Saab News

It's a dictum that 76-year-old Max Monk lives and drives by. It could just as easily have come from Burt Munro who persisted for years with his old Indian motorcycle, turning it into the world's fastest Indian and a brilliant Hollywood movie. Monk never raced against Munro, but he did compete on the same beaches in New Zealand and witnessed the fame and glory of the dogged backyard mechanic at close quarters. "Burt raced in the clubman events so I didn't race against him. He was 60 then and I was just 20," says Monk. "Even at 70 he was still surrounded by 19-year-old girls." If Munro the man impressed the young 20-something apprentice mechanic from Canterbury, his ancient Indian motorcycle left even more of an impression. "I've never seen anything like it," he says. "It wouldn't wheelstand, it wouldn't wheelspin, it would just disappear over the horizon." So Monk became like his fellow South Islander and persisted with old machinery. Today he lives in Brisbane and drives a 1989 Saab 900i that belonged to one of his two daughters. "I bought it for $4500 six years ago and it had 350,000km on it," he says. "It's still going well and I wouldn't part with it." He also owns a 1984 Yamaha RZ500 V4 two-stroke motorcycle he bought 12 years ago for $3500. "They are worth about $10,000 now for a good one," he says although it's obvious he wouldn't part with it. Monk smokes as much as his beloved two-stroke Yamaha, but the wiry septuagenarian is still fit and continues to ride. "I got keen on bikes before I left school so I became a mechanic, but making your hobby your job is hard," he says. "I started racing when I was 20. My mother didn't want me doing it, but she said I could ride on the beach because that looked soft." Little did his mother know that riders like Munro and Monk were doing more than the old ton on those beaches. Monk raced a Triumph Speed Twin, a GP Triumph and then a 350 AJS 7R for about 10 years until one "bad day." "The bike wouldn't start and the field was long gone so I rode like a lunatic to catch up," he says. "Then the gear shift broke. The same thing happened in the second race and then I ran out of fuel in the last lap." "When I got back to the pits my mum and wife looked 30 years older because an ambulance had gone out and they thought it was for me. I had two little girls at that stage so I quit and just tuned bikes after that. I didn't ride again for about 20 years." In that time he worked as a car and bike mechanic, wrecker, welder, farmer, tractor mechanic, gun seller and real estate agent. "You name it, I've done it," he says. Monk moved to Australia six years ago to manage a residential development. "The number of cars and bikes I have owned is longer than your arm," he says. "The first car I owned was a 1937 Chevrolet I found on a farm and restored," he says. "It cost 10. I had it a year and a half and most of the time it was in bits and pieces." He then owned a series of old Chevs, Dodges and Vauxhalls. "The last one (before the Saab) was a 1984 Toyota Corolla hatchback. It was the last of the rear-wheel-drive models." You probably guessed it: "It had about a half a million kilometres on it."

The 2010 Saab 9-5 has been revealed in all its glory across Europe three months ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show debut.

Saab, which is being removed from the books of beleagured GM, filed in February for reorganisation with the Swedish government. This was the first step to begin as an independent company. Saab and privately-owned Koenigsegg Group AB have signed a memorandum of understanding to seal Saab's future. It could lead to a sale by September. The proposal includes an expected $770 million funding commitment from the European investment Bank (EIB) that will be guaranteed by the Swedish government. Further financial and structural support will come from GM and Koenigsegg to ensure Saab's operations and product programs. Saab plans to launch several new products that are in the final stages of development. As part of the proposed transaction, GM will continue to provide Saab with architecture and powertrain technology. Saab plans to produce its next generation 9-5 model at the company's Trollhattan factory. Koenigsegg Group AB is a consortium of private investors led by supercar manufacturer, Koenigsegg Automotive AB.

