With the intellectual property and tooling for 9-5 and 9-3 models headed for Beijing, there’s less to Saab than ever. Sort of. The BAIC deal actually proved to be less dramatic than previously thought, netting the Swedish GM subsidiary a mere $197m according to Automotive News [sub]. BAIC had just obtained a $2.93b line of credit with Bank of China, so there was nothing stopping them from buying more… except GM’s unwillingness to hand over modern platforms. What BAIC did get out of the deal still isn’t entirely clear, but what is clear is that GM has received nothing from the Saab sale so far. That $197m was deposited into Saab’s Swedish account, according to sources speaking to di.se.

Cross-cultural alliances are the craze of the moment in the auto industry, particularly in the form of Europeans hooking up with Japanese partners. Renault & Nissan, PSA & Mitsubishi, Volkswagen & Suzuki and Bertel Schmitt & Tomoko (sorry, couldn’t resist it!) are just a few examples. Fiat, on the other hand, is not following the crowd. Moneycontrol.com reports that Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman of Fiat, is saying no ad un socio giapponese. “The others are doing what we have (already) done,” Montezemolo says. “This is a time when we have to be careful not get indigestion.” Is the Chrysler merger not sitting well on the stomach?

A few days ago I captured some news from Swedish Aftonbladet.se that Beijing Auto (BAIC) is buying Saab’s now to be replaced 9-5 technology. Even though the Koenigsegg-Saab deal fell apart, and BAIC were a part of the investor group, the Chinese has not given up the idea to build Saabs in China. At the time I couldn’t find any other reports on this, and wondered wether Aftonbladet had done some creative journalism, but yesterday, Nyteknik.se reported the same news, citing their own sources. They’ve even confronted Saab’s spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs, but of course she can not, will not comment on that.

Fresh details on GM’s Asian wranglings are coming in, and it seems that SAIC paid The General a mere $85m for the one percent needed to control the joint venture. GM’s Nick Reilly tells the New York Times:

the 51 percent stake would give S.A.I.C. the right to approve the venture’s budget, future plans and senior management. But the venture has a cooperative spirit in which S.A.I.C. has already been able to do so… S.A.I.C. wanted to have a majority stake to consolidate the venture in its financial reporting

Which is about as credible as the conclusion that the Shanghai and India deals are going to provide GM International with a meaningful amount of cash with which to rescue its European and Korean divisions. As it turns out, the Indian deal isn’t going to translate into free cash for GM. GM and SAIC will set up a joint Hong Kong-based investment company, which GM will give its Indian operations and SAIC will fund with $300-$530m, bringing its overall value to $650m.

See this ad for Lancia and/or world peace? Now check out the first post-bankruptcy Chrysler brand advertisement here. Noticing any similarities? It seems that there’s trouble brewing in the Fiat family, and “Don” Marchionne has strongly suggested that the new boy to the family, Chrysler, could take over some of Lancia’s profile. Automotive News [sub] reports that the Chrysler brand will appear on Lancias (A.K.A rebadging) in many international markets, and that Lancias could become a niche marque.

Renault may be playing Russian Roulette, but at least it seems the French automaker is finally playing nicely with Avtovaz and the Kremlin. Maybe the thought of ending up like Mikhail Khodorkovsky spurred Carlos Ghosn into action? Or maybe Ghosn came around when he found out that the Kremlin is going to put $1.7 billion into the ailing Russian car maker. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Renault will invest a mere €300 million in the form of of a technology transfer so that Avtovaz can start building the Logan, Renault’s smash hit in Eastern Europe. It’s like the Fiat-Chrysler deal, only cheaper! Renault will also help Avtovaz develop a new car to replace the Zhiguli (I’d never heard of it, either). Some of this production will happen in Russia’s far east and Renault’s Japanese subsidiary is there to help!

