WELCOME to all US Saab owners who might be visiting here on referral from an email or from your Saab dealer's website. The information you need is below, so please keep on reading.
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All you regular visitors...... normal content contines below, too.
Whilst we can all pontificate as much as we like about possible causes and effects, what's needed this week is ACTION and the most effective action that I truly believe we can take as owners - small as it is - is contained in this post.
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The Saab Dealer Council in the US has suggested that all US Saab owners contact their local representative in order to request that they stand up for their local businesses.
General Motors are currently 60% owned by the US Government.
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To All US Saab Loyal Customers and Faithful Employees
A Message from the Saab National Dealer Council:
The first week of January 2010 marks decision week for the future of our beloved Saab: one of the automobile industry's treasures, a brand of rich heritage, unique engineering and independent thinking. We need to band together and exploit the power of numbers. Below we have provided links where you will be able to find the contact information for your US State Senator and US House Representative.
Contact Info for Officials from the President to State Legislators:
Phone, Email, and Snail Mail for Your Congressional Representative:
Phone, Email, and Snail Mail for Your Senators:
Send an Email to the White House:
http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
Please see below for bullet talking points that are to be used for phone calls and letters to your Senators and House Representatives.
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When emailing the document as a letter to your elected officials, please input the name of your Senator/Representative and sign off with your name, contact information and how long you have been a Saab customer.
Best Regards,
US Saab National Dealer Council
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Dear Senator or Representative [Name]:
As a tax paying citizen of the United States of America, and by extension a part owner of General Motors, I am contacting you in urgent request for your support in the effort to convince GM to sell Saab Automobiles AB.
It is public knowledge that Spyker Cars has submitted a bid to GM that matches their initial offer for sale as well as submitted a revised bid that eliminated all additional concerns that were raised by GM when they walked away from negotiations and announced the closure of Saab on December 18th. It is also public knowledge that Merbanco and several other companies have contacted GM with strong expressions of interest to buy Saab Automobiles AB. It is clear and evident that a buyer exists for Saab and that the failure of a sale and closure of Saab by GM is entirely unnecessary, arbitrary and unfair. The negative impact of Saab's closure by GM are numerous and significant.
- 218 small businesses across the US will be impaired or put out of business entirely
- 5,000 jobs are at risk at the dealership level across the US
- The US economy will lose an estimated additional 2,500 jobs that would be added back to the US dealer network after the launch of the all-new 9-5 and the 9-4X and the return of leasing to the Saab product line
- Close to $500 million small business assets are at risk of being impaired or liquidated
- Saab dealers collectively pump over $500 million into the economy annually via their business expense structure
- GM forced the Saab dealer network to sign a Deferred Termination Agreement this summer, which waived the dealers' rights to State franchise legal rights and remedies to dealership closure by the manufacturer. The dealers signed on the basis of expressions of GM's good faith efforts to sell Saab AB. If the dealer did not sign, they would be terminated immediately with no compensation and would not have the opportunity to be a Saab dealer after the sale of Saab was complete.
- Saab is not competition for General Motors. GM will not lose sales should Saab be sold and continue to produce and market their automobiles. Similarly GM will not benefit by increased sales should GM force Saab to close and go out of business. Since Saab lost its leasing facilities in July 2008, the network lost hundreds of repeat customers per dealership. Consensus among the US Saab dealers is that Audi was the overwhelming beneficiary, followed by Volvo, BMW and other European car makes. Very few if any became domestic car buyers. A few of Saab dealers are among the most successful Cadillac dealers in the country. These dealers have indicated virtually no success in converting lost Saab customers as Cadillac customers.
An alternative exists. GM clearly has a buyer for Saab. They simply need to decide to complete the sale.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please help us save this iconic brand as well as the jobs and stimulus that it provides our US economy.
Sincerely,
Customer Name
Contact
Saab owner since
Griffin Up!
I wonder if there is merit in doing something similar in Europe?
The US Government has helped bailout the automakers in Detroit and it saddens me to see several matching bids being made for the brand SAAB from GM and having GM dragging its feet. I as well as many other Americans know that there are Government employees on the board overseeing the details of GM. Please help persuade the board and GM to sell SAAB while it is still an asset to be sold. The blogs, the letters being written, and the car rallies remind me of the grassroots effort to get many democrats, including President Obama, elected and are an example of the asset that SAAB still is. If a company desires to own it and has the HOPE to stimulate our economy than I say, "Yes they can."
Sincerely,
Charles Philip Langille Jr.
Non SAAB owner
Griffin Up!!
What exactly is it you are trying to say here? ;o)
Aussie Up!!
Send him an email about the Swedish Government being more active with the Saab sale if you can.
