The Carchat

Fun times - Spyker have finally sealed the deal with GM and have adopted Saab. Who knew it was still a thing? I thought they'd bought the company ages ago, and even then I was bored. But no, it turns out they were scratching about the back of the sofa for more money and hatching plans for new cars. A brand spanking new 9-5! A new 9-3! A MINI rival! I am positively thrilled.

I give it 18 months.

DETROIT – General Motors and Spyker Cars NV today confirmed that they have reached a binding agreement on the purchase of Saab Automobile AB.

"Today’s announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM,” said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances.

“General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome,” Smith said.

As part of the agreement, Spyker intends to form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles, which will carry the Saab brand forward.  The sale will be subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory, governmental and court approvals.  Other terms and conditions specific to the sale will be disclosed in due time.

Sah-weet! I'm so very excited.

Autocar and others are reporting that the sale of Saab to Spyker could be announced later today.

There are lots of questions to be answered - why has it taken so long? Why have GM decided to keep Opel and sell Saab just when it seemed like there were some interesting new models on the way? If Spyker do end up with Saab on the books, can they make it happen? It's a long way from Dutch sportscars to Swedish saloons.

The sticking point appeared to be Spyker's financial backers - GM were uncomfortable with technology potentially being passed on to manufacturers in Russia. Now that there's a Dutch billionaire on board and ready to part with some cash perhaps things might get moving...or perhaps not.

UPDATE: Spyker have sent out a press release this afternoon stating that talks are ongoing and the outcome uncertain. GM held a press conference in the US this afternoon (I'm talking GMT here) and also took the opportunity to dampen speculation. Fun times.

According to CAR magazine the new 9-5 estate has been spotted testing out in deepest, snowiest Scandinavia - does this permit Saab fans a glimmer of hope, or have the engineers been told to use up all of the petrol in the tank before the prototypes all get pushed into a hole in the ice?

Who knows? Feels like this one is going on forever.

Click through for the article. :)

The truth of the matter was that people bought Saabs — and Volvos, and Audis, and other European cars — less for what they were that for what they were not. As the American dollar fell through the floor in the Eighties, Saab pricing soared and the market responded by demanding better-equipped, even more expensive Saabs. This luxury-car game was an unbeatable scam. It let a small Swedish company sell rather prosaic cars to important people for outrageous prices, and it showed absolutely no signs of ever coming to an end.

From my buddy Jack Baruth, a most honest and accurate send-off of Saab.

...and there's even something with a Saab theme. Happy days.

Personally the Michael Schumacher pictures are my favourites.

Yes, that's Pat Moss, successful woman rally driver and brother of F1 great Stirling Moss. She also competed in Saab rally cars alongside Carlsson; the two wed in 1963.

She famously drove her personal light blue Saab Sport in the 1962 Safari Rally, since the competition department at SAAB didn't manage to get a suitable rally car on time. The Wikipedia entry for the Saab Sport states:

She was promised a new car if she should crash. The car was one of a kind. Since Pat Moss couldn't get the car in red (her favorite colour), she insisted on at least having a red interior. This resulted in the only light blue Saab Sport with red interior.