Ah, yes, thank you for clarifying this. To my embarrassment, I had utterly forgotten GM's ill-fated foray into Swedish motoring when they purchased Saab and made an utter mess of things; a real pity, because the Saabs of the 1980s were terrific cars, and some from the early 1990s still looked wonderful.
I had a 99 Turbo for a while. Loved that thing, but it was a passing affair. I knew that I wasn't keeping it for long anyway. Though I never had as much fun as I did in those three months.
I seem to recall that Spyker bought Saab at some stage, and that did not work out well, either. Who - or what - are the current owners, and what form does the current ownership of Saab take?
Saab went belly up under Spykers ownership. Both GM (who still owned a part) and the Swedish Treasury refused to allow funding from a Russian businessman who they claimed was involved in criminal activity. (That to this day hasn't been proven) With no funding, and incresing debt, Spyker couldn't pull it around. Meanwhile the two lawyers that handled the bankruptcy got over 2.3 Million US dollars.
The current owners are a Swedish-Chinese company called NEVS AB, National Electric Vehicle Sweden. And against common knowledge, they didn't buy Saab. They bought the bankruptcy estate. By that time, Saab as a company didn't exist. They wanted the Stallbacka Manufacturing Plant for their own electric vehicles, nothing else. The deal ended in their favor becuase they got a ******** of parts and (unregisterable)cars in the process. Among others, 1000 Turbo4 Engines, which now power the pre-series MY14 Saab 9-3.
The plan is to build a limited number of petrol 9-3's and then use the chassis for a electric model (That is now being tested in China with a 200 unit test fleet).
The Phoenix platform is being redesigned and rebuilt to avoid GM parts and then it will be released as the new 9-3. Unfortunately the 92% completion dropped to around 60% once you removed all GM parts. I was told Q4 2015 earliest for announcement and Q2/Q3 2016 for launch.
I don't have a car at the moment, as I am working and living abroad, but Saab is a brand I have always liked a lot, and a 9-3 is the type of car I would like to buy at some stage.
In any case, I wish the company a speedy, soundly based and completely successful resurrection. Good luck when you di get around to buying one later this year, and let us know how it drives and what it looks like when you do take proud possession of it.
I'll write a lengthy review I promise. But from my 30 minute test drive, i have two workds for ya. F--king amazing!
Psst.... I can also reveal that there will be at least one MY14 9-3 in the US this year. More precisely in Burbank, Ca. Shortly thereafter a second one will be delivered to Germany and possibly one to Israel.
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