Someone let me know if he is involved with anything Saab. Thank you.
I've also sent mail to the Swedish current government (which I actually voted for last election) and asked for their support.
I believe Saab is in a strong position with a car portfolio ready to rock the market. Both here in Europe and in the US the new 9-5 would be a strong competitor.
It's definitely a car I will buy. Still I'm very fond of my '07 Saab 9-5 Aero SportWagon with some tweeks in it. One of the last models with the Södertälje built 2.3 litre enginge. I plan to keep it even if I buy another newer Saab.
One thing's for sure, If GM mess up Saab I'll never buy another US made product ever!
Thanks Swade for keeping in with news and stuff. You're doing a great job!
And CJ of Merbanco, keep spitting on the stone... it'll get wet eventually. Hopefully either you or somebody else will be the savers of Saab. My hopes are for you - I know that you're a great "turnarounder".
Griffin Up!
Dear Mr. President and Mr. Vice President.
I am not a citizen of the United States of America,
but I am concerned about the fate of the Saab Car company which is owned by General Motors. As the US government is currently part owner of General Motors, I am contacting you in urgent request for your support in the effort to convince GM to sell Saab Automobiles AB.
It is public knowledge that Spyker Cars has submitted a bid to GM that matches their initial offer for sale as well as submitted a revised bid that eliminated all additional concerns that were raised by GM when they walked away from negotiations and announced the closure of Saab on December 18th. It is also public knowledge that Merbanco and several other companies have contacted GM with strong expressions of interest to buy Saab Automobiles AB. It is clear and evident that a buyer exists for Saab and that the failure of a sale and closure of Saab by GM is entirely unnecessary, arbitrary and unfair. The negative impact of Saab's closure by GM are numerous and significant.
Thousands of jobs will be lost across the US and close to $500 million small business assets are at risk of being impaired or liquidated.
Saab dealers collectively pump over $500 million into the economy annually via their business expense structure
GM forced the Saab dealer network to sign a Deferred Termination Agreement this summer, which waived the dealers' rights to State franchise legal rights and remedies to dealership closure by the manufacturer. The dealers signed on the basis of expressions of GM's good faith efforts to sell Saab AB. If the dealer did not sign, they would be terminated immediately with no compensation and would not have the opportunity to be a Saab dealer after the sale of Saab was complete.
Saab is not competition for General Motors. GM will not lose sales should Saab be sold and continue to produce and market their automobiles.
An alternative exists. GM clearly has a buyer for Saab. They simply need to decide to complete the sale.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please help us save this iconic brand as well as the jobs that go with it.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Coursey.
Adelaide,
South Australia.
I'm sure it won't hurt if other non US citizens do the same.
Dear Mr. Prime Minister.
I am not a citizen of Canada, I live in Australia.
However I am concerned about the fate of the Saab Car company which is owned by General Motors. As the Canadian government is currently part owner of General Motors, I am contacting you in urgent request for your support in the effort to convince GM to sell Saab Automobiles AB.
It is public knowledge that Spyker Cars has submitted a bid to GM that matches their initial offer for sale as well as submitted a revised bid that eliminated all additional concerns that were raised by GM when they walked away from negotiations and announced the closure of Saab on December 18th. It is also public knowledge that Merbanco and several other companies have contacted GM with strong expressions of interest to buy Saab Automobiles AB. It is clear and evident that a buyer exists for Saab and that the failure of a sale and closure of Saab by GM is entirely unnecessary, arbitrary and unfair. The negative impact of Saab's closure by GM are numerous and significant.
Many jobs will be lost across the US and Canada and Hundreds of millions of dollars in small business assets are at risk of being impaired or liquidated.
I'm not sure about Canada, but in the US, GM forced the Saab dealer network to sign a Deferred Termination Agreement this summer, which waived the dealers' rights to State franchise legal rights and remedies to dealership closure by the manufacturer. The dealers signed on the basis of expressions of GM's good faith efforts to sell Saab AB. If the dealer did not sign, they would be terminated immediately with no compensation and would not have the opportunity to be a Saab dealer after the sale of Saab was complete.
Saab is not competition for General Motors. GM will not lose sales should Saab be sold and continue to produce and market their automobiles.
An alternative exists. GM clearly has a buyer for Saab. They simply need to decide to complete the sale.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please help us save this iconic brand as well as the jobs that go with it.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Coursey.
Adelaide,
South Australia.
No other reason than to prevent the brand from competing in the future with newly redesigned Cadillac...
If there going to kill the brand wouldnt any money for say be a better situation than losing everything.
ANY OTHER REASON YOU THINK GM WOULD KILL SAAB???
