I’ve managed to get one of those recalcitrant links from earlier today to work now.
First of all, from Saab on Twitter:
British car mags come to view the New 9-5 in Trollhättan and pick up a little insight into current situation too.
So when Whatcar says they’ve got their information from ‘sources’ I think we can take what they’re saying as being serious.
You can read the full Whatcar story at the link (it’ll take but a few minutes) but here’s some good bits:
Saab’s next four models – a replacement for the 9-5 flagship in 2010, a new 9-5 estate in 2011, a crossover SUV (to be called the 9-4X) and the next mid-sized 9-3 – will continue to use GM components, architecture and technologies because the programmes were started several years ago.
Collaboration with GM will continue into the future, too, but a Saab insider also told us: ‘We can also go outside GM if we find something that is more suitable.’……
……’Once we get production at our Trollhattan factory to over 100,000 units a year it will be one of the best plants in Europe. Contrary to what many people believe, it’s not giant corporations like GM that create economies of scale, it is the supplier network – companies such as Bosch – and we will still be in a position to take advantage of that, even as an independent.’
They also cite K-Segg’s backers as being a multi-billion dollar concern without saying any more on who they are.
My tip is that the vast bulk of that backing comes from east of Sweden (and I ain’t talking about Finland or the parts supplier in Colorado). I was pretty wary of this at first, but chatting with a few people, I’ve come to a few conclusions:
- I can’t do a damn thing about it
- As long as they keep Saab in Sweden, it’s all good
- As long as they’re not subject to the whims of some karate-chopping powerbroker, it’s all good.
Bring it on, Saab and Koenigsegg – and the sooner the better.
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