealership in the midst of all this crisis. With an importing body collapsed and Saab's own future uncertain, Saab of Apeldoorn opened its doors on April 1st this year.

They now have their website up and running, and it's looking pretty fine, too.

All Saab dealers in Holland have been able to order parts in direct from Sweden, so servicing hasn't been a problem.

Hopefully, with the new importers in place, they'll be able to give customers the new vehicles that they want, too. And hopefully the Dutch market can take back its place as one of Saab's most popular markets.

I just hope Saab of Apeldoorn are a big part of it. I'd take my hat off to those guys if I was wearing one.

I got this via email and whilst I personally think that mission statements are tres 1990s, they do make some sense if one looks at them strictly.

Saab are a car company. That's what they do. It's a fairly narrow mission unless you choose to expand it and I guess with Saab's brand pillars of progressive design, responsible performance and sporty driver focus you could say that they've further defined their mission.

Jarod is the guy who inspired this post, and he writes as follows:

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.....With all this talk of were we see Saab in the auto industry, and who we want to buy it, it got me thinking. What does Saab stand for? As someone who went to school for business I thought I'd see what they say they stand for or what their goals, by looking for their mission statement. Which is usually something that most businesses have. To my surprise i couldn't find one. I then looked up GM's Mission statement.

"G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment."

I believe that everyone agrees that GM hasn't followed their mission very well, they may even agree to that.

This is from missionstatements.com

A mission statement defines in a paragraph or so any entity's reason for existence. It embodies its philosophies, goals, ambitions and more. Any entity that attempts to operate without a mission statement runs the risk of wandering through the world without having the ability to verify that it is on its intended course.

I know for myself I'd like to see theirs with something to do with Performance, Safety, Environmentally friendly, and something about being progressive in their ideas and concepts. I don't know the order or in which i would like them to be in.

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So.....

Any thoughts?

Do Saab's brand pillars do the job? Is there a need to re-visit this given Saab's looming rebirth and independence?

More environmental emphasis? More individual emphasis?

Personally, I tend to think that Saab's brand pillars do the job in terms of the products they make. Perhaps if Saab were to define their mission at a corporate level they'd like to include goals relating to manufacturing efficiency and employee relations.

If you're so inclined, comments are open.

My thanks to Jarod for the thoughtful email.

Djup Strupe's scored an interesting whole truth.

Via my inbox:

9-3 Convertible Production Planning

The important work to take Saab successfully through the reorganisation is going as planned. An important step in creating a profitable new Saab Automobile involves changing/improving our production footprint and capacity utilisation. As part of these changes, production of the 9-3 Convertible will be temporarily halted for approx 6 months (from the middle of July until end of calendar year 2009). To minimise the negative impact of this production stop it has been deliberately timed to take place in the "low season" for Convertible sales

I guess those negotiations with Magna Steyr have been finalised now.....

It's good to see everything coming home to Trollhattan. Not that the convertible being made by Magna was ever a source of objection. They did a great job on a great vehicle. but these are tough times, exciting times, and it just seems right that the whole family starts off "together" in the same place at this time of rebirth for the company.

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It's also a nice reminder about how long it takes to accomplish things in the automotive industry.

You'd think it's a matter of just unbolting some robots and moving them from Austria to Sweden. I could do that with a socket set, a hoist and a U-Haul, right?

Wrong. This is a long term business. Sometimes we propose finger-snap solutions and wonder why they haven't been done, or can't be done by next month.

When it takes six months to move production of an already-developed vehicle, you can get an idea of the real timeframes involved in designing and building one from scratch.

I can be so small sometimes.....

Mark McNabb, the guy who took the reins at GM Premium Brands around 13 months ago, has pulled the plug on his GM career, citing a desire to pursue other opportunities.

Mark McNabb, who was hired by GM 13 months ago to lead Cadillac, Saab and Hummer and ended up trying to sell two of the brands, has resigned.

McNabb, 48, will leave on June 1 to pursue other job opportunities, Cadillac spokesman Klaus-Peter Martin said. In the interim, Stephen J. Hill will serve as Cadillac's chief.

.....McNabb joined GM after resigning as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan North America Inc. He had spent the first 20 years of his career at the Nissan and Infiniti divisions. In late 2005, he left to become head of marketing at Mercedes-Benz USA. He became vice president of Mercedes sales before returning to Nissan in June 2007.

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UPDATE: I just heard a rumour that McNabb is looking to work for Roger Penske, who's looking at acquiring Saturn from GM

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McNabb's main contribution to these pages was a childish chortle at his resemblance to the Seussian image of personhood, hence the imagery that accompanied the few pieces about his work.

I can't recall a single address he made about Saab at a motor show, or a single exhibition of interest about Saab. It seems to me that his sole contribution to Saab was helping in the decision to jettison it from the GM stable, so I guess we can thank him for that.

If you work at SaabUSA and you can fill us in on the good things he did there, please feel free as I'd be happy to add them to the record.

With Jan-Willem Vester and John Libbos gone, I guess that leaves Steve Shannon as the sole name-we-know who might still be working in some way that's related to Saab in the US. That's not to overlook the good contributions being made by others we don't know in the back offices.

Hopefully a new Saab USA will emerge in the not-too-distant future and you can all have a day in the sun again.

Saab are going to have an interesting time in the next couple of years with their distribution network.

Without GM shared dealerships, the number of Saab dealers will no doubt fall in 2010 and it might be a while before they claw those numbers back.

When they do, I'd like those dealers to have some personality. Some character. A little bit of the Sinclair spirit.

I don't know anything about New Salem Saab in Albury, New York, but I enjoyed reading a little of their story in an article in Bizjournals.

New Salem Saab are the second oldest Saab dealership in the US and they've had a horrible 18 months. But their story is one that crosses generations, with many multiple-purchase customers on their books.

All they sell is Saabs and that's all they want to sell. Owner Daryll Carl says they'll probably stop new car sales all together if Saab are shut down.

Daryll, I reckon you're going to stay in business.

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My thanks to Scott for sending me the link. It's a highly entertaining read and highly recommended.

There shouldn't be much news today given the Swedish holiday, but I thought I'd address a couple of things from comments, and a couple of general items.

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Three companies have put in a bid for Opel. They're believed to be FIAT, Magna, and RJH International.

Some web services are mentioning an investment group called Ripplewood, which is fine. Interchange RJH with Ripplewood if you like. RJH is a company registered in Belgium and comprises a group of companies that were spun off from Ripplewood.

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The important thing about these three Opel bids is that NONE of them include Saab.

That means that if FIAT wants to get hold of Saab, they'll be doing it outside of the Opel bid to GM Europe, and they'll be done it outside of the formal process that Saab are finally engaged in.

That tells me they're not having a crack at Saab, or are an extreme long shot, at best.

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GT.se have written again about Fiat being one of the three bidders for Saab, along with Geely and the mysterious German bank operating for GM.

I'll repeat my previous challenge - I'll do a nudie run outside GT.se's offices if this is the case.

It might be a little embarrassing but think of the publicity it would bring for the paper - what great exposure!!

I'm quite certain that Saab's final three are Renco Group, Koenigsegg and an undisclosed Chinese bidder that isn't named Geely.

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About the 'composition' process that Saab are involved in.....

They require the approval of 40% of their creditors in order to write down their debts to 25% of book value. Now, the one thing I'm not sure of is whether that's 25% of the number of creditors, or if it's 25% of the value of the debts owed.

Either way, they're over the line.

GM are their biggest creditor by far with around 90% of Saab's debts by value owed to them. GM are on board.

And we heard from Saab yesterday that of the votes they'd already received, they'd already achieved a majority voting for the proposal.

Apparently it's a public holiday in Sweden today, so we shouldn't expect too much news.

I'm relieved to be honest. It's all been happening at a breakneck pace and I've been running on about 5 hours sleep a night for the last few weeks. I actually started having dizzy spells on Tuesday and ended up having a day off on Wednesday, which I spent on the couch in frustration that I couldn't get The Matrix to work properly on our DVD player. Grrrrr.

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It's now been almost a month since I sold my Alfa 33, which means I've had my Monte Carlo as my main car since then.

I haven't written much about the Monte since I got it, mainly because I was busy a) gathering parts to get into the shape I wanted it in, and b) enjoying the Alfa, which really was an absolute blast to drive.

I've got to say, though, that now I've been spending more time with the Monte, I'm really growing to love it. It's supremely comfortable, looks great inside with all that black leather and carbonfibre, and it's got that fantastic turbo rush, particularly at 3500rpm in third gear.

The car isn't finished yet. I've done the wheels. I've half-done the carbonfibre work on the interior (well, Drew did, actually....). I've put on the subframe brace that Lars made up for me (champion effort).

Still to come are a tape deck replacement for the CD player, the steering rack clamp and brace and some new dampers and springs. The new dampers and springs should hopefully be on their way shortly, as should the tape deck. I've already got the rack clamp and brace.

Oh, and then there's the Hirsch ECU to put in - he he he he!!!

All that should be happening quite soon, all going well, so I'll have a lot more to write about and maybe a little video of the Monte as well.

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The toy-car program has been put on hold for a little while and the money's been thrust into our home loan to save us some interest.

I'm still very keen on a Mazda MX-5, but I narrowly missed a very good one in Sydney last week and just don't have much energy for looking around right now. I drove a great one last weekend, but the guy wanted more money than I was able to pay.

I'm hoping there might be a quick overseas trip in my near future, too, so it'd make sense to wait until that's all done and dusted.

Ummm. Feels a little strange writing this given recent events, but a Saab is a Saab, even when it's a hearse.....

I'm not sure where this one is operating, but Tony R sent in the photo and it looks well finished.

I've just heard from Tony again (with an extra pic) and he's told me that the hearse will be working in the Trollhattan area. Maybe they can take all the GM handbooks from the Saab offices to the dump in the back!!

Previous Saab extended vehicle sightings have been either C900s or the odd 9-5, so a recent model 9-3 being used in this way is certainly novel.

And whilst we're on the broad topic of deceased things......

Are Saab doing a Raccoon test now to compliment the moose test????

I neglected to show this when I received it, but better late than never! This came in from Peter Backstrom at the Saab Museum last week.

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A 1957 model Saab 93 has been participating in Mille Miglia this year. It's being driven by the former Saab executives Hans-Göran Persson and Sten-Åke Aronsson.

The car itself, owned by Lars-Göran Persson, is in a beautiful original condition and the 750cc engine is tuned by the 2-stroke supremo Bengt-Erik Ström, who was once an engine mechanic at the Saab Competition Department.

The picture, below, shows the car being loaded before departure to Brescia, Italy, after some final adjustments in the Saab Car Museums workshop:

from left to right:

• Rolf Ebefors, Saab Car Museum
• Ture Stam, Saab Car Museum
• Lars-Göran Persson, Driver & Owner
• Sten-Åke Aronsson, Navigator

Click to enlarge:

Some photos have popped up on Flickr overnight, of not only Persson's Saab 93, but of another Saab 93 competing in the Mille as well.

Click here for the full folder.

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In addition to the Mille Miglia coverage, someone named Willemsknol has posted some incredible old Saabs on Flickr today.

I'm not sure where this collection is being held, but I'd love to visit!!!

Here's just one of them. A classic 2 door Saab 99 Turbo.

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This popped up in comments in the last hour.

Thanks Johan.

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Koenigsegg as an owner all comes down to who is financing the affair. I hardly think Eker himself has enough money to be able to pull this of and Christian Von Koenigsegg certainly doesn't have the money, he can't even afford to buy one of his own supercars (his claim). So for Koenigsegg to be able to pull this off they need someone financially strong to back them up.

To have a larger company as a daughter company is not a problem, I believe there was a similar situation with Saab-Scania in the past where on paper Saab was the owner of Scania. But Koenigsegg doesn't have to be structured as the owner of Saab, Saab can merge with Koenigsegg and make Koenigsegg a part of Saab while Koenigsegg shareholders get shares in the new company instead. There are many possible solutions here, so that isn't really an issue.

In any case, such a deal offers several interresting possebilities. To beging with it would give Koenigsegg, through Saab, a new distribution chain and aftersales. It would also give Koenigsegg the facilities it need to produce a cheaper entry level model. Such a model could be based on an aluminum chassi from a supplier such as Alcoa (just like Ferrari does it), and could be assembled in the Trollhättan plant. A cheaper version of that car could be the basis of a Saab Aero-X, using Saabs current V6 as the base engine (naturally twin turbocharged and direct injected). This would increase the volume and distribute the cost of running a factory with a capacity of about 170k cars so that the cost per car decrease.

Many parts on the Koenigsegg cars could also be sourced from Saab, providing a new income for Saab. Saab would also, very importantly, get a larger freedom in what they can do while their lifetime licenses of GM platforms and technology gives them the technology required to start their new independant company. On the longer term they can seek cooperations with other manufacturers to increase volumes and share development costs. Many required parts and system can also be sourced from suppliers which usually have many solution on the shelves these days.

For Saab I think the main advantage with Koenigsegg as a owner is that Saab can operate freely and react quickly, there isn't some big foreign boss that only cares about big volumes you need to convince before you can start work. Koenigsegg as an owner is also great from a PR perspective, quite the opposite to Renco Group. The question is how financially strong a new Koenigsegg-Saab company would be, and as a said before, it all comes down to who is backing them up financially.

This came in from Saab Sweden overnight.

"Composition" - as I understand it - is the part of the proceeding where Saab formally lay out who's going to get what and when (in financial terms) as part of their reconstruction. It's probably more complex than that, but you get the drift.

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Hi Steven,

FYI Saab has just submitted an application to start Composition proceedings.

The overriding message is that: Everything is going to plan.

Application to start Composition proceedings (made 20 May 2009)

• A formal application for Vänersborg District Court to start Composition proceedings took place on the afternoon of 20 May 2009
• We publicly laid out our intention to do this on 6 Apr (at the creditors meeting)
• Aim is to reduce un-prioritized debt relating to those remaining creditor's claims made prior to Saab filing for reorganization
• We have been in communication with those creditors affected - they were written to about the Composition proposal on 11 May
• VERY ENCOURAGING - MAJORITY OF CREDITORS HAVE APPROVED THE COMPOSITION PROPOSAL
• Out of 600 creditors, even at this early stage, the majority have already approved the Composition proposal
• It is likely that the Composition hearing will be in mid Jun

I am sure there will be reports in the Swedish media - the one inaccuracy that has already been reported is that the Govt Tax Authority has rejected the proposal: THIS IS NOT THE CASE. They have neither approved nor rejected the proposal - but I understand that they have asked for more details.

GM our biggest creditor has approved the proposal.

This in from Reuters, via Motoradd and Tompa in comments.

Encouraging stuff!

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STOCKHOLM, May 20 (Reuters) - The Swedish government is optimistic about the future of carmaker Saab after recent meetings with potential buyers of the loss-making General Motors (GM.N) unit, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

State Secretary Joran Hagglund told Reuters the centre-right government had recently met with "a few" suitors who had presented their plans for the Swedish brand, but declined to say if it had held any meetings this week.

Saab said on Tuesday it had selected three suitors with whom it will continue take-over talks.

"Overall, we are more optimistic now than we have been for a long time regarding their future," Hagglund said. He declined to reveal the identity of the suitors.

"They (potential buyers) have described who they are, how their plans look, and their thoughts and philosophies on both leadership and long-term considerations and really have wanted us to understand their intentions," he added.

It's not going to be long, now.

A funny thing has happened in the last few days, amidst all this uncertainty with Saab's ownership, etc.....

People have been sending in emails with pictures and stories about their cars - just like they used to with the Saab O The Week category. Remember that? When we used to just talk about how great it was to have a Saab?

This entry comes from Chris P. It really is refreshing to just celebrate someone buying and loving their Saab. It's what it's all about, after all.

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I thought you might appreciate this little photo of my latest Saab. I have been an avid reader of your blog for several years and finally thought it might be nice to send something in. I am lucky enough to own a 2009 Saab Aero TTid Convertible in Snow Silver, I test drove the ubiquitous Audi and BMW alternatives and settled for the SAAB. A decision I will never regret. Firstly because it's a beautiful looking car, secondly everyone loves it, because it's not an Audi or BMW, and thirdly because I believe in Saab.

The picture is from a trip I recently made from South Devon where I live to Ullapool in the North West Highlands of Scotland this Easter. The weather was fantastic, and needless to say I had the roof down for the several hundred mile trip once coming off the motorway at Glasgow!

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Congratulations on the purchase, Chris, and thanks again for sending in such a great image.

If you've got a story or an excellent photo you'd like to share as Saab O The Week, please put fingers to keys and email me at swade99-at-gmail.com

Here's just a quick update on what's happening on the other side of GM Europe.

The Financial Times state that Opel have three bidders, being Fiat, Magna, and a Belgian car parts holding company, RHJ International.

All three groups are expected to make offers for the stake by Wednesday's deadline, two people with knowledge of the deal told the Financial Times on Tuesday.

Additional bids from up to three other private equity and sovereign wealth investors were still feasible but not as likely, one of these people said.

RHJ's chances were boosted when it was endorsed by Klaus Franz, the head of Opel's powerful works council, in an interview with the FT.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Fiat and Magna missed out on both of GM Europe's properties?

It's all coming to a close, very soon.

Thanks to PT for the link!

Swedish news service GT.se, related to Expressen, hit an internet jackpot last week with a story saying that Geely, Fiat and a German bank operating on behalf of GM themselves were the three companies in the running for Saab.

The story spread like wildfire around the web, despite several denials by Geely, despite Fiat not being in the 27 original interested parties, and despite common sense when it comes to the whole German-bank-acting-for-GM scenario.

If it got them heaps of attention and inward links once, it's probably going to work a second time, too, right?

I hope not, but they're definitely giving it a try.

Here's the Googletrans:

Chinese carmaker Geely will ever closer to a purchase of Saab Automobile. Geely is involved in a new (stock) issue to get more than one billion dollars. The new shares will be used for "mergers and acquisitions", as per a sales document.

Saab revealed in its application for an extension of the reconstruction period that there are three potential buyers. GT has previously revealed that it is Chinese Geely, Fiat, and a German commercial bank.

Now reveal the Bloomberg news agency that the privately-owned Geely Automobile Holding will sell a total of 570 million new shares. In addition, the company's founder and chairman Li Shufu selling 230 one million shares of its own holdings.

In total, Geely will bring in more than one billion dollars. The money, according to the Chinese sales document used to finance the purchase of a parts factory in Australia and to "other mergers and other business".

Geelys share price rose sharply last week after revealing Expressen on Saab purchase. Yesterday was listed shares to deg highest rate since July 13, 2007 and rates have risen 130 percent this year alone.

Mr Berggren, Your story might right in relation to Geely's capital raising activities, but it's wrong in that it relates it to Saab.

Geely are out of the game. They've said so and sources close to the action have said so to me as well.

Thanks the Per for the link!

UPDATED - see below

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A week or so ago I sent a few questions around to a number of automotive journalists and some of our respected Saab mates.

This is meant to be a light look at Saab's current situation and the questions were as follows:

1. Who do you think SHOULD end up owning Saab?
2. Who do you think WILL end up owning Saab?

Bear in mind that these were sent out over a week ago, and we knew less then that what we know now.

So here they are....

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Robert Collin, Aftonbladet

Question 1 - Well, There are no obviously good buyers. I think Fiat would be good, and - Magna. But which is to prefer? Well, I say Magna! Because they can concentrate on Opel and Saab.

Both Fiat and Magna will do a lot of cut downs on Opel, close at least two, perhaps three factories and fire some 10,000 employees. But probably they do not need to cut away a lot from Saab.

Question 2 - No idea!

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Par Brandt, Auto Motor and Sport

Its a hard question. It feels like someone is missing. I dont believe in Fiat/Geely/GM.