No other reason than to prevent the brand from competing in the future with newly redesigned Cadillac (notice the new caddy's fit nicely where the neglected saab should have been)... I don't think this is being seen.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST STEP IN FOR A HONEST SALES PROCESS!!!
If there going to kill the brand wouldnt any money for say be a better situation than losing everything.
ANY OTHER REASON YOU THINK GM WOULD KILL SAAB???
No other reason than to prevent the brand from competing in the future with newly redesigned Cadillac (notice the new caddy's fit nicely where the neglected saab should have been)... I don't think this is being seen.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST STEP IN FOR A HONEST SALES PROCESS!!!
If there going to kill the brand wouldnt any money for say be a better situation than losing everything.
ANY OTHER REASON YOU THINK GM WOULD KILL SAAB???
Couldn't the existing dealers, at least in the U.S., and those who signed the agreements in June, now turn around and sue General Motors arguing the agreement is now null and void, since GM is clearly not showing their "good faith efforts to sell the company" by letting the bidding process become so disorganized and sluggish? Again, Ford could be used as an example of how to divest yourself of unnecessary divisions.
If the termination agreements could be voided, that would make a closure of Saab far costlier, almost to the tune of the Oldsmobile closure earlier this decade, which reportedly cost well over $1 billion to close.
Anyone wanting to go up to DC I will join!
But, still I feel that US politicians have a say in this matter and they should be involved in our worries. Therefore my motto: Team up and write! There can't be any harm in alarming major stakeholders :)
That guarantee is also what's needed if they decide to go for the EIB loan too...
Best for Saab is a buyer who's financing doesn't need the EIB loan initially since it would then shorten the process considerably.
As far as I know neither of the current bidders have the EIB loan in the first row.
Problem is GM... stalking and slowing the process.
What kind of Tweaks did you make to get beyond the 300 mark, and how many Newton's does that beast present ?
Manual gearbox ?
I'm told it's not adviseableto go past 300Hp unless you make severe mods to the crank and bearings etc.
Thinking of boring up to 2500cc but it's rather expensive to take that path once you have started.
"Aeropilot 290hp 460 NM Auto"
The BW post seems both out of date and relatively pointless. Concerns about the Russians? Why? Are they still even involved in the latest Spyker bid?
Argh - frustrating.
Borrowing from Markac's template -- Good on you Mate! -- I sent the following (left out specific mention of dealership closings, as I too am uncertain of the details):
Dear Mr. Harper,
I write out of concern for the fate of the Saab Car company which is owned by General Motors (and by extension the Canadian Taxpayer -- including myself!). Mine is an urgent request for your support in the effor to convince GM to sell Saab Automobiles AB.
It is public knowledge that Spyker Cars has submitted a bid to GM that matches their initial offer for sale as well as submitted a revised bid that eliminated all additional concerns that were raised by GM when they walked away from negotiations and announced the closure of Saab on December 18th. It is also public knowledge that Merbanco and several other companies have contacted GM with strong expressions of interest to buy Saab Automobiles AB. It is clear and evident that a buyer exists for Saab and that the failure of a sale and closure of Saab by GM is entirely unnecessary, arbitrary and unfair. The negative impact of Saab's closure by GM are numerous and significant.
Many jobs will be lost across the US and Canada and Hundreds of millions of dollars in small business assets are at risk of being impaired or liquidated.
Saab is not competition for General Motors. GM will not lose sales should Saab be sold and continue to produce and market their automobiles.
An alternative exists. GM clearly has a buyer for Saab. They simply need to decide to complete the sale.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please help us save this iconic brand as well as the jobs that go with it.
Sincerely,
Saab Up!
contacted Colorado US Senator Bennet
contacted Colorado US Senator Udall
contacted Colorado Representative Polis
fwiw.
tim
Right now.
Tedjs.
Over to you Mr. President.....
Somehow, I always thought that the Obamas would be SAAB people. Let's hope so!
Tobbes
It's time for the US Government to step in a force GM to sell Saab.
In the big scale of things I am guessing a rather small percentage?
I have not felt so down in quite a while...I just do not know what else to do.
Stingray down.
dust myself off, get back in the saddle and man up a little.
*shot of whisky helps too*
Stingray UP!
Thanks pardner
I am writing to express my concern over GM potentially breaking up SAAB Automobile AB. I have been following this story closely in the news, and GM still appears to be operating under the assumption that they can behave as an irresponsible monopoly, and not as a global company in need of partnerships with other companies.
