Saab’s Last Stand: The Bankruptcy of 2011
December 19, 2011, marked the end of an era for Saab Automobile, a beloved Swedish carmaker that had stood at the forefront of innovation for over 60 years. The bankruptcy filing not only halted production but also shattered the hopes of employees and fans worldwide who had clung to the possibility of a last-minute savior.
Trollhättan, Saab’s spiritual home, became a hub of global attention as journalists swarmed the iconic factory gates, capturing the somber mood of the thousands who had built their lives around the brand. This day was not just about the loss of a company but the loss of a community that had rallied together through every challenge. As Victor Muller confirmed the bankruptcy, the reality sank in that the end had truly arrived, leaving many wondering what could have been done differently to save this iconic name.
Inside Saab’s Final Chapter
The road to Saab’s bankruptcy was fraught with challenges that no amount of innovation or dedication could overcome. In February 2010, Spiker Cars, led by Victor Muller, acquired Saab for $74 million, a deal Muller described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a state-of-the-art car manufacturer.
However, by the time Spiker took control, the factory in Trollhättan had come to a complete standstill. Production lines were empty, suppliers had ceased deliveries, and the entire operation had to be restarted from scratch.
The acquisition gave hope to many, but rebuilding confidence among suppliers and consumers proved to be a monumental task. Saab’s revival was further complicated by its dependence on General Motors, which had retained a stake and continued to influence key decisions. Despite these obstacles, the company managed to produce a limited number of vehicles, each a testament to the resilience and dedication of its workforce.
The Saab 9-5 NG: A Lost Opportunity
The Saab 9-5 NG, unveiled during the brand’s final years, symbolized what could have been the company’s triumphant return to the luxury sedan market. Its sleek, modern design and turbocharged V6 engine reflected Saab’s commitment to blending performance with practicality.
The model featured advanced technologies, including adjustable suspension systems and an all-wheel-drive platform that performed exceptionally well in slippery conditions. However, critics noted inconsistencies in material quality and assembly, which detracted from its overall appeal in a competitive luxury segment.
Despite these flaws, the 9-5 NG embodied Saab’s innovative spirit and the promise of what the brand could achieve under the right circumstances. Today, the car is cherished by enthusiasts as a rare and poignant reminder of Saab’s unfulfilled potential. “Saab lost its way,” curator Peter Bäckström told Carup.se, “but the 9-5 showed us what could still be possible.”
Trollhättan: A City’s Loss
The closure of Saab’s factory in Trollhättan was more than an economic blow; it was an emotional rupture for the city and its residents. Saab had been a cornerstone of the community, providing not only jobs but also a sense of identity and pride.
The video footage from December 19, 2011, captures the raw emotions of employees leaving the factory for the last time, many of whom had dedicated decades of their lives to the company. Trollhättan became a symbol of resilience as former Saab workers found ways to preserve the brand’s legacy, whether by maintaining classic cars or contributing to the preservation efforts at the Saab Museum. Today, the museum serves as a beacon of hope and a testament to the enduring spirit of the Saab family.
Saab’s Cultural and Historical Impact
Saab was more than just a car manufacturer; it was a cultural phenomenon that redefined the automotive industry. Known for its turbocharged engines and innovative safety features, Saab consistently pushed the boundaries of what a car could be. The brand was synonymous with driver-focused design and cutting-edge engineering, attracting a loyal customer base that appreciated its unique approach.
While the partnership with General Motors initially brought resources and global reach, it ultimately clashed with Saab’s independent spirit. Projects like an early electric vehicle were abandoned, highlighting missed opportunities that could have cemented Saab’s place as a leader in innovation. Even after the bankruptcy, Saab’s influence remains palpable, as enthusiasts around the world continue to celebrate its pioneering legacy.
