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Saab's New Owner Turns Down 81 of 218 U.S. Dealers

 
4 2,761 views Nov 13, 2009
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Saab 9-5

Koenigsegg's purchase of Saab from GM is going through the final processing stages, and part of the process is deciding which dealerships it will retain and operate. Just as GM has pared down its dealer network, so Koenigsegg is now leaving 81 of the 218 U.S. Saab dealers out in the cold.

The decision is part of the brand's establishment of a new operating company known as Saab Cars North America, which it will use to run Saab's business here in the U.S.

Final closure of the sale isn't expected to take place until November 30, but its necessary to line up the details before that date. The remaining 137 dealers will continue to sell Saab cars, while the 81 rejected dealers will have to close down shortly.

There still remains a slight chance that the sale could fall through, and if it does so, Saab will go the way of Saturn, meaning the closure of all 218 Saab dealers.

Read our previous coverage for the details on Koenigsegg's purchase of Saab, and don't forget to check out what Saab has in store for its next couple of models in the post-GM era.

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HI-RES GALLERY: Saab 9-5




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Comments (4)

  1. fb_1293932973 avatar Biti Ojedele Posted: 11/13/2009 8:32pm PST

    It's not accurate to say Saturn dealerships are closing. Many are negotiating deals with other auto manufacturers and will simply change product, but retain the names they are known by in their respective locales.
     
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  2. By Harry Posted: 11/13/2009 8:33pm PST

    Although Saab's cars could use a lil more horses under the hood, I think that they look good and have a good luxury appeal. If they lowered their price a little bit or upped the performance, maybe they'll be able to compete with Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
     
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  3. By  r4 dsi Posted: 11/13/2009 8:35pm PST

    Konigsegg is sitting on revolutionary battery technology that no one else has a clue about and they are saving it for a possible future car instead of selling batteries and becoming the richest corporation on the planet? I really believe that
     
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  4. By bepsf Posted: 11/14/2009 8:05pm PST

    "If they lowered their price a little bit or upped the performance, maybe they'll be able to compete with Audi, BMW and Mercedes."
    Um - Performance has never been an issue for Saab...
    ...it's been the quality of their interiors. If they lowered their prices, they might compete with Nissan, but not the Premium brands as the quality of their interiors are far, far inferior to the Germans.
     
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