I need an early night and as today’s decision regarding Saab’s debt composition has already come through, I’m calling it a night.
Here’s a few things that have popped up and a quick look back at an extraordinary week.
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PT hooked me up with an excellent article on Koenigsegg and the Saab purchase over at The independent.
The sad truth is that for the last two decades, when it was under GM control, much of Saab’s brand equity was squandered. A reputation for building safe, stylish – if occasionally idiosyncratic – performance saloons was devalued by an over-reliance on GM-group technology and simple neglect…..
….By deftly removing Saab from the rest of GM Europe, Saab avoided being lumped in with the Vauxhall/Opel wrangling. Getting in early was a clever move.
Recommended reading.
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Via comments, the speculations as to KoenigSaab sub-supercars have already begun.
Let it be…..
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Also from comments, it’s a new day and more is emerging about the mysterious Mark Bishop (tentative SU nickname: Flipper).
TTELA say he’s 53 years old with a 20+ year history in merchant banking. Aftonbaldet say he has family living in Trollhattan and a deep personal interest in Saabs.
None of them say he’s Flipper, but none of them say he’s not Flipper, either. I’m quite hot on everyone else in this drama, but the jury’s still out on Flipper.
The media is a beast and the beast will be fed. I’d suggest Koenigsegg Group feed the beast or it will feed itself.
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It was an extraordinary week.
Due to the nature of this site, stories tend to fall off the front page in a hurry. Here’s how things unfolded.
It wasn’t long ago at all that it was Renco vs Saab vs Merbanco
13 minutes after I went to bed that night, the news came through that Koenigsegg had won the bidding. I added my 0.02c worth shortly thereafter.
I did a primer on Koenigsegg for those who didn’t know much (like me) beyond the fact that they made fast cars. We then got the first hint that this Koenigsegg bid was “Koenigsegg” in name only, with major backing by outside investors.
The K-Saab love started early, though I was reserved.
Swede and GM Purchasing chief Bo Andersson resigned from General Motors, effective immediately but brief hopes that he might return to Saab were squashed when he took up a position with GAZ in Russia.
We covered some background on Bard Eker, the main single investor in Koenigsegg. We also covered the Quant solar vehicle concept that Koenisegg showed in Geneva this year.
Merbanco didn’t have as famboyant a presence as Koenigsegg, but they were a very solid bidder that I’d have been quite comfortable with at the helm. Merbanco’s CEO, Christopher Johnston, was kind enough to agree to an interview, which will show you why they were such a good bidder.
We got our first solid look at The Koenigsegg Group.
You’d have thought with all this Saab-Koenigsegg stuff going around that it was all a done deal. Well, it wasn’t yet. Not until the official announcement came through.
Lance Cole finished off an incredible week with a look at how design (and money) are going to be the keys to Saab’s future.
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