Saab no More?
Today, Saab filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.
Some blame GM for blocking Saab's purchase by two random Chinese car companies. I don't.
I blame GM for running Saab into the ground over the decade and a half they owned the company, taking a unique brand with a strong following and completely failing to understand anything about the brand, what made it great, why people bought them, or where the company could be taken.
Sadly, just as GM was finally turning the company around (the 9-5 is a great car, the 9-4X a very good crossover), the recession hit, and GM was forced to rationalize brands. I don't blame them for selling Saab at that point. Spyker begged them to sell rather than close Saab, and it turned out Spyker simply did not have the resources to run Saab, let alone rebuild it. Then, when Spyker looked to sell the company to China, they would essentially be selling GM technology to companies which will just take it to compete with GM. There is no reason GM should have approved the sale.
But what is sad is that a unique and impressive brand, a brand which for a time offered a very strong contender to the German brands in performance while still incorporating safety and usefulness, is going to go to waste.
Some blame GM for blocking Saab's purchase by two random Chinese car companies. I don't.
I blame GM for running Saab into the ground over the decade and a half they owned the company, taking a unique brand with a strong following and completely failing to understand anything about the brand, what made it great, why people bought them, or where the company could be taken.
Sadly, just as GM was finally turning the company around (the 9-5 is a great car, the 9-4X a very good crossover), the recession hit, and GM was forced to rationalize brands. I don't blame them for selling Saab at that point. Spyker begged them to sell rather than close Saab, and it turned out Spyker simply did not have the resources to run Saab, let alone rebuild it. Then, when Spyker looked to sell the company to China, they would essentially be selling GM technology to companies which will just take it to compete with GM. There is no reason GM should have approved the sale.
But what is sad is that a unique and impressive brand, a brand which for a time offered a very strong contender to the German brands in performance while still incorporating safety and usefulness, is going to go to waste.
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