According to an Autoblog article, Saab’s chief union, IF Metall, issued a request directly to president Obama asking for assistance.  The reasoning behind the appeal is that the United States government still holds a 26 percent share of General Motors, the automaker highly responsible for Saab’s repeated failures at rebirth.  GM still holds licensing on some Saab vehicles, most importantly the 9-4X SUV, and because of that, the General has said “no” to all of Saab’s attempts to be saved by outside companies.  The hope is that Obama can appeal to the American automaker to allow Saab to continue on under new ownership.

The entity of Saab is honestly trying.  Fans of the brand are so loyal that they managed to pool together enough love to save the potentially last 9-3 to come out of the Trollhättan assembly plant.  As the Arctic White Griffen Sedan rests peacefully with a previous saved group of Swedish icons, it should do so with hope that it might be joined by a cast future characters.  Saab’s appeal to the U.S. government may seem frivolous, but it is that kind of determination that impresses most. 

Source: Autoblog.com

At this moment, a group of die-hard Saab fans want nothing more than for the last Saab to rest peacefully with the remainder of its friends.  Saabs United, a grouping of loyalists and forum members, are rallying together to purchase the 9-3 so it can be placed in the Saab Cars Museum.  ANA has given the group “first dibs” on the sedan and they must come up with the cash by May 20.  The purchase price for the Saab is $37,500 and according to an Autoblog article, the group has gathered about $20 grand thus far.  Given the fact that the museum cars were only recently saved by the Swedish people themselves, the Saab namesake is truly important to both their local heritage and the entire automotive world.  If you too believe so, Saabs United has created a donation page where anyone can make a contribution.

“Buying a car of this importance certainly is no simple thing, it is a lot of money we are talking about and I have discussed this car greatly with some of the people within the SU-Crew as well as some friends around the world. The general consensus is that we should at least try to buy it,” said TimR, Saabs United forum member

Source: Autoblog.com and SaabsUnited

Officially a holding company, Swedish Automobile N.V. will go by the name Spyker N.V. starting April 18, 2012.  According to an Autoblog article, the future has yet to reveal what’s in store for Muller’s company as the Spyker sports car was sold to an American company, North Street Capital last year.  The honest-to-goodness reason for the switch has yet to be revealed, but we can fancy a guess that Saab’s bankruptcy has plenty to do with it.  Since the vehicles produced under the Swedish Automobile name are essentially seen as untouchables, any association regarding these warranty-less autos could be negative. 

Source: Autoblog.com

According to an Automotive News article, the administrators of Saab’s bankruptcy are currently evaluating the bids and should have a decision made before the start of summer.  Even though the folks in charge have yet to make who those bidders are official, the Chinese company Youngman has made their interest public.  A few other names such as the Indian utility maker, Mahindra & Manindra, as well as Brightwell Holdings have been mentioned regarding potential bidders.  Most recently, talks about the Swedish giant Volvo purchasing tooling rights sparked the rumormill and shouldn’t be ignored.  Apparently, all of the current players in the game for the company are wanting production to restart at the temporarily defunct Trollhättan assembly plant.  Who ever does earn the title of Saab’s owners, they’ll have a lot of work to do as the factory hasn’t pumped out a vehicle in a year and the automaker’s debt is closing in on the $2 million mark. 

Source: AutomotiveNews.com

According to an Autoblog article, Volvo has made mention that they are interesting in purchasing tooling from Saab’s estate.  This means that even though a complete buyout wouldn’t take place, parts and components would leave the now ghost-town of Trollhättan.  Currently still pure ”talk”, the purposed purchase could happen and Volvo’s current owner, China’s Geely, would more than likely use the old Saab tooling to strengthen their Chinese market offerings.  Putting the rumormill aside, this outcome seems rather likely as Saab’s receivers have said in the past that they would rather sell parts of the company instead of the whole as it would return a greater profit.  Whether or not this take place is up to time, but keeping Saab alive non-the-less would be fantastic.  Keeping it within Sweden would perhaps be even better.

Source: Autoblog.com 

According to an Automotive News article, Youngman has put a $446 million offer on Saab’s table.  Their plan is to continue to build cars at the Trollhattan, Sweden assembly plant and turn them into a part of a new, global brand.  If Youngman were to succeed in purchasing Saab, they still would have to deal with GM if they wanted to continue with the 2011-2012 line up.  The only way to completely bypass the owners of the Theta-based 9-4X would be to start from scratch.  Supposedly, representatives from both the Chinese and Swedish companies will meet in Beijing to further discuss details.  Any outcome can right now be left to speculation. The rumor mill rages on even more as Semcon, a Swedish Engineering firm, has apparently put their name in the hat to become Saab’s next owners.  Other bidders such as the Indian truck maker, Mahindra and Mahindra and the Turkish investment firm, Brightwell Holdings, are still in the game.

Source: Automotive News.com

According to Autocar, Saab AB and The Wallenberg Foundation helped the brand’s home town purchase all 120 museum vehicles.  The sale was done outright and cost $4.05 million.  This news should put the hearts of Saab fans around the world at ease as the receivers made mention that they were willing to break up the collection for a faster sale.  It also means that the vehicles, including the very first Saab ever, the Ur-Saab, will stay right where they are.  Now if only someone would follow suit and purchase Saab themselves, the iconic Swedish automaker might live to see another day.

Source: Autocar via Autoblog.com

As Trollhattan prepares for its more than likely quiet future, the adjoining Saab museum is following suit.  With a collection of 120 vehicles from various decades on site, there is no realistic way that the building can continue housing them.  According to Autocar, the company will soon liquidate the entire collection with the exception of just one.  The one ray of sunshine to be kept around will a humble 9-5 Estate which might soon become an honest orphan. 

Source: Autocar via Autoblog.com

“Why would GM want to license its technology to anybody who’s going to it as a springboard to enter a market that still suffers from overcapacity?” said a Reuters’ source.  GM played a big part in the bankruptcy of Saab mainly due to the 9-4X SUV.  When the American giant owned the Swedish car maker in 2010, the Theta platform was shared to create the crossover.  After the sale to Swedish Automobile N.V. was final, the 9-4X and its components continued on with ties to GM.  Due to the General’s lack of comfort with a purposed sale to Chinese companies Pang Da and Youngman, they refused to give up the rights to the Theta platform which led to a continued lack of funds and ultimately, bankruptcy.  Now that Saab is looking for a buyer, GM more than likely won’t let the SUV go which means the line-up will have to change.

What this all means is that any potential buyer will have to deal with General Motors in order to finalize the sale.  The company currently on tap to buy up Saab, India’s  Mahindra & Mahindra, might be able to pull something off.  Even if they cut ties with GM and subsequently the 9-4X, their expertise with light-duty trucks and SUVs could fill the void left behind.  Whether or not this happens is up to the future which currently doesn’t look to bright for the quirky Swedish car maker.

Source: Reuters