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce reports that Volkswagen AG has announced it plans to build (cue “Dr Evil” voice) 1 million vehicles in Brazil by 2014. To help this grand notion become a reality Volkswagen will invest €2.3 billion (about $3.5b) into the endeavour benefiting its two assembly plants in Anchieta & Taubate and its engine plant in Sao Carlos. Volkswagen aren’t far off this target; this year Volkswagen expects to manufacture 800,000 vehicles in Brazil. Brazil is also Volkswagen’s third largest market after China and Germany, respectively, so there’s plenty of demand for the Wolfsburg Warriors’ offerings, with deliveries to customers up 70% since 2005. If Volkswagen cars are suffering from alleged reliability issues, it doesn’t seem to be bothering our Brazilian friends.

When cars and politics collide, the results are rarely pretty. No wonder the political discussions here at TTAC so often rate amongst our most heated and community standards-challenging. Modern cars are machines of great power, facilitating a great deal of freedom but also carrying undeniable consequences, and their position in modern society demands a constant re-evaluation of their terms of use. Some of TTAC’s gripes on car-related policy may lead some to believe that we harbor ulterior political motivations for our coverage, but the truth of the matter is that our principles are simple and directly car-related. If our political coverage sometimes seems petty, it’s because American motorists have relatively little to complain about. In Russia, however, motorists find themselves under assault by import bans, draconian tax increases and corrupt traffic police. And as the New York Times documents, it takes a lot to push motorists into political awareness, but once pushed their eloquent defense of their automotive rights is nothing short of inspirational.

Yesterday Daimler announced that McLaren would be buying out Daimler’s interest in their joint venture Formula 1 team. Many, including board member Erich Klemm, thought this made all kinds of sense. “In the (car) factories, every cent is being turned over three times. The employees are feeling the financial crisis with shorter working hours and loss of income,” he continued. “In these economically difficult times, the company should invest in better marketing of its real cars.” My, what a novel idea!

Reuters reports that Aabar Investments is considering increasing their stake in Daimler AG from 9.1% to 15%. Aabar is already Daimler largest shareholder and this move, should it happen, will further cement this position. The Abu Dhabi investment fund paid $2.7 billion for the 9.1% stake when the share price €20.77. Since then, the share price of Daimler has rocketed 77% and on the news of Aabar mulling a bigger stake, the share price rose by 4.4% to €35.81 per share. Daniel Schwarz, an analyst with Commerzbank AG said “It’s a positive signal that a large shareholder is showing a long term commitment”. But the strength of the fund’s love for Daimler doesn’t just extend to this increased stake.

Renault may be about to learn the folly of buying into a Russian company with close ties to the Russian government instead of establishing a presence of their own. Renault recently took a 25% stake in Avtovaz and things have gone from bad to worse. Avtovaz cut its staff by 25% and is now teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Which is why Russia’s deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov, on Sunday said “If the Renault-Nissan alliance wishes to increase its participation to the point where it takes control, Russia will not be against it,”. He then went on to say “we will have to go to other potential partners and investors,”. These are the words which Renault should pay close attention to.

Reports in the Swedish media have Consortium Jakob AB still in the running to snatch Volvo from Geely. But hiring investment bank Morgan Stanley as collaborators must have spooked Geely — FoMoCo’s “preferred bidder” — and the Chinese automaker has upped the ante with some grand plans for Volvo. Geely is promising to sell no fewer than 1 million Volvos annually within four/five years.

China’s recent decisions to allow defaults on commodity future contracts and subsidize raw material imports are seriously messing with the commodities markets, giving voice to paranoia in every sector of the economy. In the auto industry, that means the now-familiar cries from those who worry far too much about the availability of raw materials for battery making. Automotive News [sub] reports that worldwide demand for 15 “rare earth” elements will exceed demand by 40k tons “in the next few years,” raising challenges for the nascent hybrid and battery electric segments.