It actually feels like the really good, new owner is missing. Maybe we just dont know, maybe they didn't turn up? A shame, for new 9-5 is really great and the 9-4X too, I guess. And the new 9-3, and the ... ;-)

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Prominent, important Saab employee who shall not be named

Q1: Ferdinand Piech & Wendelin Wiedeking, If they can be friends - BIG EGOS!

Q2: Not sure about that yet......

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The guys at Autoline After Hours

I sent the questions to John McElroy from Autoline and whilst he didn't answer via mail, he did pass the question as to who should own Saab on to Peter De Lorenzo, from AutoExtremist.com. Former Chrysler and Ford PR guru, Jason Vines, asked the question as part of the Rapidfire segment in last week's show.

DeLorenzo, AutoExtremist: Someone with a Swedish accent should own Saab once again.

David Welsh, BusinessWeek: No-one's died as a result of this global meltdown. Maybe Saab should be the one.

Eddie Alterman, Car and Driver: I agree with what David said.

UPDATE

John McElroy, the guy who runs Autoline, has now responded via email:

Swade, Saab would be best served by staying as autonomous as it possibly can. But it needs to restructure itself to be profitable at its current sales levels, which will be extremely difficult to achieve. Since Saab is so intertwined with Opel right now, the best short-term solution is for it to stay with Opel--no matter who ends up buying the German automaker.

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Etienne Morsa - Saabhuy

Answer 1: Renault ..Why.... Renault have great expertise in front whell drive, turbo engines, Car racing and rallying...like Saab...also Renault could be ambitious in terms of design..like Saab in the past!

Answer 2: Fiat ...Why ...Sergio Marchione is very ambitious and needs the knowledge of making a car suitable for northern markets and climates (American and European)

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Golfhunter - Saabhuy

I would say the German bank.

Why? Because they would just give the money and would let a lot of freedom to Saab as a small identity to develop what Saab would think it is good for Saab.

Fiat are too ambitious and make me worried about the viability of their gigantics projects

Geely: My job currently is to sell chinese music instruments .........No comment.....

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Lance Cole - Author and motoring writer

I would like a private Sweish consortium to own Saab, empoying thee and me and our mates.

I think the Wallenburg, Agnelli axis will prevail and a Fiat- Opel Saab entity will win the day. And why not?

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Robin M - Unofficial Saab Ambassador to the UK

I would like to see someone in Sweden take over. Koenigsegg and maybe a Swedish consortium, even the guys in Norway, maybe all join together and have shared parts.

I don't want Fiat to take over as I believe they will just close it down. I think they would close Vauxhall and Opel down eventually as its less competitors for them to compete with.

I don't think I know who I could say would take over but if I have to choose from the three that were short listed (albeit not conclusive) I would go for the German business deal.

Geely - something in the back of my head thinks they would let Saab do as they wish and just take the profit and technology to put in their local cars. It's a new section for them with out having to work for it.

I'm still 100% confident Saab will survive, just hope GM don't cock it up by being a spoil sport.

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I also sent them to Robert Farago of The Truth About Cars, who proceeded to confirm himself as a complete and utter ass.

Saab's court filing mentioned that they are now in a position where they are talking closely with just three bidders out of the initial group of 27 who showed interest in the company.

FIAT are outside this group as they were never one of the original 27. They are trying to include Saab into a deal for all of GM Europe, but Saab's process carries on regardless, which indicates to me that Saab's inclusion in a FIAT deal is a remote possibility, at best.

Previous discussions here at TS SU have centered on four other possibilities:

• The Renco Group
• Magna International
• Koenigsegg
• An unknown Chinese bidder.

With only three parties left, as per Saab's own court filing, it's clear that one of these has to go.

This is not a matter of who would you like to see leave the island. That decision's already been made by Saab's own tribal council. This post is all about figuring out who's been voted off.

My theory won't be a popular one with readers here, but here I go.....

Magna has been voted off the island.

Shock horror! Well, sort of, but not really.

As I've mentioned before, I am quite positive that Renco are still in the game at this point. I'd stake my house on it.

The Chinese, although unknown at this point, have been talked about in very strong terms in a few Swedish press articles. They're currently leading the odds at Ladbrokes, too.

Koenigsegg could be the ones to leave, but I'm not picking them.

Why?

I've picked Magna as the ones to have left the island because I'm not convinced they were ever on the island to begin with.

In terms of news coverage, Magna is only mentioned as a company looking to get hold of Opel. The only news service to have talked about them in terms of buying Saab is Auto Motor and Sport, and with all due respect to my friends there, I'm not yet convinced their source was correct.

And even if it was correct, would Magna be likely to proceed further in their Saab negotiations when Deutsche Bank know that they're gunning for Opel as well. It just throws too many optional scenarios into play.

"OK, this is our bid for Saab if we fail at our bid for Opel......and this is our bid for Saab if we're successful with Opel. One will involve the Russians and one will be just us.......Yeah, I know we're in hard discussions about moving assembly of the convertible from Graz, but let's put that aside for a moment......"

I just don't see this happening, and I haven't seen Magna say they're interested in Saab at all.

That's my 2 cents. You know where you can have yours....

The original documents filed by Saab in the court at Vanersborg are available, in Swedish and in PDF format, from this link.

Once again, ctm was able to help out with a translation of the main dot points to come from the document:

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• Asking the court for another 3 months.
• This is the biggest reconstruction that's taken place in Sweden.
• The work so far has been according to the plan: concentrate all manufacturing to Trollhättan, make Saab independent from GM, find a new owner, and to secure financing of 1 Billion US Dollars for the business plan by loans from EIB and support from Swedish state and GM.
• Part of Saab will be security for the loans. Debt holders will be asked to write down debts.
• Intense negotiations with Magna-Steyr to move production of 9-3 Cab to Trollhättan. Plans to produce the new 9-5 in Trollhättan moves along.
• Sales process is working according to the plan. 27 initial interested parties, 20 sign agreement on confidentiality, about 10 visited Saab. Over all, positive reactions. 3 have chosen to continue negotiations to buy Saab. Negotiations to continue through May to select the final candidate.
• This positive process has led to intensified negotiations with EIB and the Swedish Government with several meetings (will be finalized in June).
• Liquidity is good. Saab has taken 45 Million US Dollars of the 150 Millions made available by GM for the reconstruction. It could be deems necessary to get more from that credit, but the money will be enough for the reconstruction period.

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I love that.

Even in reconstruction mode, Saab are being efficient and looking to use as little of the funds allocated to them as possible.

Bless 'em!

Contrary to some prior speculations on the web, Saab's reconstruction period will not end on May 20.

Saab went into the Vanersborg courts again today and applied for an extension to their reconstruction period. I've got a PDF copy of the documents that were lodged, however I can't lift the Swedish text from the PDF in order to translate, so I'm hoping for a summary to come in soon.

Initial indicators from the document indicate that Saab expect a decision to be made on a future owner at the end of May, though that decision would likely not be made public until up to a month later. The documents also identify that Saab is talking with three potential suitors from an original group of 27.

The word from Saab themselves is that the final decision from the court may take a few days to come through, but they are still covered by the original reconstruction order until that decision is made.

From what I can tell, Saab are confident that this extension should and will be granted.

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Auto Motor and Sport have an article on the proceedings.

They say that the court must now take Saab's proposal to creditors for approval. Saab are proposing a write-down of debts to 25 cents on the dollar with 12 months to pay these debts. AMS liken the choice creditors must make to a choice between the plague or cholera. If they don't take the 25% then Saab will likely go into bankruptcy and they may see a maximum of 15% or a minimum of zero.

A successful application here will give Saab until August 20 to complete their sale process and stand on their own two feet again. Of course, as mentioned above, Saab expect the sale to be signed and sealed long before then.

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That's all I got right now. If you get more while I'm sleeping, comments are open.

A few weeks ago I took a look over the record of The Renco Group - one of the parties I firmly believe are one of the final three bidders for Saab.

I thought it might be fun to take a look at one of the companies that's been mentioned lots of times without being ruled out once - Koenigsegg.

Pretender or player? Let's take a look.

The man behind the name is Christian Von Koenigsegg and if there's a story behind the company - as there is with every company like this - it's the story of him getting the bug at age five from watching an animated movie and dreaming about building his own car. Several business ventures later, at the tender age of 22, he started what became the supercar company that bears his name.

The first Koenigsegg prototype was completed in 1996 and the first sale to a paying customer was made in 2002. What was rather remarkable about this car, the CC8S, was that it was fully homologated and crash tested for the European market, which is a very rigorous program for such a small company to complete.

Not long after that first sale, Koenigsegg's headquarters caught fire - a faulty dishwasher is believed to be the culprit - and the company was moved to it's present base, the former F10 Air Force Base at the outskirts of Ängelholm.

The company has continued to set new, high standards. They briefly held the world production car speed record (until the Bugatti Veyron came along - and some believe they'd get it back if they got access to the same track Bugatti used to set it) and have released several new evolutions of their CC-cars.

The latest is the CCXR, with over 1,000hp produced from it's twin supercharged V8 engine that runs on E85 or petrol. I guess you could call it the CCX BioPower if you like. Perhaps BioPOWER!!!!!! would be more appropriate.

Speaking of appropriate, we're long overdue for an image, eh?

So there you have it: a grassroots company started by a boy with a dream, which turns out to be a screaming hot reality involving some of the sexiest supercars on the planet.

Too good to be true?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Koenigsegg has had it's share of troubles along the way. There was the fire, of course, and there was also some rumours of financial trouble back in 2007. Apparently a Norwegian customer got all browned off when his new K-Segg nosedived a week after purchase. No-one's really sure what happened there, but he threatened court action against K-Segg's Norwegian operations and the whole affair was settled quietly.

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We can't cover Koenigsegg without covering the man who owns the single biggest share in the company today. He's been in the news lately, so it's only fair you know a little more about him. He's from Norway and his name is Bård Eker.

In 2005 he took up a 45% stake in Koenigsegg, a company that he'd worked closely with in design terms for some time. Eker Design actually did the Koenigsegg Quant, a four-door solar electric vehicle that showed in Geneva this year.

Eker is the man, the face and the name behind Eker Design. And Hydrolift boats. The design of Stokke strollers. And Projection Design (high performance projectors!). Up until a few years ago he was also the guy behind the Spirit of Norway, a boat racing team that raced Hydrolift boats, sponsored by Koenigsegg.

And now he wants to add Saab to that list. And it sounds like he really wants to add Saab to that list. A few weeks ago he told Norway's e24 news service that buying Saab would be like a dream.

In a worrying development, however, he also opined that perhaps Saab has too many engineers, saying that they have 1200 at Saab but they have only 10 at Koenigsegg and they make one of the world's fastest cars. The latest figure I've seen says 900 engineers for Saab and 7 for Koenigsegg, but why split hairs?

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The emergence of Bård Eker has put the spotlight on Koenigsegg a little more as part of this process.

Koenigsegg vehicles are designed using F1 race car principles. Their cars feature over 300 hand-made carbon fibre parts as well as other milled pieces made by automotive artisans from small companies, the majority of which are in Sweden. This is all admirable stuff and one just has to look at a Koenigsegg vehicle to experience an unnatural gravitational pull. They are absolutely, undeniably awesome.

Furthermore, Koenigsegg as an owner of Saab would be a Saab marketing person's wet dream come true. They build their cars - up to just seven at a time - in an old Swedish aircraft facility. It'd be like Saab coming home. There is no downside whatsoever from a promotional point of view. None.

But questions linger......

Can a boutique supercar owner manage a mass producer?

Will they have adequate funding to develop the kind of vehicles that Saab needs to make in the future?

Was Eker giving a glimpse of the future with his "number of engineers" comment?

Will Saab go from being under-resourced due to a parent playing favourites to being under-resourced because the parent is smaller than the child?

Will they rely too much on debt?

There's no doubt that Koenigsegg would make an attractive owner for Saab. But do they have the resources to be the right owner?

That's the question.

If there's a news source that's going to have an interest in the 2010 Saab 9-5, then it's TTELA. They're the locals, after all. Not to be confused with The Local, which is another news source all together, but I digress......

TTELA's Magnus Nordberg has been covering the events at Saab this year with a great level of detail and one might see it as some sort of reward that he's finally got some seat time in the 2010 Saab 9-5.

So how did it go? It reads like it went very well, indeed!

Here are some highlights, as translated and sent in by ctm (thanks again, dude)

• Saab has used computer simulations to larger extent rather than early prototypes.
• The car is big - the legroom in the back seat is fantastic - but the size is not noticeable at the steering wheel. (i.e. the size does not detract from the handling - SW)
• The car is remarkably quiet.
• The test vehicle has a 220 bhp 2 liter engine and four-wheel drive. There will also be a 1.6 liter and a V6, but the main engine will be four cylinder.
• It is supposed to have a "powerful grille" and the promise of "exciting solutions for the head lights".
• The A-pillar is black to give the impression that the windscreen wraps around the corner. It's about the aircraft heritage and cockpit feeling. For the same reason the doors are a bit "bent". [I have no idea what he is referring to here - ctm.]
• 70-80% of the new 9-5 is made by Swedes. Although it shares platform with the Insignia, the two cars have different "chassis systems".

I bought you some snippets of this interview via Automotive News earlier today.

An interview has also been published in Trollhattan's local newspaper, TTELA, and ctm's been kind enough to translate it and send me a copy.

Mats Fägerhag is Saab's executive director of vehicle systems (per Automotive News), though TTELA refer to him as Technical Director. His official title is of little matter here on this blog. What matters is what he's got to say - and it all sounds good.

Incidentally, Auto Motor and Sport are also running an interview with Mats Fägerhag today, and my old mate Par Brandt sent me an email inviting me to use the picture they have accompanying the story. Sent with a smilie, he intimated that the car in the background is one that we're all dying to see.

So I've used it below. If I'm reading Par's hints properly, it would seem that this is your first glance at an un-clad 2010 Saab 9-5. Cheeky, isn't he?

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We get a kick start

Must Saab be included in a large group to survive?

- "Not at all," says Technical Director Mats Fägerhag. Necessary co-operation can just as easily be done through partnerships."

- "There is a completely different transparency for such solutions today."

During the years the automotive industry have taught us large scale operations with shared components, development and production. Precisely for this reason many believe that Fiat would be the optimal ownership solution for Saab. But that is an outdated approach, says Saab's CTO Mats Fägerhag to TTELA. Large corporations are not the only way to cut costs. An option as good as anyone is to be an independent company with various partnerships.

- "Everyone wants to find the volume by sharing investments with others. There is an openness to these things today that did not exist five years ago," he says, and continues:

- "Previously no one who wanted to share their components, such as door locks, with someone else. Today, it would be perfectly possible for Saab and Volvo to cooperate, for example, on a new cab roof."

On the other hand, it's the buyers market at the moment. And things change over time.

Last week I brought you a special offer from Saab Australia on Saab Parking Assist foe the Saab 9-3 (03-07 models).

I'll repeat that offer below for those who may not have seen it, and as a reminder for those who have!

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First things first, though....

Saab Oz are cleaning out the sheds and have dug up a one-only offer - there's only one of each of these accessories available so it'll be first come, first serve.

Saab 9000 owners who want to get in early on a Spring clean and spruce up of their car have a rare opportunity to obtain a Genuine Saab Walnut Dash trim and a set of matching walnut door caps to suit RHD 9000 CD/CS from 1992 to 1998.

Part numbers:
Dash - 136103405
Door - 136103033

Both of these parts are going for the one-only special price of $220 each. That's $220 for the dash and $220 for the set of door caps.

Just contact your Aussie Saab dealer and they will order your part in and note that Saab Oz only have 1 of each at this price! Definitely no rain checks.

If your dealer has some problems, contact me and I'll try and put you on to the right person.

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You may recall that just before I sold my 1985 900 Aero, I replaced the clutch in it. The replacement cost me around $800 installed.

When Saab Australia emailed me about the 9000 interior bits for sale, they also provided me with a nice little reminder about using Genuine Saab parts in your repairs.

I was reading recently your article about service costs and you mentioned that you had used a non-genuine Sachs clutch kit in your Classic 900 turbo, which from memory cost around $800 fitted. The RRP inc. GST for the Saab Genuine clutch and pressure plate kit is $286 plus $53.90 for the bearing, (the injected kit less again - only $198!). Standard time is 2.1 hours to fit, so even with some fluid and extra time it would be cheaper to go 100% Genuine.

Hmmmmmmm [he thinks to himself, rather embarassed]. Thanks.

It's a good reminder to definitely count going Genuine in your research when something needs to be done. I had no idea that I'd blown some extra cash.

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Oh, and by the way, regarding the new owner of my 1985 Saab 900 Aero and the catastrophic engine failure......I received a quick explanation via email.

It started like this:

I went in a race with a friend....when the engine started to sound strangely.

Apparently the friend was in a turbocharged Nissan Skyline and the little Aero was acquitting itself quite well when it decided to quit.

Grrrrrrr.

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I'm very pleased to be able to pass on a special offer from Saab Australia.

They've sent out brochures about this to customers via their normal contact methods, but knowing that some people's details may no longer be correct, they figured it wise to extend the offer via other means as well.

So if you're an Aussie with a Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, SportCombi (2003-2007) or a Saab 9-3 Convertible (2004-2007) then please read on and consider this excellent value offer from Saab Australia.

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Whilst your eyes might be immediately drawn to the sexy twin pipes at the back of this 9-3, what you should be looking for is the little dimple you can just see there in the black bumper strip. Click to enlarge if you need to....

That's Saab Parking Assist. When you put your car in reverse, those sensors detect the proximity of walls, vehicles, etc that might be in your blind spot, and the sensors beep at an increasing rate depending on how close you get to the object. Parking Assist is a genuine help when you're parking in a tight spot and has helped thousands of people avoid costly repairs to paint and bumper panels.

So what's the offer?

Saab Parking Assist is normally a $790 option for the 9-3 Sedan and Combi, and an $890 option on the Convertible.

Then you've got fitting costs as well, which at 1.4 hours for the sedan/combi and 1.7 hours for the convertible brings the normal total cost to around $1,000.

Until the end of June 2009, owners of 2003-07 9-3's can have Genuine Saab Park Assist fitted for only $495.00.

Yes, that's fitted!

That's a genuine bumper-saving item for a genuine bumper price - around 50% off.

If any of you Aussie Saab 9-3 owners want to take advantage of this offer, just call your local Saab dealer. They should know all about it.

Alternatively, you can call Saab Central on 1800 50 SAAB (7222)

Automotive News have a couple of stories on Saab today.

In the home of Saab, there's still optimism.

GM's legacy can help a stand-alone Saab, says brand's top engineer.

As AN's a subscription paper, you may not be able to see those stories. If that's the case, here are a few highlights.

From the GM Legacy story:

Mats Fagerhag, Saab's executive director of vehicle systems, says GM's investment in Saab means the Swedish brand has the facilities to design and build its next generation of cars.

"We are going to get a kick start from GM, we have architectures and lifetime licenses to use vehicle architectures," Fagerhag told Automotive News Europe here.

He added: "GM has been investing in Saab and Trollhattan for the last years. We have never had better equipment and tools and engineers than we have today."

.....Fagerhag said even with an engineering staff of 900 people Saab would be able to design and build new models.

"We definitely have the capacity to do other vehicles," he says.....

.....Being outside of GM's global engineering system will enable Saab to be move faster and not be subjected to lengthy technical reviews and changes.

The crisis in the auto industry means suppliers will be more willing to sell their products at lower volumes, he believes.

Strategic partnerships with other automakers are an area that Saab will also look at, particularly engines, which Saab will probably buy in from other manufacturers.

"Now can go out into the market to buy systems and components which makes us competitive," Fagerhag said. "No longer having the complexity of being in GM is going to make life much easier."

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The whole issue of GM's legacy to Saab is an interesting one.