As taxpayers you and I are owners of General Motors, and I seek your support in pushing GM to sell this company so that they can begin to dig themselves out of the mountains of debt that we are paying for. The wind-down of SAAB that GM is pursuing, even while there are several willing buyers available, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and put dealers and suppliers all across this country out of work. The US tax payer will forego $400 million worth of debt repayment by Saab Automobiles AB or almost 10% of GM's current outstanding debt to the Federal Government. That is unacceptable.
Contrast GM to Ford, who has taken no bailout: Ford has successfully sold Aston Martin, Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover in the past couple years, and those companies are now viable partners for Ford around the world. GM, on the other hand, has reneged on the sale of Opel, Hummer, AND Saturn. While GM could have profited from the sales of those divisions, they have used a government bailout to spend billions shutting them down instead.
I appreciate your support in pressuring GM to actually begin turning a profit, starting with the successful sale of SAAB to one of the eager buyers currently bidding. They cannot continue to take our money and simply use it to eliminate companies, especially when they are extremely unlikely to be a competitor to GM, and much more likely to continue to contract with GM for parts and technology (the SAAB 9-4X, for example, will be built alongside Cadillacs in a GM-owned factory in Mexico).
It is past time for GM to start acting like the global business they aspire to be—- to sell the companies that they can, and to acquire the future partners they will need to survive in the future.
Thank you,
as GySgt Hartman said in the movie Full Metal Jacket...
Let me see your war face!
aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now thats a war face..
Cowboy UP!
Markac, also. thanks for that revision that fits the President's e-mail box for the trimming job we had to do for that. I did not get to take advantage of those itemized numbers in your revision; a nice touch, Swade to that proposed letter to our Senators, etc. You had to edify people and you did it in a nice way too. Lots of good letters people sent on their own too here. Grateful for our group.
Now I can hit the bunk/go to sleep. Keep at it.
I need Saab to stay alive.
I own an Opel. Can someone give me me one reason to keep it, without embarrasing myself...?
Hans H
I get the sneaking suspicion, though, that like before, it's indifferent economic bureaucrats in the EU's plutocracy who *really* hold the keys to this deal happening or not.
What can Europeans do to put pressure on them?
- Iari
PS: An as American, I'm still stunned by the seeming indifference of the Swedish government and populace on this. Similarly, not to beat up on the downtrodden, but have Saab workers organized anything yet?
Go Saab !
The Obama administration estimates that the auto bailout will cost taxpayers $30 billion! See http://detnews.com/article/20091208/AUTO01/912080414/Obama-administration-predicts-$30B-loss-on-auto-bailout
Here's a summary in Popular Mechanics of the many ways that GM owes billions of dollars to its pension fund, health care costs, not to mention bailout repayment: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4337053.html
The Popular Mechanics article has this statement: "GM vice chairman Bob Lutz recently said he was surprised at how decoupled GM is from its brands, Chevolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, in the public's mind." Well, GM obviously is even more decoupled from Saab, Saturn, and Pontiac since they aren't mentioned.
GM needs all the money it can get to hold up its responsibilities to its owner, the American taxpayer, and to its employees and retirees. The Popular Mechanics article mentioned that GM even spent $500 million more than they originally planned. How can GM then justify to its owner, the American taxpayer, not selling Saab and bringing in more money?
Mailed both senators and the congressman. Although, being that I'm in Utah, they're all going to be pretty laissez-faire to begin with, but it never hurts to let your requests be known.
I know there are a few people working in Capitol Hill that owns a Saab...
http://playrapport.se/#/video/1832867
I must say, as an employee at Saab in Trollhättan, I am so thankful for all the effort you put into this. Swade, and all of you, you are just amazing, and I must say that I´m touched to see how much you do to help us and our brand. You´re the best!
http://www.youtube.com/user/JogNien
regards
http://www.heritage.org/Experts/index.cfm
James L. Gattuso
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
Brian Darling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZgcZs8-sEY
I wrote to White House.
...just another drop into the sea...
Tip: some on in USA and Canada should write about the taxpayer loss a lot of tax money if GM not sell SAAB now.
http://detnews.com/article/20100101/AUTO01/1010361/1148/auto01/Canada-bought-stake-in-GM-to-save-jobs
Michel Thériault
Montréal, Québec, CANADA
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4241148944_cc01eba63c_o.jpg
I hope this helps. Maybe it will put Saab on their radar screens. It is better than sitting here wringing hands and stocking up on critical Saab parts!
I hope they listen to us citizen tax payers......whoever the keep pretty occupied trying to pass legislation we don't want like health care, cap and trad, stimuli that do nothing and a host of other things.
Writing to them is a brutal reminder!!!
Long live Saab! I think I will go out and change the oil on my Aero!!
Thats my town and we got the loadingstation for the coming electrical SAABs!
