Saab fans and enthusiasts will gather tomorrow at General Motors’ Detroit headquarters to protest the company’s plans to potentially wind down the brand, rather than to sell it outright. Meanwhile, Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker says it has been given the opportunity to make one final offer for the brand.
The gathering was planned and orchestrated last week by Ryan Emge, the founder of SaabHistory.com, and it has been promoted heavily by Australian Saab news site SaabsUnited.com.
Those interested in traveling to downtown Detroit to support the small Swedish automaker should plan to meet at the Renaissance Center at noon tomorrow. Next week, European Saab enthusiasts are planning a similar gathering at the brand’s Swedish headquarters.
Spyker to make new offer
Spyker, which has been the most vocal recent bidder, says it will make one more offer for Saab by January 7, although the company says that it is not following a GM-imposed official deadline.
“We have gotten time for a final offer. Nothing has been rejected,” Spyker CEO Victor Muller told Reuters.
If it is successful in acquiring the brand, Spyker says it would plan to rebuild Saab around its core 9-3 and 9-5 offerings and that the company’s relationship with GM “would last for years,” according to Muller.
Spyker would drop plans for a smaller 9-1 model but would plan to produce the yet-to-be-unveiled 9-4x at GM’s Mexican assembly plant. The automaker says that it would not close any of Saab’s North American dealers, although certain showrooms would be expected to sell Spyker’s high-end, hand-built exotic cars alongside Saabs.
Saab to begin production of 9-5
Despite GM’s plans to wind down the brand, Saab says that it will officially begin production of the 2011 9-5 next week.
“We have the orders and we have to deliver them as usual. We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again,” Saab spokesman Eric Geers said last week.