On one hand, they spent the best part of 16 years starving the brand of product and shrinking it to the point where when they finally had to shed brands, Saab were at the top of the list - and quite happy about it.

On the other hand, they did make a commitment to Saab back in 2005. Whilst that hasn't resulted in new models before now, it has meant the development of vehicles that will come in the next few years as well as a very tightly run manufacturing operation.

In five years from now, we may even have got over things sufficiently enough to thank GM.

Then again, maybe not. This is just stuff they should have done from the get-go.

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From the other article, about optimism in Trollhattan:

Hope and uncertainty grip the people of Trollhattan in western Sweden as they prepare for Saab's separation from General Motors.

....."People are worried, the last few weeks and months have been tough," said Paul Akerlund, president of the IF Metall Union, which represents blue-collar workers in Trollhattan.

"But there is a lot of fighting spirit here, we shall get through this situation."

....."I am very optimistic. We have had a lot of potential buyers looking at the company and I am quite convinced we will have a new owner presented to us in the near future," [Saab employee, Jan] Olander says.

He is wary about becoming part of another large automaker again, but he says Saab needs to work with other automakers to achieve scale and share technology.

"To have Saab as part of a big company we can say that was not a good idea. GM was too big for Saab," he says. "I am not angry, (but) a little disappointed the captain of the ship hasn't take care of our business the way they should have done."

......Petra Stoerch, 36, is a team leader in the general assembly part of the factory. She says: "People do blame GM a little. They want us to be out of GM and on our own.

"Most people think we can manage this on our own, we have good products and we don't have to do everything through a worldwide organization."

Workers believe there will be a buyer for Saab, but they worry about whether a new owner will have the carmaker's best interests as their focus.

.....Workers are particularly concerned about production being moved away from Sweden.

"It cannot be a Saab if it is not made in Sweden," Stoerch says.

......Union official Akerlund, 49, says GM did not really understand Saab.

"I think we could be better away from GM. They think about volume cars, not brand cars. You cannot take a volume approach with Saab.

"I think they had a problem understanding the brand. In Europe, GM would talk about Opel, Opel and Opel again. But if you sell one Saab you make the same amount of money as selling four Opels."

Akerlund has worked at Saab for 31 years, joining the company straight from school at 18. He said people are used to overcoming problems at Saab.

"People cannot think of a day without Saab," he says. "We believe there will be a good end to this story."

A fantastic perspective piece from Automotive News.

There's a couple of great tributes to former Saab USA chief, Bob Sinclair, hanging around the internet today. If you don't know, Bob passed away on May 10 due to cancer.

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UPDATE: There is a fantastic tribute over at the New York Times. Thanks nahtanoj!

UPDATE II: There's also a fitting article at Motor Trend.

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The Hemmings article that I linked to in an earlier piece on Bob has had some wonderful comments added to it from people who knew Bob over the years.

I came to know Bob Sinclare as a former Saab dealer (1975 - 1997). He was a true automobile enthusiast, an insightfull CEO, and a delightful gentleman. He made the rare effort to get to know all his dealers, he respected our opinions, and he became our friend. If not for his efforts, Saab and many of us dealers would not have prospered during his reign. I wish he were here to save the company today.

Bob was truly a Saab man's Saab man.

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There is also this tribute over at Edmunds (and by the way, Edmunds, that's how you post a link, a common courtesy on the internet). Despite their lack of nettiquette, they do have a great ending to their piece:

It took Bob Sinclair less than 10 years to fashion a formidable image and reputation for Saab in North America, along with a near-fanatical following. It took GM considerably less time to gut the brand.

I couldn't agree more. We need some more Bob Sinclairs at Saab today.

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This Total Abstainer guy from Flickr - who I've featured a few times in the last few months - is really setting a high standard when it comes to Saab photography.

Another fantastic effort:

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There will be a new UK-based Saab "megaforum" launching in the next few weeks.

It's called Saabtalk and if the current forums out there aren't shaking your tree, then perhaps that's a URL you should bookmark.

It's not live yet, but there is a signup box where you can receive notices about the progress, etc.

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I have a strange mental relationship with tattoos.

As with car art, this is something I wouldn't do myself, but I admire the dedication the person must have in order to get it done.

From James R:

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For those who want to learn, Car and Driver have an instructional piece on how to do the Scandinavian Flick

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Finally, to all those who have emailed me in the last week or so - my apologies if I haven't sent a reply.

I'm getting to that point that some website operators get to, where the volume of email that comes in is pretty heavy and whilst I read everything, my capacity to reply is limited.

No offence is meant and I will try to credit all stories here on the site where appropriate.

I hope you understand.

The next step for Saab, after securing their next three-month extension in court tomorrow, is a process that I believe is called 'composition' - where Saab spell out what creditors will receive in settlement of debts currently owed.

I may not have all the facts straight here, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Whilst the vast majority of Saab's debts are owed to GM - around 90% - there are a number of smaller creditors who could still petition for Saab to be placed into bankruptcy.

Saab's offer to creditors is believed to be around 25 cents on the dollar, but if they are forced into bankruptcy, it's believed that those creditors would only get around 15 cents on the dollar.

Dagens Industri have a fairly comprehensive article on the situation (thanks ctm!!) and I've done a Googletrans of it for reproduction here. This is unedited, but I think you'll get the gist of it:

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Saab appeal to creditors: Save us from bankruptcy

Saab Automobile now appealing to its 700 creditors that they should not bring the company into bankruptcy.

It shows the document that Saab has sent to its creditors and DI took it. At least 40 percent of creditors must be this week, send in their support for the proposal which chords Saab pay only 25 percent of their debts.

"To be able to submit the application on a CVA 40 per cent support for the proposal and to obtain the composition set required 75 percent majority of the voting creditors," according to Saab Automobile in a document last week was sent to all creditors in which they are invited to support composition proposal and mail a proxy to the administrator Guy Lofalk.

News sources are just starting to percolate with the story about FIAT reportedly planning a non-cash bid for GM's European assets.

Not much is known as yet and it's all from "unnamed sources" etc, but the story does include Saab so it's worthy of some space here:

Italian Fiat SpA will submit a non-cash bid for the acquisition of German Opel in the portfolio of US General Motors by Wednesday (20 May 2009), Dow Jones reports on 18 May quoting a source close to the situation.

Chief executive Sergio Marchionne is expected to meet with German state representatives these days, continuing his efforts over the past four weeks to close a merger deal between Fiat, US Chrysler and GM Europe.

According to the source, Fiat plans to reduce the production of GM European units Opel and Saab, but will not close down any GM plants in Europe.

The source said that Marchionne has contributed personally to the final details of the plan.

Fiat made no comment on the news.

I'm sure more will come out about the composition of the bid during the week.

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It's certainly going to be an interesting two weeks coming up.

Saab are back in court tomorrow. It'll most likely be a closed hearing and my understanding is that Saab are quite confident they'll tick all the boxes required to gain their next three month extension.

GM will most likely go into court themselves, possibly before the June 1 deadline, to commence Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

And there's this bid by FIAT.

By the end of June, maybe even sooner, the automotive landscape will be almost unrecognisable compared to just six months prior.

UPDATE: I've just had the chance to listen to it now. It turned out quite well!

Kudos to Karin and the team at TV4 for making me sound almost like I'm intelligent, and for giving my sponsors a run on the TV!!

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I was going to say "on the telly" in that headline but it's not TV, despite the fact that it's done by a TV station. And it's not radio, again, because it's a TV station.

Last week I did an interview by phone with TV4, who found it noteworthy that a guy in Tasmania would be spending so much writing about Saab.

The call went for around 20 minutes, though I'm sure the interview online would go for around 20% of that, at most.

I haven't had a chance to hear it yet because my internet connection is a little slow tonight. Have a listen if you feel so inclined and let me know how I went.

Click here to listen.

Saab's only official tuning company, Hirsch Performance, are ramping up their activities and should soon enjoy more widespread distribution.

In order to give as many potential customers access to Hirsch news as possible, they've set up a subscription newsletter, where they'll pass around all the latest info on new products, development, as well as general info about what they do.

You can subscribe to the Hirsch Performance newsletter by filling out the form available here: Subscribe to Hirsch.

I've been bringing you info from Hirsch newsletters for the past few years and they're always full of great material. I recommend you hook up with this free newsletter and keep your finger on the pulse.

The following is a record from Swedish Day UK 2009, sent in by the organiser, our very own unofficial Saab ambassador for the UK, Robin M.

I've been pleased to help promote this event for the last couple of years and it's great to see the growth it's enjoyed in that time.

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Swedish Day 2009 turned into a bit of a weekend this year with many people arriving on the Saturday evening, staying in different guest houses and camp sites around the area. Most of them met up at the Sparkford Inn for food and drinks and generated a mini Saab show of their own in their car park. Luckily for us, the English language was known by everyone.

The day of the show saw Alex and myself and our families turn up at 8am to get things organised, the car park was readied, the gazebo was erected and flags were put up to fly. The stars of the show, the Volvos and Saabs started to arrive around 9.30 and turned into a steady stream of Swedish vehicles driving through the gates. By 10.30 the car park was getting quite full and made for a good display for all to see. We had decided to continue with last years arrangements where everybody parked together no matter which make or model you arrived in.

During the day the local Saab group, South West Saabs, held a photo shoot for the classic 900 which celebrates 30 years since it went on sale in this country. They did not quite get 30 cars into the picture but I can confirm that over the day 30 classics did come to the show. A card was signed and a cake, made by Sarah Jennings, was cut and quickly eaten.

By the end of the day we had had a total of 104½ different Swedish cars turned up plus a Saabo caravan. A Swedish lady and her husband arrived in their Volvo as visitors to the museum so were invited to park with us. It was great to talk to so many enthusiasts and to see so many people smiling all day.

The variety of Swedish cars was brilliant. The older cars were there, a Volvo PV444 and a couple of Amazons, a Saab Sonett 2 and a Saab 93b, which had only been completed the night before, as well as lots of 96s and 99s. The half car? Well that was a trailer made out of an old Saab 900 convertible towed behind a full Saab 900 convertible.
The Saabs and Volvos came from many places in the UK and main land Europe. Too many English counties to mention but they included Scotland, Cornwall and Kent. We had two cars from Belgium, three from France and the furthest travelled came from the mountains in Switzerland.

It's 11.59pm on the 17th May as I start this article. Tomorrow will be the 18th May and on the 19th, Saab's administrator, Guy Lofalk, will most likely walk into a courthouse in Vanersborg and request an extension for Saab's administration. With that extension confirmed, and I'm quite sure it will be granted, we move into the final stages of Saab's reconstruction and sale to a new owner.

Who do you think it will be?

My thoughts and prediction below.....

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FIAT are outside the formal process and will most likely acquire Saab only as part of a deal to acquire Opel. Sergio Marchionne seems quite confident in his bid for Opel, telling the German government that if they get a better bid, they should take it.

My thanks to Eggs n Grits for stepping up to the plate once again whilst I was away.

I didn't give him any notice about this trip and had no expectations that he would put fingers to keys as I know he's extremely busy, but it helped me enjoy my family time knowing that the ship had a steady hand at the tiller.

Thanks mate - again!

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What a great 24 hours I've had:

I watched the Eurovision semi-final and am preparing to watch the final now. It starts in 20 minutes. DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR ME!!!! The Eurovision song contest provides one of my favourite night of the year and has done so for almost a decade now. I love it. I'm really sorry the Hungarian entry didn't get through to the final. I'm sure that if he missed it last night, Richo would have really enjoyed it.

After the Eurovision semis, they showed ABBA: The Movie on the television. What a laugh, although I discovered another Swade-Sweden link. See the picture at the end.

My beloved Carlton football team beat arch-rivals Collingwood by 51 points. A big win, albeit over a depleted opposition.

Whlst Eggs is still having some difficulty with his Saab 900 Convertible shopping, this morning I test drove what I'm sure will be my next car. If not the car I drove today, then one in Sydney just like it. It was a Mazda MX-5 and I had an absolute blast in it!

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So, to Saaby things.....

The Times Online has covered the Ira Rennert bid for Saab. As has TTELA.

The Times also quote K-Segg and Fiat to be in the hunt, but I will reiterate once again the fact that Fiat are outside the regular shortlist of bidders.

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I noted this in comments:

a state owned chinese company is IN.

I'm not sure about the composition of ownership, but I think this is correct. And I'd take all those media report about Geely being OUT seriously if I were trying to hunt down the final bidders.

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Here's something to think about.....

We've always assumed that the Swedish government will have major input into the decision as to who will purchase Saab. This is because the government has offered loan guarantees and the theory is that they will only offer those guarantees to a plan and a buyer who has a substantial chance at success.

But what if the potential owners is sufficiently supported with its own money? That is, what if they don't need to loan guarantees offered by the Swedes?

That would change the picture quite a bit, no?

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Five red sedans doing stunt driving tricks, including a two-wheel driving exhibition?

Just another day where Saab's ideas are pinched by Cadillac......

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OK, stupid Swade-Sweden link time:

ABBA: The Movie was a record of their 1977 Australian tour, with a stupid plot thrown together for the basic purpose of showing bits of concert footage.

Whilst watching the movie last night, I was overjoyed to see both girls wearing an Australian Rules Football jumper at different times throughout.

It seems that whilst they were in Australia, in Melbourne actually, they must have been treated to a day at the football and received some footy jumpers as a gift, which they continued to wear whilst on tour.

At left is a reproduction of the front page of a news paper from Perth, and you can see Anni-Frid (or Frida, as she was better known), wearing the jumper pf my very own Carlton Football Club.

That's my team y'all!!!

Supported by ABBA and consequently by all Swedes - whether they like it or not!!

:-)

There were some recent reports that I scanned during this wedding-fest where there were suggestions that the 2010 Saab 9-5 rear ends we were seeing were all false. I'm pretty sure that's correct, in terms of shape etc. The amount of padding and cladding these cars are carrying is pretty substantial.

We have, of course, seen partial pictures of the rear end, which were snapped a few days ago.

The big question on people's minds is whether or not the 2010 Saab 9-5 will be offered as a hatch. I've got a feeling it will - eventually - but it seems clear that the current group of test vehicles are definitely sedans.

The following image is one of 5 showing at SVD.

A look at the line of that rear trunklid is interesting. Combine that with the lines in the photo below and you'll get an idea of just how much cladding we're looking at.

That's all for now. Back in town tomorrow.

The wedding was grrrrreat! It's hard to believe my youngest nephew is now a married man.

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Thanks to Michael R for the link!

All:

Huge thanks for keeping that comments section growing. That's what makes this community great -- interaction and passion for the Saab brand.

Swade and I have spoken about this before -- sometimes this whole blogger thing is a grind. It's a grind because there are long stretches where good news is hard to come by and frustrations are high. It's a grind because there are only so many minutes in the day and usually writing takes a lot more time that you ever thought it would. And, it's a grind because you open up your thoughts, opinions and your feelings (at times) in a forum where there are many, many people that will find fault with your work. Or with each other, or with anything that you hold sacred.

I'll be the first to admit that my level of tolerance for these droughts of happy news, time wasted and small criticisms is lower and lower as I age. That's one reason that I've not been as active here over the last three-four months: I've grown weary of the angst that is the Saab situation now. I want this thing to be done. It's not likely to be truly over for many more months. Even after a suitor is selected, there are the legal reviews, bankers to be paid, governments to be placated and people to be fired (unfortunately). I really want to hear solid, joyful words from Trollhattan. Good people kept. Plants busy building safe cars. Engineers turbocharging something that's a joy to drive. Even the new 9-5, which should be an uplift somehow is anticlimactic to me under the pall of forced divorce.

One of the recurring challenges of sitting in this seat is the number of verbal barbs that come your way each day. It is genuinely a mountain of criticism a grain at a time. Swade is much better suited to deal with this than I am, generally, but even he has his limits. Toward the tail end of a post this very week, he opines: "why is every one busting my balls today"? Indeed. In reality it's nearly everyday, he simply doesn't complain much.

I've not been the perfect model of this behavior, especially in the last 48 hours or so, but I ask all of you to realize that this time in the history of our brand is emotionally charged and that has consequences. We'll all have more capacity to think and to Saab if we don't have to examine everything with the microscope of hindsight. Particularly if the facts are peripheral to the story, go with it and embrace the portion that you agree with. Who knows, you might even want to Google something to check it first or gain new insights on something that you thought you knew. Just a thought.

Thanks for reading, and comment forth!!

To all that are interested, I'll post this whilst Swade is away enjoying his family gathering.

Inside:

- More than I'm willing to spend.
- Disappointment.
- Tempting alternatives.
- The current leading candidates.

I've not posted, nor have I really read much here in the last couple of months due to a searing work load and generally full family calendar. Ditto goes for the Saab shopping as one might expect -- not so much to write about.

Read on for more....

I thought it fitting to re-post this article from the TrollhattanSaab.net archives in the week of Mr. Sinclair's passing. I know that a few readers, Grippen in particular, knew Bob Sinclair and admired his knowledge, wisdom and attitude. I'm forever in his debt as the driving force behind the hugely popular Saab 900 convertible, which I'm proud to own.

The reprint is after the jump.

Howdy all.

Away for my nephew's wedding. Have posted most of what's queued up.

Anything new in the next bunch of hours is up to you.

You know what to do.

Have a great day.

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ps. The hard side of selling a car that you really love.....

I got a message today from the guy who bought my 1985 Saab 900 Aero. Catastrophic engine failure.

I don't have the details, but am approaching a state of mourning.

I've just received copies of the new print ads that Saab are running in Sweden to coincide with their new TV ad.

You Swedes will have to help out with translating the text, I'm afraid.

Click to enlarge.

And the accompanying text. Click to enlarge.

The next ad:

And the accompanying text

This was posted at Trollhattan Saab earlier today.

Thinking that Bob's wife, Anne, would have preferred that the intended recipients see it, I contacted her and asked her permission to post her remarks as an article here at SU.

Permission received, I've repeated them here verbatim.

I'd like to thank Anne for taking the time to write and once again, extend our collective condolences to the Sinclair family.

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This site was just forwarded to me by Kathie Sinclair, one of Bob,s cousins. For those of you who don't already know, Bob passed away on Sunday, May 10. On Tuesday, May 5, the luck of the Irish began to run out for Bob when he was evacuated from our home to Serenity House, our wonderful hospice facility here in Sana Barbara. We were able to return to our home on Sunday afternoon, being spared the damage that so many homes surrounding our neighborhood suffered (there have been fires in the Santa Barbara area - SW). Perhaps Bob waited until he knew we were able to go home because he slipped away peacefully that evening.

It is gratifying to know that so many knew what a great guy he was aside from being the wonderful husband, father and grandfather that he was to us. Some were able to tell him how he helped them in many ways in recent days and I know that meant so much to him.
Thank you for your kind words about Bob Sinclair. We treasure them.
Bob's family; Anne, Bob III, Rebecca, Gregory, Elisabeth, Stephen, Jennifer and the grandkids.

My nephew gets married tomorrow. Posting could be slow for a couple of days as a result as family get-togethers aren't that frequent around our way.

I'll do my best to stay on top of everything, though.

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A note I saw at autoextremist.com, which I thought I'd commandeer and relate for my friends at Saab:

PR/Marketing 101.

Communicate MORE not LESS in troubled times to show you are alive. The vacuum created with LESS communications is always, always filled by forces outside of your control (i.e. news of bankruptcy, sales declines, plant shutdowns, layoffs, etc.)

Jason Vines
Franklin, MI

Jason Vines has worked as the communications head at both Ford and Chrysler in the past. A respected guy.

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Time to catch up on a few stories that I haven't had time to cover in the last few days.....

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GM shares nosedived earlier this week after Fritz Henderson stated that bankruptcy was looking more and more likely, though he claimed it was still not inevitable.