Give me an all electric 9-5 will you please!
But first, I'll show my support to saab by signing a brand new 9-5 when the deal is done
This is what it's all about my friends! Like the Saab dealer in Illinois so eloquently said, "It's not just a brand, it's a company!" Long ago, this company had adopted a policy of treating all people (consumers, employees and its neighbors) with dignity and respect, unlike so many other car companies. Apart from making extraordinary cars, this company also created a worldwide family, who all want nothing more than to see this company survive. There is good reason that Saab owners are the most loyal to their brand in the world!!! I think it also has a lot to do with the dedication from devoted workers in Trollhattan, Sweden that have stood by this wonderful company from the beginning. If you ask me, Saab Automobile AB and Trollhattan have practically become synonymous!!!
http://www.swedishwire.com/business/2272-saab-enthusiasts-urging-gm-to-reach-a-deal-
I recall watching the execs of GM, Ford and Chrysler before the congress asking for the bailout as congress scolded them one after the other. But the Ford exec clearly indicated that his company did not need the money. And to think Ford still looks like a winner as they execeuted all their sales.
I despair of my government; To think that my congress bailed out GM with my tax money and is not watching them and letting them do whatever they want; which is make one bad decision after the other.
Suggestions are welcome ...I'll write whoever but I
have little faith in GM to do the right thing for SAAB or my tax money. An embarassment to say the least.
To Gavin's rhetorical question, I am firmly in the mindset that GM has suddenly decided that Buick is the new Saab, and wants the technology and platforms for it. The new Regal is to be the 9-3, and the LaCrosse the 9-5. The 9-4x can be a new smaller SUV.
Don't like it a bit, but see it coming, very depressing.
You can get it here - http://twibbon.com/join/Saab
These buyers are doing nothing more than offering to come up with a downpayment, like you would on the purchase of a house. They still need financing to pay off the entire long term indebtedness they will ultimately owe GM. That is where the EIB loan comes in and the Swedish government's guarantee.
Blame GM if you like, but the real problem is that there is no long term financing in place.
If pressure needs to happen, that pressure needs to be on the buyers and their lenders and guarantors to come up with long term financing. That pressure should not be on the seller to sell to a buyer who does not qualify for a long term loan.
http://www.swedishwire.com/business/2276-saab-enthusiasts-gather-in-detroit-to-protest
The only thing that can help now is massive (public) pressure on GM:
- That Detroit drive must be a huge public success (U.S. dealers should participate numerous and ask their clients to join) This drive is most important. Only one single shot to generate effect!
- US SAAB dealers should threaten immediately and credibly a class action lawsuit of horrendous amount against GM.
- Everyone who has any press + media contacts in the U.S. and Sweden should act immediately. Very bright spotlight on GM: Everyone will monitor your tricks closely!
Time is now!
There is a poll in one of the big swedish newspapers today where the question is:
"do you think that GM are serious in trying to sale Saab?".
The answer is that almost 90%!! of he respondents do not think that GM are really trying to sell saab.
Good info to write in your letters?
See link below:
http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/vss/special/storfragan/visa/0,1937,44033,00.html
All these forms top fill out are infuriating. Why cant they just have an email address I can send something to.
Now I'm having to edit the damned form letter because it is ~600 characters too long for the White House web form...
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/saab-9-5-sportcombi_1029579.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34632723/ns/business-autos/ns/business-autos
-convoy 1 coud start, let's say in Hamburg, Konvoi 2 in Munich, Konvoi 3 in Berlin etc.
- we could meet at the Hockenheimring, together with TV and press
- then drive to the GM Europe Headquarters in Rüsselsheim.
Do you know someone in D who could organize this? Maybe the guys at rescue-saab?
Hope all this effort will turn out good for SAAB!
Make sure they know at the start of the letter that GM has a self-imposed deadline of January 7th to sell Saab or shut it down, so this matter is extremely urgent.
It won't hurt to include a link to the Fox Business Channel interview with the Chicago-area Saab dealer. It's a great interview for politicians to see partially because the dealer mentions the hundreds of thousands of dollars that he pours into the local community every month. Fox is mainstream media so it should carry a lot of weight. Here's the link for convenience: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3958490/saab-stuck-in-neutral/?playlist_id=87185
It also won't hurt to mention the thousands of petition signatures worldwide iwontbuyfromgm.com and mention that you have signed the petition there--let them know (in a polite way) that if GM is allowed to kill off Saab rather than sell it, nothing will get you to ever buy a GM vehicle again. The last thing the US government should want is anything that will alienate potential GM customers.
This is the eleventh hour!
