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Saab Automobile declared bankrupt

Admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:50:41 +0000

TROLLHÄTTAN, Sweden—Swedish car maker Saab Automobile declared itself bankrupt Monday, nine months after halting production due to a lack of funds and ending its short life as an independent auto maker.

Former owner General Motors Co., which sold a majority stake in the company to a tiny sports-car maker nearly two years ago, had objected to potentially life-saving investments from Chinese investors. GM refused to approve a rescue plan with China’s Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. that it said would have the effect of hurting its business in China. Swedish Automobile said the decision forced it to file for bankruptcy.

Source: WSJ Online

First Drive: 2011 Saab 9-4X

Admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 16:27:27 +0000

As we assembled media and executives sat down to dinner in Washington, D.C. the night before driving the 2011 Saab 9-4X, a waiter leaned over my shoulder with a bottle of sparkling water and poured it into a waiting rocks glass filled with ice and a lemon. He paused, staring intently at my glass. Clearly flummoxed, the dinner service ground to a halt. “May I, sir?” As I had no earthly idea what was troubling him, I nodded. “Certainly.” He picked up the glass, reached into its mouth and fished out the lemon only to squeeze it with much theater. The wedge yielded but a drop or two of juice. “Dry!” he pronounced with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. Perhaps reading the confusion on my face, he followed this proclamation by saying “You can ‘ell becooze…. it was… ah…. reluctant to float.” He then disappeared into the back of the restaurant for what seemed like minutes, reemerging with a new glass filled with ice and a noticeably plumper wedge of citrus riding atop the rim of the glass.

You just never know what’s going to hold up a car launch.

Stick around in this business for a while, and you’ll see how labor unrest, cash crunches, bad mergers and natural disasters can wreak havoc on a new automobile’s gestation and production schedule. We thought we’d seen it all, but the poor folks at Saab are surely trying for some kind of record with the number of calamities threatening to scrap not just the launch of this 9-4X, but the Swedish brand altogether. In fact, this handsome looking crossover is already late to the party – it was originally slated to launch in 2009 alongside its General Motors’ platform-mate, the Cadillac SRX.

Given the strong initial sales of the SRX, you might think that Saab’s ownership expects big volume out of its first proper crossover (the late and not lamented 9-7X was an SUV and the 9-3X is little more than a wagon on stilts). But based on our conversations with company officials, not so much – they’re looking to shift just 10,000 units globally in 2011 – a seemingly trifling sum until one looks at Saab’s miserable sales figures worldwide.

Source: AutoBlog

2012 Saab 9-5 SportCombi is one big, sexy wagon

Admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:27:39 +0000

Truth be told, we’re usually smitten with any new wagon-shaped design, but there’s something about the 2012 9-5 SportCombi that’s just particularly eye-catching. Perhaps its the rakish rear window, or how the sleek front end of the new-for-2010 9-5 sedan works so well with the more cargo-friendly body. Maybe it’s the big dual exhausts out back, or the blade-like 19-inch ten-spoke alloy wheels.

2012 Saab 9-4X priced from $34,205*

Admin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:41:49 +0000

The 2012 Saab 9-4X is set to join the automaker’s shapely new 9-5 sedan at dealerships across the country in May, and we’ve now learned that cost of entry for the new Scandinavian crossover will be $34,205 (*plus $825 in destination charges).

That $35K price point gets you the base 9-4X with front-wheel drive and the 3.0-liter direct-injected V6, good for 265 horsepower and roughly 20 miles per gallon (combined). Moving up the model range, the 9-4X Premium rings in at $38,075 plus delivery. Premium models still use the same 3.0-liter mill, but XWD (Saab’s all-wheel drive system) is available, as are a host of other goodies.

The range-topping 9-4X Aero is priced at $48,835, and it uses a 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 (like the 3.0-liter, it’s General Motors-derived) that produces a healthy 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, mated exclusively to all-wheel drive. Based on our experiences with the 9-4X’s sister car, the Cadillac SRX, the 2.8T powerplant is clearly the one to have. Even with the healthy increase in power, fuel economy is rated at an estimated 18 mpg combined.

[Source: Saab]

Official: 2012 Saab 9-4X makes its digital debut ahead of LA Show

Admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:03:52 +0000

Much like the 2010 9-5 sedan, the fate of Saab’s 9-4X crossover hung in limbo during General Motors’ sale of the Scandinavian automaker. Now that Saab is safely under the umbrella of Spyker Cars, the new 9-5 is trickling out on the road and we’ve just received the full host of images and data detailing the production-spec 9-4X, set to be publicly revealed at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

[Source: Saab]

Koenigsegg backs out of Saab purchase, brand future up in the air

Admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:17:15 +0000

After riding in on a white horse, Koenigsegg Group AB has pulled out of negotiations to buy Saab from General Motors, leaving the Swedish automaker’s future very much in doubt. In a brief statement issued by GM (available after the jump), president and CEO Fritz Henderson says that the company is “very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase.”

Q Full article, Source: AutoBlog

Frankfurt 2009: 2010 Saab 9-5 is proof there’s still some flight left in the ol’ Griffin

Admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:55:22 +0000

To be honest, there have been points at which it felt like this new Saab 9-5 would never see the light of day. To say that the outgoing model had grown long in the tooth would be a colossal understatement, and in the hyper-competitive market that is the globe’s entry-level premium segment, the 9-5 had become something of a placeholder, playing second fiddle to the automaker’s newer, more dynamic 9-3.

Q Full article, Source: AutoBlog