It didn't help the share price, of course, when the market found out that a bunch of GM executives - including Bob Lutz - had been given the green light to dump their shares. Lutz and five other execs sold their holding for around $315,000 (which sounds like a lot, but they're probably crying, thinking about the price they'd have got if they had been allowed to sell them a year ago).

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Peter Eriksson, from the Green Party in Sweden, has recently visited the Saab facility in Trollhattan, been given the grand tour - including a briefing on Saab's potential investors - and has come away giving the whole thing the thumbs up.

Googletrans:

With a new sustainable shareholder is Peter Eriksson confident that Saab cars can survive. Provided that the development of new environmentally friendly cars continues.

- It is urgent to wait five to ten years are not for any bilproducent. And I understand that Saab has a good chance of producing sustainable, less wasteful cars.

I'd be interested in getting him and Renco's representatives in the same room for a chat.

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TTELA have spoken to a few analysts, who have different views on who's going to end up with Saab.

Mr Googly:

An educated guess is that it is a mix of speculators. On the one hand, a Chinese industrialists in the form of a car where the logic speaks for Geely and on the other hand, a Western investor, "says Matts Carlsson in Gothenburg Management Institute (GMI).

He also mentions the other Chinese car company that Dong Feng Motor and SAIC, but think most of Geely.

and.....

Christer Karlsson, professor of industrial production at the Copenhagen Business School, believe that Fiat would be a suitable owner of the Saab because of their size and skills.

- It does not mean that Saab saved to heaven. Restructuring still have to, but it is better to any industry to do it, "he said.

One Chinese owner sees him also as a possible solution. But then there would be Saab's future more uncertain.

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I chatted with one Trollhattan based person last night, who I'll call Djup Strupe for the purposes of this post, and he indicated that a solid fan favourite amongst some of the staff at Saab is Fiat.

They seem to be quite confident in Fiat retaining Saab as a company, and using Saab as a conduit to smooth any possibly troublesome Italian-German relations.

UPDATE:

Saab History is calling this crap. Let me reiterate that this writing was based on one chat, with one person, and the opinion he conveyed was that of him and his immediate colleagues. It's just a small group of Saab employees voicing their preference, not that they think it's going to happen.

It's called 'context'. Sheesh. Why's everyone busting my balls today?

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Sorry for the lack of links. Stories are from TTELA

Our mates over at Auto Motor and Sport in Sweden have had their own Djup Strupe call in and uncover the fact that GT.se's mysterious German bank - who they stated was actually a front for GM to retain control of Saab if negotiations went south - is actually representing Magna.

For those who don't know, Magna is a Canadian owned company who manufacture parts, vehicle platforms and have an assembly plant in Austria that manufactures vehicles for other companies. The Magna Steyr plant currently manufactures the Saab 9-3 convertible.

Magna have been outed as a major player in negotiations for Opel in a partnership that would see them team up with GAZ from Russia. GM would retain a significant stake in Opel under their proposal.

This is the first indication I've had of them being an interested party when it comes to Saab.

Here's my Google trans of the AMS article:

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Magna bid on Saab Automobile
Pär Brandt - 2009-05-13 16:28

New data to Auto Motor & Sport argues that the automotive company Magna not only wants to buy Opel, but is also included in the auction at Saab Automobile. The German bank is representative of Magna International, not GM, which was previously claimed.

In the constant the serial "today's Saab-reputation", we now have something very special to contribute. A little bird has whispered, from a location with good transparency, that reputation was spread over the week's introduction is incorrect. It was argued then, from the newspaper GT, to the three secret bidders who reached the finals are the Chinese firm Geely, Fiat and a German bank.

Behind the German commercial banks - mentioned by GT - was General Motors who were "hiding" with the intent to control the bidding and in the worst case blocking Chinese Geely to buy Saab. But according to our new data, it is not GM trying to be discreet, but automotive company Magna International, who are based in Canada.

Magna also has a subsidiary in Austria, Magna Steyr with over 9000 employees, subcontractors, and they produce some car models including the Saab 9-3 convertible. In addition, Magna has around 30 small factories in Germany working as subcontractors to the automotive industry. Total Magna has 27,000 employees in Europe - no small player in the automotive industry, that is.

Magna International has already declared that it is interested in buying 50 percent of Opel and want to finance the deal with Russian carmaker Gaz. GM in the U.S. would retain a minority interest (and thus have a continuing influence) of approximately 30 percent. Unlike many others in the automotive industry, Magna International is in good financial condition and together with the Russian financier Oleg Deri Easter (which is half owner of the Gaz) funding would not be any problems.

Natural link between Saab and Opel

Magna's approach to Saab has not been known but if you want to buy Opel is close to his that also add to Saab Automobile. The two companies are already integrated in research and development, an example of which is the common sister projects Opel Insignia and the new Saab 9-5..

Although American GM drastically reduces its stake in Opel / Saab joint models continue to evolve and it becomes a bit like "business as usual", but with new principal owner. The shop can probably also get the thumbs up by American politicians who see Canadian Magna as a good owner and GM, for example, to forgive debt in billion class to Saab when they separated. In practice, GM's management, together with the U.S. Government, approve the Opel and Saab's new owners as "friendly" - otherwise there will be no business.

For both Saab and Opel's probably better to have the principal owner who can concentrate on a few brands, compared with being in the Fiat Group which has almost a dozen brands and several dozen models to be reconciled together.

Anyone who knows its history knows that the Magna for a number of years been mentioned as new acquisitions in the automotive industry discussed. Last was the Chrysler LLC, which became the Magna coryza on (which it perhaps is pleased today to have "missed"). Possibly, it has become a prestigesak for Magna to finally, after seven disappointments, to salvaging a great home business and become a more renowned players in the automotive industry.

Finally, there is another fact that speaks against Fiat affair: the German pride would never be able to swallow the fact that Opel would have to be "subordinate" to the Italian government with headquarters in Italy. Where is the Magna-Steyr from the neighboring country of Austria significantly easier to accept.

Damn those timezone differences! And thanks for all the comments and emails about these......

To be honest, I don't want to see these. I know they're inevitable, but I really want to see the car properly, when it's unveiled.

But you can't help but look, can you?

Carscoop have found a 2010 Saab 9-5 out and about somewhere, and snapped a couple of quick images, including an uncovered interior.

Here's a couple of snippets - and here's the link where you'll see them all in their full glory.

-

News services are brimming over with stories about who's buying Saab.

It's got so big now that Teknikens Varld are quoting odds from the Ladbrokes betting agency on who will win the Swedish prize!

I can't find the Saab betting page on Ladbrokes myself, which is a pity as there's some good odds there, but if you can find it then maybe you'll want to pick you favourite and cheer them over the line.

The odds are as follows:

• Chinese consortium - 2.50
• Swedish consortium - 5.00
• Fiat - 7.00
• German consortium - 8.00
• International consortium - 8.00
• Korean consortium - 8.00
• BMW - 12.00
• Hyundai - 12.00
• Indian consortium - 13.00
• Japanese consortium - 17.00
• Renault - 25.00
• American consortium - 25.00
• Volvo - 50.00

Saabs United only advocates responsible gambling.......

Last week I was able to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this ad.

Today, you get to see it here on Saabs United - even before it goes on TV!

This is the new TV spot for Saab. It's part of the new press and TV campaign they're running to re-project the image of the comany, an image that's taken a bit of a hammering in their home market in the last few months.

The voiceover is in Swedish, but ctm's been kind enough to translate it for us:

We have always been willful and stubborn, thought the other way around, and thought in new ways. We did it with turbo and BioPower. Now, we are doing it with aerodynamics, electrical engineering, and other things that make the car more fun to drive and better for the environment. That is how we have written our history. That is how we create our future.

Here's a screenshot:

Some people have trouble watching video on this site (usually the people running Internet Explorer).

If you usually have trouble watching video on this site, you can click here and watch the movie directly on YouTube.

If you're OK with video, then go right ahead. The video awaits after the jump!

Before Saab gets angry at me - this is a publically accessible document (10mb PDF)

Here are the colors and specs of the 2010 Saab 9-5:

Click to enlarge color chart.

Note: specs are of the current model.....tricky!

And here's the info on the car.....

NOTE: As far as I can tell, these are US details only. AND the wagon will most likely come one year after the initial introduction of the sedan.

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OVERVIEW

The Saab 9-5 offers excellent performance and value in the performance oriented midsize luxury category. It is available in Sedan in base and Aero levels, and in front-wheel and all-wheel drive.

NEW FOR 2010

• 2.8L V6 Turbocharged engine


• OnStar® 1-year Directions & Connections Plan2 with Turn-by-Turn Navigation


• Bluetooth® wireless technology for select compatible phones17


• 6-speed Sentronic automatic transmission with manual shift


• Lane Departure Warning available


• Rear Passenger Package includes rear seat entertainment, dual display


• DVD, remote control, auxiliary jacks, dual channel headphones, tri-zone climate control, rear seat audio controls


• EZ Key passive entry system

SELECTED STANDARD FEATURES

Safety and Security

• Dual-stage front air bags with passenger sensing system1


• Side-impact and head curtain side-impact air bags1


• LATCH (Lower Anchors and Top tethers for CHildren) system


• Theft-deterrent system


• Daytime Running Lamps


• Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with traction control


• OnStar® 1-year Directions & Connections Plan2 with Turn-by-Turn Navigation

Interior

• Front leather-appointed heated bucket seats with power adjustments, driver memory


• Split-folding rear seat


• Floor console with armrest


• Dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration system


• Driver Information Center with outside temperature display


• Tilt/telescoping adjustable steering column


• Universal Home Remote


• Cargo Management System


• Remote Keyless Entry with keyless start button


• AM/FM stereo with CD player, XM Radio3 with a 3-month trial, USB port and harman/kardon® speaker system


• Bluetooth® wireless technology for select compatible phones

Mechanical

• Front-wheel drive


• 2.8L Turbocharged V6 engine


• 6-speed Sentronic automatic transmission with manual shift


• 4-wheel disc antilock brake system with Electronic Brake-Force Distribution


• Power rack-and-pinion steering


• 4-wheel independent suspension


• Lowered, sport-tuned chassis (Aero)

Exterior

• Intermittent rain-sensing front windshield wipers


• Front integral fog lamps


• P225/55R17 all-season tires


• 5-spoke aluminum wheels

SELECTED OPTIONAL FEATURES

• Ultrasonic Front and Rear Parking Assist
• Lane Departure Warning
• Seating options: driver and passenger ventilated seats, semi-Aniline leather surfaces
• Tri-zone climate control
• Head Up Display
• Audio options: Rear seat controls, rear seat entertainment, voice recognition, Navigation radio, 6-disc CD changer, surround sound, 40GB hard drive device
• 2.8L HO Turbocharged V6 engine (Aero)
• All-wheel drive
• Electronic Slip Differential (e-LSD)
• EZ Key passive entry system
• Xenon headlamps with auto-leveling and adaptive forward lighting
• Power moonroof
• 18- and 19-inch aluminum wheels

Swedish webservice, SVD, has published a teaser for their full review of the 2010 Saab 9-5 (pre-production version, of course) which will apparently appear in the weekend's newspaper.

Dippen did actually leave a note about this one in comments but I was too busy today to get to it. ctm has been kind enough to provide some translated pointers, which are reproduced below for your reading pleasure...

Link to original article, in Swedish

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What are you doing in Trollhättan?

- I'm one of the first outside Saab that are allowed to drive a camouflaged version of the new Saab 9-5. This car has production number 15 and is a mixture of a prototype and pre-production car. Then I give feedback to Saab about my impressions. If only Saab make it through the crisis then the car goes on sale next year.

How does it feel?

- It is a big car, but Saab engineers have built a lot of driving pleasure into it and it feels much smaller when seated behind the wheel. It has a direct steering and a rapid response in the chassis. Regarding the quality the Saab engineers have throughout the development period had the Audi A6 as a benchmark.

Is it not just a touched-up Opel Insignia?

- It is based on the same platform, but finally Saab engineers have been able to to build their own solutions into the suspension - things Opel cannot use - and everything visible, both on the exterior and in the interior, is designed in Sweden.

Does it look good?

- Yes, even though it may feel a little big. Especially the rear is harmonic and reminds a little of Aston Martin.

Isn't Saab on the wrong path with the size? Is not all about "downsizing" now?

- My reasoning goes like this. If Saab knew what they know today, they had made it a little smaller. But this car will also be a competitor to cars like the Audi A6, which is equal to 9-5, and is intended to be the flagship of Saab. The idea is that there will be a smaller 9-3 model around 2012.

What about the Inside?

- The start button is located between the seats and the "Saab-esque" cozy feeling. To be a pre-production car the interiors is very well put togehter and the choice of material is up with the best in class. The rear seats and rear legroom is great. Despite the sloping coupe form, there is enough headroom if you are not that tall.

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There's an article at Carscoop about the pre-production versions of the Saab 9-5. It doesn't deserve it's own post. It's written by some slim-hipped metroponce named Phil Alex who thinks it's extremely clever to deliver a substantial critique of a car based on photos (not even an actual drive, as some press are doing) of a heavily clad pre-production version.

Oh, and bashing the crap out of the old 9-5 is par for the course, of course. It wouldn't be a Saab review without a 9-5 bashing. I'm surprised he didn't call the 9-3 a tarted up Vectra just for laughs!

If you've got 5 minutes of your life that you don't need back, click the link, above, then feel free to leave some bile in Phil's, I mean Alex's.......whatever's inbox.

Thanks to Peter S for that link - I think?!

What a frantic week it's been.

Everyone is publishing GT's 0.5 out of 3 stars news piece but more than that, everyone's got a theory as to why-this-would-be-good and why-that-would-be-bad and everything in between.

I think it's time to stop, pause and take a breath.

Here are a few known things:

1) Saab have letters of intent from either two or three of the bidders who have been through the entire process.

2) The fact that these parties have signed letters of intent means that they have reviewed Saab's business plan and agree with it, meaning that production and support will stay in Sweden and we'll get a new 9-5 and 9-4x.

3) Fiat are outside of this group of two or three. They are external to the process and if they get control of Saab, it will be via a backdoor clause in their agreement for Opel, which is far from a done deal.

4) Saab have not identified who these two or three are, but I can tell you with the utmost confidence that one of them is The Renco Group. If you read a report that doesn't include Renco or "a US private investor" then you should be skeptical. In fact, if I'm wrong about this then I'll gladly do a nudie run outside the offices of GT in Gothenburg.

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In a Saabnut's Utopia, the group that takes over Saab will be a group of like-minded Saab lovers who have deep pockets and let Saab do their thing.

Watch for that report on Auto Extremists's favourite news website: notgonnahappen.com

The basic fact is that we are all - me included - going to have to get used to the fact that whoever buys Saab will have a downside. Just like belonging to GM has a downside.

FIAT represent a risk of becoming just like GM. Vattenfall may want to just build electrics and seek manufacturing capacity. Renco have a poor environmental record. Geely (or any other Chinese company if Geely are out of it as they claim) represent fear of a technology drain. Koenigsegg are reportedly too small. A German bank is not a car company. BMW may just pinch Saab's engineering and do nothing to build the brand.

Everyone has a downside.

The one thing that I have is faith in Saab's management and reconstruction team. They are rebuilding the business so that when a new entity takes the reins, they will have what are reportedly two very, VERY good all-new vehicles waiting to be released. I'm confident that they will restructure marketing, support and distribution so that people can feel a personal connection to Saab once again.

The one thing management can't do - and this is another fact to go with ones above - is make the final selection themselves. That's GM's job on the advice of Deutsche Bank.

If we choose to stay with Saab then we will all have to live with the new owner, which means we will all have a personal choice to make.

another Swade car-buying post here.....

I first drove a Porsche 944 back in late November 2008. I was quite excited about it back then, though that particular drive helped me decide that if I were going to get a Porsche 944, it would have to be a late model 944, with or without a turbo but definitely with the updated interior.

I'll let you in on a something I probably didn't tell you back then. Late last year I was in negotiations with a media company in the US to sell Trollhattan Saab. They expressed interest and I'd spoken with their CEO on the phone. We were at a stage of working out the numbers when I first heard about Saab's possible separation from GM and subsequent sale to an unknown party. This news made me pause the negotiations, as I had to consider whether I'd want to continue writing under someone else's ownership if Saab's situation changed significantly.

Of course, GM announced this as a possibility in early December 2008 with confirmation coming in February of this year. The notion of a website sale and consequent dreamcar purchase went out the window - and I started SaabsUnited instead.

Fast Forward to May 2009......

Encouraged by this car's undoubted good looks and by the fact that I'd finally saved enough money to buy it, I enquired further about this local car. Our remoteness to mainland Australia means that it's the cheapest 944 for sale in the country. It was a color I really liked with wheels I really liked. My November test drive was enjoyable, so I figured I'd look further into it.

Owing to time and dateline differences, I think I'm obliged to say that former Saab Automobiles USA chief, Bob Sinclair, passed away a couple of days ago. Regardless of where you are in the world, we heard the news yesterday, and it was a big shock even for those who knew of his illness.

Sever articles are now online, all of them fitting tributes to a man amongst men, an automotive executive who won the hearts of everyone he met.

If you haven't seen it already, Saab History have a great writeup.

The Saab Club of North America has posted a tribute on thir homepage.

Hemmings have a lovely news story on Uncle Bob's passing as well as a link to an interview they did with him a few years ago. Highly recommended.

If you were asked to describe a Swedish car, you would first think of a Saab or a Volvo. But what connotations come to mind? Both brands are known for upscale appointments, safety, practicality, and in turbo form, power. But it wasn't always that way--in fact, in the 1950s and 1960s, when they were still relative unknowns in middle America, they were recognized more for economy than for any demographic they appeal to today. One man's vision and nearly boundless energy changed all that.

Automotive News also have a story on Bob's passing that's full of respect.

This is a man who will be sorely missed.

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I'm pleased to be able to take a quick break from all this business stuff and bring your attention to an actual, real-life Saab review!

The guys at The Garage Blog were fortunate enough to get some wheel time inside a Saab 9-3x recently and they've recorded some thoughts for your perusal.

We have a nice intro.....

I think I might have actually shed a tear when I drove up to the Trollhättan offices of Saab. I am not some Saab groupie [with this as] my Graceland, rather I saw what was once an innovative auto manufacturer wondering if there will be a tomorrow. I was invited by an old friend and former Saab employee to spend two days road testing two Saabs which may or may not arrive in Canada... The new Saab 93X and 94X.

I should add, our writer is Canadian, as is The Garage Blog.

He feels a great affinity with Sweden, too. Other than in hockey terms, however, I can't say I've noted the same Canadian-Swedish affection when I've visited there or talked with family.

Besides the landscape, we share quite a bit with the Swedes. Whether it is the weather, universal health care or hockey, we have more in common with Sverige than our neighbours to the south.

And then we get to the car. Our reviewer is driving a FWD 9-3x with the TTiD engine, which is significant as far as I'm concerned.

Driving at highway speed the wind and engine noise is so faint. The seats are very comfortable. While I wish they had more lateral support, I must say that I could spend hours in these seats and arrive at my destination fresh.....

....The Saab's 1.9 diesel accelerates smoothly and quickly off the line. The diesel does produce around 295 lb/ft @1850 rpms. The car is surefooted in the twists and turns, and is quiet enough to listen to Diana Krall's new CD without cranking the stereo.....

......My time behind the wheel ended quicker than I wished. Jörg the dealer will lead us into downtown Göteborg.

It really did make a positive impression, which is a good thing. Although it's really just a model evolution, I believe this is a really important model for Saab.

The conclusion, albeit more about the TTiD than the car:

Whoever becomes the new owners of Saab I have a couple of pieces of advice.

Don't abandon the Canadian market and please don't use Gm's market research on the North American market re: diesels. Canadians love their diesels. Just look at the sales of VW and Mercedes. Clean diesels sell in Canada just like they do in the rest of the world.

