The Sad End of Saab

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

It’s pretty much as clear as it can possibly be that China’s BAIC will cart off the used tooling of the 9-5 and 9-3 models, and possibly others to Beijing, and then that’s the end of Trollhättan and Saab, Reuters reports.

Other assets of the brand, including its headquarters will be liquidated, more than 3,000 Saab jobs in Sweden will go bye-bye. The Saab car brand will be retired.



BAIC will use the used machinery to build cars sold under their own brand.

GM is still talking to other suitors for Saab. But after ages of hand-wringing, GM now wants a deal to be closed by end of December, which in the world of deals is tomorrow morning. Says Reuters: “Although the Swedish government could still intervene to tip the balance, those tough conditions and the fast timetable make it more likely that a partial sale of Saab to BAIC will be the only viable option for GM.”

BAIC would still be interested in buying Saab as a whole, but GM doesn’t seem to want to sell the brand and future technology off to China.

On Friday, BAIC obtained a $2.93 billion line of credit from the Bank of China.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • AnalogMan AnalogMan on Dec 08, 2009

    I've owned 5 Saab's over the past 30 years (out of the exactly 100 cars I've owned), and I personally absolutely loved every one of them. IMHO, Saab is another example of the GM anti-Midas touch - whatever GM touches seems to turn to crap. Of course, every car company is a business, and must be profitable. No matter how cool and neat and desirable a car is to hard-core gear-heads like me and the rest of us here on TTAC, it has to be a money-maker. Despite that, I think Saab is a great example of the difference between a small successful company and a big failure. The Saabs I loved (1970's-1990's) were unique. They offered things that no other car did. For those that remember the original Saab 99, or 900, or even the 9-3 of the 1990's, they were an amazing combination of fun to drive, practical, luxurious, and reasonably priced. The old ads from the 1970's were absolutely true: you really could fold the back seat down and carry furniture in it. I did it many times. Take the 9-3 Viggen (1999-2002), maybe the last Saab with vestiges of the old, true Saab in it (and my favorite). It was a (reasonably) high performance car that was an absolutely blast to drive. Yet, it was also (relatively) luxurious and comfortable enough to do an all-day drive and arrive feeling comfortable. It looked unique, there was nothing else quite like it on the road. Plus, it had that great hatchback design. What other sporty, fun to drive, fairly fast, reasonably economical (I regularly got 32 mpg in highway driving) can you carry furniture in? It was a car you could both have fun on the twisties, and then fold down the back seat and carry a table, big screen TV, chairs, etc. No other car could, or can, do that. Saabs used to have character. They had personality. Yeah, they were "quirky" with the overplayed ignition switch on the floor, etc., but they had soul. They were just plain interesting, but also fun, comfortable, practical, economical, and reliable (until GM filled them with second-rate bits from the Malibu). Saab was never going to be a major player. But, they had their niche, and it worked well enough for them for the better part of 40 years. They appealed to the well-educated, liberal, quirky, somewhat sophisticated buyer (the stereotypical "Vermont college professor"). And you know what? There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. That was the kind of buyer who wanted a car like Saab, and they bought enough of them to make the company a successful small business (for a car company). Until GM came along and tried to make it into a big car company. GM, with their infamous arrogance, delusion, complete lack of grasp of reality, and being totally out of touch with so many market segments (other than maybe trucks and Corvettes). They just didn't understand Saab's demographic, and tried to make it into something it wasn't. With abominations like the Malibu-ized 9-3, the monstrosity 9-7 Blazer, and the pathetic Saabaru 9-2 Imprezza (which was a good car, just not a Saab). They destroyed the uniqueness of the brand. They completely gutted why Saab buyers (like me) bought Saabs. They turned it into yet another bland, undistinguished, low-quality GM division pawning second-rate junk. And the Saab buyers went away. So instead of letting Saab continue as a (reasonably) successful small car company, GM butchered it and tried to turn it into a bigger company - which failed. And with the loss of Saab is also lost the precious gem of a car that no one else has made since. The world will go on. But, the 100,000 or so people who used to buy Saabs, who loved them and appreciated them for their unique and irreplaceable personality, will always miss them. Sometimes in business, wanting to be BIG and be all things to all buyers is the wrong formula. I think it is better to be successful and small to a core group of fervently loyal buyers, than to dilute your personality and just be another ho-hum failure. Goodbye Saab, I'll miss you.

