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It's Over: Saab files for bankruptcy

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#1 ·
Saab files for bankruptcy
By Ronan Glon
Dec 19th, 2011
LLN

After several long and painful months of struggling to stay afloat, Saab has reached the end of the road and filed for bankruptcy this morning. This has been confirmed by several Swedish newspapers, as well as the district court in Vänersborg, Sweden.

Saab ’s last hope was to be taken over by Chinese company Youngman. This was initially a controversial option but as time passed, it became evident that it was the only option left.

Youngman already sent Saab almost $4.5 million last week and allowed it to closely avoid bankruptcy. It promised subsequent payments and things were begining to look up for the first time in a long while.

Over the weekend Youngman told the ailing automaker that it couldn’t continue to fund it because ex-owner General Motors was relentlessly blocking any Chinese involvement in the company. This included everything from a loan to a complete takeover.

Some accuse General Motors of killing Saab, while others say that the company merely defended its own interests. Whatever the case may be, it left Saab in a bad situation: it no longer had a potential new owner, and it did not have the necessary funds to pay its debts and continue its operations.

Saab’s Board of Directors met over the weekend and decided that it was in the best interest of the company, its employees and its creditors to file for bankruptcy. Three of the companies affected are Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile), Saab Automobile Tools AB and Saab Powertrain AB.

It is important to note that Saab itself filed for bankruptcy and that it wasn’t pushed into it by its creditors. This makes the process faster and simpler, but it also means that Saab CEO Victor Muller could be personally responsible for some of Saab’s financial woes.

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#2 ·
Only a matter of time. I feel bad for the employees. Saw this comment and its a pretty good point.

"Has anyone (journalist) asked GM why do they have a desire to kill a brand with so little market share, that doesn't represent competition to them, and that will only bring unemployment and financial troubles to the families that depend on Saab? Isn't that the reason that the government used our taxes to save GM?"

I know they were afraid of tech going to competitors but how did Ford manage this with Volvo?

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#3 ·
to start out PC, this brings to mind the saying. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem"
which I'm interpretting as, "it's very difficult to be purely neutral" & the 'butterfly effect' of Chaos Theory.

...

how I feel about this in non-PC terms is,
Jive-turkey Swedish gov'mint don't want no car company;
jive-turkey Swedish gov'mint don't get no car company

adapted from the movie, Airplane
ie by doing Nothing to help Saab afaik/imho they've guaranteed its death
& to any Swede who is losing their job, Don't blame GM!!
:yikes:
:troll:
:troll:
:yikes:
 
#4 ·
Only a matter of time. I feel bad for the employees. Saw this comment and its a pretty good point.

"Has anyone (journalist) asked GM why do they have a desire to kill a brand with so little market share, that doesn't represent competition to them, and that will only bring unemployment and financial troubles to the families that depend on Saab? Isn't that the reason that the government used our taxes to save GM?"

I know they were afraid of tech going to competitors but how did Ford manage this with Volvo?

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GM has a really good reason for not accepting the proposed deals. The proposed deals required Saab-GM to hand over intellectual property. No one in their right mind at any OEM would be willing to hand over the keys to the company, which is basically what would be happening by handing over IP.

In some wicked, twisted way...GM will likely end up retaining ownership to the Saab name. Like they have with every other brand they've killed off.
 
#5 ·
GM has a really good reason for not accepting the proposed deals. The proposed deals required Saab-GM to hand over intellectual property. No one in their right mind at any OEM would be willing to hand over the keys to the company, which is basically what would be happening by handing over IP.

In some wicked, twisted way...GM will likely end up retaining ownership to the Saab name. Like they have with every other brand they've killed off.
It will be weird never to mention Saab next to Volvo in the same breath.
 
#6 ·
I know they were afraid of tech going to competitors but how did Ford manage this with Volvo
The difference is that while Ford left Volvo alone GM turned Saab into souped up Opels so Ford really wasn't actually giving up anything while GM would have given away most of the Opel technology they used in Saab. Saab is just one more victim of Old GM's mismanagement that cost us so dearly.
 
#7 ·
The difference is that while Ford left Volvo alone GM turned Saab into souped up Opels so Ford really wasn't actually giving up anything while GM would have given away most of the Opel technology they used in Saab. Saab is just one more victim of Old GM's mismanagement that cost us so dearly.
This. And GM wants to retain rights to Saab technology that they have acquired over time (turbocharging being among them).
 
#8 ·
This. And GM wants to retain rights to Saab technology that they have acquired over time (turbocharging being among them).
Was the XWD something that was unique to SAAB? or was that something they used in Opel as well?
 
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