What Really KILLED Saab? America, China... Or Bernie Ecclestone?

Saab was loved by many and had such a bright future but what drove the company off the rails?

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[caspar]

GM destroyed SAAB. When GM took them over SAAB was a true competitor to the likes of BMW, but more interesting. If GM had properly invested in SAAB they could now be a BMW / Mercedes / Audi competitor, instead GM made SAAB work with out of date GM chassis (I know, I had a 2001 93 Aero). I was so pleased when GM pulled out of Europe and let Peugeot / Citreon take control of Opal / Vauxhall. GM wasted a truly great car company, everything GM touched in Europe went to maggots.

[herseem]

GM seemed to not understand why people bought SAABs, which I think was partly some of their quirks and foibles that appealed to a persistent proportion of the population. For example, the large number of gauges and the feeling of it being more like a cockpit than a car and the rock-solid bodywork that made it feel as though it was the road yielding rather than the suspension. GM seemed to think it was just the radiator grille. They sucked all the Saabishness out of SAAB.

[zollotech]

GM sadly. I love Saab and would love a return to different and quirky cars.

[eugp]

Saab died in the hands of GM.
While Volvo thrives in the hands of Geely.
Lesson learned, leave it to the experts to do their job while the owner just focuses on financial aid and market penetration.

[bpearr]

Saab will remain to ME as the most underrated and under-appreciated car brands ever made . They’re not prefect cars by and means, but they have more personality than any cars on the road today, and most engines have major power potential. Love Saab

[JuganautTimelapse]

I owned 3 Saabs, 2 900's, one of which was the 'sensonic' and a 95. Loved them and they all had their own character. Very few cars these days have 'character'. A great shame they went bankrupt.

[JellyLancelot]

Special place in my heart for Saab. My whole family had them growing up, from my grandads kitted out 9-5 Aero's to my parents estate 9-3's, they were truly awesome cars punching far above their price tags. Engineers ran the show and it showed in the spectacularly overengineered cars, just a shame the business side didn't know how to function at let it all down.

[DCB]

I'm a former GM Holden employee here in Melbourne, Australia who worked at Holden's Engine Operations, we built the 2.8ltr turbo V6 engines for SAAB vehicles.

[leleblanc]

Still daily driving a 9000 turbo CS, only 114.000 miles, the break-in is nearly finished

[TuFacez]

The moment it landed with GM - SAAB's downfall was inevitable. I don't think GM has ever done anything good off their own back.

[MarmiteTheDog]

Everything GM touched turned to sh*t. Awful, awful company.

[rossdark]

That's the problem, when another company buys out someone and then tries to put their way of doing things into that company, they don't understand that the difference is what made that company a success. In the end it just becomes another arm of the multi-national that bought in out and the company then fails. SAAB just became GM Scandaivana.

[WildReefer]

I think that there was once a poll conducted that revealed that SAAB had more PhD's per capita amongst their customers than any other car brand or something if I remember correctly.

My dentist uncle had the turbo back in the late 70's in dark metallic brown-ish. I loved it as a kid.

[michaeldrew]

I too owned 3 Saabs. A 900 GLS, 900 Turbo S, and 9000 LPT. I loved 'em! And when I lived in Sweden I drove an old 2 stroke. RIP Saab ... fond memories. And ... I never wore a turtle neck or corduroy Trousers!

[DCB]

As a former GM Holden employee, in about 2014 the Australian Government gave GM Holden millions to stay alive and save jobs, instead of using those funds in Research and Development of future electric cars, Holden paid that money to their parent company General Motors, two years or so later Holden here in Australia announced GM is closing down the Australian Car Industry, I lost my job at Holden's Engine Operations in November 2016, and the Vehicle Assembly Plant in South Australia closed down in October 2017, so another loss of a car company at the hands of GM.

[jkeane]

Owned 2 Saab 93's... Lovely cars with great handling and high specs... Was planning to get the ultimate performance version of the new 95 when they went bust...it's a very rare car to see around these days.

[romanianbear]

When i was growing up if you want a car that is fast and safe there was only two car brands...Saab and Volvo

[hereigoagain]

Fun video. The ghost of Saab lives on in every modern fwd sedan. My Chevy Malibu Maxx (don't shame me) was based on a Saab platform + outdated power train + hideous interior. But great ride & handling, good safety scores, and flexible interior. Served my family well for 15 years + 2 boys who used it for teenage high jinks. Never got the smell out of it. :)

[supersaabclaire]

GM told Saab to change things and Saab didn't want to. Saab didn't want to turn their cars into Vauxhall's because Saab said that GM parts weren't good enough.
That's why GM pulled the plug.

[joeb]

It seems obvious that GM killed SAAB, and every time someone else tries to resurrect SAAB, GM is there to make sure that SAAB stays dead.