You can read the full review over at The Garage Blog.

I provided a loose Googletrans of an article appearing at GT.se earlier this evening. In that article, GT identified the three remaining bidders as Geely, Fiat, and a mysterious German bank.

Thankfully, they've also provided some more information to back up their thoughts.

Here is GT's analysis, with my analysis of their analysis following:

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GT on Geely

Geely has studied Saab for many years and they were early in the auction.

The Chinese have also looked at the car plant in Trollhättan. Geely is a private company which is considered to have the financial muscle needed. Geely has also engaged the services of the British merchant bank Rothschild - which includes ex-Volvo-heads PG Gyllenhammar and Hans-Olov Olsson work - to find co-financiers.

A likely partner is Sheikh Maktoum Hashar Maktoum al Maktoum of Dubai.

GM chief Fritz Henderson is afraid to sell to the Chinese because of future competition. Henderson does not want to let the Chinese get Saab dealers in the U.S.. Geely buying Saab means a CULTURAL CRASH in Trollhättan and in the best case develops Geely Saab to a luxury brands of Audi. (I'm not sure that's translated accurately - SW)

Swade on GT on Geely

That Geely visited Saab's factory is a given. At least nine other parties did the same. The partnership with Sheikh Maktoum is speculation. He was mentioned early in the piece but I can't recall that he was specifically aligned with Geely.

One thing that the piece doesn't mention is that Geely aren't very big, are private and therefore not necessarily government backed. But more than all those - Geely are a minnow in their own market and not that well regarded.

Final note, Geely themselves have said they're not in the market for Saab or Volvo. they stated that in a filing with their own stock exchange, though there's some skepticism even in China about the integrity of such findings.

Verdict - a possibility, but a remote one in my book. Too small, too ambitious, and too much in need of Swedish guarantees when the Swedes would be worried about tech-drain to China.

GT on Fiat

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne surprised all when he impudently declared that he wants to buy GM Europe and GM's operations in South America.

Marchionne wants Saab to cooperate with any other make of car in the new super group. GM chief Fritz Henderson has negotiated with Marchionne but wants to have 30 percent ownership in the new high-Fiat. Marchionne has said that it could sell ten percent.

In buying Saab, Fiat expect large cuts in Trollhättan and the new 9-3 will be put off until Fiat found a new, appropriate, platform. The good thing with a Fiat-buying is that there already are developed forms of cooperation between Opel and Saab. Marchionne has said that no German car plants will be closed, which means a tough future for all others.

Swade on GT on Fiat

A solid analysis.....except

In the context of recent stories saying Saab have two or three bidders remaining, these bidders are people who Saab have been talking to for several months.

Fiat are not one of these bidders, because Fiat were never part of this process. Fiat just walked in to the picture and said "we want Opel and throw Saab in while you're at it"

Verdict: If Fiat end up with Saab, it will be an extension of the Opel deal, not part of this process that Deutsche Bank are undertaing on GM's behalf.

GT on a mysterious German Bank

The new buyer of the gang.

According to a source within the General Motors owns a German commercial bank on behalf of - General Motors. The Bank is acting as secret agents and it is not previously known that it is General Motors underlying interest.

The motive should be to monitor the Saab-management behavior and to have a bid ready if it turns out that it needed to prevent the Saab be in the "wrong" hands.

This can also be Fritz Mr Henderson's way to make sure that he can control the Saab's future and get to the five billion in loans from the European Investment Bank, EIB, as the Swedish government more or less promised a new, strong, owner.

Buying the German commercial bank Saab on behalf of General Motors is it just to get over the loans and then loot the company of all assets. Then there is a definitive end to the Saab.

Swade on GT on a mysterious German Bank

Rumours that the head of this German Bank was last seen on a grassy knoll in Dallas on November 1963 are yet to be proven.

I suppose there could be one of the bidders that we haven't heard about who could be a front for GM buying something that they already own, but somehow I think Deutche Bank would see through the Groucho Marx disguise and call them out.

And besides, Fritz Henderson has come out in response to the claims that GM want to retain control of the Saab 9-5, saying he's happy to work with Saab's new owners in the future, but that that new owner will not be GM.

Verdict: Hmph

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Final verdict:

I'd say GT scored half a point out of a possible three points, and that's only if Geely are still in the race, which they have said they aren't.

And it's noted that they didn't include the joker in the pack - Renco. I'm quite solid on my sources with this, so they fact that they haven't put them in is indicative of the reliance I'll place on the article.

Aftonbladet's Robert Collin has picked up the Renco story on his blog.

But enough of that.....

Collin has also trumpeted the Fiat option as being the best for Saab. In a two part entry, Collin looks past Sergio Marchionne's reported plans and posed a scenario that makes a reasonable amount of sense.

Saab have three production ready models, a modern flexible factory, and a US distribution network that Fiat would covet for Alfa Romeo.

Many, myself included, have assumed that Fiat would just ditch Saab and use their real and perceived assets for their and Opel's benefit. But Collin does ask a legitimate question - why would Fiat drop three reportedly very good vehicles when they synergies between them and existing Opels make the variety worthwhile?

For the record, I still see Fiat as a rank outsider to get Saab. They'd only get Saab in a scenario where they get Opel and negotiate Saab into the bargain. And getting Opel is by no means a done-deal.

But if it happens, what Collin says makes some sense - as long as Marchionne's reported plans aren't accurate.

If the unlikely happens, to take over Fiat, Opel, which is Saab also saved.
And it is quite obvious and a dream solution for Trollhättan.

The following has appeared in the Swedish magazine, GT (run by Expressen, I think).

This is a Googletrans, tidied up just a little to make it legible for we non-Googles i.e. people.

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Here are the three bidders for Saab

Chinese Geely, Fiat and Italian, a German commercial bank. GT can today reveal all the three hottest bidders at Saab Automobile. But GM chief Fritz Henderson still will not sell. - Chinese bid is clear, but Henderson is afraid of competition, "says a source within General Motors to GT.

The sale of Saab is on the home stretch. The administrator Guy Lofalk has three distinct bidders who all have endorsed Saab's future business plan, which includes the production of the new 9-5 being moved to Trollhättan.

Data from Guy Lofalk yesterday came days after GT's revealing that Fritz Henderson aims to let Saab go bankrupt.

More has been peeled away

Lofalk would also increase interest in Saab to get the reorganization period extended after May 20. Moreover hopes Lofalk, in days to get an 'okay' from Saab's 700 creditors on a write-down of debt by 75 percent.

Saab has debts totaling 10.6 billion, 9.6 billion of which is owed to General Motors.

Among the bidders is the Norwegian government, the Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg and international car manufacturer Magna.

- Magna is only looking for Opel, they have no interest in Saab, says a source within General Motors.

Chinese Geely has also shown interest in the Swedish Volvo. According to several international news agencies have looked at Geely Volvo's income statement and studied a purchase carefully.

But Volvo can forget Geely. They will do everything to get buy Saab. Do not, because of Mr Henderson's fear as they go forward. Geely awaiting iced this now, they turn to when it is cheapest.

General Motors revealed last night that they are studying an alternative to allow each country's GM title to go bankrupt.

Frits Henderson also said in an interview that GM study a relocation of the headquarters in Detroit, and that a bankruptcy - in the context of Barack Obama to evaluate GM's future, May 31 - "is more likely today than before."

Extremely positive

Guy Lofalk hope to have an initial agreement with a buyer for Saab finish some time in early June.

- It looks extremely positive out. I hope it keeps the whole thing, but nothing is settled until it is ready. When it looks as dark out, it suddenly brighten, and vice versa, "says Guy Lofalk to news agency TT.

I'm very pleased to be able to pass on a special offer from Saab Australia.

They've sent out brochures about this to customers via their normal contact methods, but knowing that some people's details may no longer be correct, they figured it wise to extend the offer via other means as well.

So if you're an Aussie with a Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, SportCombi (2003-2007) or a Saab 9-3 Convertible (2004-2007) then please read on and consider this excellent value offer from Saab Australia.

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Whilst your eyes might be immediately drawn to the sexy twin pipes at the back of this 9-3, what you should be looking for is the little dimple you can just see there in the black bumper strip. Click to enlarge if you need to....

That's Saab Parking Assist. When you put your car in reverse, those sensors detect the proximity of walls, vehicles, etc that might be in your blind spot, and the sensors beep at an increasing rate depending on how close you get to the object. Parking Assist is a genuine help when you're parking in a tight spot and has helped thousands of people avoid costly repairs to paint and bumper panels.

So what's the offer?

Saab Parking Assist is normally a $790 option for the 9-3 Sedan and Combi, and an $890 option on the Convertible.

Then you've got fitting costs as well, which at 1.4 hours for the sedan/combi and 1.7 hours for the convertible brings the normal total cost to around $1,000.

Until the end of June 2009, owners of 2003-07 9-3's can have Genuine Saab Park Assist fitted for only $495.00.

Yes, that's fitted!

That's a genuine bumper-saving item for a genuine bumper price - around 50% off.

If any of you Aussie Saab 9-3 owners want to take advantage of this offer, just call your local Saab dealer. They should know all about it.

Alternatively, you can call Saab Central on 1800 50 SAAB (7222)

It's always a great outing when a bunch of Saab nuts come together.

Such was the case in the UK last weeked when Swedish Day UK 2009 was held at the Haynes Motor Museum. Saabs and Volvos dominated the carpark to the extent that they had to start parking them out the back. There was even a Saabo caravan that made the trip!!

I've posted links to Robin's photo collection on Flickr and we'll have more to come from Robin in the future, I'm sure. Etienne, who runs the Saabhuy blog in Belgium, was also in attendance on the day and he's put some photos up there.

Click through and have a look at both of those, but I've also got a selection of fine photos below, which have been provided by our good mate and Saab author, Lance Cole. That's him on the ground taking these shots:

And here are some of the shots he took. Click to enlarge.

As you know, I absolutely love 99Turbos, so this would have been like heaven for me.

and if he's reading this, then I know that a certain retired PR Manager from Saab Sweden would absolutely love these next two shots. Hello Christer!!

I've just read over at Saab History that the legendary former head of Saab in the United States, Bob Sinclair, passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer lasting just short of two years.

I knew this was coming, but nothing really prepares you for the news, does it?

I only met Bob once, at his home in January 2008. One of our regulars here, 1985Gripen, was kind enough to pick me up at the airport in LA and together we drove up to Santa Barbara and chatted with Bob for a couple of hours in his dining room.

We went downstairs and checked out his bikes and his Volvo-powered dune buggy and then took a drive to a small pub for some food, me riding shotgun with Bob in his Ferrari.

Needless to say it was an outstanding day. I was braindead from 14 hours on a plane and an extra two hours on the road to get there, but I hung on every word Bob said.

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Ryan and Carl have prepared an excellent summary of Bob's career and life at Saab History, and I recommend you click through and have a read.

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If you'd like to listen to my phone interview with Bob from 2008, please click here.

Eggs posted a tribute to Bob back January 2008, around the time I met Bob.

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I heard that Bob had taken a turn for the worse a couple of weeks ago so I took the chance to write a final note to him at that time.

I'm not sure if he had a chance to read it, or have it read to him. I hope so. But for me the main thing was having a chance to write it - having a chance to tell this extraordinary guy how much he meant to so many people.

Hi Bob,

I'm not even sure you'll get to read this, but I thought I'd send it anyway. Some things are just too important to pass over.

I just heard via the V-Saab list that your cancer has spread further and that as a result your condition is deteriorating. I can't tell you how sad I was to hear of such a vibrant man being struck down in this way, but I guess it will come to us all.

Eulogies are no good to you once you're gone, so I just wanted to take a moment to tell you my perspective on how important you've been to me - a guy on the other side of the world who you'd never have met if it weren't for two things: your own generous and hospitable nature, and a cooky little car company from Sweden called Saab.

Like many, I've developed an un-natural passion for these vehicles and the pleasure that they bring. And the more I read about them, the more I came to appreciate the Herculean role you had in building up their presence in the United States (and effectively, around the world as well). That must have taken a fair bit of business acumen, but more than that, it must have taken something special.

An understanding of human nature? An appreciation of the off-beat? A willingness to take on something crazy? Boundless enthusiasm, energy and good sense?

All the stories I read illustrated that you had these and many more qualities in spades, but they paled into insignificance when I actually got to spend some time at your home back in January 2008. I'm just some guy from Tasmania with too much time on his hands and yet I sat with the great Bob Sinclair - listening to war stories from the old days. I could have sat there for hours, Bob. Your energy and enthusiasm were right there on your sleeve and I felt you could have walked into SaabUSA's offices that very day and commanded more attention from staff and dealers alike, just by clearing your throat.

I still hold on to some vague hopes of working for Saab one day; a new Saab that's free from General Motors and able to undo all the abuses they suffered during that time. If that dream ever comes true, I'll credit a lot of the continued enthusiasm I have for the brand, for the Saab way of life, to my experiences reading about and talking with you.

You inspired me in ways that only a few coveted sports stars and my own father managed to inspire me and I'll carry lessons from your life, for the rest of my own life.

My heart goes out to you and your family, Bob. Thankyou for everything you've done and everything that you are. I hope the coming months bring you some happiness and peace, my friend.

Cheers,

Steven Wade
www.saabsunited.com

The following is a Google translation of an article appearing in TTELA, the local newspaper in Trollhattan.

My apologies for the slow posting, but I'm working on another open letter.

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Saab Automobile sales process is entering the final stages. Only two or three buyers are still in the process. They have signed a so-called letter of intent and have now chosen to continue the negotiations, state administrator lawyer Guy Lofalk told TT.

A letter of intent is a letter of intent in which stakeholders have described the investments they're willing to make and what they are willing to pay for the company.

All stands behind Saab's business plan, "says Guy Lofalk. The business plan means that virtually all production moved back to Trollhättan.

From the beginning, the Saab that it was 27 stakeholders. A dozen of them have been on a visit in Trollhättan and have had a deeper presentation of the company.

In consultation with the owner of General Motors now has the remaining selected for further negotiations.

For various reasons, they have judged the strongest. These include to be strong financially and be long term, "he says. Those who now remain on the list have all described the commitments they're willing to have against Saab.

Guy Lofalk is silent when it comes to who the remaining stakeholders are.

There are different nationalities, is the only thing he wants to say.

Speculation has been most focused on Chinese car company, including Geely, American capital companies and Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg, in cooperation with the Norwegian financiers. Italian Fiat have also said they want to have with Saab in a new biljätte.

TT: Is there an American interest among speculators?

I can not go into, "says Guy Lofalk.

The next step in negotiations is to write an agreement, a so-called memorandum of was breathing.

We aim to be clear that in early June with a party, "says Guy Lofalk.

Then both parties agree on all essential points.

It looks extremely positive out. I hope it keeps the whole thing, but nothing is settled until it is ready. When it looks as dark out, it suddenly brighten, and vice versa, "says Guy Lofalk clean.

In parallel with the sales process is ongoing Saab reorganization. It is already clear that to apply for an extension when the first deadline expires May 20.

These days, all creditors have a letter on Saab's plans to apply for a piecework bargaining. To do so, 40 percent of creditors to endorse the proposal, which means that the debts written off by 75 percent in a so-called chord. The number of creditors is approximately 700 states Guy Lofalk.

The debts amount to around 10.6 billion kronor. The majority, around 9.6 billion, is required Saab GM.

According to the timetable, a chord hearing held in mid-June in Vänersborgs District Court.

The plan, we must keep, "says Guy Lofalk.

In order to cope with reconstruction presses Saab its costs on all fronts. 701 employees were terminated earlier this year by the staff of about 4 000.

We can not exclude more staff reductions, although it is not something that is relevant right now. The staff is a large part of the costs, "says Guy Lofalk.

The reorganization plan indicates that funding for Saab is one billion U.S. dollars, more than 7.5 billion. GM has promised to help with 400 one million U.S. dollars (about 3 billion) of which some are loans and some is the cost of tools to build the new Saab 9-5. The rest, 600 one million U.S. dollars (approximately SEK 4.5 billion), Saab hopes get through a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in state guarantees.

I'm pleased to pass on that the 2009 edition of Swedish Day UK, held last Sunday the 10th May, was well attended and enjoyed by all.

I'm hoping to get a fuller report from Robin M in due course, but I can tell you that in a boost from last year's 40-car fleet, there were more than 100 vehicles in the car park this year, and one Saabo caravan!!

That's a collection of 99s with Saabo in tow, and our mate Lance Cole's backside in the foreground (g'day mate!!!)

Photos are going up here on Flickr as we speak and we'll await more details as they come through.

Feedback from any attendees is welcome!

I've just finished watching the first episode of Top Gear Australia for 2009.

Let me start by saying I don't know how you international guys get access to it, but if you can - and you want to watch an hour of very decent motoring entertainment - then you should definitely get hold of it.

The 2009 season features a changed lineup from last year. The 2008 team didn't exactly set the world on fire. Although adequate, it seemed like they were trying just a little too hard.

The main presenter, Charlie Cox, was either shoved or resigned and into the lineup came Australian jazz trumpeter extraordinaire - and big-time car buff - James Morrison.

Morrison is on the right, with 2008 holdovers Warren Brown in the middle and Steve Pizzati on the left.

When Morrison's place in the lineup was announced, we all thought he'd be taking over the duties as main presenter. Instead, the job's being shared pretty much amongst all of them, with 2nd fiddle from 2008 Brown taking the lion's share.

It's a much better balance.

This week they faced the Mitsubishi Evo10 off against the BMW 135i, raced a Lamborghini LP640 against a jetski and recreated one of our local TV ads by trying to bounce items into a hatchback using a mini-trampoline from the first floor.

The star-in-a-reasonably-priced-car (or bog-standard car as they call it) was former V8 Supercar champion, Mark Skaife, and the look on his face when he thought he'd failed to top the leaderboard was priceless.

The chemisty seems a lot more natural; Wozza's stepped up quite nicely and even Pizzati seems more comfortable in front of the camera.

Morisson has had his own car show in the past, and was suitably relaxed.

All in all, it was an excellent debut for the new crew and I'm looking forward to future episodes.

Yesterday I asked the question: who makes the decision on bidders for Saab?

I received an answer via email from a reader who's had some experience in this sector.

His reply was as follows:

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I don't know the local political landscape but standard fare is that the recommendation is made by the investment banker but the decision is for the owner, be it GM in Europe or US.

Seems there are many of moving pieces (more than normal) here with the restructuring court, the government(s), the bailout, ongoing relations with GM, and the owner. All have a say for a "no" from any could make this foggy.

I hope the management team have a strong voice in this for they are the only people who will be there the day after with the new owner. Aside from running the place, management is the keeper of the culture - and it is easy to work harder for people you like. Using GM as an example, a incompatible owner can fatigue the brand and the staff.

I have actually seen two models in action: one where management is charged with finding a buyer, the other being the "institutional" model where the owner must retain control. For Saab with the challenges they have, I favor the management model. Given the news reports, I can't imagine GM will get much for this.

Here is what the various groups might want:

• GM - as much as it can get as soon as it can get it, and as few as possible post closing liabilities or complexities as possible.
• Deutsche Bank - Their fee.
• Restructuring - a plan that really makes sense and a committed buyer.
• Sweden - A buyer who passes the political test. Yesterdays offering (i.e. Renco) will be a problem here. These folks will reject any blemishes that will taint them.
• US - They want this gone as soon as possible.
• Management (including unions)- someone who understands the brand, is supportive and committed, and can help lift the dark cloud.

Saab needs sales and over here the buyer is the college professor type (amongst others). They are, generally speaking, conscientious customers. They will support a "good" owner and will shun a "bad" owner. How deep the pockets are doesn't matter if the "pockets are sewn shut". Make no mistake, with the internet, people are making more informed decisions. This has helped the "zen" brands and hurt GM, Chrysler.

