Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 87

Thread: The Saab story.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Southeast US
    Posts
    5,582

    The Saab story.

    Not looking too good.



    Thu Apr 7, 2011 12:54pm EDT

    * Saab owes tens of millions of crowns to suppliers

    * Production of cars suspended for third day this week

    * Saab hopes to restart production early next week

    * Spyker has said sees no collapse

    (Adds Saab comment)

    By Johan Ahlander

    TROLLHATTAN, Sweden, April 7 (Reuters) - Swedish carmaker Saab scrambled to resolve a crisis over tens of millions of crowns in unpaid bills on Thursday as a production halt ran into a third day.

    Dutch owner Spyker (SPYKR.AS) held talks with parts suppliers whose invoices it has failed to pay while newspaper Dagens Nyheter headlined its coverage: "Desperate hunt for money".

    Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs said the carmaker is working intensively to get supplies moving again.

    "We're expecting that we could resume normal production early next week," she said. "A lot of work is going into strengthening the financial position of the company."

    Spyker, which bought loss-making Saab from General Motors (GM.N) last year, says the company is not facing collapse but a short-term liquidity crunch.

    Spyker chief executive Victor Muller and Saab chief Jan-Ake Jonsson both declined to comment to Reuters on progress to sort out payments when questioned outside the plant.

    "I do not know how much it (the amount owed) is in total, but we are talking about tens of millions (of crowns)," Svenake Berglie, chief executive of the FKG suppliers' organisation, told Reuters.

    Andreas Ljungberg, Director of Commercial Vehicles at International Automotive Components Group (IAC), which supplies dashboards and other components, said IAC was closely watching cash flow to assess future deliveries.

    "Obviously, we have outstanding payments to the degree where we cannot increase our exposure further," he added.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...73612520110407

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    842
    Everytime I hear an exec say 'Saab is not on the verge of collapse' I think to myself: 'Saab must be on the verge of collapse'.

    Now will they let Antonov invest? Or will the Saab brand bite the dust?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Barcelona
    Posts
    33,489
    In the credit crisis and with interest set to go up, this doesn't look good.

    I hope people don't stop buying Saabs, because if they do it could be the end.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Modena
    Posts
    9,826
    I've had the chance to check the new 9-5 on multiple occasions, and it is a great solid car. It's a bit too... boring interior wise, I was expecting something more like a spaceship. They were all fitted with gray/black interiors, so maybe that's the reason.
    It's expensive, still way less than the Germans. Not sure if it's enough to distract buyers from the XF or even the new Thema, given those who'd buy a German car wouldn't even bother with these.
    It's sort of like the S80. Great car, just too understated, possibly.
    KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008

    *cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Rudolstadt/ Thuringia
    Posts
    1,053
    The poblem of Saab:
    1. GM ruined their reputation with idiotic cars that didn't fit into Saab's lineup (like the Saabaru).
    2. Their cars aren't for the performance crowd.
    3. They aren't for the showing-off crowd either.
    4. They are too expensive to compete with the average fleet cars.

    Some of these ponts may surely be bs from an enthusiasts point of view, but they simply stop certain people from buying Saabs. Basically, the only people that would buy one now would be the few Saab enthusiasts that are left.
    I think their problems could be solved with smaller more affordable cars, but it's not certain if they will even survive long enough to produce them.

    Edit: Forgot to add that Saab never had a fanbase that could be compared to (for example) Alfa's or BMW's which could be a problem,too.
    FIXIE EVOLVED INTO SMALL MOTORBIKE! Now driving a Simson KR51 <3

    Dream ride: red 1971 Opel Commodore GS/E

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Modena
    Posts
    9,826
    Alfa has a large fanbase, and it's still not enough to deliver only fan-cars.

    Volvo tried to produce more smaller cars, like the C30, S40 and V50, but I guess that was much easier with the Focus as a proven base architecture.
    Was it enough? Not so sure.

    Saab could do something similar, but I guess there just isn't space for it atm.
    The 9-4X came too late, the 9-2X was pointless and the 9-7X anachronistic.
    The previous 9-5 was as old as my house with a less than inspiring facelift, and the new 9-5 took too much to land on dealer's floors.

    They need a new mini like the MiTo or Mini itself, and a new 9-3. Now, or even earlier, like yesterday.
    KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008

    *cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Barcelona
    Posts
    33,489
    Quote Originally Posted by Commodore GS/E View Post
    The poblem of Saab:
    1. GM ruined their reputation with idiotic cars that didn't fit into Saab's lineup (like the Saabaru).
    2. Their cars aren't for the performance crowd.
    3. They aren't for the showing-off crowd either.
    4. They are too expensive to compete with the average fleet cars.

    Some of these ponts may surely be bs from an enthusiasts point of view, but they simply stop certain people from buying Saabs. Basically, the only people that would buy one now would be the few Saab enthusiasts that are left.
    I think their problems could be solved with smaller more affordable cars, but it's not certain if they will even survive long enough to produce them.

    Edit: Forgot to add that Saab never had a fanbase that could be compared to (for example) Alfa's or BMW's which could be a problem,too.
    It's the premium thing.

    Also these days you need to sell a million just to break eve.
    Quote Originally Posted by LeonOfTheDead View Post
    Alfa has a large fanbase, and it's still not enough to deliver only fan-cars.
    Alfa Romeo are three lunatics supporting the brand. And one of them is the CEO.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Modena
    Posts
    9,826
    Make them four.
    Five with my father.
    KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008

    *cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Rudolstadt/ Thuringia
    Posts
    1,053
    The problem isn't the fanbase, it's the financial situation of that fanbase .
    FIXIE EVOLVED INTO SMALL MOTORBIKE! Now driving a Simson KR51 <3

    Dream ride: red 1971 Opel Commodore GS/E

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Barcelona
    Posts
    33,489
    Lunatics don't earn much money, as it turns out.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Modena
    Posts
    9,826
    Given their power to weight ratio (or just plain power), I couldn't have bought any of them, except some older 145/146 1.3 liters maybe.
    I found a couple of good deals on a 147 and a 156, with the 1.6 liter engine. Too powerful.
    KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008

    *cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    brisbane - sub-tropical land of mangoes
    Posts
    16,251
    whichever saab it was that was a WRX wagon underneath, i would have loved. all the practicality of the subaru, without looking like a tosspot.
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Modena
    Posts
    9,826
    Saab 9-2X. As far as I can remember, it had an horrible steering.
    KFL Racing Enterprises - Kicking your ass since 2008

    *cough* http://theitalianjunkyard.blogspot.com/ *cough*

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    brisbane - sub-tropical land of mangoes
    Posts
    16,251
    what as in the usual subaru understeer or did they add something in?
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Rudolstadt/ Thuringia
    Posts
    1,053
    Quote Originally Posted by clutch-monkey View Post
    what as in the usual subaru understeer or did they add something in?
    GM softened the Subaru down. I think that says it all.
    FIXIE EVOLVED INTO SMALL MOTORBIKE! Now driving a Simson KR51 <3

    Dream ride: red 1971 Opel Commodore GS/E

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Gran Turismo 5
    By Sauc3 in forum Gaming
    Replies: 1020
    Last Post: 05-19-2014, 03:16 PM
  2. Replies: 20
    Last Post: 12-21-2006, 02:33 AM
  3. Saab 9-7X 2005-2009
    By Matt in forum Matt's Hi-Res Hide-Out
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 09-24-2004, 07:25 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •