2007 Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan 4-door 2.8l on 2040-cars

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Saab has ruined all Swedish cars for me

It's easy to dismiss my hatred of all Swedish automotive manufacturers as a simple result of bad experiences. I mean, we're all products of our own experiences, some we learn from, others we don't, and some we need to be hit over the head with time and time again. I've been hit over the head too many times with Saabs (and one lonely Volvo), and as a result, I can't bring myself to buy a Koenigsegg. It started with a 900 Turbo sedan. You know, the ugly duckling sister of the beautiful two-door coupe that spawned the Aero, which managed to look stunning from the front, and like a child with a full nappy (diaper) at the rear. I bought it at an auction (mistake number one) for $6,500 (AUD) because as a bloke in his early twenties, I wanted to be noticed – and a greasy-haired bespectacled musician driving a turbocharged Swedish luxury car was my way of standing out. On the drive home I noticed two things: one, it handled like it was on rails – it just gripped! And two, the turbo wasn't working. I took my new wheels to the mechanic, who promptly told me a custom exhaust system would solve the problem – mistake number two. During the fitting, Mr. Shonky's Repair Shop managed to fry some computer thingy. I won't try to remember or understand what it was, but he did tell me that it should have been replaced and that I would have to pay for it. I agreed. Mistake number three. Twelve months later I had spent more than double the original purchase price on repairs, and the turbo still wouldn't work. I sold it for about $4,000, and moved on to something more sensible. But the beautiful handling and quirky design had left an itch that I just couldn't scratch. Many cars and motorbikes later, I sold my Mazda RX-8 because it was too perfect. You know those cars that have spotless paint, an unmarked interior, low kilometers, and you're just too damn scared to park it anywhere? Yep, it was one of those. I would spend 30 to 40 minutes trying to find a vacant spot with vacant spots on either side, and even after leaving the car I would walk back to check if anyone had parked next to me. If they did, I moved. Not a low-anxiety vehicle. So I bought my second Saab – this time a 9-5 turbo wagon – from an auction. Wasn't that mistake number one? This one had reasonably low kilometers, and was even on LPG (a fairly common conversion is Australia – just not on Saabs) and only set me back $2,200. I drove it home, and low and behold, the turbo worked!

Last 900 Saabs heading to auction

If you've been wanting to get your hands on one last new Saab but missed out on the great Saab sell-off when Saab Cars North America declared bankruptcy, well, your ship has now come in.
Actually, it came in last year - but hundreds of new Saabs got waylaid at ports in California and New Jersey because of the bankruptcy, according to SaabWorld.net. Those cars are now slated for auction, some 900 of them, which will be available for dealers, exporters and rental car companies to bid on beginning next week. Eventually, 300 of these cars should make their way to Saab dealers, where they're expected to be sold off at 30- to 50-percent discounts. The other 600 will either be exported or used as rentals, according to the report, so "the price of Saabs will not be severely depressed."
Besides the new cars, some 67 company cars, including some interesting stuff like a 1960 Saab Quantum IV and a 1970 Sonnett III, will also be auctioned off, according to the report. Of the new cars, just over half are 9-5 models, some 400 are 9-3 sedans, another 60 are 9-3 wagons, and about a dozen are convertibles. According to the report, 28 are actually 9-4X crossovers, which is more than 10 percent of Saab's total 2011 sales for that model.

Mahindra buying majority stake in NEVS, Saab saved again?

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), owner of Saab, might not be dead yet, because the company is reportedly close to having a new owner with deeper pockets in near future. The declaration comes from the business's latest request to prolong its reorganization and includes the claim that NEVS has a signed letter of intent from an unnamed Asian automaker to take majority ownership of the beleaguered brand. While NEVS doesn't specifically name this potential, future owner in its filing, Automotive News Europe cites a SaabsUnited story proclaiming that the suitor is none other than Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra, a development that would confirm months of rumors. The Swedish automaker is reportedly just waiting for the majority investment to be finalized before making an official announcement, and the whole purchase could be complete by February. NEVS also claims that it's still negotiating with a separate, unnamed Asian automaker on a joint venture to co-develop new vehicles. Assuming the deal goes through, the new owner could regain the rights to the Saab brand, too. According to ANE, negotiations are underway with the Saab AB aerospace business to be able to use the trademark again. NEVS lost that right when it filed for reorganization. Mahindra has shown interest in owning Saab for quite some time. It was reportedly among the final three bidders for the brand in 2012, and the Indian automaker was allegedly eyeing a stake in NEVS as far back as June. Scroll down to read the brief press release from NEVS about the extended reorganization, and the full document can be viewed in PDF format, here. Nevs applies for prolonged reorganization Monday, December 01, 2014 National Electric Vehicle Sweden, Nevs, has today submitted an application to the District Court in Vanersborg, requesting that the company reorganisation shall continue for an additional time period of three months. The administrator Lars Eric Gustafsson expresses the rationale for why Nevs should be granted an extended reorganization in this enclosed statement.