Think about it, Ford is trying to become a Zen brand.

A story that's just come to my attention from the Swedish newspaper, Expressen, states that GM's new CEO, Fritz Henderson, is appearing reluctant to sell Saab, even preferring that they fail in their bankruptcy proceedings.

The reason?

Because the 2010 Saab 9-5 is apparently so good that Henderson wants to keep it!!

Martin B has sent through a translated summary of the original article:

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According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, GM´s Hendersson prefers bankruptcy for Saab instead of selling Saab.

The new Saab 9-5 is too good. Therefore GM´s Fritz Hendersson hesitates to sell Saab.

- Fritz Henderson is very afraid to have the Saab as a competitor in the future," says a source within General Motors.

-Geely has put a lot of effort in buying Saab, but Fritz prefers a Saab in bankruptcy

The new Saab 9-5 superior

Internal GM tests shows that the new 9-5 wins over the praised Opel Insignia.

- Even the Germans regards the 9-5 to be cooler and better than the Insignia, states Expressen´s source.

The Insignia top model - the Insignia OPC - has just been introduced to the market, and the Saab equivalent will be the 9-5 Aero. These two cars were recently tested at GM test track in Dudenhofen, and the 9-5 was a clear winner, which, according to the source frightened the GM staff.

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Damn right it should frighten the GM staff!!

See what you've been missing all these years?

What this is saying, in essence, is that the new Saab 9-5 is so good that Fritz Henderson wants to find a way to keep it in the stable. Selling to a competitor means that they lose it all together.

The article also seems to point to the possibility of pointing Saab towards Fiat, where at least GM can retain a stake in that new entity.

Personally, I think it's a little conspiritorial. I don't think GM are that worried about having the 9-5 in someone else's hands. At Saab's volumes, it would be the last thing worrying them.

But it is kinda nice to think of Saab leaving a worrying former parent behind.

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There's also this in the sidebar:

This determines the future of Saab

GM bankruptcy

Much talk to General Motors out of business May 31. Then the Saab's reorganization is strong to support Saab further until a buyer places a bid for the American manager.

Fritz Henderson

Unless the General Motors remission of debts in the region of SEK 10 billion to Saab's new owners, there is no way anyone can afford to buy. Henderson can determine whether Saab will go bankrupt.

Fiat bid

There is a bid of Saab from Chinese Geely - but Henderson refuses to sell. Instead, Fiat's purchase of GM Europe to be a way for Saab to get away. But then expect severe cuts and the likely merger with another brand - such as Opel or Alfa Romeo.

--

Thanks Martin!

As an enthusiast with a interest in the future of Saab Automobile, here's a question I'd like to find out the answer to:

Who makes the decision relating to a successful bidder for control of Saab?

Saab management have been handling the hospitality, meeting interested parties at the front door, shaking hands and pouring the wine.

But how much say will they have in who gets to pull their strings in the future?

GM employed Deutche Bank to co-ordinate the mission, but then it's GM's company to sell.

So you have a Saab with a significant vested interest in the outcome, Deutsche Bank with a paid commission to achieve, and GM with an asset to sell.

Who get to make the decision and do the others get much of a say?

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I know we've got some experienced M&A types in the readership here. Perhaps you can enlighten us as to how this process works?

My guess is that Deutsche Bank appraise the applicants, weeding out those who aren't likely to even have the slightest chance. They probably do some evaluation on the actual bids once they come in.

What I'd like some assurance about is whether or not the people that really matter - Saab's management - get to have a say in who their next owners will be.

Somehow, despite how much I hope this is the car, I fear it's not.

I received an email from 'Mike' overnight with an interesting image attached.

It would seem that this might be one of the prototypes Saab built in developing the Saab 900 that replaced the classic 900 in 1994.

Click to enlarge.

Mike found the image here, and the accompanying text (in Swedish) says that only one was ever built, tested and then discontinued.

Right now is the part where I confess that I haven't done my homework prior to posting this. I've got an Anders Tunberg book on the development of the NG900, but I haven't fully read through it.

I'm going to go and take a flick through that book now, but if you've got any instant knowledge about this longer-looking 900, please feel free to chime in via comments.

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UPDATE:

I've received another image, this time of the car in motion.

It's quite small, unfortunately, but the profile does look pretty good.

Thanks Mattias!!

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The week started with such promise.....but ended with some personal disappointments I'm not allowed to talk about online, as well as the test-drive of my potential new car falling through and my football team losing a game they should have dominated.

Oh well. I'll BBQ some T-bone steaks in the rain tomorrow and all will be well with the world once again.

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Fiat's CEO, Sergio Marchionne has chanelled Chrysler's chief from several decades ago, Lee Iacocca, by telling the German Government that "if they can find a better deal for Opel [than the one he's offering], they should take it"

I know the German government will have a say in this, but I think he also has to convince GM. Actually, he probably already has.

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One of Aftonbladet's bloggers, Johanna Melen, had a quick Q&A with Swedish pollie and player in the Saab situation, Joran Hagglund (please excuse my lack of accents and umlauts)

There is a light in the tunnel for Saab.
So says Jöran Hägglund, State Secretary at the Department. More than any other in the Swedish Government, he has an eye on the former Swedish car's future.

- Saab has gone from an extremely fragile state and should start seeing some light. Every day increases the positive expectations.

Where will the light (come from)?

- Quite clearly there are a number of seriously interested parties who are able to take over and operate the business. And in combination with Saab's current owners have the most economic concern, I think that a business easier. It would be good for Saab.

(Will there be) a new owner in the summer?

- I cannot answer today. But I think all parties are working hard to be ready before summer.

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So.....any of you Swedes seen the fruit of Saab's new advertising and promotional campaign yet?

Do tell.

Saab Automobile are currently undergoing a process whereby they're looking for a new owner.

Saab's seemingly too-small size - something that's made them something of an object of ridicule under General Motors - has served them well during this process. Saab's comparatively small size, combined with their worldwide network and history of engineering and innovation, has attracted plenty of interest: 27 parties to begin with and about a dozen visitors to the factory.

Saab have begun the process of paring down these numbers to just two three, with whom they'll have some more in-depth negotiations.

We've made plenty of well educated guesses at who these interested parties are. Representatives from Koenigsegg have been spotted on site. Same with Geely (regardless of what they might file with their local stock exchange). Swedish power group Vattenfall were spoken of early in proceedings and there were at least two seriously interested groups from the United States.

I've recently heard from several well placed sources that at least one of these groups is related to vehicle manufacturing.

You'll be surprised.

It was back at the start of April that I wrote here at SU about a couple of guys in The Netherlands doing the seemingly unthinkable - opening a brand new Saab dealership.

Think of the obstacles they had to overcome at the time:

• Saab's very existence in question
• Poor local and world economy
• Saab Netherlands going bankrupt (no deliveries)

I remember writing back to Ruud at the time and asking if his initial email was an April Fools prank!!

Well, I'm pleased to say that their first month since opening went very well indeed. I received this update from Ruud overnight via email.

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Hello Steven,

The weekend is almost there en on this sunny friday night I would like to tell you some good news from the Netherlands.

First:
As I told you at the beginning of April we started a new Saab dealership in Apeldoorn. Well, this new started company is very succesful. We started with three Saab technicians and on May 14th a fourth technician will come to us. The customers we meet are still enthusiastic about the way we try to give them the best Saab service we can.

Second:
As noted on Saabs United there is an actual problem with the delivery of new Saabs to customers. But..... this problem will be solved soon. Saab Import Belgium (i.c. Saab Import Belux at Bornem) will asap continue the activities of Saab Netherlands.

Third:
The dutch Saab customers I have spoken with are very enthousiast about the new Saab 9-5. We expect that the Saab sales in the Netherlands will certainly increase by the introduction of the new Saab 9-5.

I hope the three facts I mentioned will be a contribution to a more positive view on the Saab activities in the Netherlands.

Have a very nice weekend!!
Ruud Blokhuis
SAAB Apeldoorn

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That is all absolutely fantastic news.

It really is a measure of how much hope and consumer support there is for Saab in various places around the world.

I can't wait to show pictures of Saab Apeldoorn's first new Saab delivery to a customer. I hope the new distributor gets into action and that we can show you that photo as soon as possible.

Congratulations again to Ruud and Fernand.

Carscoop have posted some bigger, clearer shots from the 9-5 spyshot collection originally shown by Autobild yesterday.

I don't know if they had a different camera there, or if they're just really handy with Photoshop, but they've managed to post an interior shot without all the glare off the glass.

The interior of the car is still shrouded by that big plastic cover, but I did manage to crop a few details and adjust them in order to see things a bit clearer.

OK, so you can' see much, but there's a peek at a steering wheel, as well as the instrument cluster's shape and the air vents to the left.

As soon as I saw those, I couldn't help but think of this - the Saab 9-4x test vehicle interior that was spied almost completely barenaked a few months ago:

Also, there's this little bit of detail from the steering wheel controls that someone might like to try and decipher.

Finally, there's the rear lights of the car, in action. As expected from the un-illuminated shot, these are LED's lighting up to show the stoppers are in action.

Click on through to Carscoop to view them all in their big, uninterrupted glory.

Just in case our Unofficial Saab Ambassador to the UK, Robin M, misses it, I thought I'd better take a screen cap of his Saab 9-5 wagon as featured on the GM Europe Driving Conversations blog.

Congrats, Robin!

And what a timely tribute given that he'll be hosting the Swedish Day UK this weekend.

From GM Media:

These items were offset by charges of $116 million for restructuring, a charge of $822 million related to Saab filing for reorganization, and a charge of $291 million in GM North America (GMNA) related to asset impairments.

OK, so that's not Saab's losses for the quarter. GM don't break down the numbers for different brands. But let's just assume it is.

From the SMH:

Toyota lost 765.8 billion yen (7.7 billion US dollars) in the quarter to March alone, even more than General Motors, as it idled plants to ride out the biggest crisis in its more than 70-year history.

I guess that means it's (not quite) official: Saab are more profitable than Toyota!

No wonder they've got so many interested suitors.

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Iwas cleaning out some old email today and I came upon this from Mark S. I'm not sure I ever featured it at Trollhattan Saab, but as I read it I felt I just had to give it a run here.

Mark's noting just a few things that he loved from his C900 and missed when he picked up a 9-3.

• 1.) The protected door sill - This feature made entry/exit of the vehicle very easy, and kept the sill clean! The first time I smeared road salt across the back of my pant legs exiting the 9-3, I realized my last Saab had a design feature that my new one lacked!
• 2.) Integrated car jack "brackets" - I'm sure Saab had a term for these, but I'm referring to the jack "holders" found in all four jack locations on the 99/900. This was a safety feature I completely took for granted until the first time out with my GM supplied suicide jack. Unless you're on perfectly level ground, watch out! And even then! On the 900, the jack actually slides into a brace in the proper jack position, eliminating the chance of the jack rolling over once the car has been hoisted up.
• 3.) "Exposed" wipers - Okay, this might sound crazy, but hear me out. Here in New England, we spend alot of time brushing snow and scraping ice off our cars. As you will recall, the hood of the classic 900 consisted of one unbroken plane running all the way to the base of the windshield. Unlike most other cars, the wipers were not buried in a channel at the base of the hood. With the 9-3, ice and snow tend to pack into this space around the wipers, and it's a pain to clear out. This was never an issue with the 900.
• 4.) Flat cargo area - Remember folding the back seat of your classic 900 in order to transport stuff that only station wagons or pickup trucks would normally be able to carry? I can recall how easy it was to load a full size clothes dryer into my 900, by myself. Since the floor was completely flat from the rear bumper all the way to the seats, it was quite easy to load and unload such cargo. My 9-3 also has a large cargo area, but the floor is not flat and a bit more difficult to load and unload.
• 5.) Lower "waistline" - The trend seems to be toward a higher and higher posterior, which makes visibility a bit more of a challenge. The 900/99 had much better rear visibility.
• 6.) The curved windshield - Okay, this might be more of an aesthetic point but the curved windshield contributed to the cars character and exciting appearance, and also brought the glass far away from the passenger's face. This was safer, and created a greater sense of space in the cabin.

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From Flickr:

Saab are beginning a new promotional campaign in Sweden today.

They took a handheld camera with them as they filmed the new ads and have been kind enough to send through a copy of the film.

It's quite short, but will give you a feel for some of the imagery you'll see in the next little while from Saab. Looks great!

Here's a still.

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If you have trouble watching video on this site, then click here to watch the clip direct on Youtube.

If you can watch video OK here, then the video is waiting for you after the jump.

A website named Buzz Study has compiled a list of automotive social brand rankings that I found pretty interesting, and potentially a good little goal-setter for Saab.

Inspired by Autoblog's monthly By the Numbers posts (such as this one), which detail automotive industry sales figures by brand for each month, we decided to build a list of the same brands, but looking instead at conversation volume, as we do in our Social Radar Top 50 Social Brands monthly posts. This list was built using the same methodology as our Top 50 list, but instead focusing purely on a list of 33 major automakers.

To build the list, they do the following in brief:

.....use Social Radar to analyze millions of blog posts, news feeds, forums, social networks and Twitter posts to aggregate a list of the words and brands mentioned most frequently on the Web during [the given period]

So it's a list of who's getting talked about the most. It can be for good or bad reasons. For example, Ford are doing well right now, so they're placing on the list will be largely good commentary. Chrysler went into bankruptcy in April, so their high placing is a worry because most of the coverage will be bad.

Some companies will be placed high purely because of their size. More owners should mean more chatter. Hence, Toyota are highly placed. If a small company is highly placed, like Porsche, than that's all good news for your brand as the conversation on brands like that is almost always good.

It's not that scientific and there's a certain amount of interpretation required, but I think this is a great idea. As a blogger, I'd love to keep an eye on this and Saab could certainly do that to monitor the level of chatter about the brand.

Saab are placed quite low, largely because the brand is quite small and lacks a solid identity in the general marketplace. If Saab could take measures to increase their position on a metric like this, then I think it'd mean they were doing their communications and marketing jobs effectively - in web terms at least.

Here are the placings in their latest Social Automotive Rankings. Click through to Buzz Study for more background.

Rank - Chg (if any) - Brand

1 - Ford

2 - BMW

3 - Toyota

4 - (+5) - Chrysler

5 - (-1) - VW

6 - (+1) - Mercedes

7 - (-1) - Chevrolet

8 - (-3) - Audi

9 - (-1) - Nissan

10 - (+1) - Honda

11 - (-1) - Porsche

....

28 - (-2) - Saab

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Obviously, we need a bit more buzz. Saab can do it.

I thought it timely to post a reminder about Swedish Day UK 2009 for you readers in the mother country.

It's on this weekend, May 10, and despite the lateness of the hour I'm sure you'd be more than welcome.

The organiser, Robin M, has just had his 9-5 wagon in for that most rare of English occurences, a bath (ah, don't you love historical stereotypes!!!) and it's looking very handsome indeed.

Full details and registration links below.

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After the success of Swedish Day UK 2008, our unofficial Saab Ambassador to the UK, Robin M, has organised another get together for 2009.

Last year there were around 40 cars in attendance throughout the day ranging from some old Saabs like the 96 and 99 and an old Volvo 144 through to some brand new Turbo Xs.

This year they're hoping for a good range of Saab 900s to show up, being the 30th anniversary of the Saab 900 going on sale in England.

The event will once again be held at the Haynes Motor Museum, in Sparkford.

View Larger Map

Those attending with a Swedish vehicle will receive reduced-price entry into the museum. There's hot and cold food available at the museum cafe and plenty of stuff to keep the yougsters amused as well.

Swedish Day UK will be held on Sunday 10th May, 2009.

Registration for the event is via the Swedish Day UK website. We had a number of Trollhattan Saab readers get to the event last year and by all accounts, it was a fantastic day.

So if you're in the region, please make sure you get along, say G'day to Robin for me and let me know how it all went.

Mo has drawn my attention to a recent thread over at Saab Central where a number of Saab 9-3 SS and SC owners have realised they have something in common - snapping springs.

There are at least half a dozen complainants there in that thread, and all entries are within the last month.

Complainants have had mixed success with getting their dealers to help out on the fix, but there's a growing call there for a recall to be issued. Some are lodging receipts with the NHTSA in the United States to bring some more attention to the issue.

Some of these guys, in speaking to their mechanics about the spring problem, are finding out that the dealerships are changing multiple sets of springs per month.

I'm not one for creating a panic, but perhaps it would be prudent to get your post-2003 Saab 9-3 springs looked at and assessed.

And maybe Saab need to take a closer look at this, too. A broken spring at speed would be pretty nasty and would kill many years of safety leadership.

It's time to log the sales numbers from smaller Saab sales markets.

If you have access to data for your market, let me know via email (swade99-at-gmail.com) or just enter them in comments and I'll add them here to the front page.

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GERMANY

Not good, but expected. Click to enlarge. Saab would be the large bar in the lower third of the table.

Thanks to Till!!

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BELGIUM

Saab's dealers in Belgium sold just over 220 vehicles. Exact numbers and comparitives are not available, but they've sold just over 700 cars for the year so far.

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FINLAND

The Finnish market saw just 12 vehicles sold in April 2009.

The comparitive is best illustrated by the year-to-date figures, where Saab has sold 193 vehicles so far in 2009, compared with 613 in the same four months last year.

I hope I got that right. Thanks vorlon!

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AUSTRALIA

Ay Carumba!!

My home market is hurting!

Saab Oz sold just 38 vehicles in April, down by so much on April last year that statistics don't matter.

Thanks Turbin!

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CANADA

The Canadian market must be doing something right at the moment, because sales numbers are actually UP for Saab there.

News from Zippy:

Saab sold 160 cars in April which beat last years sales of 140 for a 14.5pc increase so it looks like lower pricing is attracting some interest here. Another good bit of news is Saab has moved to another Dueck GM retailer minutes from downtown Vancouver so we now had two dealers.

The news about Dueck is really good to hear.

I visited with Bill Convery at Dueck back in August last year and took a look around the new dealership they were building. Bill's a Saab institution in Vancouver, so it's great to see some of the support Saab were promised there coming to fruition via the Dueck family.

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NETHERLANDS

Unfortunately, the good news in Canada is offset by terrible news from the Dutch market.

News from Albert VDB:

The position of Saab in the Netherlands is currently a very difficult one.

Deliveries in April: 5 (March was not much better: 42)

This is not only due to the position of Saab as a whole, but most of it is caused by the position of Saab NL. It has been declared bankrupt last week. The last few months no cars were coming through.

I'll ask my dealer how he thinks to get his cars with no importer. Maybe a direct delivery from Sweden?

BTW: about the same goes for Alfa and Kia. 7 Alfa's and 20 Kia's in April. But they will recover in May. Imports are taken over by Fiat NL and KIA Europe, so the backlog will be resolved in May.

I really hope something can be done to assist vehicle delivery in the Netherlands. It's a really important European market for Saab.

The Saab News Room.

Comparative images from Autobild and Maik (via email).

Click either to enlarge.

Thanks to everyone who sent through a link to the new set of images at Autobild. I beieve Rayman kicked things off in comments but I received a full bag of emails thereafter.

It seems one of Autobild's photogs either participated in a recent drive program for the new 9-5, or stumbled upon them parked and having lunch somewhere.

Click here to see the full set at Autobild. Scroll through the photos and the Saab ones start at image #14.

Here's a few sneak peeks. Click.

They also have a photo of the interior at Autobild, but it's quite glary and you can't see much, especially with the big black shroud covering the whole thing.

Saabdog has monochromed the image and played around a little, which might help with at least the general shape of the dash.

Again, thanks to all for the links.

As predicted in my "2 cents" article, Saab are planning to whittle down the number of potential investors - and quite soon.

This report from Automotive News has just come online.

