Saab Veering Toward Junkyard

After another failed sale, GM will begin 'orderly wind-down,' it says

(NEWSER) - GM has failed in a last-chance bid to sell its Saab unit and will now settle the Swedish automaker’s debts and “wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner.” A deal with Dutch sports-car maker Spyker just fell through, a month after the sale to Koenigsegg also went belly up. Issues that came up in due dilligence could not be resolved, a GM exec tells the Wall Street Journal of the Spyker sale. “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.” More»

The G.M.-owned Swedish automaker seeks a buyer to save itself

(NEWSER) - As governments around the world have propped up their automobile companies, typically paternalistic Sweden has answered Saab’s plea for help with an unexpected reply: “No.” No bailout, no takeover. The town of Trollhattan in southwest Sweden now faces economic catastrophe akin to Detroit’s decline as its 54,000 people will lose 4,000 jobs overnight if Saab collapses, the New York Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Saab applied for protection from creditors today, after parent company General Motors said this week it planned to cut the company loose, Bloomberg reports. In a process much like Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Swedish automaker will restructure and look for funding with the goal of spinning off from GM or being sold; GM said several days ago it would dump Saab, after 2 decades of losses, unless the Swedish government offered a bailout. More»

GM vetoes deal involving Chinese company

(NEWSER) - Saab finally threw in the towel today, after former owner General Motors once again vetoed a rescue plan involving China’s Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile. Saab’s current owner, Swedish Automobile, filed for its bankruptcy, saying that "the company, without further funding, will be insolvent, and that filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors." Saab hasn’t made any cars since April, thanks to growing debts, Reuters reports. More»

Ford highest-ranked carmaker overall, Toyota falls

(NEWSER) - American automakers scored higher marks on quality than their foreign rivals for the first time since the JD Power survey began in 1986, the Detroit Free Press reports. A dozen Ford models ranked in the top three in their segments, making it the highest-ranked automaker overall. Ford's namesake brand ranked fifth, and General Motors had 10 brands in the top vehicle rankings. More»