Back in loony desperation of pre-bailout Cerberus-era Chrysler, plans were floated for Chrysler to build a Ram-based Nissan Titan in exchange for a ChryCo-branded version of the Nissan Versa (and possibly the Altima). Now that Fiat is running things in Auburn Hills though, Chrysler has access to modern compact and mid-sized platforms. And Fiat doesn’t want Chrysler paying Nissan to help it compete in South America, one of Fiat’s most important markets. According to Automotive News [sub], the break “leaves Nissan with a bigger problem than any facing Chrysler.” Namely, the Titan question. Wait, seriously? Nissan recently killed off the Quest and Infiniti QX56 to make more room in its Canton plant for diesel-powered light commercial vehicle production. If/when the economy does start coming back, that market could be a better place to be than the crowded, cutthroat full-size pickup market. Alternatively, Toyota is drowning in Tundra capacity. If Nissan wants to be in the pickup market so badly that it’s willing to beg for a rebadge, that seems like the place to start. Release after the jump.

In a desperate attempt to save lucrative photo enforcement programs in the face of widespread scandal, the Italy’s Ministry of Interior on Friday announced significant reforms to the way speed cameras and red light cameras are operated in the country. The move followed explosive allegations of corruption involving over one hundred public officials and a number of executives from the photo enforcement industry. The investigation is ongoing with police forces having conducted raids and arrests earlier this month, in June and in January. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni set out the new regulations in a directive issued to local authorities. “The primary objective is… to plan (speed) control activities so that they represent a real tool of prevention and not merely a means to raise cash,” Maroni said in a statement. “Speed control is a police service that cannot be delegated to companies that rent equipment.”

An unaccountable transportation body in North Central Texas on Thursday awarded $3,615,214 in taxpayer money to a foreign corporation for its failure to produce a winning toll road project bid. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of the North Texas Council of Governments approved the payment to Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, a Spanish company, as a “stipend for unsuccessful bidders” and for costs associated with applications the company made for loans that would have been backed by federal taxpayers.

A group calling itself Consortium Jacob AB is making a last-minute play to keep the Volvo brand out of Chinese hands. The alt. Geely newbies consist mainly of Swedish owners, fronted by former Volvo CEO Roger Holtback. Despite the late entry into the auction, Ford has promised to treat the all [mostly?] Swedish bid seriously. The Swedish government’s “manager for affairs of the automotive industry” at the Industry Dept., Jöran Hägglund, gave the group the green light. Allegedly, Volvo’s union of engineers got the ball rolling. So, now, show me the money . . .

Swedish supercar builders Koenigsegg wants to “liberate” Saab from GM. To that end, Mr. Koenigsegg and his partner Bård Eker assembled a group of investors to back their play. Publicly, only one other name was attached to the Koenigsegg Group (KG) proposal: Mark Bishop. Bishop is an unlikely auto magnate; a publicity shy California wheeler-dealer with a dubious past in the sub-prime mortgage CDO re-bundling business. Bishop reportedly held a 22 percent stake in KG. No more. As TTAC predicted, the Swedes have shown Bishop the lucka.

TTAC reader and marketing consultant John Charles of Stockholm, Sweden, was gracious enough to send us some more info on investor Mark Bishop, the man who would be king of Saab.

Hi, I read your very interesting piece on Mark Bishop and SAAB. However you (unintentionally, I imagine) missed out a few details. I have found out that Bishop was involved as President of the rather shady Quick Loan Funding. It is understandable that Bishop chooses not to mention his time at QLF in his CV.

GM wants to dump Opel on Fiat, but Fiat has its eye on GM’s successful Latin American division. GM sees a chance to hop on Fiat’s runaway train and is considering giving the operations to Fiat for a stake in the Marchionne empire. Two anonymous sources tell The New York Times that Fiat’s CEO “has indicated a willingness to give up less than 10 percent of Fiat to General Motors.” GM is said to be asking for 30 percent. How awkward.

“Insane like a fox,” you’re thinking. And yes, the Fiat CEO is set to receive “good Chrysler” with a taxpayer-funded bow on top. He also has his eyes on Opel, which the German government is desperate to find a good home for. But lightning still hasn’t actually struck once yet, and may we remind you once again that Fiat is in not-great shape financially. And yet Marchionne, mad with power, turns his eyes towards China. And South America. And Russia. In fact, according to the industry analysts Bloomberg talks to, Fiat is like communism in the 50s: everywhere, especially right behind you. You see, Marchionne “craves” 5 million annual global sales even though Fiat sold only 2.15 million cars last year. Reportedly the Chrysler deal will bring the Fiat empire to 4m sales (lets wait for those chickens to hatch, shall we?) and adding any one of GM’s global divisions (Opel, Latin America, Asia/Pacific) would take it over the 5 million mark. For Marchionne the only challenge is figuring out which ones he can pick up for free.