The Unyielding Saab Spirit
Thirteen years after its bankruptcy, Saab’s legacy lives on through its dedicated community of enthusiasts and the ongoing preservation efforts at the Saab Museum in Trollhättan. The video “Saab Automobile Bankruptcy: Selected Video Memory” highlights the resilience of this community, showing how former employees and fans have worked tirelessly to keep Saab’s story alive.
Saab rallies, forums, and online communities continue to thrive, ensuring that the brand’s innovative designs and unique approach to car manufacturing are not forgotten. As Saab enthusiast Peter Bäckström explained to Carup.se, “The Saab spirit is stronger than ever, and the passion for the brand only grows with time.”
A Legacy That Lives On
Saab’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and an unyielding sense of community. While the brand’s production lines may have fallen silent, its spirit continues to inspire. The Saab 9-5 NG, the dedication of its employees, and the passion of its enthusiasts serve as enduring symbols of what made Saab truly special. Thirteen years after its bankruptcy, Saab remains a beacon of creativity and determination, proving that some legacies can never be extinguished.
Nog steeds een prachtig model.
I wish this unstoppable legacy would turn into something substantive.
If all people will put $250.00 to the SAAB bussines and become partners with the SAAB, the dream come true.
Gerard Cartas.
good idea！
Why are the ones that are still remaining worth nothing in the uk
the prices are rising now I have a 2006 9-5 hot aero estate petrol manual which a couple of years ago was £1,500 now they are £3,000 !!!!!!!
same in South Africa. Parts availability and lack of Tech 2s. Ex GM dealers refuse to work on them. I have a 2007 9.3 2.8 Aero in pristine condition at 130k. Almost worthless yet looks fantastic and drives like a dream.
Saab is like a great movie 🎬 it will never die it will return one day it will roll of the assembly line 😀 again .
In our country, foreigners destroyed most of the factories in this way
Saab stopped in 1999
The 93 SS was a gm vectra with a Fiat engine
Not a saab at all.
Sorry there was a Saab badge on it
GM.did Saab no good! They only for self!
So sad that saab no longer build cars
SAAB…iconic auto. GENL MTRS was their downfall. Family drove them from the 50s. Sadly sold our last 9.3 in 2014 with 250K+ miles.
Uwielbiam mojego SAAB 93 cabrio w limonkowym limitowanym kolorze i każdego dnia wywołuje uśmiech na mojej twarzy. Jest wyjątkowy ma charakter a jeździ jak marzenie.
I’ve owned 2 99s, a 1976 and a 1978 Turbo, a 1986 9000 and now a 2007 93 with 175,000 miles and a 2008 93 with 109,000 miles. The cars run beautifully. There frankly was never an automotive company to compare with Saab’s innovation, safety, performance (in a turbocharged 4 cyl) or most importantly, drive ability from a driver’s perspective. GM was unable to kill any of that – although they certainly tried. All Saab lacked was effective marketing. Keeping the legacy alive is vital.
Parts are readily available in the USA and my Chinese Tech 2 clone ($200) works fine with a security hack available for download on the internet which enables programming the ECU in addition to the diagnostics Tech2 has available. Forums are great and repairs – especially with the help of YouTube – are no t excessively difficult. Keep these cars alive!
My 2001 Saab 9-3 automatic petrol still drives like a dream and has a genuine 84000 miles on the clock, it may strangely fail to start at 2 year intervals but left to cool down solves the problem, is so sad the company shut down.
SAAB is an enigma.
I say this as a designer and a lover of art and architecture.
Don’t take this as snobbish: but this brand is loved by sculptors, writers, architects, painters, art critics, academics, scientists, singers… and so on…
WHY?
( For instance: Umberto Ecco had a green 900. And he loved. it. Sting had a black 9000 Aero, etc)
Every time I think about this, I get extremely angry with GM. They totally destroyed SAAB, selling off their assets and then made it all but impossible to get access to the GM parts bin.
Everything GM touches dies. They also destroyed Hughes Aircraft Company….
I own a 93 aero Vert Which I have owned for 9 years
It has covered only 58,000.