Here's a snippet:

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden -- General Motors will choose two to three preferred bidders for its Saab brand this week, industry sources tell Automotive News Europe

The sources would not say which bidders have the best chance to make it to the next round of talks.

When asked for comment, Saab spokesman Eric Geers declined say how many bidders would be left by next week.

"The number of bidders will be reduced to a few very soon. We want to work with fewer companies so we can have more detailed negotiations," he said. "We expect a deal to be in place by early summer."

Saab parent General Motors is examining proposals from about 10 bidders for the automaker, which has attracted interested from Chinese automakers such as Geely, Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg , European investor groups and private equity firms, according to media reports.

I'm not sure when we can expect an announcement, and if we get one I'm not sure that it'll identify the winning parties.

All I know is that according to Saab's schedule, we're only around six weeks away from signatures on the bottom line.....and this will be an important milestone along that path.

Via comments, this report from Reuters:

China's Geely Automobile Holdings said it has no intention to bid for automakers Volvo or Saab, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Thursday.

"The company has not submitted, and has no plans to submit, any bids concerning the takeovers of Volvo or Saab as stated in recent press articles," Geely said in its filing.
Geely issued the filing in response to a 13.6 percent surge in its Hong Kong share price on Thursday.

The Chinese automaker has been speculated as a potential bidder for General Motors' Swedish unit Saab as well as for Ford Motors' Volvo cars unit.

It's alright Geely folks.

We never took you that seriously anyway.

Thanks Saabdude!

Hey all, it seems like it's a much quieter day.

I need some poll software. Must look in to that.

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There's another mystery Fiat report doing the rounds of the news services. The other day we had one called 'Operation Football' that pronounced they would cut up to 18,000 jobs, close two German and two Italian factories and cut off both Saab and Lancia.

Today there's a report being covered by Reuters called 'Opeation Phoenix'. Once again it's a tale of factory closures and job cuts.

The proposal for General Motors' European assets that Italy's Fiat presented to the German government on Monday includes plans to shrink plants across Europe, a German newspaper reported.

These measures would affect both GM Europe's and Fiat's factories, Handelsblatt newspaper said, citing Fiat's proposal -- codenamed Project Phoenix -- which it said it obtained.

The 46-page proposal also includes plans to take over GM assets in South America and South Africa.

Fiat would shrink factories in the German cities of Ruesselsheim and Bochum, Spain's Zaragoza, Sweden's Trollhattan, and Antwerp in Belgium. German unit Opel would remain headquartered in Ruesselsheim.

So we have two reports from two different newspapers. I'd like to suggest they both can't be right, but as I wrote the other day, even if they're both proved to be non-genuine Fiat articles, the truth contained within them will most likely endure.

This will be too many brands.

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Cheap Saabs!!

Any Aussies looking for a cheap runabout can't go past this 1986 Saab 900 T16 Aero currently for sale on Ebay. It's reported to be a good runner, has leather, power everything and nice dual pipes out the back. The paint might need some attention, though.

It's currently languishing without a bit at $1,200. I sold mine just a few months ago for $3,300 so this is a right bargain for an original flatnose Aero.

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Cheap Saabs 2!!!!

How about a Turbo X in the UK for under 22-grand? Our mate Lance Cole picked up on this one.

Whitequay Saab have a Turbo X, manual, with only 10 freaking miles on the clock, for £21,950. They've just got it in. It's so just-in that they don't even have a photo online for it yet.

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They don't have a photo of the Turbo X, but how about this lookalike?

Found on Flickr, it was taken by a guy calling himself Total Abstainer. He's got some very nice Saab shots in the portfolio, actually.

This one's no exception. An Aero with Turbo X six-spokes, apparently.

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A very interesting development from Sweden this morning.

Volvo have had their European Investment Bank loan application denied!!

The carmaker, based in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, cited a possible divestment by its US parent company Ford as the reason behind the breakdown in discussions.

The company said in a statement that the decision had been reached "jointly" with the government in light of "Ford's strategic review which could lead to a sale of Volvo Cars."

Ford said in March that it was in advanced discussions with potential buyers for its Swedish brand.

Never thought I'd see that.

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Keep your fingers crossed for me.

All going well, I will hopefully test drive what might be my next new car tomorrow. It's been at the workshop getting a little work done this week, but will hopefully be read to go tomorrow.

I'll hold off until then but will have a great instructional on how not to sell a car when it's all finished.

The following is an article from Dagens Industri.

ctm's been kind enough to manage a proper translation for us, so you don't have to struggle through one of my Google translations.

Thanks!

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White collar union at Saab: "Fiat the best option"

The engineers union at Saab Automobile are head over heels happy about Fiat's interest in the company.

- "Of them we know of, Fiat is clearly the best option as the new owner of Saab. We have very good experience in working with Fiat," says union representative Håkan Danielsson.

Håkan Danielsson works as head of product development in aerodynamics and has experience of several collaborations between Saab and Fiat.

In the early 1980s the companies together developed Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, and Lancia Thema. In the early 2000 they developed a common platform for premium cars together with the Lancia, part of the Fiat group.

- "Although we have different philosophies about technology, it has always been easy to resolve conflicts and problems with Fiat," says Håkan Danielsson.

He is positive despite the fact that Saab never could use the new platform. Work stopped, but Lancia went on and used it.

- "The reason was that our owner GM then broke with Fiat and gave the platform to them. There was not any problems with cooperation," says Håkan Danielsson.

Is Fiat a better option than Chinese companies like Geely, Changan or Cherry?

- "Clearly Fiat is more interesting. The cultural difference between us and the Chinese is too large, and they do not have the management capacity required," says Håkan Danielsson.

He does not hesitates at a choice between Fiat and some venture capital companies or investment companies.

- "An automotive company like Fiat are more in for the long haul than most venture capital firms, and that is needed to succeed in the automotive industry," he says.

Compared with the cooperation with the GM-owned Opel since 1990, a collaboration with Fiat will be a boost, according to Håkan Danielsson.

- "Opel themselves want to stray into the premium market, and many engineers at Opel thinks that cooperation with Saab was unnecessary. That has stopped and delayed several projects for Saab," he says, and stresses that the new four-wheel drive Saab 9-3X was stopped by GM and was delayed by the reason.

- "It will become easier with Fiat," says Håkan Danielsson.

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It's a little hard for me to continue on a "No-to-Fiat" platform when you hear stuff like this from the guys who do much of the hard work in making Saabs great.

But I still find it hard to believe that they'll be working on Saabs in two years time if Fiat are successful in implementing their full plans.

These are exciting times, folks!!

We're in the third quarter of the game, now. All we need is the whistle before the final coach's address and a bahn-storming run home.

How is it going to go? And does it even matter as long as there's a smart brain and a pair of deep pockets at the end of the game? Who are the players?

My thoughts on all that and more, below.

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Where we at?

The interested parties have been guided through Saab's facilities in Trolhattan and it seems the most interested after that tour have now made initial submissions to take Saab off GM's hands.

From the 10 or 12 groups who received a tour, it's my belief that as many as five have made "bids" for Saab. Two of these are most likely Swedish/Scandiavian bids. One from China (Geely) and at least one, possibly two from the US.

The job now is for Saab to whittle these down to between one and three companies, who will then go in and study Saab in-depth before final negotiations are made.

That's my understanding. It may be a little off here or there, but it's my best educated guess.

Who's involved?

Again, this is mostly guesswork.

If I were to pick Scandinvian interests, I'd probably guess at whatever group Vattenfall is tied to, as well as the Koenigsegg/Norway group.

China is Geely and there's some speculation that they're playing this as a game to put a foot up Ford's behind with respect to selling Volvo. Sort of like a kid threatening to run away and looking over their shoulder to see which parent is following.

The US representatives are pretty much unknown. My guess is they'd come from investment backgrounds rather than car companies. The whispers coming through are that they made a pretty good case for themselves, however.

What about Fiat?

The queue-jumping Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has come out quite directly and said that he is interested in Saab as part of his bid for GM's European operations.

"Saab is an interesting opportunity, the brand is however too small for the auto mass market," Marchionne said. "We could combine Saab with another brand. In the U.S., there's a Saab dealership network. It would be a pity to give that up."

Now, I actually really like Fiat as a company. The 2008-style Fiat company, that is. Who could dislike a company with Ferrari and Maserati in the stable? And you know how passionate I am about Alfa Romeo.

But Fiat circa-2008 is a long way away from Marchionne' vision for Fiat in 2010 and I believe the sentence above sums up what he really thinks about Saab.

They're too small to be noticed and they've got a US dealer network.

That's about all you need to know. That and what I believe to be a resonable amount of arrogance in just charging in, speaking to the Swedish government without speaking to Saab. There's no care about Saab here, or genuine interest in the development of the Saab brand. There's just assets.

....which brings me on to my next point -->

What matters?

I'm not getting into a spin about news reports overnight that Geely have "submitted a bid" for Saab. This is being reported as if it's a big thing, which I don't believe it is.

The Wall Street Journal seems to have the big scoop here:

Geely is one of "three to four" serious bidders for Saab and appears to be the only bidder from China, one of the people familiar with the situation said. He said a second Chinese auto maker considered bidding but didn't follow through with an offer. Details of Geely's bid for Saab couldn't be determined. Geely Spokesman Wang Ziliang declined to comment.

We have always been pretty sure that Geely were one of the parties interested in Saab. They visited Trollhattan for a look around and at that time, I'm sure they would have signalled their intentions to some degree.

My understanding of the process is that from the 27 initial groups who signalled interest in Saab, 10-12 were asked to bring some more thoughts to the table. These are the parties who got a tour around the campus, and I believe it's this stage of the process that the WSJ is reporting on today - merely that Geely were one of those groups.

As I understand things, it is now the job of GM, Saab and Deutsche Bank to select between one and three of these "bidders" to take things even further with.

To put it in Costanza-speak: Geely got a date, but they weren't asked in "for coffee".

Perhaps all the people who got dates were asked to submit a price they're willing to pay for coffee, though I'm not sure what sort of picture that paints of Saab. Maybe some have backed out at that stage and some have submitted offers, making them the sort of "bidder" that the WSJ is referring to here. Just a guess.

Maybe I'm not getting tense, but I should be?

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I think Reuters have things written a little more accurately:

NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp is running due diligence on about 10 bidders for Saab, after the first round of bids for the Swedish brand attracted Chinese automakers, European investor groups and private equity firms, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Saab auction process is being run independently of GM's efforts to sell other European assets including Opel, the source said.

That Geely is possibly one of these bidders doesn't mean they're one of the final few who will really get a good talking to.

I got an email overnight from Kristjan S.

One of his friends travelled to Trollhattan recently and it seems he ws around when Robert Collin from Aftonbladet had his turn in the 2010 Saab 9-5.

That's Collin on the right, Eric Geers is the tall guy on the left. I'm not sure who the lady is, nor Mr Red Shirt.

Click to enlarge.

The image below gives you an idea of just how big this new car is. It's MASSIVE. No wonder they've been talking about having of plenty of legroom in the back.

If this car turns out to be a hatch with folding rear seats then I'm convinced you could fit a billiard table in there - and have room to play!!

That shot, being close with the car parked, also gives you a great look at the wheels they're running on these test cars. I'm not sure they'll be the production wheels, but they're OK.

There are three or four more photos over at the Saabnet.ee forum.

Thanks to Kristjan for the heads-up!!

My mates at AMS have released their thoughts on the 2010 Saab 9-5 after driving it in the same event that included Aftonbladet and Teknikens Varld.

Swedes can click to check out the AMS article.

Outside the article, Par Brandt told me the drive was just brilliant. He's seen the real thing but obviously can't say anything about it in terms of looks etc, but he did mention an experience of being "in Saab heaven".

Here's my Googletrans, very raw, which I'll tidy up shortly:

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I understand that there is a lot of secrecy surrounding this test, no, where auto motor & sport, and a few guests had to drive the car. What is the purpose of the test?

AS: Well, we have been able to test drive a pre-production car, number 15 out of a total of 50 pieces. And why the test - is simply that Saab wants to hear our opinions on the car. So there are spaces for small adjustments, even if the car of course, is virtually complete. Then, it is of course good for Saab to be able to run on ordinary roads without a lot of spy photographers in the bushes.

How is your first impression?

AS: That it is large and looks very good, especially stern that have received an entirely individual style. It has a pretty tilted rear window and a avskalad design. The front is more conventional, see the photos we had in auto motor & sport number 8-2009. Then, it is a lot of detail that has received a completely new character, including headlights, rear lights and mirrors.

What distinguishes it from its predecessor?

AS: Interiört is the much wider and longer. It has become significantly more spacious. Back seat is very generous, it's real limo feeling in the back. It recognizes Saab style, while the instruments are modern. Anyone looking for a ignition lock may have to keep looking, for it is replaced with a Start button, but it is where it should sit ... you can probably guess where?

The dashboard will also in many materials and colors. Unfortunately, we can not show any images of the interior, for there is a strict photo ban in the car interior. But we can reveal that there is a lot of news, and some ideas from concept cars have found their way into the series model - fun!

It feels very modern to run - of course. The whole car is well built and stable. For a pre-production model, it is surprisingly free of noise, none at all actually.

What can you say about driving?

AS: It feels neutral and reliable. Management is flexible, it does not feel artificial. Pretty good balance, not snacks(?), but not boring. The whole car is shrinking, becoming körglad(?), when coming on curvy roads - and so was not the case with the old 9-5: an. My colleague, Mr. Brandt was run over a road when it was right curve and went really fast, and I can say as much as he had a really evil smile - the quicker it went, the better behavior of the car.

Pär making thumbs up, right now, and it is a good rating (I can just see that wicked smile now, too, in my mind. Good on ya, mate! - SW).

What can you say about the engine and engine options?

AS: We run a 220-horse engine, 6-speed, 2.0 turbo, four-wheel drive. We sit four adults in it and the engine was powerful enough. No problem. There will also be a 1.6-liter turbobensinare the influence model and several diesel models and the V6 turbo on top, but the emphasis will be FOUR-CYLINDER engines.

When will it and you get some price indications?

AS: It will release in the beginning of next year. Yes, if all goes as it should, therefore ... Some prices, we have not heard, but it will probably be priced against the competition, I do not think there are any surprises there. Saab-people are well aware of what rules apply in different markets and here in Sweden, one should offer attractive models is within the car market. The domestic market in Sweden is important, of course, but the same applies in the UK and other major markets. The calculations are made from scratch, you told us.

Finally, have you anything else you can add?

AS: Yes, I can say what Magnus Hansson, Saab Automobile product marketing manager said: "This is the first Swedish car that can challenge the Audi A6 at all levels."

There's so much news popping into my inbox I can barely keep up!!!

--

I've just received what might be some very good news for Saab dealers in the Netherlands.

If you've read the sales figures there for April, you'll know the story. Basically, Saab's importer in the Netherlands has gone broke, so distribution to dealers has stopped to a trickle, to the point where there were only 5 vehicles delivered last month!

Here's the news, which looks like it's come from a news service. It's been passed on to me by Djup Strupe. I'm not sure it's a done deal yet, but it sounds like it's well on the way.

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Saab importer bankrupt. Belgian importer takes over

Kroymans subsidiary Auto Import Company, better known as Saab Netherlands, last Tuesday, April 28 declared bankruptcy. But one expects a bit of a go next week to deal with the Belgian importer Saab Belux Import in Bornem.

Dealers who do not belong to Kroymans may present simply with the brand because it is a direct route up the manufacturer Saab Automobile.

In the last period, Saab in Sweden had six parties who have expressed interest in taking over the import activities of Saab and the manufacturer has the made its preference known.

This party, the importer for Belgium and Luxembourg, will very quickly try to reach an agreement which can take place next week. There is nothing known about the impact on the staff of the current importer, still have the procedure all been dismissed as withdrawn.

Yesterday it was Robert Collin from Aftonbladet driving the 2010 Saab 9-5.

Today it's Tekniken's Varld. They have a great little slideshow at that link, so make sure you check it out.

Tomorrow? We'll wait and see, eh?

Here's the Googletrans, with my usual feeble effort at a tidy up for readability. Corrections in comments, please, and I'll try to update it as quick as I can (before bedtime, at least)

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New Saab 9-5 - direct report from the first test

Test Manager Hans Hedberg is currently in Västergötland. As one of the first Swedish motor journalists, he has received a first tasting of the new Saab 9-5. First impression: Great, Huge, tight and very good.

As one of three invited media, Teknikens World test head Hans Hedberg received a test drive in what is perhaps Saab's most important model to date - New Saab 9-5.

In classic Saab-distances in Västergötland offers Saab on a first sneak peek and test drive of the new 9-5. But it is very secretive. Saab not only want to show the car to the public but the purpose is also to receive feedback so that any changes can be made before the final launch.

The car is still well masked with tape and the interior should certainly not be caught in the picture. So far, we keep the benefits of Hedberg report.

- It is very much Saab-feeling inside. Saab has as usual worked a lot with creating a cockpit feeling, and they have done very well. There is some inspiration from Audi mixed with the functionality from Volvo. For a pre-production car, everything is very well together," says Hans Hedberg over the phone.

According to Hedberg, the test drive car is one of the best assembled pre-production cars he has ever run. Everything feels tight and electronics working properly. No error messages.

The first impression is short: Huge!

- The back seat is very generous. It may bend a little on the neck to gain entry because of the low roof profile but the place is the back seat class leader, "says Hedberg.

The long car also has a large long travel potential. According to Hedberg is the chassis is well calibrated and precise. The steering is light and not as blunt as is often the case with the sporty competitors.

More information about important new Saab 9-5 is available in the next issue (No. 12) of Teknikens World.

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Thanks to all for the corrections!!

As noted by a commenter here already, I believe these are meant for dealers.

Placing them unprotected on a public site was not a great idea.

Interestingly, the documentation refers to it as the 2010 Saab 9-4x. Maybe it'll come sooner than anticipated. From what I know, it's basically ready right now, so why we're waiting is anybody's guess. It's not like Saab have too many models to sell.

Here's what you can expect when the new Saab 9-4x arrives.

The following is press release from Saab GB.

Sounds good!

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NEW 9-3X STORMS UK CROSSOVER SECTOR WITH SUB-£25K ENTRY PRICE

• Price announced for 9-3X, from £24,995 OTR for the 1.9TTiD model
• Premium design and leading technology across the range
• On sale from May 2009

Competitive pricing has never been more topical, and the good news for Saab customers is the much-awaited new 9-3X has stormed the crossover sector with an entry price of just £24,995 for the 1.9TTiD model.

The newcomer, revealed at the Geneva Motorshow earlier this year to rave reviews will arrive at Saab dealers in August 2009.

The 9-3X is available with a choice of two engines: the punchy 1.9TTiD diesel engine produces 180PS and 400Nm of torque, or the 2.0-litre petrol turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 210hp, with the additional benefit of Saab's technically advanced Cross Wheel Drive system (XWD). This model costs from £25,995.

Saab's bold, dynamic design language is visible throughout the 9-3X, as well as a host of technology that provides more safety and improved dynamics for drivers including ESP and ABS, with cross wheel drive (XWD) available on the 2.0T engine.

All models also come with high levels of equipment, including leather & textile sport seats, heated front seats, cruise control, 9-speaker audio system with MP3 compatibility, sport leather steering wheel, dual-zone electronic climate control, car computer, matt chrome roofrails and 17" alloy wheels.

The 9-3X will also spearhead Saab's campaign in the SAAB Salomon Trail Running Series 2009, which kicks off on May 15th at the Keswick Mountain Festival.

A full list of prices follows below (click):

You know that personally speaking, I'm not keen on the idea of Saab being part of a Fiat megamerger involving Opel, Chrysler, etc etc.

I'll prepare a proper "2 cents" entry shortly, but for the moment, I need to cover the news that Saab themselves would welcome a chat with Fiat.

