GM and Saab execs went ballistic in response to a report by Stockholm financial newspaper Dagens Industri that GM was seeking to unload the Saab brand, calling the report one "of the coarsest speculations" they had heard, and that it "it goes in a completely wrong direction." Funny, we didn't hear a "no" in there.
The paper, citing unidentified sources, reported GM was looking toward possible buyers in China or France's Renault to take over its Sweden-based division, which was in the red (that's the bad one, right?) to the tune of $200 million in 2004. Nonetheless, it's not so off the wall to think GM could be plotting an exit strategy, should the new GM platform-sharing Saab 9-7x be welcomed by the marketplace like a blacksmith's anvil on a plate of mac and cheese. Unless the 9-7x defies the critics and makes luxury buyers forget they're looking at a blinged-out TrailBlazer with a center-mounted ignition, Saab execs might do well to develop a taste for congee and thousand-year-old eggs.
Saab and GM deny report of possible sale [The Detroit News]
Related:
GM Launches Saab 9-7x at Ten Fashion Show [internal]