It has been confirmed by GM that Saab will be closed down after talks with Dutch niche sports car maker Spyker Cars NV feel through. GM did not give a specific timeline to shutdown Saab but it is expected that production and distribution facilities and laying off staffs will begin by January. Our heart goes out to all Saab employees at Trollhattan and other parts of the world, including many Saab dealers. For them, there is certainly nothing much to look forward to in this Christmas.
Read more here.
Chinese car maker BAIC (Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co) have earlier this week purchased most of the intellectual properties of Saab for an undisclosed sum, but some reports put it at $197 million.
The reason given by GM for the failure to reach an agreement with Spyker was because the deal could not be completed in time. GM’s European president Nick Reilly explained to the press “Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time. In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution.” Bollocks! Who were the ones rushing GM to complete the deal? The banks? Capitol Hill? The deadline was set by GM themselves!
The boss of Spyker Cars Victor Muller said "We sincerely regret that we are not able to complete this transaction with GM. We worked 24/7 for three weeks, but the complexity of the transaction, in combination with the strict deadline, simply did not allow us to complete the transaction in time. Our thoughts are with the wonderful management and employees of Saab in these challenging times."
I have always wondered why did GM even bothered to purchase Saab in the 90s. Back in 1989, GM paid $600 million to purchase control of Saab from Fiat, and then parked the Swedish brand at a corner, ignoring it and gave whatever leftover cash to be invested into Saab. Remember the abomination of a car GM made by building the 9-2X out of a Subaru Impreza estate!
Like a unique gifted child that is different from the rest, Saab is not your typical white goods maker run of the mill car company like Hyundai or Toyota that cobbled cars for the masses, cars designed by committees after extensive car clinics and surveys to make sure they appeal to the widest group of people possible. No, Saab was born out of an airplane maker. It's name was short for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (the Swedish airplane company). It was founded by a group of airplane engineers who decided to built a car, out of the initial founding group, only one of them had a driving license. Because of this unique heritage, Saab's design was never constrained by conventional thoughts. They fitted airplane inspired instrument illumination that makes night driving easier, ignitions are in the centre to protect the driver's knee in a frontal collision, they did elk/moose test way before any other car company saw the need to do so. Saab is a unique brand and has to be nurtured and marketed very differently. Even during its darkest days under GM, die-hard Saab fans can still be found, much like Mac fans in those pre-Steve Jobs years. It does say a lot about Saab's design philosophy and attraction to a niche group of fans, who wants performance but not in a shouty BMW kind of way.
Saab's signature centrally located ignition key. It made a lot of ergonomic sense on a LHD car (get in car, put on seatbelts, start engine, release parking brake with the same hand) but not so in a RHD car. It could also save the driver from smashing his knee against the ignition switch and key in a nasty accident. The nature of the design also made hot-wiring a Saab by thiefs particularly difficult.
Collisions with elks is a serious concern in Scandinavia and Saab is among the first (the other is its fellow Swedish rival Volvo) car company to do elk crash test. This partly influences Saab's reputation for safety in the 70s and 80s.
Some of the many innovations by Saab :
1. First car company to fit seatbelts as standard.
Seat belts were first fitted into aircrafts, to allow fighter pilots to fly upside down. Being an airplane maker, Saab quickly adapted this invention to cars and the Saab GT 750 was the first car to have seat belts fitted as standard. Engineer Niels Bohlin at another Swedish rival car maker Volvo would later built on this to develop the first 3-point seatbelt.
2. Side impact protection
Saab was the first car company to fit reinforced safety beams into doors to protect occupants against side impact collision.
3. Dual brake circuits
Brakes are critical safety items and Saab was the first car company to incorporate redundant brake lines to protect against potential failures. It is now a standard feature on all cars.
4. Turbo charging
Forced induction was first used by airplanes as high altitudes would mean that available oxygen for combustion of fuel is very limited. Saab was the pioneer in the field of turbocharging in passenger cars back in the 70s. This particular area of innovation would later be dominated by Japanese car makers in the 90s. This particular author is rather fond of the 900 turbo, with its infamous torque steer as a family friend owned one and it was this author's first exposure to turbo charging.
5. Front wheel drive
Along with Citroen's Traction Avant and early DKW models (precusor to present day Audi) and the original BMC's Mini, Saab was a pioneer in front wheel drive - the dominant drivetrain configuration today. Rallying victories by FWD Saab models further pushed acceptance of FWD in the marketplace. In a place like Sweden, front wheel drive layout makes the most sense. As the weight of the engine is on top of the driving wheels provided traction and gave the most forgiving handling - highly important in a place that snows so much and is dark for a large part of the year.
6. Split field side mirror
A very simple and often taken for granted feature. Saab was the first to introduce this and it quickly became a standard item on most modern European cars.
Major innovations from Saab stopped coming out once Saab went under GM's control. Recent Saab products have been heavily criticised, but to me that is only a symptom of a greater problem of neglect by the management of GM. It is unfair to put the blame on the highly talented guys at Trollhattan. Today will be a very sad day in automotive history. Looking back, Saab could have been one of automotive history's greatest what-ifs, alongside Tatra. With the right management and money, Saab could have been harnessed the same way VW harnessed Audi. Both were pretty weak brands when these giants picked them up. Today, Audi is harassing BMW and Mercedes, while Saab died under GM's leadership.
The superb looking but still-born 9-5 replacement that did not make it into production.
Below is a very famous video made by Saab in the 80s, featuring the 9000. This was probably the peak of Saab's history.
2 comments:
Wonder... why don't GM sell SAAB to the Chinese??
TY2LS
Actually GM was willing to sell to anyone who is willing to offer them the right money.
BAIC was initially part of a consortium with Swedish super car maker Koenigsegg in the bid. But Koenigsegg decided to withdraw, leaving only Spyker as the only bidder. Thus BAIC too backed out and only wanted to buy all the IP rights and tooling equipments.
I guess Chinese companies have done their due dilligence and is very well aware of the monumental task ahead to turn around Saab. Plus Chinese companies still lack the technology and management talent in managing global car brands. There is very little they can offer other than money. And Saab needs not just cash but also management talent. Geely's bid for Volvo is a lot less complicated, given the better state of Volvo compared to Saab.
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