Koenigsegg to buy Saab Auto

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Mr E

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General Motors and the Koenigsegg Group, Sweden's supercar producer, have signed a binding agreement over the sale of Saab Automobile.

The deal is expected to be announced today (Tues) subject to approval of EUR425m (US$610m) in loans from the Swedish government, underwritten by the European Investment Bank, and other financing arrangements.

Saab, which has been under court protection since February, has seen its global sales slump to fewer than 98,000 in 2008 from a high of 133,000 in 2006.

GM has owned Saab for 19 years and has never made a profit from its Swedish unit.
Koenigsegg was founded in 1994 by entrepreneur and car enthusiast Christian von Koenigsegg. Its cars sell for about EUR1m each.

In a memorandum of understanding signed in June, GM agreed to invest more into Saab after its spin-off than it would receive from the buyers. The Koenigsegg consortium pledged a relatively small sum up front backed by contingent financing, to be repaid to GM if they were to succeed in making Saab viable.
 
If I had 400m Euros I'm not sure I'd 'invest' it in Saab.

I like the cars and the brand, but I just don't think there are enough people who share my views who'd buy the cars.
 
I like the cars and the brand, but I just don't think there are enough people who share my views who'd buy the cars.

Maybe if they displayed a Koenigsegg badge, more people would buy them. :D
 
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a lot of people back home (i'm swedish) are suspicious about the motives of the new 'owners', thinking they are just after the guarantees from the government to line their own pockets.. the fact that some of the directors wanted to remain anonymous didnt help

on the other hand saab is obviously worth a lot for the brand name alone, and the reports that they have been losing money for 19 years.. it's really hard to say, sure saab has never really made any money but also it is obviously convenient for the americans (GM) to put losses in sweden and keep profits in the US for tax reasons.. its also well known that SAAB sweden was paying more for gearboxes, engines etc then their counterparts elsewhere in the world

im not a SAAB fan or would even consider one, but i hope it works out. who know they might even go back to their old innovative days and build interesting cars again...
 
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I've had a few SAAB's and I loved them. My old 900 was probably the best car I've ever owned, all things considered.
The problems with SAAB are manifold and it would require an essay to go into here but I think they're solvable. I would hate to see the name disappear and I'm surprised the Swedish government hasn't done more to help (although I'm blisfully unaware of Swedish politics).
 
The problems with SAAB are manifold and it would require an essay to go into here but I think they're solvable.

I thought the problems were more oil sludging than exhaust manifolds cracking ;)
 
I had a 99 many years ago , a very good car it was . I first considered it because of Setright's summary : Thoughtful cars for thoughtful people . It was the first FWD car I had , and one of the better ones .

Not being a fan of Vauxhalls , I'm not a big fan of the newer SAAB's .
 
a lot of people back home (i'm swedish) are suspicious about the motives of the new 'owners', thinking they are just after the guarantees from the government to line their own pockets.. the fact that some of the directors wanted to remain anonymous didnt help

on the other hand saab is obviously worth a lot for the brand name alone, and the reports that they have been losing money for 19 years.. it's really hard to say, sure saab has never really made any money but also it is obviously convenient for the americans (GM) to put losses in sweden and keep profits in the US for tax reasons.. its also well known that SAAB sweden was paying more for gearboxes, engines etc then their counterparts elsewhere in the world

im not a SAAB fan or would even consider one, but i hope it works out. who know they might even go back to their old innovative days and build interesting cars again...

Let's hope it doesn't turn into the debacle that was MG Rover / Phoenix Group in its last days where allegedly the top 4 guys took £40m in pay and pensions from the company during its brief existence!
BBC NEWS | Business | No probe into MG Rover collapse
 
Does this mean the end of the W124 windscreen wiper on the Koeningsthingy? :eek:
 
I was unaware of this news until reading it here and Im hoping Koenigsegg will bring some exciting developments to the brand.I have owned Saab in the past and enjoyed them so I really would be unhappy to see the brand disappear.
 
phoenix from the ashes?

I've had a few SAAB's and I loved them. My old 900 was probably the best car I've ever owned, all things considered.
The problems with SAAB are manifold and it would require an essay to go into here but I think they're solvable. I would hate to see the name disappear and I'm surprised the Swedish government hasn't done more to help (although I'm blisfully unaware of Swedish politics).

I used to have an eight valve turbo 'classic' 900; absolutley brilliant car. Safe, excellent performance and so practical. I hope something good comes out of all this.
 
My grandfather died before i was even born, however, back in the days, he loved his Saabs.. then moved to mercs, but from what my father says, he never had one regret about them.

the styling of todays Saabs is not an eye pleasing design... doesnt flow very well in my opinion.. but they were good cars!
 

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