Breaking news! Saab is NOT dead (yet) and the new 9-5 gets the green light.

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Kowalski

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Saab is still alive and it will re-start the production lines in January. Oh and the new 9-5 will make to the production line.

Saab production to continue.

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GM has canned tomorrow?s deadline for the closure of Saab and announced that production lines will roll again to fulfil orders for the new 9-5 and 9-3 Cabrio the company has announced.

However this does not mean that GM has abandoned plans to sell off its troubled Swedish outpost and is still considering offers after a failed bid from Dutch car maker Spyker. "We are preparing a wind-down process . at the same time we are open to options to bids that come in," a Saab spokesman said.

GM is thought to still be in talks with potential buyers for Saab. A revised Spyker bid is thought to still be on the table, as well as the American company Merbanco Inc. General Motors is also believed to be considering continuing making the soon to be launch 9-5 saloon, albeit with Buick branding.
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Source: Saab production to continue - Autocar.co.uk

GM Cancels Saab Bid Deadline, 2010 9-5 To Enter Production

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General Motors announced a few weeks back that it planned to ?wind-down? Saab since it couldn?t find a suitable buyer for the struggling brand nor come up with any reasonable alternatives. GM also gave a December 31 deadline for potential bidders to make an offer for Saab but now it appears this time limit has been canceled and production set to continue into the new year.

"We are preparing the wind-down process. At the same time we are open to options, to bids that come in. Therefore the deadline has also been dropped," Saab spokesman Eric Geers revealed to Reuters.

Geers went on to reveal that some production lines will be reopened in January, with the new 2010 Saab 9-5 and the current 9-3 Cabrio planned.

This means that there is still time for Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker to place a revised bid for Saab after failing to persuade GM in its original offer. This also leaves the door open for any Chinese contingents to re-enter the bidding war.
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Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1...ter-production

And here it is! The first new Saab 9-5 advertisement. Courtesy from "Saabs United"
 
Dear GM,
as most customers, buying from a company on the verge of collapse like, for example, GM, is not an option i'd consider. But even if i did, i would not even remotely consider buying from the subsidiary you already announced to shut down forever.

Expect record pre-orders for the 9-5. Only with the record being "the smallest number of pre-orders for a new car by a mass-market manufacturer". If there way any interest in the 9-5, you killed it by loudly announcing the shutdown of Saab and by scaring away both potential buyers.

Yours,
Dr_Grip
 
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Good news, indeed. I hope this new 9-5 sells well enough for SAAB to live on forever. Now, let's make a new 9-3, a 9-1 to compete against the 1-series and a 9-4x SUV, please.
 
img_caprice_01.jpg


Just sayin'

Put a SAAB interior in it and we're good to go (the grill only needs a tiny bit of saab'ification)
 
^I like that a lot :D Would buy!!!
 
http://img189.imageshack.**/img189/776/saab95sthlm02.jpg
 
Hidden_Hunter said:
img_caprice_01.jpg


Just sayin'

Put a SAAB interior in it and we're good to go (the grill only needs a tiny bit of saab'ification)
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Giving an excellent Holden RWD sedan to a brand that will likely not live another year or so? Anybody else have a sense of deja vu here?

Also, I have to say, sticking the key between the front seats of an Australian muscle-sedan doesn't make it Swedish. If Saab wants to be viable, I think it needs to find its own unique niche again, not sell brand-engineered cars from other GM companies.
 
God damn it. Just finish this already.

I see Spyker buying it, and GM making next to nothing from the sale.
 
Hidden_Hunter said:
img_caprice_01.jpg


Just sayin'

Put a SAAB interior in it and we're good to go (the grill only needs a tiny bit of saab'ification)
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Buick, Chevy or Opel? Yes, I would agree with you completely. Saab, less so.
 
Kowalski said:
And the interior is a joke.

Seriously, a Holden trying to pass as a Saab? No, just no!
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That's almost as ridiculous as pimping a crappy Chevy truck and passing it off as a SAAB. Oh, wait ...

And it's reassuring to see that the top brass at the New GM are just as incompetent as those at the Old GM. If GM DO sell SAAB to someone that can make a go of it, here's hoping that their on again/off again closure antics haven't done too much damage to the brand. The businesslike manner in which Ford conducted its asset sales over the last few years show how it SHOULD be done.
 
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Saab needs an A3, 1-Series and Golf rival available as a 3-door, 5-door hatchback with a hot version obviously, a convertible version and a crossover version. The hot version should be available in 3 door and 5 door versions.

The 9-3 needs to be overhauled ASAP! The new 9-3 should have a fastback shape to hark back to the old 900 and the boot lid should have an opening system similar to the 5-Series GT. It should be available as a fastback 5-door, fastback coup?, a four seater convertible, an estate and a crossover based on the estate.

The new 9-5 may be a good car, but it has to keep the pace with the rivals in terms of engines. The most powerful diesel engine available for the 9-5 is a 2.0 four cylinder turbo 160 Hp and that's not good enough when the rivals are now offering twin-turbocharged six cylinders engines outputting nearly 300 hp. The 9-5 also needs a powerful twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine and a crossover based on the estate; it should be called the 9-5X.

The 9-4X will be a rival for the Audi Q5 and it's already being tested.
 
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am i the only one that thinks the new 9-5 is fucking hideous?
 
:D :D :D
SAAAAAAAAAAAAB!!!!!
 
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