SAAB is dead.

[Hugo Drax]

Never looked at SAABs but out of curiosity the Saab 2001 95 is quite nice. Surprised they did not sell these. Nice styling and features. Maybe too late?
I remember the Saabs during the GM era as ugly looking cars with GM "Quality"


http://www.saabusa.com/webdav/files/us/pdf/us_9-5_brochure.pdf

 

[Anubis]

fam has owned 3 saabs, all have been great cars. sucks to see them bite it. their recent cars were all very nice, but they were priced too high


http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/story/2011-12-19/saab-bankruptcy/52064104/1

 

[Hugo Drax]

fam has owned 3 saabs, all have been great cars. sucks to see them bite it. their recent cars were all very nice, but they were priced too high


http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/story/2011-12-19/saab-bankruptcy/52064104/1

Sad, Audi was left for dead in the late 80s early 90s and made a big comeback. I guess GM is the kiss of death to any Automaker it absorbs.

 

[The-Noid]

Sad, Audi was left for dead in the late 80s early 90s and made a big comeback. I guess GM is the kiss of death to any Automaker it absorbs.

Vauxhall, Opel, Holden, Daewoo (now GM Korea) all seem to be doing fine outside the country. Saab is really the only failure.

Possibly the Canadian companies but those simply became GM/Chevy/Buick/etc.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Sad, Audi was left for dead in the late 80s early 90s and made a big comeback. I guess GM is the kiss of death to any Automaker it absorbs.

Saab would (and should) have gone bankrupt in the 90's before GM bought them.

 

[manimal]

Less choices for consumers is bad. Something tells me the yuppy lifestyle just took a big hit.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Less choices for consumers is bad. Something tells me the yuppy lifestyle just took a big hit.

good thing there is still a million other choices.

 

[manimal]

good thing there is still a million other choices.

True but that saab 900 convertible I had when I lived in LA will always be near and dear to me.

 

[jhu]

No they're not. They make nice jets, anti-tank weapons, etc. In fact I just bought an AT4 from them yesterday.

 

[GT1999]

Sad. I liked the Saab 93.

 

[OutHouse]

Less choices for consumers is bad. Something tells me the yuppy lifestyle just took a big hit.

lol dude consumers have MANY MANY choices and the consumers didnt buy SAAB so they went out of business.

 

[Doppel]

About time. Saab has been totally and completely irrelevant for many years now. It's amazing to me most of all that zombie companies can even keep going for so long. It's like when a new company starts they need to do well soon or they end up like most new ventures (dead), but once they get big enough there is so much momentum behind them they can suck balls for years and just keep on chugging along.

 

[The-Noid]

About time. Saab has been totally and completely irrelevant for many years now. It's amazing to me most of all that zombie companies can even keep going for so long. It's like when a new company starts they need to do well soon or they end up like most new ventures (dead), but once they get big enough there is so much momentum behind them they can suck balls for years and just keep on chugging along.

I liked the look of the new 9-5. Too bad it never took off.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Interesting, All new Saabs sitting in lots unsold are now As-is (GM will not cover the warranty on them). Obviously no one is gonna pony up49K for the top of the line model Aero 6 turbo 9-5. So what happens to the inventory? And prices. They are gonna have to drop down big time.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/20/saab-suspends-all-warranty-coverage-cars-to-be-sold-as-is/

 

[theeedude]

I wish they still made the 9-2x. Would have loved to score a Subaru dirt cheap, even as-is.

 

[exar333]

Never looked at SAABs but out of curiosity the Saab 2001 95 is quite nice. Surprised they did not sell these. Nice styling and features. Maybe too late?
I remember the Saabs during the GM era as ugly looking cars with GM "Quality"


http://www.saabusa.com/webdav/files/us/pdf/us_9-5_brochure.pdf

Saabs were pretty crappy before GM, while GM held them, and after. No changes there.

 

[alphatarget1]

Interesting, All new Saabs sitting in lots unsold are now As-is (GM will not cover the warranty on them). Obviously no one is gonna pony up49K for the top of the line model Aero 6 turbo 9-5. So what happens to the inventory? And prices. They are gonna have to drop down big time.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/20/saab-suspends-all-warranty-coverage-cars-to-be-sold-as-is/

I wonder how parts availability is gonna be? I'd buy one for the right price. Think HP touchpad style firesale. The TP was 80% off. If a 93 SportCombi sells for 80% off MSRP that's 7400. I'd buy one for that price. LOL

 

[nitrous9200]

The cars have no warranties but the parts division is apparently still running and making money (according to the press conference yesterday) so if that's the case, the few hundred people that buy the remaining inventory won't be completely screwed.

I've been a Saab fan for a while and it's sad to see them go, but without any funding to develop a new lineup, they simply weren't going anywhere and their fall comes as no real surprise. There's just no room in the market for a niche player like them that isn't backed by a larger company. It's easy to get mad at GM too and they certainly played a role in Saab's downfall but they weren't the only ones responsible.
Their cars were never class leaders but they were good cars nonetheless, slightly quirky and good looking, fun to drive and most of all, unique.
I live in a town infested with Audis/BMWs/Mercs and it's cool driving around in something that's different, but oh well. So far our two 9-3's have been soldiering on faithfully with little drama and hopefully they stick around for a while.

At least there are lots of good cars out there. I've been looking at the new Impreza, Focus and Skyactiv Mazda 3 hatchbacks and all look really nice.