Saab Not Dead Yet

It is 2010, and Saab is still not down for the count. Production of the newly redesigned Saab 9-5 will begin next week. Talks still continue with Spyker Cars, who remains very interested in acquiring the Swedish brand. A new Saab suitor has entered the picture, Merbanco, an investor group based out of Wyoming.

Ryan Emge, founder of Saabhistory.com, has organized a last-minute protest at GM's world headquarters in Detroit. Saab enthusiasts are coming from as far away as Australia to park their Saabs outside of GM's Renaissance center and display signs in support of the Swedish brand. Nobody even talked of doing such things when Saturn was announced to be on the chopping block. Saab continues to command a strong niche following.

Merbanco came onto the scene after the deal for GM to sell Saab to Koenigsegg fell apart in November. It has been rumored that Merbanco's chances at acquiring the brand have improved after it recently got some Swedish investors on board. Merbanco's CEO, Christopher Johnston, said of Saab in a recent interview with Saabsunited.com: "Saab is a special brand even in these tough times. It is suffering from low sales resulting in large part from uncertainty. There are several strengths: The people, the history, the culture, the location, the dealers, and the loyal following from customers. Saab has several exciting new products that are ready to go."

Spyker Cars says it will be making an offer to GM for Saab by January 7th, despite the fact General Motors said earlier it would begin rolling down Saab at the start of the month. All indications are that roll-down has not begun. Meanwhile, Spyker has publicly revealed some plans for the Saab brand. Previous plans to launch the compact 9-1 model would be ended in favor of the 9-4x crossover model seeing showrooms across the world. Continuing the relationship with GM, Spyker would have the 9-4x built at General Motor's plant in Mexico. The 9-3 and 9-5 models would be kept as a base upon which to build the brand up again. Spyker also announced it would not close any North American dealerships, but some would be required to carry Spyker supercars along with Saab models. As many car dealers have said before, the expensive and sexy cars get people into the showroom where they then buy more affordable options.

Perhaps Americans could acquire a taste for the Dutch exotic. At this point anything seems possible with the GM-Saab deal. With a little luck and the right conditions Saab will ride on, providing a quirky alternative to the hum-drum of the everyday automobile.

Sources: Leftlanenews.com, Saabhistory.com, Saabsunited.com