GM-Holden chairman and managing director, Mark Reuss, says Saab and Hummer, two of the poorest performing brands locally, says the company is keeping tabs on what's happening overseas regarding the future of the Swedish and American pair. "We'll wait and see on those brands," he says. "Those two brands are for sale right now and we'll work with whoever the buyer is of those brands here in Australia." However, Carsguide understands a consultant has been brought into GM-Holden specifically to see how Saab and Hummer fit into the company's overall "fit and mix" operations going forward. Local sales for both brands have slowed to a trickle this year on the back of the speculation over their fates and the woes of General Motors. GM is cleaning out more than half of its brands. Last week it signed a tentative deal to sell Hummer to a Chinese company, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co and announced Magna as the preferred bidder for Opel/Vauxhall with the giant Italian car group Fiat also in the running. Pontiac will close down by the end of next year and Saab is on the blocks. IndyCar team owner and Detroit businessman Roger Penske reached agreement last Friday with GM to buy Saturn. The deal could be finalised within three months. GM established Saturn in 1985, aiming the brand at customers who would have chosen low-cost European or Japanese cars. Under the deal GM will continue to build the Saturn Aura, the Vue and the Outlook on a contract basis for Penske Automotive Group, the second-largest car retailer in the US. The agreement will save more than 350 car dealers and 13,000 jobs at Saturn, GM said. Although details have not been revealed GM is believed to sold off the brand for between $US100 and $US200 million. Penske also sells the Smart cars in North America. The two bidders for Saab are believed to be Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg and US investment group Renco. A decision on that deal is likely within two weeks. After the halcyon days of the 1990s, Saab sales have largely tanked because of a lack of new models and clear identity of how the Swedish carmaker fitted into the GM empire. Locally, Saab dealers sold just 1158 cars last year and in the first five months of this year they have sold just 186 cars, a massive 60 per cent slump over the same period last year. Hummer's local sales too have taken a battering because of the ongoing GM woes. Dealers have sold 271 Hummers this year, 54 per cent down on the same period last year. Many Saab and Hummer dealers are multi-franchised Holden dealers but industry analyst Tony Robinson, believes dealers will be nervous. "If I was GM-Holden I would be looking at focusing on the core strengths of the company," he says. Tengzhong is one of China's leading manufacturers of road, construction and energy industry equipment. With Hummer in its portfolio it plans to expand into the premium off-road vehicle segment globally and help develop the brand in North America.

The Swedish brand has sagged badly over the past five years, and more, as GM has failed to create a workable product plan to produce the vital new models to drive Saab forward.

Vehicles Move the shedding of Hummer, Saab and Saturn forward to the end of this year, with Pontiac gone by the end of 2010. Cut production by 190,000 in the second and third quarters. Dealership network Slash dealerships by 40 per cent to 3,605 from 6,246. Workforce Reduce the workforce from 61,000 to 40,000 – 7000 more than suggested in the viability plan put forward in February. Financial Execute a debt-swap and restructure that positions the US Government as a majority owner of about 50 per cent — in exchange for forgiving half the debt of the $US15.4 billion already loaned to GM, and adding another $US11.6 billion to it. The United Auto Workers union pension fund would own 40 per cent in exchange for half of the $US20 billion it’s owed. Holders of GM’s $US27 billion worth of bonds would end up owning 10 per cent, with the carmaker exchange 225 common shares for each $US1000 principal amount of outstanding notes. If the bondholder approval rate falls short of the required 90 per cent, GM will file for bankruptcy protection, with bondholders estimated to get just 5c in the dollar – a far cry from the 33c tipped earlier this year.

Well you're too late.

It is to become an independent business after starting court proceedings in Sweden.Saab plans to bring all its business back to Sweden and has announced it will launch three new models over the next 18 months.It will seek funds for its break from General Motors after it has successfully created a new legal entity.The surprise move comes after GM's strategic review of its global empire.Saab said from its headquarters in Trollhattan, Sweden, that its reorganisation would be “a self-managed, Swedish legal process headed by an independent administrator appointed by the court who will work closely with the Saab management team”.“As part of the process, Saab will formulate its proposal for reorganisation, which will include the concentration of design, engineering and manufacturing in Sweden.”“This proposal will be presented to creditors within three weeks of the filing. Pending court approval, the reorganisation will be executed over a three-month period and will require independent funding to succeed.”Saab said it had explored — and would continue to explore — all available options for funding and/or selling Saab.“It was determined a formal reorganisation would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,” said Jan Ake Jonsson, managing director for Saab Automobile.“With an all new 9-5, 9-3X and 9-4X all ready for launch over the next year and a half, Saab has an excellent foundation for strong growth, assuming we can get the funding to complete engineering, tooling and manage launch costs.“Reorganisation will give us the time and means that help get these products to market while minimising the liquidity impact of Saab on GM.”He said that funding for the restructured company would come from public and private sources.“Saab will continue to operate as usual and in accordance with the formal reorganisation process,” he said.“The (Swedish) Government will provide some support during this period.“The reorganisation should have no impact on other GM operations.” 

