Saab May Survive - or Not

As I'm sure I've mentioned, we are a Saab household. We still have our original Saab 900 that we bought the same year we got married, 1985. It was one of the quirky, personality-filled Saabs that were a cultlike favorite in the 1980s. Saab owners seeing another Saab on the highway would flash their lights.

The car above looks generally the same as our 1985; it's a 1986 (which was the same style). Our old girl has 250,000 miles on her and DH still drives her to Philadelphia 3 days a week. Right now the car does need a little work but still doesn't burn a drop of oil and still takes corners as if it is on railroad tracks.

Sadly, Saab lost a lot of its distinctiveness when it was bought out by General Motors. We had bought another 900 in 1991 (so for awhile had two nearly identical cars in different colors). But by the time we traded it in, G.M. had taken over the company and had already started their insidious mainstreaming of the Saab trademark. Our 2002 9-5 Sportwagon, while a very nice, serviceable car, doesn't have the same personality.

I've always been angry that G.M. didn't appreciate what it had in Saab. Saab was always an innovative company; they perfected their turbo and had gas-sipping 4-cylinder turbos on their high-end model while G.M. still relied on big V-8s that used lots of gas in order to get power. Saab's old motto was "the most intelligent car ever built."

By rights, given their legacy of innovation, Saab should have introduced the first hybrid vehicle to take this country by storm - not Toyota.

But G.M. had relegated it to a second-rate division among their many divisions and started trying to do the old productivity shuffle - putting Saabs on other platforms, mixing and matching styles. One low point came when they came out with the Saab 9-2 - a "Saab" that most Saab enthusiasts dubbed the "Saabaru" because it was really a Subaru that had been re-badged. But at least Subaru has a certain quirky and independent image of its own and they make good cars. The complete nadir happened when they came out with the 9-7 which was based on a G.M. SUV with a V-8 and lousy gas mileage. It was like the anti-Saab.

With the recent disaster that is the U.S. auto industry, G.M. has announced it will phase out Saab, Saturn and most of Pontiac within a short time as part of its restructuring. In aid of this, Saab has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, in hope that the Swedish government will bail them out enough to make Saab attractive to investors.

According to the AP,

"With Saab, GM and the Swedish government are saying the other needs to come up with money to keep the brand going.

Preuss said $1 billion was needed to keep Saab operating, of which GM was ready to pay $400 million. The U.S. automaker had asked the Swedish government to guarantee the rest.

The Swedish government, which insists that Saab's survival is GM's responsibility, rejected the request because GM's business plan wasn't 'realistic,' Industry Minister Maud Olofsson said.

More capital is needed to construct a credible and sustainable plan, she said, and 'GM or someone else needs to provide that capital.'"

The New York Times has a more positive spin on the story, making it seem as if it was Saab's idea to go bankrupt and implying it might be successful.

"Saab went to a Swedish court for protection from its creditors, and said it would — with assistance from the Swedish government — reorganize to pave the way for private investors to buy all or part of the company.

After exploring Saab’s options, 'it was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,' Saab’s managing director, Jan-Ake Jonsson, said in a statement.

Saab said it would need financing during its three-month restructuring 'from both public and private sources' and 'would continue to operate as usual.'

Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, a spokeswoman for the Swedish industry ministry, said Saab would be eligible for help through loan guarantees provided to the Swedish auto industry as part of a support package the government approved in December.

'This could be interpreted as the government supporting Saab in the reorganization phase,' Ms. Ringqvist said. But she said guarantees for working capital, like what G.M. is seeking in Germany, were not on the table.

...dealers said they were optimistic about Saab’s future. 'It’s probably a great time for someone to get a bargain deal on a car company,' said Annette Adams, owner of Iowa City Saab.

Her dealership sells about 50 Saabs a year, while her husband’s Saab dealership, Saab Meyer Garage, sells a similar number.

She predicted Saab would thrive under new ownership. 'I look for good things to come,' she added. 'We just have to step across the hot coals to get there.'"

I hope it works and someone does step up to the plate and invest in Saab. I really would love to see Saab return to its roots under new owners who understand what Saab owners valued about the original Swedish Saabs, and bring that spirit back to the company.

As for Pontiac, that's another sad story. They too fell victim to G.M.'s propensity for making all their cars the same. I hope General Motors has learned its lesson or we'll be bailing them out again in a year or two.

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. My Female Human has been Too Busy to Blog this Week since her one feeble Attempt on Monday. I guess I'll have to do the Hard Work yet again.