My wife and I did 1,700 mile trip to Northern Spain with
a car Club. We were the only Saab and we’re surrounded by a selection high performance very expensive cars. We did not feel out of place and had a lot of great comments regarding the car.
The only problem now is the UK government are trying to TAX us off the road, which I believe next year will be over £700, but it’s worth keeping the car for it’s fantastic comfort and smooth driving experience 🚙
I finally got my own Saab convertible about 14 years ago, I called him Jules and drove almost 1000 miles the first weekend I had him. I kept Jules until he was no longer road worthy and added over 100000 miles to his mileage.
I adored that car and still miss him 4 years later.
I wish that they still made them.
I love my 2001 Saab , i also wish they made Saab today. The best car ever 🚗
Rada
I’ve owned 13… my first a 1983 900…Still have two 2008 9-3s. Just love them!
I’ll never forgive GM…
Saab Will never die
GM kill SAAB.
The 95ng.. i wish people would stop the ‘its an insignia’ – its not, altho things are interchangeable, its a very different car.. my friend has an insignia, same year as my 95, he wishes he had the Saab!
Its remarkable how current the 95 design is today, it turns heads and gets people asking everywhere i go.
My third Saab (Aero 95 waggon/93 TiD) and my current 95 ng in Diamond Silver is the best yet.. i love my Saab 🙂
SAAB is the legend forever!
I have SAAB 9,3 Vector convertible,the best car for me!
I have a 2002 9-5 Aero the best and only 97,000 miles on it. Love my Saab
Saabs never age. I gave my Saab 95 2.3 away to a very good friend who cherishes it. I kept my Saab 900 convertible ( opel
Chassis )
I have had 2 Saab 99 EMS, a Saab 9,000 and the Saab 9,000 sold but I still it in Geneva
SAAB one of the worlds best car ever.
I am so sorry that they stop built this beutiful car
All this talk of Saabs what about my BLS it’s as much a Saab as any 9-3 infact more than my first 2 as we all know the 900 & 9-3 Convertibles We’re made by Valmet the contract car builder in Finland my BLS an 09.2.0TSE 210 wagon was made & designed at Trollhatten on the same production line as the 9-3, I only bought to say I’ve had 1 & off my 4 it’s the only 1 with Cadillac badges not Saab, poor BLS it’s the Saab that’s never mentioned, someone said to me recently another Saab isn’t that a badly built 9-3 , obviously not very clued up on the History of Saab.
I worked at GM before and after the 2008 bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, GM invested next to zero resources in the SAAB brand. While there I asked myself why they had bought it at all. It was only towards the end of their ownership when they had finally invested in a genuinely new model with the 9-5 which I thought was a beautiful car.
For the life of me, I could not understand why GM would not invest in a SAAB SUV given they had no premium SUV on offer in Europe and they had – presumably – plenty of SUV development experience. The intended Subaru Tribeca re-badge was an insult (as was the Saab 9-2X).
It was all the more difficult to understand given that Volvo had shown the way with the release of premium models. My belief is that the GM executives in Detroit simply did not understand the brand or the European market and bought SAAB with no clear plan which was the ultimate reason for its demise.
Perhaps, had SAAB lasted a little longer, a buyer may have been found – perhaps, like Volvo, from China. But GM had left the company in such a bad state and, in 2008, no large car company was interested in buying another brand.
The one problem in many areas will be finding qualified repair personnel. Many of us don’t tinker or repair past a certain point, or don’t have the means to. Without good repair places, in another 5 to 10 years it’ll be next to impossible to keep one of the later model year cars on the road, never mind parts will become an issue.
Obama operatives wanted the auto industry trimmed. Saturn, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Volvo and Saab had to go. What stayed got subsidized.
I was very saddened when things ended the way they did in 2011. I had been a huge Saab fan for years.
I grew up around Saabs, and when I finally had enough money to buy my own. I started – very briefly with a beater 9000CD in some sort of dark green.
