I always had a soft spot for Saabs but it now seems I'll never own one, at least not new anyway :'(

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8421007.stm

Not much point shedding a tear now!

SAAB died years ago!

Sad to see any car company go to the wall ....................... but I still think there is more mileage in this story, Saab may survive yet .....

Sad to see any car company go to the wall ....................... but I still think there is more mileage in this story, Saab may survive yet .....

Sadly, no - I can't see even part of a chance for that. Saab started to go downhill already before being bought by GM, and since then it has been worse every year. One can't hope for a brand selling 30,000 cars a year.

But I will miss this icon of Swedish car engineering and will never forget the models of my boyhood such as Eric Carlsson's rally car:

or the wonderful sports car Saab Sonnet:

Or the only Saab I ever owned myself, the 95 Estate:

Edited 19 December, 200916 yr by swedishskoda

I loved the old ones but the current cars are overpriced and not competitive IMHO. Very sad but what a shame. Wouldn't it be interesting if VAG had bought Saab. Say what you like about them but look at what they have done with Skoda and to a lesser degree SEAT.

I loved the old 'teardrop'-shaped ones - sad to see Saab possibly go (which seems likely).

Someone in my work just bought one a few weeks back for £17k - obviously not a man with his finger on the pulse! I was reading in The Times today that GM will honour warranties and continue to provide spare parts; however, depreciation on Saabs was fairly steep already (in comparison with competitors) so it must be almost vertical now. I can't imagine Saab showrooms are very busy at the moment, which makes for a miserable Christmas for UK Saab employees.

As a former Saab employee said, there are only so many geography teachers with leather-patched elbows that you can sell cars to.

I loved the old 900 Turbo , the 80s/early 90s model , and its predecessor the 99 (? i think) Turbo , wraparound screen , aswesome performance , even better heater!!

...however, depreciation on Saabs was fairly steep already (in comparison with competitors) so it must be almost vertical now.

saabs may become collectors' items, so maybe your workmate made a bargain?

As a former Saab employee said, there are only so many geography teachers with leather-patched elbows that you can sell cars to.

saabs may become collectors' items, so maybe your workmate made a bargain?

Yup 900 Turbo an awesome car and the number of good condition (and expensive) cars out there attest to how well they were built.

its not over yet!

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091220/business/eu_sweden_saab_sale

Mark

its not over yet!

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091220/business/eu_sweden_saab_sale

Mark

Good find

Just a prolonged death struggle... at least most commentators here in Sweden seem to be convinced that GM has decided not to sell. Possible reasons: no interest in losing control of technology that might end up among Russian oligarchs with connections to arms trade (that's the kind of guys that back up Spyker) and also that the new 9-5 model is basically the Vauxhall Insignia and therefore not a wished-for competitor on the market.

My dad was a massive Saab fan and had many 900 classics, 9000s and recently a 9-5.

The 9-5 was awful and unreliable compared to his previous Saabs. The most hideous thing was that some of the parts in the car dated back to the Vx Cavalier! He got rid of it earlier in the year for an '08 Golf 1.9 TDI SE and loves it.

They do stil have a 900 Turbo Classic Convertible with 195k on the clock :yes: Engine was replaced at 15k due to a dealer **** up (read didn't fit the oil filter on properly and it drained away rather quick!) but it is on the original clutch and gear box and the same turbo from the replacement engine.

My local independent dealer had a 320k Saab 9000 on the forecourt. A guy with a 560k Saab 9000 chopped his in for it!

Unfortunately they have lost their way a bit over recent years. The 9-5 is a disgrace really, it looks identical to the one they released in 1992!! In a world where we have 5-6 year lifecycles with a mid life refresh, keeping the same car on sale for 17 years is commercial suicide imho.

I still like the 2003ish Saab 9-3, but the one on sale now is only a facelifted version and feels long in the tooth.

Saabs turbo engines though are pretty damn excellent. And their seats are some of the best in the business.

My local independent dealer had a 320k Saab 9000 on the forecourt. A guy with a 560k Saab 9000 chopped his in for it!

Unfortunately they have lost their way a bit over recent years. The 9-5 is a disgrace really, it looks identical to the one they released in 1992!! In a world where we have 5-6 year lifecycles with a mid life refresh, keeping the same car on sale for 17 years is commercial suicide imho.

I still like the 2003ish Saab 9-3, but the one on sale now is only a facelifted version and feels long in the tooth.

Saabs turbo engines though are pretty damn excellent. And their seats are some of the best in the business.

Don't say BY-BY - they'll only come back ,re incarnated as Vauxhalls

Don't say BY-BY - they'll only come back ,re incarnated as Vauxhalls

yeah I expect you're right ........................... oh and it's "BYE BYE" for the uneducated!

Edited 29 December, 200916 yr by Makefish

i did my apprentaship with saab and had some very good times with them

they seemed to shoot them selves in the foot when they changed the models to try and be new

imho the old 9-3 and 9-5 are and was much better cars in every way

the 900 and 9000 where classics and tended to be bullet proof

they then went on to make these new cars that have become very un reliable and a pain in the arris to work on over complicated engineering hence the higher

prices that just are not competertive anymore

when you have the like of vw, audi etc etc at the same value

saab used to have a big demand in the company car scene wich was lost with these newer models where released

over the years i have seen the good times and the bad times with saab and have to say i really love the older cars but have a huge dislike for the newer.

good luck to all the employee's that will loose there jobs -

yeah I expect you're right ........................... oh and it's "BYE BYE" for the uneducated!

Economy of letters -and with my KB ,you dont take too many liberties -else you get byeeeeeeeee.(sounds like the last wail of Thomas the Tank)

If Saab folds, doesnt Saab aerospace get the rights to the name back by default if nothing produced under the saab name for 1yr IIRC?

If Saab folds, doesnt Saab aerospace get the rights to the name back by default if nothing produced under the saab name for 1yr IIRC?

An expert in immaterial law is called for...

Saab started in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolaget (Swedish Aeroplane Ltd.) and began car production in 1947. From 1965 the name was Saab Ltd.

1990 the car production formed a company of its own, Saab Automobiles Ltd. The air/defence technology division retained the old name. What will happen with the name "Saab Automobiles" I really don't know.

The badges of the two companies are very similar:

(air/defence)

(automobile)

A bit strange is that the griffin head is picked up from the truck manufacturer Scania (merged with Saab car production 1969-1990). The old badge reminds of the airplanes that started it all:

Edited 30 December, 200916 yr by swedishskoda

I thought that as well that Saab had Scania on the badges.

Might be a good a time as any to buy a 900 or the 900 shaped 9-3 seen a few for sale.

Things are still happening!

'Ecclestone joins bid to buy Saab'

http://news.bbc.co.u...ess/8447365.stm

Edited 8 January, 201016 yr by westerdam2

My Mum had a classic ninetythree & it saved her life when some tw@ in a gti drove into the side of her at 80mph (with no ins). All my friends used to say what a POS but it was built like a tank, I'll see if iI can dig up a pic of the old beast.

I have always thought saab was a good marque jus a shame that GM done a bit of Rover on them, would be good if another company picks up the slack & takes on what could b a good car manufacturer again!

It is a shame as I have said they used to be right up there with old Mercs and Volvos in terms of ruggedness.I wish them well and there is nothing wrong with the brand. They just need to start turning out good cars again and to do that they need a fortune in investment.