Then, early Saturday our time, a Swedish court gave it three months to find a means of keeping the company afloat while an administrator negotiates with creditors.Saab's managing director, Jan Ake Jonsson, says Saab is seeking to create a fully independent business."What would happen during the reorganisation phase is more preservation of cash and making sure we have the financials to go through it. Exactly what that means is too early to say."How very confidence inspiring …One feels for the workers, dealers and thousands of various job descriptions whose livelihoods will exist no longer when the Trollhattan marque eventually succumbs to the inevitable.Honestly, though, does anyone believe Saab deserves to survive?Can anyone – except perhaps the ever diminishing number of clueless and chronically dizzy types who mysteriously continue buy them – say with sincerity that they care a Viking’s frozen digit for Saab?The 9-5 is so hopelessly obsolete, so thoroughly behind the times, driving it is the equivalent of wearing spats. To the beach. The numerical designation might as well indicate its year of origin; the 9-5 belongs firmly to the previous century.Next to that the 9-3, with its near-decade old Vectra underpinnings, is positively effervescent. But with at least a half dozen sounder and more desirable alternatives for every one of the barely numerable variants in the line-up, the 9-3 is also very possibly the most futile car on earth.And as for charging $90K for the top model, on what planet – or more to the point – in which era do these people dwell?The only possible thing Saab could do to justify its continued existence is to make an entirely new car. A proper new car, that is, as opposed to minor embellishments of two decomposing model lines.That’s not going to happen, at least not in a hurry. Saab is wedded to a decaying US former auto giant, whose embattled execs want nothing more than a quick divorce. And Saab can’t afford to live on its own.The contrast with compatriot Volvo is glaring. But while Ford remains attached to life support, its Swedish subsidiary has at least continued to produce new, competitive and even – in terms of its fusty image – exciting new models, a la the C30 T5 and XC60. So Ford will eventually find a buyer for Volvo, because it’s making cars that you’d cheerfully spend your money on.Whereas Saab … well, the best thing it could do is to stop making them altogether. Please. 

The new 9-3X all-wheel drive wagon follows the proven path pioneered by the Subaru Outback and joins a legion of new Euro softer-roaders battling in the recreational lifestyle market.The jacked up, chunky Swede debuts at next month's Geneva Motor Show and could hit local Saab showrooms next year.For the downtrodden Saab brand locally, GM Premium brands director, Parveen Batish, says the 9-3X is not too little too late."I don't think so, I think the brand is moving forward and we've been talking about other cars and they will come," he says."Things have been tough but we can see some light."The cues we've seen from some of the concept cars are a real eye-opening in terms of where the brand is going."Last year Saab sold just 1158 vehicles locally, mostly 9-3s.The 9-3X and its bigger, still secret 9-4X off-roader, could be a sales savior.Batish says the 9-3X does not go into production until towards the end of the year "so that gives us plenty of time to investigate where it would fit and how it would fit"."Regardless of the brand, we've got to make sure it's the right thing for Australia," he says.In Europe the 9-3X will be available with both front and all-wheel drive.GM Premium Brands will investigate both options, Batish says."But being a small market we can't take everything," he says.Using the 9-3 SportCombi as its base, the 9-3X gets a 35mm higher ground clearance and Saab's cross-wheel drive (XWD) system, as well as some stirdy plastic trim.For the first time, Saab's E85-capable BioPower engine technology is mated to its XWD system.In Europe buyers will have a choice of the 155kW/300Nm 2.0-litre BioPower four-cylinder as well as petrol 2.0-litre four cylinder.The 2.0-litre petrol turbo has a similar output to the BioPower unit.A front-wheel drive 132kW/400Nm 1.9-litre TTiD two-stage turbo diesel will also be available.There is little difference between the all-wheel drive and front drive.The front drive gets the same styling but its suspension is only raised by an extra 20mm.Visually the soft-road wagon uses a proven formula of grey plastic body trim, wheel arches and sill panels and beefier bumpers.This treatment is complemented by matt aluminium skid panels.Black roof rails are standard, along with multi-spoke 17-inch alloys and dual exhausts.The XWD system is an active, intelligent system that continuously distributes engine drive torque between the front and rear axles.The hardware includes an electronically-controlled torque transfer system that varies power delivery between the axles.