Car Throttle

Finally! The Saab story isn't coming to an end after all. Thankfully though, it does seem like this chapter of it is. General Motors' financial problems resulted in the decision to sell the brand, along with Saturn, Hummer and Opel. However, for whatever reason each of the asset sales fell apart - Saturn with Penske Automotive Group, and then Koenigsegg with Saab and now it looks like the same situation is happening with Hummer. Opel didn't work out, but only because GM backtracked on its desire to sell. Since the Saab sale fell apart, GM has been attempting to find a suitable buyer, and that hasn't worked out as well as they hoped - until now. Spyker, like Koenigsegg, is a small sportscar company (which also happens to

OK, this wait is getting quite tiring. However, it is better than the alternative - shutting down Saab altogether. Current General Motors management is making an effort to get the brand sold rather than just shutting it down, and that is a good thing. One of the rumored reasons for the departure of GM's recent Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson is that he just wanted to shut down the brand, in opposition to the board. Now it seems as if the company is extending the deadline. Around the time of the Los Angeles International Auto Show, GM announced they would be considering bids for Saab until December 31st, 2009. Paul Akerlund, the head of the IF Metall trade union, is saying that the date is not in

Saab's dead one minute, Saab's not the next. Let's just split the difference - it most definitely is hanging on by a thread. Just after the automotive world (and Twitter - Saab trended) began to mourn the loss, Spyker has made a vigorous effort to save the brand. Spyker was the remaining bidder in the process, but the company's bid didn't meet General Motors'  requirements. As such, Spyker submitted a 11th hour bid of - you guessed it - 11 points, each one addressing GM's concerns. GM was given until Monday (today here in the U.S) at 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. No hurry! But,  Spyker has seen fit now to extend the validity of the offer in order to give GM more time to consider it.

It has taken a back seat with all the news coming out today (Fritz Henderson's resignation dominating) but a good piece of news for Saab enthusiasts came out today. Last week, General Motors' deal with Koenigsegg for purchase of Saab fell apart, with the fear that it would join Magna International's failed purchase of Opel and the deal that fell through with Penske Group and Saturn. GM quickly made it known they would evaluate their options, and today they have released a statement that offers a glimpse of hope. "The GM Board of Directors has received expressions of interest in Saab since the conclusion of negotiations with Koenigsegg Group AB. The Board will evaluate potential bids between now and the end of December. At that

It has been a whirlwind of news today! The automotive world is alight with comments about the resignation of General Motors' Chief Executive Officer, Fritz Henderson. This follows the push out of former CEO Rick Wagoner, who Fritz Henderson replaced. Twitter has proved to be place to get the latest thoughts and reaction from the public. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for the quickest news updates  - we've been on there a lot today keeping up with all the happenings. On a GM conference call today, it was abruptly announced that Fritz Henderson would be resigning his position at GM. Ed Whitacre of recent AT&T fame and current Chairman of the GM Board, made the announcement. He also will be taking over the position as

Saab has the focus of a lot of attention lately, after Koenigsegg pulled out of purchasing the unique Swedish brand just as the first 9-5 rolled off the line. One by one we have watched each General Motors' asset sales fall apart, first with Saturn, then with Opel and now with Saab. Out of the brands sent to the chopping block, the loss of Saab would have to be the most painful. It appears like not all hope is lost for Saab though - after the pull-out, GM issued a statement saying they are evaluating all of their options on what to do with Saab. More importantly though, according to Automotive News there are two potential buyers still interested - Chinese automaker BAIC

Happy Thanksgiving, from OnStar! One of the recent convienience features of General Motors' long-running telematics system has been Turn-by-Turn directions relayed through an equipped car's audio system. Each GM vehicle equipped with OnStar comes standard with the service for 1 year. For those that have let the service lapse, this "gift" is for you. On the day after Thanksgiving (the notorious "Black Friday" shopping day), OnStar is offering Turn-by-Turn directions free. This could be useful especially for people out of town and looking to take advantage of sales on the day after Thanksgiving. As with all promotions, GM does have an aim with it - to hopefully bring a few subscribers on board who haven't signed up after the 1-year period, and to maybe produce a positive

Over the past few days, all the automotive news outlets have been reporting manufacturer production totals with the announcement of Volkswagen's ascension to Number One. The information supplied has been from Global Insight, a research firm in the industry. Global Insight is usually very accurate, however this new set of information has left out some very important data. GMInsidenews has done some research to compile the true sales figures for the year. Global Insight failed to include production figures from GM's Chinese joint ventures, which have always been counted as part of the final global tallies. With those included properly, General Motors is actually on top so far this year, followed by Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford. Apparently, Volkswagen being on top is too sensastional of a story

Well, well, well - look what has transpired here. General Motors' cash crunch over the past year resulted in attempts to rid itself of global assets. That has included Saab and curiously until now, Opel. Opel's sale to Canadian supplier Magna International has been in the works for quite some time. Now, GM is announcing the termination of that deal struck with Magna International.  That's right, after all of this wrangling, GM's Board of Directors has decided to keep Opel. Opel has been integral to GM's current product lineup and it looks to play an even bigger role in the future. For instance, future new product like the Buick Regal is being sourced directly from the brand. Without control of Opel, GM would lose that developmental prowess, as

Normally at CarThrottle we don't do a whole lot of covering the usual industry news, but this announcement is pretty notable. As the financial crisis forced General Motors and Chrysler into taking government loans and going through bankruptcy, Ford has remained a notable exception to that. When Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally came to the company, he put all of the company's assets on the line to secure loans to turnaround the company. That turned out to be a smart move, providing Ford with the funds to weather the economic crisis. There have been worries though that the cash hoard wouldn't be enough to last the company if losses continued. Those fears are being quelled with actual results. Here is some of the statistics: net income of