GM Exec: No Plans To Pull Saab Out Of North American Market; Line Is Profitable In US

[TriShield]

It's just another lie in a long line of them from GM.

[CadiEldo67]

I really like the 2008 9-3. And I've seen at least 3 new to newer Saabs every day this week.

[nailhead425]

Sure, keep a low volume seller with a very small loyal owner base.

[Bravada]

So much hatred for Saab - why so? How can you hate GM so much - Saab IS GM?

I hoped that it would end all this "kill/sell Saab" idiocy around here. Saab can be profitable even in those dire circumstances (I think this refers to Saab's marketing and sales arm in the US, Saab as such, the Sweden-headquartered company, has been breaking even for some time now).

And while Dame Edna's interior is rather insulting, the rear end has grown on me tremendously. I like the subtle detailing, and I hope Saab will follow that route.

[buildacariwant]

Good for Saab.... now sell it while it still has value. With GM begging to take money from my pockets they need to exhaust all options first.

[gardnet1]

Originally Posted by Hoboken Tim

Saab is profitable because all of their models are so old, that the tooling has long been paid for.

So Saab is the CROWN VICOTORIAn Jewel in GM's empire?

Panther P|ss!

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by Bravada

So much hatred for Saab - why so? How can you hate GM so much - Saab IS GM?

I hoped that it would end all this "kill/sell Saab" idiocy around here. Saab can be profitable even in those dire circumstances (I think this refers to Saab's marketing and sales arm in the US, Saab as such, the Sweden-headquartered company, has been breaking even for some time now).

Saab has done absolutely nothing for GM besides drain resources from the company, resources it never had to give to Saab. GM also destroyed this brand with the ill-fated Saabaru and SaaBlazer and a laughable 9-3 reskinned to be a Cadillac that failed fast and hard, what the Hell were they thinking? It should be jettisoned immediately. It does absolutely nothing to benefit GM in North America or the entire world.

[JimsZR2]

It's basically more proof that GM needs to restructure and they have to do it now whether some 9,000 people like SAAB or not. It's like having GMC and a Chevy truck which are both the exact same thing.

SAAB right now is not a high demand vehicle.

[Bravada]

Saab has done absolutely nothing for GM besides drain resources from the company, resources it never had to give to Saab. GM also destroyed this brand with the ill-fated Saabaru and SaaBlazer and a laughable 9-3 reskinned to be a Cadillac that failed fast and hard, what the Hell were they thinking? It should be jettisoned immediately. It does absolutely nothing to benefit GM in North America or the entire world.

Saab sells FEWFOLD more vehicles outside of NA than Cadillac. Without Saab, GM practically wouldn't have any foothold in the global premium vehicle market. Given how weak current models are, there is tremendous potential for GM to develop Saab (better vehicles -> more sales).

PS. The BLS failed because of the badge, not the Saab underpinnings. The 9-3 still sells fine.

PS2. Given that Saab is traditionally FWD, they do not need any fancy RWD platforms (Alpha), they can benefit from GM's regular development programs (Gamma, Delta, Theta, Epsilon).

[Uligar]

Despite falling sales, Saab is profitable in the U.S., Jonsson said.

Sorry its only in German!! but in this article is written that a lost of 300 millions US$ from Saab in 3rd was tranferd from US to Europe!
And also a win of 450.000 sold Chevrolet in Europe was transfered to Asia.
GM is a big lie!!!!

ROUNDUP: General Motors (GM) verschiebt Verluste nach Europa

RÜSSELSHEIM/DETROIT (dpa-AFX) - Der schwer angeschlagene Autobauer General Motors (GM) (GM.NYS) (GMC.FSE) hat im dritten Quartal einen Teil seiner Verluste nach Europa verschoben. Das Europageschäft mit der Hauptmarke Opel stürzte mit einem operativen Verlust von rund 1 Milliarde Dollar (780 Mio Euro) tief ins Minus, teilte GM am Freitag in Detroit mit. Im zweiten Quartal war noch ein minimaler Gewinn von 20 Millionen Dollar angefallen.