In 2003 I bought a black 2001 9-5 Aero with a 5-spd manual and I loved that car. It got all sorts of tunes, BSR cat-back, uprated TD04 Turbo, bigger downpipes BSR Stage 23 software. It wasnt the fastest off the line, but once moving it was scary fast, and would pull all the way to the increased redline in 5th gear. (168mph! Don’t ask me how I know)
Then in 2007 it got hit by a drunk driver while parked, and my beloved 2001 Aero was totaled. I replaced it with a Steel Gray 2004 9-5 Aero, also with a 5 speed manual. The previous owner had done a basic Nordic stage 1 software tune to it, but otherwise I kept it stock. It was gorgeous on the outside, but the inside I felt was starting to see the GM interior materials downgrade, which was a shame.
In 2011 when Saab was struggling to survive I made a ultimately foolish emotional decision, thinking if I was ever going to support Saab they needed it now, and I bought the only new car I’ve ever bought in my life, a Fjord Blue 2011 Saab 9-5 Turbo-4 Premium with a 6 speed manual.
It was a lovely car, but I found it a little slow. I got an experimental software tune from a company named Trifecta Performance which tuned GM cars (since this had a GM engine it was a fairly simple application) and it made the car come alive, especially when driven with E85 fuel. I loved that car too. One of the best I’ve ever owned.
In 2013 I drove it through a car wash, and the car was destroyed the chrome strip on the trunk lid. I went to replace it, and found that the strip and light bar on the trunk were the same assembly, and were crazy expensive (something like $600, I can’t remember). When I bought it the dealership told me I was lucky, it was one of the last 5 parts in the world.
That’s when I got spooked and decided to sell. Mechanical parts were never going to be a problem, GM engine, Bosch electronics, there were going to be parts for a long time. But body parts? That was different all together.
That wound up being my last Saab, and I miss it and all the ones before it (well maybe not the 9000CD, it had some problems, which is why it didn’t last long). Every now and then I click through the car listings hoping to magically find a low mileage 5-speed 9-5 Aero in good shape from anywhere between 2000 and 2004, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’d take any one of the 2001 9-5 Aero 5-speed, the 2004 9-5 Aero 5-speed or the 2011 9-5 Turbo4 6-speed back if I could.
I was a very active member on the SaabCentral forums for many years back before VerticalScope acquired it and started turning it to shit. I don’t have a Saab anymore, but I understand the community has changed,as happens when cars get older and cheaper. A lot of SEMA-style airbag and “stance” modders and other tacky shit like that, which is a shame.
I miss Saabs, but I also understand that if they were alive today they would have had to adapt and become like everyone else. More crossover SUV’s, elimination of manual transmissions and an emphasis on electric. So the Saab I miss could never be today, which is a shame.
Below is my 2011 9-5 from when I bought it new: (not the best angle, but I don’t have too many pictures of it)
Saab, still better than most of the makes available today. Love mine
My 2006 93 convertible is the smoothest car I ever had. Best ride, handling and pick me up. I bought it with 91,000 miles. Still the best at 99,800. Needs work but don’t now were to go in Connecticut.
Its not a car its an aeroplane without wings. Saab = svenska aero AB.
I have a 1995, 9000 Griffin Sedan with the GM 3.0 V6 engine. It’s a stunning car and it gets positive attention wherever I go.
If Saab would have lived today. It would have been just another boring chinese electrical car.
It’s unfortunate that GM destroyed this brand, which at the time was considered advanced and unique.
The last Saabs are a nightmare to run
To Cody Corrado> You should try working on them, GM really screwed the pooch
To Cody Corrado> I’m gonna disagree with you there, I have a 2012 9-3 convertible, and it’s been a brilliant car, with only the ware and tare of normal cars, it’s a beautiful and excellent car to drive
Caro amico Saab, è stata una macchina spettacolare io ne ho acquistate tre in vent’anni oggi ho un aero messa meccanicamente a nuovo e non riesco a scendere . Spero in un futuro che possa ritornare dagli amici indiani che hanno acquistato il marchio.