The New York Times‘ headline writer offers a piercing glimpse into the obvious: “Russian Auto Bailout Protects Jobs, Not Efficiency.” Remind me again how ANY bailout improves efficiency? Oh right: federally-funded union buyouts get rid of excess workers and facilities at the taxpayers’ expense, leaving fewer workers on the books—although adding to the automakers’ debt mountain. But that’s OK, ’cause when they file for Chapter 11, all that goes away. Da? Well, that’s not the way in works in Russia. In Russia, the government “loans” their domestic automakers billions (trillions) of rubles and . . . that’s it. I’ll be white this time, Boris. [NB: the above picture was taken in 1999.] The Gray Lady links cause and effect.

In his first piece for TTAC, our former celeb contributor Brock Yates noted that “until the underlying economics of private transportation changes . . . economies will be saddled with the private automobile, whether they like it or not.” Here in Hanoi, that truism holds up . . . only you’d need to replace “private automobile” with “ Honda Wave.” Though four-wheeled transportation is clearly picking up pace here (more to come on the quirk and diversity of said transport to come), the Vietnamese could no more imagine Hanoi without a crush of sub-200cc scoots than an American could imagine commuting on a camel. What’s a developing (or overdeveloped, for that matter) economy to do?

No doubt inspired by the endless supply of videos around the web of Saudi drivers tearing ass across the streets of the Kingdom, the NY Times recently sent a man to investigate. He found that between drag races and the “drifitng” shown in the video above, the Saudi streets come to resemble a cross between Death Race and The Fast and The Furious. It seems that a great national boredom, or “tufush,” has seized the young men of Saudi, and with no public entertainment and few jobs, an underground car culture has flourished. Wealthier and middle-class men drag race Corvettes and Imprezas all night, but for the poorer, more desperately in need of excitement, only drifting cars through and around traffic will do. And the scene has created one crazy melting pot of young, angry desperation.

Open letter from GM’s Union Leaders:

“Renaissance” plan for Europe is not viable. It will finish off the European GM brands and companies and includes unacceptable risks of litigation—the alternative is the spin off of the European operations

Dubai gas prices might reach parity with Oklahoma City prices in the near future, as the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi contemplate raising their standard prices from 6.2dhs per Imperial Gallon (or $1.38 per US Gallon). The rising gas prices only hint at the start of problems from plummeting oil prices in the UAE as ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) and ENOC (Emirates National Oil Company) have started to prohibit cars bearing plates from other Emirates from using their filling stations, as they are the cheapest areas in the UAE. Residents of Sharjah have created the greatest outcry thus far as they complain they are all citizens of the UAE, not one particular emirate, and should have equal filling opportunities no matter where they are. Other victims of the oil crash: the massive building sprees Dubai and Abu Dhabi went on trying to create a tourist destination paradise from a gravel parking lot covered in sand dunes.

Seeking Alpha prides itself “the premier financial website for actionable stock market opinion and analysis.” When it comes to what should happen with GM, they are on our side: “Buyout better than bailout,” writes Seeking Alpha. Roger that. We have been picking-up indications that Chinese automakers SAIC and Dongfeng may have plans to buy assets of GM (and while they are at it, maybe even of Chrysler). China would get what it badly needs for its thriving domestic car industry to become an even more thriving international car industry: accepted brands, a worldwide distribution network and know-how necessary to comply with US and worldwide standards. Apparently, private equity firms are keen to aid this “transfer.” Behind all of this (of course) stands the Chinese government. The People’s Republic owns most of automakers SAIC and Dongfeng, along with a good chunk of the private equity firm Blackstone, a good chunk of Morgan, and a good chunk of T-bills (to the tune of $585b).