A Loss to the Auto Industry Worth Saabing Over

Friday, December 18 General Motors reported that it is going to wind down another one of its vehicle lines: Saab.  Read the full story here. 

It seemed a shame to me that the General killed Saturn, a brand with reputation and potential. Even Pontiac, which stood for muscular, sporty cars seemed to have its place. Olds and Buick? I think the one-or-the-other choice (GM chose Buick for its strength in the Chinese market) was good there, as the two mid-upscale sedan brands overlapped.

But killing Saab? Saab Automobile has its roots in the Swedish company’s aviation heritage, and the aerodynamic styling on many of Saab’s quirky automobiles is testament to this. Saabs are known for little nuances like a distinctive grill, a center-console mounted ignition, and finessed turbo-charging technology.

But come 1989, GM began to meddle in the company. They bought a stake and began to inject Opel (a GM subsidiary in Germany) platforms. Then GM began to pollute Saab with their own sub-par products such as the 9-7x SUV. That platform had been loosely rebadged as a Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainer, Oldsmobile Bravada, and Isuzu Ascender. Or how about the Saab-aru—a loosely rebadged Subaru Impreza WRX wagon. Yes, I’m a die-hard Subbie fan, but the Saab-aru was another strange venture. At the time, GM had its paws on a small stake of Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru’s parent company). Thankfully, GM withdrew before we started getting rebadged Chevy Cobalts being sold under the Subaru moniker.

Several buyers for Saab all distanced themselves from negotiations in the end, most recently Dutch automaker Spyker Cars. I would’ve liked to see Spyker buy the Swedish brand. While I don’t know much about Spyker, it would be nice to see Saab stay in Scandinavian hands and return to profit with quirky, nifty turbocharged cars that stand for safety, reliability, and overall stability.

What I would hate to see is a Chinese buyer emerge. A Chinese suitor for Saturn changed its course, hence why the brand is being wound down. Hummer, on the other hand, is being bought by Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. So let’s see, AM General builds the Hummer brand, and markets a civilian version of the U.S. Military’s main transport. GM buys it, and sells military-birthed technology to the Chinese. Wonderful. Along with U.S. Treasury debt, isn’t it obvious the Chinese are taking over? Scary actually. And all we get is crappy lead-tainted consumer goods and poisoned food.

To wrap up, GM did offer a glimmer of hope. If a suitable buyer comes forward for Saab, the brand can be saved. I sincerely hope some suitor from Scandinavia comes down and saves the storied brand.

Build unique, sturdy, safe, innovative, luxurious, performance-minded cars (like Saab was reputed for) and see if the brand can’t return to profitability. In the meantime, GM should keep its paws off of other automakers, after all, the company can’t even manage itself.