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Saab revealed the 9-5 will cost from a chunky £26,495 when it arrives in the UK this summer. Mercedes released pics of their horny new SLS GT3 racer. And The Budget happened, with Alistair Darling announcing a 3p per litre increase in fuel tax over the next year, as well as promising £100m to fix potholes and £285m to improve motorways.
The first car in Saab’s Spyker era trundled out of the factory in Trollhättan – it was a 9-5 being built for testing. Audi announced their twinkly A1 will cost from £13,145 when it goes on sale in October. And Renault proudly announced that their Megane Coupe Concept features in the latest N-Dubz video, featuring everyone’s favourite hat-wearing textual abuser, Dappy.
At 17:30 GMT today, one of the longest running plot lines in automotive soap opera history reached a conclusion – Spyker have officially finalised the deal to buy Saab from General Motors. Both Spyker and Saab will now co-exist as independent sister companies under the new umbrella group Spyker Cars N.V.
Victor Muller (looking pleased above), boss of Spyker Cars NV and the main protagonist in the plotline said: “We are delighted – Saab’s future is now secure… From today we will be concentrating all of our efforts into reviving Saab and transforming it into a sustainable and profitable company with the confidence to be bold.”
The first job is to kick start production of the new 9-5 which is planned for a release later this year, although there’s already a lot of chatter about the possibility of an Audi A1 rivalling supermini. With BMW having the Mini, Merc the A-Class and Audi the A1, Saab could do with a tidy premium little car for the all the terribly polite people who are thinking of downsizing. The 9-3 and 9-5 saloons and 9-4X SUV could struggle to sell in shrinking markets, which wouldn’t be a nice start for the revived company. Pehaps they’ll take inspiration from their very first car, the little 92…
For now though, lets just be pleased that Saab have survived, hope the new 9-5 can cut it and wish for a cool Saab supermini to keep them relevant.
Hyundai announced that their curiously appealing iX35 Crossover will cost from £16,495 when it goes on sale in the UK in March. The sale of Saab to Spyker was finally officially completed – more of that here. And Proton released a picture of their Lotus developed hybrid concept which will be revealed at Geneva, hopefully with the Italdesign body on top.
Renault gave fans of fart jokes a late Christmas present, showing off their new Twingo based Wind convertible – it’ll go on sale this June, costing about £16k. Spyker-Saab announced they’ll release a new 9-3 model in 2012, and the 9-4X next year. And Felipe Massa’s head proved itself to be fixed, as he was quickest in today’s F1 testing.
A year after GM first announced they wanted to sell Saab, they’ve actually gone and done it. Dutch supercar makers Spyker, who haven’t been in profit this century, have stumped up $74 million to buy Saab – who, thanks to GM, haven’t made any money since 2001. And that was the only year they made money in two decades. But they’re just little niggles… Saab is alive.
Obviously, the deal isn’t as simple as some extravagent Dutchmen handing over a briefcase of Kroner. The Swedish Government have confirmed they’ll guarantee a 400 million Euro loan that Saab requested from the European Investment Bank, and GM will still be involved – they’ll get $326 million worth of Saab shares and will build the 9-4X at their factory in Mexico.
So, can the new ‘Saab Spyker Automobiles’ succeed where Saab under GM failed? The hardcore restructuring at Saab’s Trollhätten base should get it off to a good start. While the current 9-3 is built at Magna’s plant in Austria, the new one will be made at the HQ alongside the current and next 9-5 in a plant that requires a lower production volume to break even than it has before. When these new models arrive is unknown at the moment… but there are over 3,000 Saab jobs resting on them being good enough for people to spend money on – so for now, let’s just wish Saab Spyker Automobiles some really really really good luck. Griffin Up and all that.
Alfa Romeo released a teaser video of the new Golf rivalling Giulietta, which takes itself so seriously you can’t help but smirk. A Bugatti Type 22 that spent at least half a century at the bottom of a lake in Italy sold for £228,000 at auction. And, finally, GM confirmed that they’re selling Saab to Spyker – more on that above.
Parent company of MG, China’s biggest car maker SAIC, announced it will sell the new MG 6 model in Europe this year, building them at Longbridge. Mercedes GP revealed their new car and the colours of their drivers’ helmets – Schumacher’s is red. And after a day of GM rumours built up to an afternoon press conference… Saab still isn’t sold.
Mitsubishi officially revealed pictures of its ASX Crossover, which will want to pinch buyers from the all-conquering Qashqai when it arrives this summer. The world’s cleverest man, Ross Brawn, said Michael Schumacher will win the 2010 F1 Championship, but not the first race. And a spokesperson from Saab’s hospice said the company is still hopeful of being revived by Spyker.
The Mini range was tweaked with all models getting a slight increase in power and decrease in emissions. GM won’t sell the new 9-5 and 9-3 as rebadged Buicks, and will just bin them should Saab die. And MOT pass rates were released for cars taking their first test in 2007 – Megane was the worst and Corolla the best.