Peccato, io e la mia famiglia siamo stati convinti clienti SAAB. Mio padre, dopo Volvo 240 GLE D6 ha acquistato SAAB 9000 CD Sedan, io SAAB 9.3 TD del 1998, SAAB 9.5 SW 2.3, SAAB 900 EP CABRIO BLUE/BEIGE del 1992 credo, mio fratello SAAB 9.3 TD SEDAN del 2007, insomma quando avevano bisogno di soldi chiedevano a noi di acquistare una macchina 😉.
I think ‘envy’ killed the Saab brand. GM et al. They noticed how good Saab was. Imagine Saab today. It would be a great car. Electric and safe. ❤
Considering everything in my beautifully NG terrorized my wallet and I now own a Lexus, it’s pretty stoppable. Stupid GM.
Love my 5th C900 but pretending that these overpriced and ancient cars were competitive is absurd.
GM gave us another 10 years of SAAB’s and those of you that don’t know that, don’t know.
I have one of these 95s and i love it each time i look at this car makes me a happy man
New to me, a “project” to say the least. $1200. Many gremlins, but somebody in the past swapped in a Viggen 2.3 with an automatic trans. It must have a tune ’cause it feels as strong as an ’01 viggen I sold 10 years ago.
Funny thing, imho drive a GMC yukon 2000 -2006 and tell me it isn’t pretty much a 90’s 900 SE turned into a full size SUV…although no manual gears make it far less fun.
SAAB one of the worlds best car ever.
I am so sorry that they stop built this beutiful car.
SAAB wasn’t bankrupt. As part of the US government bailout of GM, which owned Saab, GM was able to group Saab with Pointiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, and Hummer into a division and bankrupt it.
For a NG95 all you need is a good GM mechanic. Almost all the mechanical parts are used on fairly current Chevys, Caddys, and Buicks.
Lights are the biggest problem. Sheetmetal impossible to find I nless you can catch a good part out. If you get hit it will most likely just be a total anyhow. Just sold mine for 3k and bought a 2015 Volvo S80 Inscription.
Values are crashing on the 95 also. Anything priced too high has been for sale for months.
To let SAAB fold up was a stupid decision. The quality and respect the brand had all over the world was immense.
Still the best car and so shane that this legasy stay without building cars now
There was the GM Problem, not a bankruptcy I think.
I’ve had a dozen or more over the years starting with a ’69 model 99 (for $200), then two model 99 EMS’s. Sold my ’01 Viggen convertible (stage 1) and thought that was it. Recently picked up an ’02 9-3 convertible and stripped it’s part car from a girl in VT. To my surprise, it has a Viggen 2.3 engine w/an automatic trans. Must be from a 9-5 Aero. It has some kind of tune and really moves for an automatic. Whoever did the swap really knew what they were doing. Replaced the valve cover gasket, the engine is very clean inside. Currently fixing a myriad of problems with parts from the parts car. No winters over the past 10 years. That ACC system is a real PITA !
Ernesto.it rappresenta una vera ancora di salvezza per gli appassionati e i proprietari di auto Saab, offrendo soluzioni innovative e affidabili per mantenere in vita queste vetture iconiche. La loro dedizione alla qualità e all’assistenza personalizzata aiuta a preservare l’eredità di Saab anche dopo anni di inattività. Consiglio vivamente Ernesto.it a chiunque desideri innovare e continuare a godere delle meraviglie di questa marca leggendaria. Grazie a loro, il sogno di ogni appassionato Saab si trasforma in realtà, mantenendo vivo lo spirito di una casa automobilistica che ha fatto la storia.
You’ve got to be “part of it” to understand it!! Im guilty as i’ve been part of it constantly since 1976.