Der Opel-Betriebsrat kritisierte, dass die Verrechnungsmethode die Region Europa übermäßig belaste. "GM schiebt massiv Verluste aus den USA nach Europa ab, um die Bilanz aufzupolieren", sagte der Gesamtbetriebsratsvorsitzende Klaus Franz der Deutschen Presse- Agentur dpa. Der Gesamtkonzern GM fuhr unter dem Strich rund 2,5 Milliarden Dollar Verlust ein.

Laut Betriebsrat hat GM für Europa überproportionale Entwicklungskosten sowie US-Verluste der Opel-Schwester Saab von 300 Millionen Dollar in die Bilanz für Europa eingerechnet. Auch Kosten für die gutlaufende Marke Chevrolet würden hier anfallen, während die 450.000 in Europa verkauften Chevrolets nicht in den Gewinn für Europa einflössen. "Die Zahl spiegelt nicht die Leistung der Unternehmen in Europa wieder", kritisierte Franz.

PS. The BLS failed because of the badge, not the Saab underpinnings. The 9-3 still sells fine.

No one in Europe won`t those models!! The is reason!! OLD and UGLY!!

[Bravada]

Laut Betriebsrat hat GM für Europa überproportionale Entwicklungskosten sowie US-Verluste der Opel-Schwester Saab von 300 Millionen Dollar in die Bilanz für Europa eingerechnet.

That's 300 Million GM North America losses/development costs. This might refer to e.g. 9-4X development costs. It is also an accounting dispute - the Betriebsrat (which is an instituionalized and legally required equivalent to UAW in Germany, only worse) tries to paint a rosy picture of GM Europe's operations. The cost allocation is always debatable.

[zl-1]

Originally Posted by gardnet1

Selling Saab would allow GM to offload some very expensive and inefficient production/R&D facilities in Sweden

Did you know that Trollhättan actually had a cost advantage over Rüsselheim when the 9-5 production was being allocated, but Opel just happened to have a new $600 million plant that needed more volume to be profitable?

[Bravada]

In some threads, people applaud Saab for the turbo work (which I have no idea whether it was done by Saab development facilities or any other, or if there is any powertrain development facility left that could be designated "Saab"), in other they bemoan "costly R&D facilities".

And yes, Trollhattan is much more efficient that Ruesselsheim, it was purely political and rather ugly to move any Saab to Germany. Saab knew it had to be efficient in small series long ago, Ruesselsheim just sits there and expects costs to be covered due to being "Opel's Heimatstadt".

[zl-1]

Originally Posted by Bravada

In some threads, people applaud Saab for the turbo work (which I have no idea whether it was done by Saab development facilities or any other, or if there is any powertrain development facility left that could be designated "Saab"), in other they bemoan "costly R&D facilities".

And yes, Trollhattan is much more efficient that Ruesselsheim, it was purely political and rather ugly to move any Saab to Germany. Saab knew it had to be efficient in small series long ago, Ruesselsheim just sits there and expects costs to be covered due to being "Opel's Heimatstadt".

I think people fail to understand the same thing GM failed to understand regarding SAAB. It could share platforms, engines, transmissions and all of that but it could never be run by a 'corporate GM' mentality/approach. It should have remained a niche brand not only in sales but most importantly in philosophy: fun-to-drive cars that offer Swedish attributes of quirky, functional design (hatchback 9-3 should not have been abandonded even if a sedan and wagon were necessary), and safety. SAAB is not BMW.

[CadiEldo67]

Not being a Saab enthusiast, this is what I can see Saab looking like when and if GM pulls through this mess and revitalizes the lineup.

9-3 on Delta II - AWD compatible *
9-5 on Epsilon II - AWD compatible *
9-6 on Theta II - Turbo the upcoming 2.3 V6 ^

*Have sedan/convertible/wagon variants.
^ Looks nothing like Cadillac SRX/Chevy Equinox/GMC Terrain and is RHD compatible.