GM to end Saab brand after talks with buyer fail
General Motors is killing off another well-known brand — Saab, a quirky line of cars known for angular roof lines and ignition keyholes between the front seats — after talks with a Dutch would-be buyer collapsed.
GM, Dutch automaker Spyker Cars and the government of Sweden, where Saabs are made, were in discussions as late as Friday morning. Spyker said the sale was too complicated to complete quickly. GM declined to elaborate on why the deal failed.
GM plans to begin liquidating the brand early next month. However, the Detroit automaker will continue to honor warranties and provide service and spare parts to current Saab owners once the Saab dealerships close, Automotive News reported Friday. The auto trade publication also reported that the brand has 218 U.S. dealers.
Enthusiasts appreciated touches like placing the ignition lock between the front seats rather than on the steering column. Saabs were also known for unusual design, with flatter front windshields and sloping rear windshields that gave the cars an almost backward silhouette.
Saab was also a pioneer in turbocharged engines, beginning with the release of the Saab 99 in the 1970s, and the first carmaker to offer heated seating, in 1971.
GM bought a 50 percent stake and management control of Saab for $600 million after it split from Swedish truck maker Scania in 1989. It bought full ownership in 2000 for $125 million more.
Even after the GM takeover, Saab remained closely associated with Sweden and its history of making safe, reliable cars personal loan for poor credit. But GM never made money on the acquisition. Industry analysts complained Saab lost its distinctiveness in the crowded market for luxury cars under GM, which stripped it of its angular design.
"More and more frequently, they were using GM platforms and sheet metals, moving away from that uniqueness based on styling," said Tom Libby, an independent Detroit-area auto analyst.
It’s the third time this year GM has failed to sell an unwanted brand. In September, auto industry magnate Roger Penske scrapped plans to buy Saturn after he was unable to find someone to make them when GM stops making them in 2011. GM is phasing out Saturn.
And last month, GM halted a deal to sell the European Opel brand to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. GM will keep Opel, which, unlike Saab, it considers critical to its international plans.
GM did successfully sell Hummer, which will go to Chinese heavy equipment maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp.
Saab employs about 3,400 people worldwide, most of them at its main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden. It also has a parts distribution center and a design center in separate locations in Sweden and an engine plant in Finland.