I think the only hope now is for politicians in the US and Sweden to get together and do what they can to work out a solution. Taxpayers own GM but the politicians call the shots. If we remain silent, we are all but guaranteed that GM will kill off Saab. If we bring this to the attention of Congress, the Senate, and the White House, we have nothing to lose and it just might lead to a solution that so many of us desire.
I just wonder what impact a Fox News report (known around these parts as an extremist right wing nutjob organization) might have when trying to convince a democratic majority house, senate and whitehouse to help out, but I guess it's better than nothing.
I live in California. I have two Democrat senators, and sent the Fox News link to both of them under the assumption that they'd care about the impacts of closing dealerships around the country if they could be saved.
I don't want to get into a political discussion, but I will say that Democrats realize that they could easily lose their 60% majority in the Senate during the 2010 elections. A number of Democrat incumbents have announced they will not seek re-election, and it is not a given that new Democrats taking their place will be able to get elected. If they lose just one seat, they will no longer have the control of the Senate that they now enjoy. The good times will be over. This is a real concern among Democrats now.
There has already been mountains of public criticism about GM's actions (and inactions) over the past year. Those criticisms were so bad they resulted in the replacement of the CEO. I don't think Democrats would want Republicans to have more ammunition to use against the government (mis)management of GM. At least I'm hoping they won't.
Where is the loan that any buyer will need to pay for the sale?
If the money was clearly in place, if an EIB loan was approved that unquestionably was in an amount large enough to pay the market value (as declared by a consortium of automotive experts) of Saab, yes I would be writing my worthless Congressmen.
But where is this loan? How much is it for? What is Saab worth? How much will a buyer need to come up with to make up the difference?
And why aren't these questions asked and discussed regularly on this board.
I have leased or purchased 13 Saabs since 1999. I love the brand. But after 32 years of being a lawyer, I am not naive enough to believe that GM (or the American government) will sell Saab to a buyer that doesn't have a loan commitment.
Bugging your Congressmen under those conditions may do more harm than good.
The EIB loan is not for a purchase of Saab. The EIB loan is to be used for investment in R&D that will make cars more efficient, etc. That's all part of Saab's business plan for the future.
If you don't feel like participating in the campaign to lobby on Saab's behalf, that's fine. Your reasons have been noted.
@ paul9000
Some of us "FOX watching,right wing nut jobs" do drive Saabs and have as much hate for CNN and MSNBC (or as we call it MSLSD) as you have for FOX, but this isnt the place.
Please, don't chum the waters.
I should point out that I consider myself a conservative, albeit a gun-hating, SUV-hating, gay-supporting, NPR/BBC World Report-listening, atheistic conservative. :p
I just support laissez-faire, free markets, enterprise and competition. You know, TRUE conservatism, not this newfangled screaming about god/values crap it has devolved into...
And with that I will don my flame suit and shut up now :p Sorry Swade.
No buddy, no apology needed... I wont flame back... we're more civil than that here! We're all here in support of Saab! I am also guilty of unknowingly baiting in the past as well and I just trying to keep it "Fair and balanced" ;)
LOL...and I say this jokingly...
I need Saab to survive so I can buy a 9-3X to haul all my guns and bibles in.
not jokingly. In my profession, I have relied on both to get me through the hard times.
Rest easy brother, take the flamesuit off and have a drink, we're all good.
People commented on that even positiv news got an negative head line. Now they have changed it to Striden om Saab eng: The battle for Saab.
GM will continue to be connected with Saab for the indefinite future. If Saab fails in the future, it will significantly impact GM financially in the future.
What you are not understanding is that sales of businesses, which require the seller to continue to be part of the venture in the future, usually require that the seller be protected from future liability. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to have a loan in place for operations that can not be rescinded without great difficulty. It gives the seller that warm and fuzzy feeling the seller needs.
These loans are simply not in place, Swade, no matter what you might think. Every potential buyer is going to have to qualify based on his own financial strength. Just because Ksegg qualified, doesn't mean Spyker or Merbanco will.
And every day that passes, the chances of turning a profit diminishes and loans become increasingly difficult to get and loan requests need to be modified accordingly.
Right now it is extraordinarily difficult to get commercial financing. I have a friend who is trying to start an airline. Great business plan. Can't get financing. I think GM underestimated the ability of any buyer to get financing. Banks still are not lending.
I don't think you should be on GM's case as hard as you are. I think you need to be on the case of the Swedish government and especially on the European bankers who are putting up the loan. If the money is there, GM will sell.
One of my senators, Mr. Coker from Tennessee, a Republican, made his fortune in the car business in Chattanooga. As I recall, he was very much against the GM bailout, even though GM had a plant that is being shut down here in TN. My other senator, another Republican, also voted against the GM bailout. My congressional representative, also a Republican, voted against the GM bailout.
They all voted to bail out Wall Street but all were against bailing out Main Street or any business that employed lots of workers. All we heard from the Republicans was that GM's failure was due to the unions and that we would be bailing out the unions. We never heard that GM's failure was due to the horrible mismanagement and the outrageous salaries and bonuses and stock options of its management.
So writing my Congressmen would be pointless even if GM is the problem. They absolutely don't care if it costs the US jobs, much less jobs in Sweden.
But I don't think GM is the problem. The European bankers and the Swedish government are the problem.
When Penske tried to buy Saturn, his problem was similar. Since GM was not going to be making Saturns in the future, Penske needed to get a European car maker to agree to make Saturns for him in the future. No European manufacturers would step up. A real shame. Saab would have solved Penske's problems and could have supplied Penske what he needed -- cars.
I just keep running 50 years of Saab involvement through mind mind and I don't want it to end.
This whole process has made me reflect on what a great brand and I am fortunate enough to have a couple of recent models to admire how good they are.
Pains me to hear that GM sales of Saab were difficult. In the USA over the last decade there were many years when the Saab was the best passenger car and combi that Saab offered! .....and they did not know it, but many buyers did.
the EIB seems to be everything based on CJ's statements as well. Perhaps GM are being jerks, but I think its the bidders who need a "rock-solid" approval from the Swedish govt for the guarantees BEFORE they will sign.
I doesnt seem that GM is holding this up, but the Swedish govt.
Am I totally off the mark here?
Since you seem to know more about this stuff than most of us here, please explain to those of us less familliar with mergers and acquisitions:
What kind of responsibilities remain with GM post sale that they could be concerned losing out on should a buyer not have sufficient financial backing?
I think many of us may be oversimplifying and falsely assuming that as long as the check for the initial purchase price clears, GM is out of the loop (except for GM sourced parts, where GM would now be treated as a vendor, where those parts can not be sourced directly from a non-GM parts supplier).
This type of scam is in fact, though illegal, common enough that there is a term in Swedish for "the guy on the park bench". He is called a "målvakt", a goalkeeper. I'm sure this sort of thing is illegal in the US as well.
Though selling to Merbanco or Spyker is not as obvious a scam, of course, still there would probably be a danger of legal action against GM if the buyer went bust within a year or two. But I hope davidgmills (or someone else) can tell us a bit more about this!
I also think that the Swedesh Gov are aware of the problem, but they are thinking in political terms. Is it politically better for them if SAAB dies? It might be. Then they can act with all the instruments that governements have without beeing questioned for doing the wrong things. Maud was very quick to be in Trollhättan on the 18th of december when GM anounsed that they should begin the wind down process.
When we now point at GM all the time, then the Swedish Gov is feeling relieved. I think it is necesary to turn the light on the Swedesh Governement as well!
The EIB loan is the bottom pole. Without the guarantees that the EIB loan is "rock-solid" to be approved, there is no deal.
The Swedish Gov have lots of things to do that are undone!
Here one more thing:
http://www.gp.se/ekonomi/1.283067-lear-storvarslar-i-trollhattan
"Lear in Trollhättan has placed a notice affecting almost the entire staff. The company's future depends entirely on what happens with Saab."
Encourage another mailing campaign to the Swedish government!
Let´s ask Maud, Göran, Fredrik etc to support the loan if that’s the Achilles’ heel, to do what they can to make the deal come through, and to regain respect (=votes).
Why not ‘inform’ them about what starts to happen now in ‘real Sweden’; notice after notice (latest 119 employees at Lear Corporation), articles in different papers such as Di etc that are heavily commented on, many times informative and on a high level etc. We could provide them with links to the different sites....
My question is, would it help if we EU citizens wrote to the European Commission or the EIB??? The EU has 27 member states so there should be a lot of us here.
I wish I could be more specific about what liabilities GM would face in the future after the sale, but I simply would be guessing. For one thing, many of these liabilities are negotiable. For another thing, the liabilities in the US would vary state to state and I am sure the liabilities would vary from country to country and perhaps from province to province or state to state within those countries.
The more liabilities GM has to take on to make the sale, the more GM will insist on a stronger loan.
Swade:
I think it is going to take some creative financing and ownership.
Here's how I would sweeten the deal both for GM, the lenders, and the Swedish government.
Bring in Penske and let him buy Saturn (it just died days ago and still could be resurrected) and then have Saab agree to sell Penske the cars he needed in the future (I think it was five years out).
All of a sudden instead of having 300 US dealers in the US to sell cars you have 600 and you take not one but two of GM's headaches away.