From an article in Automotive News:

Sweden's Saab Automobile, owned by ailing U.S. auto maker General Motors, would welcome talks with Italy's Fiat S.p.A. about a takeover, Saab said on Wednesday.

Fiat, not among the 10 suitors currently in the race for Saab, has however not been in contact with Saab's management, Saab spokesman Eric Geers told Reuters.

"But we are open for discussions. If Fiat comes into the picture, we would welcome a dialogue," Geers said.

One of the issues at hand is the reorganisation process that Saab are currently involved in under supervision from the Swedish court system.

Saab's initial reorganisation period concludes on May 20. It is anticipated that Saab would therefore go before the courts again on May 19 and seek an extension in order to continue the process whilst a deal with a new owner is finalised.

The question, therefore, is how this Fiat-chat would effect the buyer process that Saab are currently in the middle of.

Geers would not comment on whether Saab is pressed to present a letter of intent with a new owner by that date to be able to keep the automaker going, but said it was important to show evidence of progress.

"To prolong the reorganization period, it is important to disclose in more detail how far we have come. And, of course, the ownership issue is very important," Geers said.

I'm still very, very cautious about this whole thing. It just doesn't smell right to me.

Time to do the sales updates we missed due to the public holiday in Europe last weekend.

Saab sales are in a rather sorry state, as you know, and the news out of Sweden for April is no exception.

Saab 9-3

There were just 384 Saab 9-3s sold in April, which was down by 67% from the 1,175 sold the year before.

The Saab 9-3 is #5 on the Swedish sales charts for 2009.

Saab 9-5

The Saab 9-5 is now #12 on the Swedish sales list. In previous years, it has always been #4.

There were 235 Saab 9-5s sold in Sweden in April, which is 59% down on the 575 sold in the same month last year.

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It should be mentioned that of the cars in the Top 10, only the new Volvo V70 and the Volkswagen Passat enjoyed either static sales levels or real sales growth. Every other car in the top 10 is suffering significant double-digit shrinkage.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out....

A German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, has published what it claims is a 100+ page internal report from Fiat, one which is rather quizically called "Operation Football".

The plan was written in English (so that's a little suspicious right from the beginning) and it reportedly shows how Fiat plan to benefit from the potential synergies they might gain from acquiring GM Europe.

This is from Reuters:

Italian carmaker Fiat SpA would cut some 18,000 jobs and 10 assembly and component sites at a combined Fiat/Opel company including both Vauxhall plants in England and two Fiat factories in Italy, a German newspaper reported.....

....The paper reports Fiat wants to gain access on the cheap to GM's platforms on which it builds the Opel Corsa subcompact, the Astra compact and Insignia mid-size car. A further key aspect of the plan is acquiring GM's Latin America operations.

According to sources on the Opel supervisory board, Marchionne also plans to put an end to GM's Saab brand and its own Lancia brand over the longer term.

Fiat deny the report:

Fiat issued a statement saying the information in the report "does not come from Fiat and is not part of any plan prepared by the company."

The jury is so way out on this one that we won't know what's going on here for some time to come, but the report does make a lot of sense on one level.

Fiat would definitely have to consolidate their operations once this merger was signed off. It's the only way they can make it work. Otherwise, they'd have too much capacity and too many brands to manage.

The solution?

Get the tech expertise out of those brands and eliminate unwanted capacity.

Bottom line, this report may or may not be true, but the truth within it may remain even if it's proven to be false.

Just in via Djup Strupe:

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MY2010 Saab 9-3 Exterior Colors

• Pepper green metallic


• Lynx Yellow (conv only)


• Snow Silver metallic


• Arctic White


• Nocturne Blue metallic


• Black


• Titan Grey metallic


• Laser Red


• Jet Black metallic


• Ice Blue metallic


• Carbon Grey metallic


• Glass Grey metallic


• Bright Champagne (conv only)


• Glacier Silver metallic (new for 2010)

• Parchment


• Black


• Black with parchment inserts


• Parchment with black inserts

• Carbon Grey metallic


• Diamond Silver metallic


• Zodiac Black metallic


• Pine Green metallic


• Nordic White


• Black


• Turbo Red


• Cranberry Red metallic


• Fjord Blue metallic


• Granite Gray metallic


• Storm Blue metallic


• Oak metallic

• Jet Black


• Light Neutral


• Jet Black perforated


• Light neutral perforated


• Dark Pewter perforated

Automotive News Europe has a story where VW's CEO, Martin Winerkorn, warns Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne that the dream he's chasing will take years to come to fruition, if it does at all.

Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn warns that it will not be easy for Fiat to create another global auto giant.

"I think (Fiat CEO) Sergio Marchionne is trying to increase volumes to lower costs and to survive through (alliances with) Chrysler and possibly Opel, but I wonder if he will be able to succeed because successfully managing several brands and obtaining true synergies is really difficult," Winterkorn said.....

.....As head of VW group, Winterkorn oversees seven different brands -- Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda and VW -- as well as truckmaker Scania.

He said that creating money-saving, performance-enhancing relationships between brands takes years.

Now, it should be said that it's in Winterkorn's interests to put the mozza on Fiat's efforts. Fiat will become VW's biggest European rival if Serj succeeds. But what he's saying is true.

If I can chip in my own two cents here.....

Some have said that what Fiat are trying to do is not what GM tried, because they're smaller, more focused and better organised. My problem with that is that if Marchionne pulls this off, then Fiat is going to have eight brands to deal with (Fiat, Alfa, Lancia, Chrysler, Dodge, Opel, Vauxhall and Saab - Ferrari and Maserati will not be spun into the new enterprise) and he'll have a three separate corporate cultures to try and mould together.

Eight brands and a cultural mess? Sounds exactly like GM to me.

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This cartoon appeared in the The Time in the UK today.

Sent in by Dave R (G'day Dave!!!)

Click to enlarge.

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And finally, I spotted these photochops on Flickr.

They appear to come from a guy named Theophilus Chin, a self-described automotive manipulator. He describes this as Saab's version of the Chevy Volt, the link to which is fairly evident and well executed.

TC's website's worth a look for those interested in car photochops.

Again, click to enlarge.

Robert collin from Aftonbladet has been fortunate enough to get an advance drive of the 2010 Saab 9-5.

The review is published in full in a subscription only section of the paper, but Robert has been kind enough to allow me permission to publish a full translation of the review here so the English-speakers amongst us can read it too.

This is a Googletrans that I've cleaned up as best I can (though some areas were quite difficult to contextualise). Swedes with an Aftonbladet subscription can click here, or go buy the paper copy.

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TROLLHÄTTAN. The new Saab 9-5 is often referred to as "the car to save Saab." But how good is it really?

Aftonbladet has the very first report of a test run - and the prototype is promising.

It is comfortable, with fine handling and when you see it without camouflage it has deep-rooted visible Saab genes.

Now Fiat has joined those who want to take over Saab. Common to all suitors so far is that they were in Trollhättan last week where they had a chance to look at Saab's new models.

They have reviewed the nearly production-ready 9-4X SUV, squeezed on the new 9-5 and had a look at a possible small 9-2. And they have made a trip around Trollhättan with a camouflage-9-5 prototype.

The Chinese business leaders sat back, where they appreciated the ample legroom, while their drivers drove the car. An American had problems with the prototype manual gearbox and tried to run away in third gear with fuming access(?) while others again tested the car's limits, so that Saab people got a pit in their throat.

Aftonbladet got to test drive the new 9-5 at an early stage - the car will be displayed (to various people?) until September, due to the fact that Saab's designers wanted to (receive?) comment on the properties.

And we can start with the exterior. The car is looking really good. It is a confident Saab-front with a large grill. The windscreen is sharply arched, as in the old 900, and the hidden pillars makes this ceiling appears to hang in the back.

The profile is very special and will quickly become a Saab-typical. The back of the car, which is still heavily disguised on the prototypes, have been in a very marked REAR WINDOW and a tail-gate with a high degree of opening.

Inside, it is orderly and neat and the "cockpit" is even more turning towards the driver than before.

Driving is quiet and safe. On the narrow roads around Trollhättan, it was difficult to bring the car out of balance. The rear wheels do not drop one in the first turn and when the stability system intervenes, it is quiet and undramatic.

Anyone who is familiar with the 9-3 is surprised by the exemplary safe driving and anyone familiar with the current 9-5 will be even more surprised at how quiet the car is. It shares many technologies with the new Opel Insignia, but much is unique and developed in Sweden, including all-new suspension front and rear. According to Saab's engineers, the crash safety technology is also unique to Saab. "Maybe the best in the world."

SAAB 9-5

Nice, safe, calm and quiet. It mostly feels right. The shape, attitude and driving. Engineers in Trollhättan, Saab's roots have been found. Now is to find a serious owners.

RUN
Extremely easy to run, with slight understeer and a rear end that never lets go.

COMFORT
Very low noise level makes it easy to talk to people in the back. Fixed suspension, but not shock.

DESIGN
Self-confident, the design reflects in no way the crisis within the company. But maybe the car is the greatest team.

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Thanks to Jimmy for the text and plenty of others for the heads-up!

I've just got off the phone with Eric Geers from Saab, who sounded very upbeat and especially encouraged by the groundswell of support for Saab in Sweden.

He cited the RIX FM campaign (Yay Titti!) from last week, as well as coverage today on TV4 and Robert Collin's encouraging review of the 2010 Saab 9-5 in today's Aftonbladet newspaper as evidence of the growing support that Saab are enjoying.

There's a number of motoring publications - and business publications in general - who will never believe that Saab have a chance of new ownership until there's a signature on the bottom line of a contract.

Saab aren't worrying about convincing them anymore.

What they're doing is pressing ahead with the reconstruction process, pressing ahead with narrowing down the current number of potential buyers from 10 to just a few. The focus is definitely on the future.

The response they're getting is the groundswell of support that we're seeing from various outlets last week and this week.

It's good to see.

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On the Fiat issue, Eric confirmed what Jan-Ake has been quoted as saying this morning: that Fiat are not one of the parties that Saab are currently talking with in terms of being a new owner for Saab.

I asked if it were even legally possible for Saab to now be incorporated into a GME deal. I'd have thought that Saab's reconstruction process, being a formal process sanctioned through the Swedish court, would make this difficult. Eric could not comment on that one, given the complexity of the issue.

One thing was certain...Saab being so specifically included in Fiat's public talks about the issue was a surprise to the guys in Sweden.

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I've received a text copy of Robert Collin's 2010 Saab 9-5 review. I'm awaiting permission from Robert to translate it and publish it here.

Thanks to those who contacted me about it.

Light relief......

This like these tend to happen in threes, so who's going to be the final one in this chain?

A mate of mine messaged me today to let me know his wife had just give birth to a son, which they promptly lumbered with three surnames.

And I've just heard that one of Saab's PR gurus in Sweden, Joe Oliver, has also just become a Dad for the first time!!

Joe's wife brought their first child into the world yesterday, which goes a long to explaining why he was so hard to contact :-)

It's a sure sign that the little tacker will have a flair for the dramatic given the turbulent times Dad's employer is undergoing. Rumours that the child will be named 'Sergio' are or 'Jan-Ake' as-yet unconfirmed (though I did hear it was, indeed, a masculine child)

Congratulations to Joe and Mrs Oliver on their new bundle!!

Jan-Ake Jonsson has come out in the Swedish press today stating that Fiat are NOT one of the parties they've been dealing with as a potential investor during their reconstruction process.

Here's a translation from one of the many news sources carrying this story today:

Saab chief Jan Åke Jonsson denies that the ongoing talks with Fiat about a takeover of the kriserammede carmaker.

There are many serious buyers who will take over Saab Automobile, but Fiat is not among those who lead discussions with Nissan Saab, according to Jonsson.

Again, if Saab aren't talking to Fiat, then why have the Sweish government been talking with Fiat about Saab?

It defies belief, to be honest.

I'm still trying to get hold of contacts at Saab Sweden, though these are very busy times.

Wow, how time flies when there are things to worry about! It's been quite some time since I've contributed to the collective knowledge base about things Saab and automotive; I've not been holding up my end of the bargain, I'm afraid.

As announced several months ago on this site, I finally made good on my intentions and made a pilgrimage to the Lane Motor Museum, a local collection of unusual automobiles and military vehicles that have been restored to or maintained in working order.

Before I launch into my description, I must say that I found the visit uplifting and curiously thought-provoking for one primary reason: engineers and designers, given time and resources, show immense passion, creativity and ingenuity when they are working in their chosen medium. Every automobile in the Lane Motor Museum collection is evidence of that. Everywhere you look there are examples of resourcefulness and engineering know-how that exceed expectations.

I expect that the engineers and designers at Saab will show the same level of inventiveness once they are challenged with a fresh set of circumstances and a new-found liberties. Those creative and talented Swedes are full of great ideas and when those ideas come forth I expect the unexpected.

Of course, there are a couple of Saabs in the mix for you, too. Read on!

I've been reading widely and chatting with a few interesting people about the whole Fiat-GME thing.

Here are some updated thoughts:

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If Saab are to be believed, and I think they are, then it seems Saab were totally blindsided by this development with Fiat wanting to include them in a takeover of GM Europe.

If I were Jan-Ake Jonsson, I'd be beating a path to the Swedish government's door tomorrow. It seems the government were talking with Fiat about this, presumably without Saab's knowledge, as far back as two weeks ago!

Sweden's government confirmed on Monday it has had contact with Italy's Fiat (FIA.MI) regarding General Motors' (GM.N) struggling Swedish automaker Saab.

"We have had contact with Fiat," said Hakan Lind, spokesman at the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. "The meeting was about Saab."

Lind said the government had been in contact with Fiat a couple of weeks ago, but said nothing concrete had been decided. He declined to provide any further details.

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Most news reports are now confirming that Saab are part of Fiat's plans. I fail to see why or what difference they'd make.

The biggest concerns are in Germany, and not everyone's happy about it.

From the Times Online:

The plans by Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Fiat, to combine a controlling stake in Chrysler with GM Europe along with Fiat's own core mass-market car division in a separately listed spin-off were criticised by creditors of the bankrupt Chrysler in New York and by unions in Europe.....

....The CGIL union, the most significant among Fiat's workforce, joined German labour groups yesterday in opposing Fiat's proposal to build a supergroup. It is demanding guarantees that Italian plants stay open. Unions in Britain are also opposed to a Fiat takeover of GM Europe, which includes Vauxhall.

So that's Fiat's own union, as well as the British unions. What about the German unions, who aren't known for being peaceful little wallflowers?

Associated Press:

IG Metall union official Armin Schild, who sits on Opel's supervisory board, said on ZDF television that Fiat and Opel "are in the same markets with roughly comparable vehicles." He added that "these two companies can give each other little, but take a lot away from each other."

And then there's Germany's State economy minister Hendrik Hering:

it (is) "unacceptable if Fiat's entrance is to be at the expense of an entire Opel facility."

One of the big stumbling blocks will be that Fiat want to waltz in to GME and take a large chunk of it without running up any debt. They want government loan guarantees to cover operations.

Guttenberg said that "Fiat wants to get into this deal without debts of its own."

He said the Turin, Italy-based company estimates the short-term financing needs -- stemming from GM's debts and pension obligations -- at some euro5-7 billion ($6.6-9.3 billion) Europe-wide, which could be covered by loan guarantees from various governments.

He's managed to do a similar thing with Chrysler in the US, buying in with promises but without spending any money.

I'm not so sure Europe will let him do this so easily, though.

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And on that Chrysler link, the one body we haven't heard anything from on this is the US government, who have helped broker a deal that gives Fiat a whole lot for no outlay. wouldn't they be expecting Fiat to concentrate on their new American arm?

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Marchionne went over to Berlin to speak with German authorities and try to convince them that his way was the best way.

The man he had to try and convince, Germany's economy minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, sounded less than enthused:

Fiat's plans to take over General Motors' European operations to create the world's second-biggest car manufacturer will involve plant closures and substantial job losses, Germany's economy minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, warned today.

Speaking after a meeting with Fiat's boss, Sergio Marchionne, in Berlin this afternoon, Guttenberg described the Italian group's plans to take control of Opel, the German subsidiary of General Motors, as "interesting".

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Anyone else get the feeling that 2007/08's candidate for world automotive domination, Carlos Ghosn, is watching all this with a thin smile?

"Let them play keystone cops" he's probably saying, "and I'll swoop in and pick up the pieces when they've worn themselves out"

Mwwwuuuuuhahahahhahhaaaaaaaahh!

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The whole Fiat thing will rely on synergies Marchionne believes can deliver him cost savings in the future.

Read: platform sharing on a massive scale.

Now, platform sharing is going to be a necessary part of everyone's automotive future, but read Automotive News' prognostications of how it will look and it's enough to make your head spin.

A shared lower-medium architecture would be a priority for a future Fiat-Opel deal.

Fiat has its C-Evo architecture, which was developed for the Alfa Romeo Milano. The Milano will replace the 147 next year. This could be possibly be offered to Saab but will not become the lower-medium volume architecture of the proposed alliance.

Most likely, Fiat will switch for its volume models to the platform Opel has developed for the next generation Astra....Fiat and Opel could aim for production of 1 million units also in the minicar segment, but this will take longer.

Fiat last year built more than 450,000 units of its 500 and Panda minicars. But Opel has just replaced the Agila minicar with another model based on a platform from Suzuki. This would delay a convergence until the middle of the next decade.

The eventual convergence could happen on the new generation of the Fiat A-architecture. This is due to debut in 2011 with the replacement for the Panda.

And that's just the start of it.

This looks like GM all over again, just with a different accent and a better suit.

Not for me. Not for Saab.

I've just woken up, so there's every chance that this has been covered off in the last 7 hours, either in comments or elsewhere.

I couldn't get hold of a Saab rep by phone last night as they were all busy, but this waiting in my inbox this morning.

In short:

We are not aware of any such discussion which includes Saab.

Now, I should add that the time stamp on this email suggests that it was sent just after I retired for the night.

Updates in comments suggest that Saab are part of Fiat's plans. So if this email was written around 4-hours later, it might be different.

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In long form:

"GM Europe is in talks with several possible investors. We see good and realistic interest of some of these possible investors. We have agreed to not communicate names of possible investors and we do not speculate about the timing of the negotiations. We also do not speculate about the content of the talks between the German government and the FIAT management.

GM Europe has developed a viability plan to ensure a long-term future of the company in the European market. As part of this viability plan, GME is continuing its discussions with potential investors to obtain funding to enable continued operations and with the German government regarding support. The initial outreach for third-party investors has been very promising. We expect that Opel/Vauxhall will become a significantly more independent part of a strong global GM product network as we navigate these very difficult economic times. GME is continuing negotiations with employee representatives regarding a reduction in labor cost. "

Saabs United is now up to date, and so are you.

As you know, I have a "toy car" program running at the moment.

My main car is my fantastic Saab 9-3 Monte Carlo, but I've got interests in other brands as well and I'd like to drive as many of them as possible before the powers-that-be take my licence away for being old and rickety.

I've just sold my Alfa 33 16V and am poised to conclude my next purchase very soon.

I know I'm not Robinson Crusoe in having more than one car, so as a distraction from all this Fiat/Chinese/GM doom and gloom I thought a few of you could own up and share a little about the little bit you've got on the side.

Do you have an "other car" and if so, what is it, and what's it for? If you had one in the past, that's good enough, too.

You can 'fess up in comments.

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Tell 'em that Swade sent ya!

I'm still trying to get through to Sweden, but until then....

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A vehicle analyst with the Gothenburg Management Institute has told E24 that he thinks it'll be good for Saab if they are included in the proposed Fiat/Chrysler/GME super-merger.

No disrespect, but I think it's nuts.

The Googletrans:

- My assessment is that Saab is not threatened, but on the contrary it is reasonable to assume that a Fiatägt Saab would like to exp