Vauxhall boss Nick Reilly suggested the company would release a new city car in the next five years, with the possibility of an electric version. Weirdly, the first ever Saab convertible (and possibly one of the last) to be built in Sweden was produced – they were previously made in Austria. And the Detroit show was still filled with European cars.
GM announced the winding down of Saab will occur over the next few months, although they’re still negotiating with potential buyers. Peugeot’s newfound unshitness continued as it showed pictures of its 3-seat SR1 hybrid roadster concept, which in theory would have 240bhp but emit only 109g/km of CO2. And Indian designer Dilip Chhabria’s £136k Tata Nano made the world snigger.
GM again extended the deadline to settle selling Saab, as four new bidders emerged to join Spyker in attempting financial CPR on the company. A patent application filed by Lotus for a new seven speed double-clutch gearbox appeared on the net. And it was confirmed that American rally stunter Ken Block will compete in selected rounds of this year’s WRC.
Remember the now infamous Chevrolet Volt song performed at the LA Auto Show? Organised (and apparently choreographed) by GM themselves, the song and dance below actually happened in real life and obviously didn’t do the company’s reputation any favours. At least they’re not spending their US Government bail-out money on expensive Brian Friedman productions with gymnasts and fire – they got the PR department work experience kids to do it for free:
To make sure GM don’t further ruin Saab’s already shaky/doomed future with a similar musical travesty, a Saab fan has penned his own song, ‘Griffin Up’, which is ‘meant to inspire Saab fans worldwide to keep their hopes up and make a difference’. Despite probably making the song and video on his own with nothing more than GarageBand and some stock footage, he’s managed to produce a more polished product than General Motors managed in their entirity. Obviously it’s still a bit odd though:
GM have taken heed too. Instead of simply shutting the company for good, they’ll open the factory in the new year to make cars that have already been ordered. The Spyker offer is still being considered, as is the possibility of building the new 9-5 as a Buick – although neither look like particularly good prospects for Saab themselves.
To really save Saab, ‘Griffin Up’ needs to be released as a charity record, with the millions of 79p purchases going straight to Saab’s Swedish management – then they could buy the company back from GM and put the new 9-5 into production themselves. Once back on their feet, the ‘Griffin Up’ song could be remixed and called ‘Griffin Up Yours, GM’, as a fitting gesture to the company that nearly killed them. Now, where’s Simon Cowell…
Everyone’s favourite ridiculous car company Rinspeed released pictures of their electric ‘UC?’ concept, which has a 75 mile range. American owned Kepler Motors showed off their 789bhp hybrid supercar which they claim will do 60mph in 2.5 secs. And Saab are showing signs of resurrection, with Spyker conjuring a new deal which GM have until Monday to consider and accept.
GM has announced that it is closing Saab, after the deal to sell the loss-making brand to Spyker collapsed. Architects and a small group of other people with interesting personalities are still Saabing into their Alessi mugs.
The company was put up for sale earlier this year, with General Motors not having the cash to support it. Koenigsegg initially showed interest in a purchase, but backed out before any money changed hands. With Spyker doing the same, GM has decided it can’t support the company any longer and will start winding down operations immediately, with the loss of over 3,000 jobs.
Any current warranties of UK cars will be honoured by Vauxhall dealers, and all the firms bills will be settled before it is finally closed down.While recent cars have lacked character due to the extensive platform sharing and budget cutting enforced by GM, it’s very sad news to see a company with such history and identity lost. The only potential good news is the possibility of some bargain pre-registered 9-5s and 9-3s that need to be shifted – a £15k Saab 9-3 Aero 2.0T is an interesting prospect…
BMW released pictures of their new 335bhp top-spec Z4, the sDrive 35is, which will get to 62mph in less time than it takes to say its name. The Beijing Automobile Industry Holding Company bought the rights and tools to the Saab 9-3 and 9-5, but didn’t buy the company. And Mercedes said they would have an electric SLS by 2013.
Obscure supercar manufacturer Spyker replaced obscure supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg as the likeliest potential buyers of Saab. Aston Martin facelifted their V8 Vantage, with new wheels, grills and seats as well as an ECU remap and revised gear ratios which drop the CO2 to 315g/km. And pictures of the upcoming Mercedes E-Class emerged, showing off its trick windscreen mounted air deflector.
Silverstone was confirmed as the home of the British Grand Prix for the next 17 years, in a move that made BRDC President Damon Hill raise an actual smile. The Government made the country moan, by approving the use of average speed cameras in urban 20mph zones. And potential Volvo buyer Geely admitted talking to GM about buying Saab. Greedy.
Koenigsegg pulled out of buying Saab from GM, explaining that the process had taken much longer than they thought – code for ‘yeah, actually…Saab are past saving now’. Richard Noble’s marvellous Bloodhound SSC mob announced they’ll be making their 1,000mph attempt on the Hakskeen Pan, South Africa in 2011. And Graham Goode Racing revealed a hilariously tuned Focus RS with 368bhp.
