Sadly, SAAB is probably at death's door and somewhat deservedly so.
They are (were?) a niche player in a niche that is no longer large enough to support them. They have the infrastructure costs of a relatively large production car company, plus Swedish labor costs, but the market of a specialist...they are neither a Ford (volume) nor a Lotus (cost structure and a major player's backing). They never quite achieved the mainstream appeal of Volvo nor the premium appeal of Audi or BMW. GM certainly made some improvements to the existing line when they stared taking a stake in them, but never capitalized on their quirky appeal and let the brand flounder. By a few years ago, their cars were dated and the Subaru and GM badge engineered models were truly uninspiring...I had a 9-7X, an awd "SAAB" SUV that was just not good in snow. We loved our convertible and our new 9-3x awd sedan is a great car for the price, a significant improvement over the previous version, but the new cars are probably too late to save them. The new 9-5 is beautiful but drives just OK, it seems to feel larger than it is, and is expensive and barely competitive for its class.
Sad to see them go, and I'd buy another, but I am not too optimistic.
