2004 Saab 9-3 Arc Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Deal brokered to get Saab warranty service honored at GM dealers

When Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn were killed off, at least current owners never had to question where they would have to take their vehicle in case it needed to be serviced. The same couldn't be said for Saab owners... until now. General Motors and Saab Automobile Parts North America (the remaining entity of the bankrupted automaker) have signed an agreement that provides 179 service centers to current Saab owners to receive factory-trained technicians and official Saab replacement parts.
These warranty service providers will have all the tools, training and parts to maintain and repair Saab vehicles, and they will also have access to a technical assistance center for the technicians. Next year, SPNA will also set up a customer assistance center, which will likely be most useful in helping current owners find repair shows, as well as a program called Saab Secure to give added service support to owners of late model (2010 and 2011 model year) Saab vehicles. Finally, to make sure customers have a sufficient parts supply to keep their cars on the road, SPNA operates out of a 153,000 square foot warehouse in Michigan that has the ability to ship more than 3,000 parts orders per day.
GM's official press release on the agreement is posted after the jump.

Saab US bankruptcy plan gets legal green-light

It feels utterly bizarre that we're still talking about Saab, but Reuters is reporting that the bankrupt Swedish manufacturer's American arm has gotten approval from the US Bankruptcy Court to liquidate its assets and pay back creditors. As part of the plan, secured creditors like Ally Financial will receive full repayment. Unsecured creditors, consisting of those affected by abandoned leases and contracts will get anywhere from 25 to 82 percent of their money back.
There are currently $77 million in unsecured claims, according to Reuters, but that number doesn't include claims from former Saab dealers. Naturally, the entire affair is full of lawyers and legalese. A trust formed on the Saab side will be negotiating with creditors and their affiliates in an attempt to reduce claims against Saab. This sounds like the start of a long and sordid affair...

National Electric Vehicle stops Saab 9-3 production amidst financing woes

It seems that quirky, Swedish automaker Saab might be on life support yet again. Its owner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, has announced that it's reducing its workforce and temporarily halting production of the 9-3 due to financial problems. NEVS was only building six cars a day, anyway.
The company put out a press release admitting its economic woes, but it still appeared hopeful. NEVS claims it's developing "a new platform on the Phoenix architecture," and it has a frame agreement with an international automotive OEM. It didn't give any specific details about either one of these assertions though. According to The Wall Street Journal, NEVS needs the partnership to lower development costs in order to stay afloat. Saab spokesperson Mikael Ostlund told Autoblog in an email that the stop in production of the 9-3 in Trollhättan would last four weeks.
NEVS says it's in negotiation to sell a portion of the company to an automotive company. Its current monetary woes are caused by shareholder Qingbo Investment Company not financing the company as agreed. "We plan to have the results of the discussions at latest during June," said Ostlund.