    • Airndb Airndb on Feb 24, 2010

      Just chiming in with my two cents here. I have been driving classic Saabs now for probably ten years. I worked in a private Saab repair facility. I thouroughly enjoy these attributes of my '88 900 turbo: 1: visibility that is second to none. 2: handles very well in the snow; holds the road well in the good weather as well. 3: the engine makes plenty of power and still makes 33 miles to the gallon on average, not just on the highway. Mind you the car is almost 22 years old and still managing excellent power AND fuel economy with 200k miles on it. Try and make me believe that they didn't know what they were doing when they designed these engines... 4: fold down the rear seat and you have what borders on a truck. 5: all of the electronic devices and modules still work flawlessly. I also worked on VWs for a while. Will one of their window regulators make it 22 years? The answer is unequivocally NO! I am not a politically oriented person; politics either piss me off or bore me to death. I get a kick out of people who get so passionately biased against something. I have worked in the automotive industry for 15 years and have had the opportunities to drive all kinds of makes and models of vehicles. My Saab has a PERSONALITY that I have not found in any other vehicle. I will not deny having THOROUGHLY enjoyed driving a 2006 Carrera S, I would love to have one! I, however, can honestly say that the personality that I like so much about the classic Saab was absent. To me, the Saab is a solid feeling vehicle. I will concede a couple of the Saabs weaknesses... the 5 speed transmission was a weak point. It really can't handle much abuse. The ride quality is not all that great, either. Do either one of these things make me dislike the car or it's personality? Absolutely not. I can say that I disliked what GM did to the brand. They definitely killed any and all personality or individuality. I will conclude.. like what you like. Every car brand has it's segment that it is meant to satisfy. Pre-GM Saabs did that very well as far as I am concerned. Whatever to the comment of identity being wrapped up in a car. Yes, I identify with the Saab because I love it's attributes. Is my identity wrapped up in it? NO. Will I ever change the mind of any Saab hater? NO. However; do not deny that the Saab had things that it was intended to do well and indeed it did.

  • No_slushbox No_slushbox on Dec 08, 2009

    Saab buyers reminiscing about their cars from the '80s are just like muscle car buyers reminiscing about their cars from the '60s. The car was often their first car, and a first car is going to be great in a person's mind even if it comparatively sucked. And just like muscle car buyers Saab buyers have to defend their cars to the death because they've wrapped up their identity in the car. An attack on the car is an attack on the person. Saab failed because it made crappy uncompetitive cars, plain and simple. The (independent) company never developed an AWD system. Saab never brought its quality up to German levels, much less Japanese levels, and Saab was an embarrassment next to Volvo's legendary durability. Like people have said above, Subaru is what Saab could have been if Saab had the talent to make reliable cars and had the engineering skill to develop a competitive AWD system to make up for the failings of FWD. Saab should consider it an honor that it got to sell one Subaru, a Saab made correctly, before it was put out of its misery. GM didn't kill Saab (and I'm no fan of GM). In the late '80s there was no future for overpriced, poorly built FWD cars. The Japanese were making affordable, reliable FWD cars. And the Hondas handled well. I am an educated liberal, but I've never needed to drive a poorly made FWD car to prove it. When people wrap up their identities in their cars their judgment of their cars becomes blurred. Saab is dead, Saab owners aren't. Subaru has a full lineup of amazing cars that they can now move onto. Alternatively, better RWD manual transmission cars are being made now than have ever been made in history, with ESD and snow tires to make it through winter. Or you can buy a Prius. Making any of those choices will, if you have an open mind, show you how comparatively bad the Saab really was. There is a wonderful automotive world out there beyond the rose colored glasses.

    • PartsUnknown PartsUnknown on Dec 09, 2009

      You're flat wrong. You've never owned one, so you have zero credibility. Talk/bitch about something about which you have a modicum of knowledge. In fact, your characterization of the cars is incorrect on so many levels I won't even bother to call them out individually. I don't have that kind of time. I have owned five SAABs, but I have also owned two Toyotas, a Honda, a Nissan, a Porsche, three Land Rovers, a BMW, a Ford, a Mazda and three Volkswagens. The BMW 528i and Porsche 911 were my favorites, but the SAABs were excellent cars and stacked up very well with all the others I have owned. And, in fact, as I have stated before, they have many superior characteristics. Find a nice 9-5 Aero for yourself and get back to me. There's a whole wondeful automotive world out there. I love cars, but my identity is not wrapped up in them. I have a wonderful family for that. Have fun driving your Camry.

  • No_slushbox No_slushbox on Dec 09, 2009

    I would have let this go but I can't let the accusation that I drive a Camry stand. Currently I have an NA Miata daily driver. Historically I've had a 240SX, 318i sedan (fun when it worked, but horrible European reliability), MR2 Spyder and G35 sedan, all manual. Camrys are what people have to rent when their Saabs are in the shop. Re: Owning a Saab: I've never poked myself in the eye with a fork either, some things I don't need to personally experience.

  • Dave M. Dave M. on Dec 09, 2009

    So you've owned mostly secretary-type cars (Miata, 240, MR2, 318)?

    • No_slushbox No_slushbox on Dec 10, 2009

      At least get the insults right. Miatas are for homos, 240SXes and MR2s are for Asians with yellow hair, and the 318i was for people who couldn't afford a real BMW. Or maybe I just like thrashing lightweight sports cars that direct their power to the correct wheels and don't break down all the time (except for the BMW, fool me once. . .). But beware glass houses in your transverse engine fwd Opel (it costs more to make a longitudinal engine FWD car, but a longitudinal engine provides better FWD handling, and the real Saab at least had the decency to stick to that design, like Subaru and Audi, except the A3, do to this day). You have one of the compromised cars that the Saab loyalists complain about GM ruining the brand with.

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