In the short term, GM continues to sell Opels to Saturn to get Opel back on its feet. In the long term, Saab becomes much more viable because Saab can now make a less expensive car to sell to be the new Saturn and Saab can go more upscale like KSegg thought they needed to do to better compete with Audi and BMW. And buyers who like Saturn might aspire to move upscale to Saab when they can afford it.
The banks like it because it gives Saab a much better survival rate and so should the Swedish government.
Saab and Saturn dealerships already are linked in Canada and could easily be linked in the US. It gives Sweden and Saab a real toehold in the US.
Penske is loaded with money and runs multi-billion dollar operations primarily in racing and in truck leasing. He has instant credibility in the US, both financially and in the auto world. He could also help improve Spyker's image and maybe even race both Saab and Spyker.
The possibilities just seem to go on and on with this kind of merger.
Rather than pounding on legislatures, I would like to see some encouragement from the EIB and the Swedish government to get Penske back in the game and interested in a Saab/Saturn venture.
The other reason for my comment - I received a letter from GM today with a thank you for being a loyal customer, blah, blah, blah, kind of thing with a $1,000 check towards a new GM or leftover Saab (or Pontiac, Saturn or Hummer).
How about selling Saab and letting me apply this on a new Saab! Please!
I know the "wind down" has been planned a while and will continue even during negotiations, but it makes me even more nervous getting mail from GM which shows Saab listed with Hummer and the other brands being discontinued.
While I am not a Saab owner, I am a big time Saab fan, going back to the eighties when I owned a car stereo store in NJ and it seemed like every fourth car we installed a radio in was a Saab...with its window broken due to the ease of which the stereo could be stolen.
In 2005 I had the pleasure of getting a press fleet Saab 9-5 in Trollhättan and toured Northern Germany, Poland, and the three Baltic Republics on an epic 2,000-mile road trip.
On Saturday we posted a Saab Retrospective on automotivetraveler.com (http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/1446 mentioning saabsunlimited.com) and have assembled a gallery of 100+ historic and contemporary Saab images culled from the GM/Saab archives. I hope that you'll take a look and leave comments. I want to do what I can to help Saab weather this storm and hope that GM ultimately sells the brand. (But like Sawde, I don't think that this is their real agenda; I think they wanted to shut down Saab from the start of their bankruptcy process but I hope to be proven wrong.)
If you'll be in Detroit tomorrow and are wired (i.e. smartphone-equipped so you can send text and images of the event) please contact me direct at richt (at) automotivetraveler.com. If you've caravaned to Detroit, please send any photos you've taken and I'll be happy to post them on automotivetraveler.com.
I know time is short but I hope that a few of you will be able to make a contribution to our coverage of this story over the next couple of days as it plays out to hopefully a positive resolution.
Richard Truesdell
Editorial Director, automotivetraveler.com/home
http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/storvarsel-pa-lear-i-trollhattan_4035355.svd
Thanks to you and to everyone else in this thread for the efforts. We may never know, personally, what they meant. Hopefully a good decision will provide some collective vindication and satisfaction, though.
A full post of thanks will come when this is all said and done.
One sad note when I called the local paper here in Hagerstown MD. I was told it probally wouldn't be covered because of staff. Now we have one of the oldest Saab dealers in the US and its not local news, because they just use what comes across the wire. I am sorry but thats BS. Thats why I called our local AP rep maybe something will come out of that.
I am sorry I couldn't make Detroit but it is a bit far to go on a weekday. But if it helps I am with you guys in my heart and I am sure there are many others that feel the same way.
As a wise man once said to us all
"COWBOY UP"
"Thank you for contacting me regarding the sale of Saab automobiles . Your thoughts and concerns are very important and I appreciate you taking the time to share them with me. Please know that as I participate in discussions on the issues before the United States Senate, the thoughts and the opinions of all my New York constituents are given careful consideration.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. Please visit http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter for updates on this, and other important issues being considered by the Senate.
Sincerely yours,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator"
Griffin Up!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4227702145_e8d0ccfff5_o.jpg
cool. lot's of press for Saab!
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/ekot/artikel.asp?Artikel=3353686
so maybe we will have some info on next week?
I wrote this:
Dear Mr. President Obama
Saab Automobile currently owned by GM, which in turn is to 60% owned by the American people, deserves a future. Please help GM's leadership find a way to prevent job losses in both Sweden at the production & engineering, as well as in the US sales and service organizations.
Saab engineers have done more work for GM's future environmental friendly vehicles then people might know. The US, and the world needs companies like Saab to take the technological advancements in the right and bright direction.
/ Jörgen Trued
what a smacker.
Chris