Saab
Edmunds.com Readers Weigh In on New Saab 9-5
By Michelle Krebs November 1, 2010By Mark Holthoff The last few years have been rough for Saab and the Swedish brand, now under the ownership of Dutch sports car maker Spyker, is by no means out of the woods yet as more bad news was reported just last week. Still, the hopes of Saab owners, enthusiasts and company employees ride on the first complete makeover of the flagship 9-5 model in 13 years. Will the new 9-5 help Saab find its way to surer ground? We asked the online community of shoppers and enthusiasts at Edmunds.com, and here's a sample of what they've had more
Saab Struggles for Sales Foothold as Sales Boss Bolts, Production Cut
By Bill Visnic October 29, 2010Saab Automobile AB formally cut its sales ties with longtime owner General Motors Co. just four months ago, with Saab executives and the CEO of new parent company Spyker Cars NV admitting that as the company tries to reconnect with customers, its recovery will be slow. And thanks to much-reduced overheads and its pending new crossover, the 9-4X, coming virtually for free after its split with GM, Saab's breakeven point is said to be just 85,000 sales globally. But the hard payback for the decade-long spell of neglect from GM and vanishing from the market for more than a more
Saab: 'Bright Future' and Breakeven by 2012
By Bill Visnic July 27, 2010At a press event Tuesday in New York, executives for Saab Automobile AB said they have realistic expectations for the rejuvenated company now owned by the Netherlands' Spyker Cars NV and are confident the company can reach breakeven sales volumes by 2012 when its crucial replacement for the Saab 9-3 sedan hits the market. Jan Ake Jonsson, president and CEO, Saab Automobile AB, said that Saab assumed full responsibility for global sales and marketing from former Saab owner General Motors Co. on July 1. Now the company's primary job is to "rebuild confidence in the marketplace" for the Saab more
Saab Plots Comeback - Minus the Machine Guns
By Bill Visnic June 16, 2010BMW and machine guns probably don't spring to mind when considering how Saab Automobile AB will bounce back from the brink of liquidation. But the two go together if you're Victor Muller, the charismatic founder of Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV and now chairman of newly created Saab-Spyker Automobiles. Muller says he's an admirer of BMW's marketing strategy, and believes the same kind of focus is a key to helping Saab zero in on a specific clientele. At the same time, the Swedish automaker must avoid being all things to all people, or what Muller refers to as more
BMW, Saab Talking Partnership To Build Saab 9-2, Reports Say
By Michelle Krebs June 11, 2010BMW and Saab are discussing parts and technology sharing for a new Saab 9-2 small car, according to media reports. The potential partnership calls for BMW to provide Saab with engines, gearboxes and the Mini platform for Saab's much-needed small car, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg News, which added that talks were in the early stages and no agreement was imminent. An agreement would take at least two months, one source told Bloomberg. more
How To Say 'Suicide' in Swedish: 2010 Saab 9-5 Is $50 Grand
By Michelle Krebs April 28, 2010Saab fans were hoping it wouldn't happen, but it has: the all-new Saab company (now owned by Spyker Cars NV), last week said it was pricing its first all-new car, the 2010 Saab 9-5 Aero, at a preposterously ambitious $49,990, with destination. It's not as if Saab built a lot of brand equity in the past half decade, as former owner General Motors Co. lost all interest, cut off investment and let the products plod along totally in excess of humane replacement cycles. Then Saab twisted in the wind for a year, along with other now-discarded GM brands, as GM, more
Saab Revived, New 9-5 Coming to U.S. Next Quarter
By Michelle Krebs January 27, 2010General Motors Co.'s completion of a deal to sell its Saab Automobile AB unit to Dutch exotic-car maker Spyker will see production of the all-new 9-5 flagship begin in volume in April and U.S. sales in the second quarter. "I'm happy for Saab employees and Saab customers all over the world," said John Smith, GM vice president, global planning and alliances. Smith also said the Saab 9-4, a crossover based on GM's "Theta Premium" or TE platform that underpins the Cadillac SRX, also will soon be produced by the new company, although he was not specific about when the more
GM Sells Sweden's Saab to Spyker Cars
By Michelle Krebs January 26, 2010General Motors and Spyker Cars confirmed Tuesday that GM has agreed to sell Swedish automaker Saab to the Dutch sports car maker. "Today's announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM," said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances, who will hold a press conference later in the day. Spyker told Bloomberg News it has agreed to pay $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred shares in the new company that would emerge from the deal, to be called Saab Spyker Automobiles, more
2010: Top 15 Industry Newsmakers of the Year
By Dale Buss December 29, 2010Industry leaders good at casting visions and those who excel at cleaning up dominated the news in 2010. As the U.S. auto market chugged definitively out of the Great Recession, visionaries such as Volkswagen's Martin Winterkorn and Fiat's Sergio Marchionne helped prove that robust plans, and personalities to match, can still drive the industry. Just as important for 2010, however, were newsmakers who fulfilled niche but crucial roles in pulling the industry out of one of the toughest markets in history, such as General Motors' Dan Akerson and Steven Rattner, the former federal auto czar. Here's our list of more