This is a new Picture she took of Me standing next to my Favorite Toy. It's a green Bird-like thing with magenta fuzzy wings. The Best Part about it is it makes a pitiful Squeaky Noise when I pick it up and throw it into the air. Kind of like a real Bird or Mouse. I really like Toys that make noises.

I played with my previous Favorite Toy so much it eventually lost all its feathers and became a shell of its former Self. So my Female Human bought me this new one. I also have a couple that rattle when I toss them around. All of these are Very Good to Play With in the middle of the Night, especially in the Bedroom where my Humans and That Dog are trying to Sleep.

However, I digress. It's time for me to report on a few News tidbits that have popped up in the past few days.

First of all, the Bush Human (who is called a Lame Duck, which I find Confusing) has finally authorized the release of $17 billion to Chrysler and GM from the TARP funds to help them Make It through the New Year. But the money comes with Strings Attached. It's like giving a Stray Cat a meal and a warm place to sleep and then Dragging him off to the Vet's. No Free Lunch for this Industry!

"The plan pumps $13.4 billion by mid-January into the companies from the fund that Congress authorized to rescue the financial industry. But the two companies have until March 31 to produce a plan for long-term profitability, including concessions from unions, creditors, suppliers and dealers."

Hmmmm...where were All Those Strings when they gave all that Money to the Investment Banks?

In Other News, some old pictures of Barack Obama from his College Years have surfaced and the story is Making the Rounds. Apparently back in 1980 when Obama was at Occidental College, a photographer friend, Lisa Jack, asked if he'd let her do a photo shoot with him, and he complied. The result are some Great Pictures of the Obama Human when he was Young and Carefree. A few of My Favorites, courtesy of Time Magazine (see Link for the Rest of the Story):

Personally I like the Last One best. But we can all be Grateful that Ms. Jack hid the Pictures until after the Election.

Of course Most of You have heard by now that Bristol Palin's possible Mother-in-Law has been arrested on drug charges. Pretty Sad Commentary on who Bristol's Mom Sarah has been "pallin' around with," as Sarah would say - you Betcha!

So, what's up with that Blagojevitch Human? They've got him Recorded on a Wiretap - isn't that what the Humans call "red-handed"? - and yet he just declared he would Fight till his Last Breath because he "didn't do anything Wrong." He must have a Bigger Pair than most Tomcats I've ever met. Is he a Sociopath? Part of the Definition of a Sociopath:

"Manipulative and Conning: They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.

Grandiose Sense of Self: Feels entitled to certain things as 'their right.'

Pathological Lying: Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.

Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt: A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way."

As the Humans say, "If the Shoe Fits...put it on."

My Female Human is going to talk about the whole issue of the Obama Human picking that Warren Human to do the Invocation at his Inauguration. That is just Too Much for Me to Deal With right at the Moment.

For now, I'm going to head off and Play with my Favorite Toy and snort some Catnip. Wishing All of You a wonderful Friday Night.

Saturday Meanderings

It's very cold out today. Ordinarily I wouldn't know that since I rarely venture out in the morning in the winter. But today was the day that our neighborhood association (of which there are about 100 members who pay dues, but only about nine of us who actually do things) puts up decorations along the fence in our local park.

These decorations are big wooden boards which are painted with holiday pictures, that have to be attached to the fences with plastic ties. The pictures (houses with snow, mittens, snowflakes and other non-religious but cheerful images) were designed by one of our members, who is an artist, years ago. The pictures were drawn on the boards and then local neighborhood children painted them with waterproof paint. We've been putting them up for the past nine years or so and everyone enjoys them.

Luckily for the nine people who do things in this group, the county park workers store the boards in one of their buildings all year and they bring them out in their truck and help us distribute the boards along the fence at even intervals. And even better, the high school coach whose mom lives in our neighborhood brings his entire football team to help put them up. Without them it would take us all day.

So this morning, bright and early at 9:30, I arrived at the park armed with a Box o' Joe and four dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts. A crowd of teenagers (mostly boys) had already gathered at the meeting place. They eagerly put up my folding table and the donuts and coffee were placed on the table, which was immediately swarmed by cold hungry kids. When they were done it was as if a plague of locusts had visited - only a few crumbs left.

After they had been fortified with sugar, they were ready to work, and I didn't need to do much after that. A few more people from the neighborhood showed up but the teenagers did 99% of the work. Most of them did the job last year so they knew the drill, and they showed the new recruits what to do. DH arrived and took some pictures for our neighborhood newsletter and by 11:15 it was all over and I could return home and warm up!

Moving on...I heard that "our" area of the Adirondacks got an ice storm yesterday. Apparently the whole eastern portion of the country, including Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, got hit with it and lots of people have lost power.

I was glad to hear that FranIam and Mr. HeIs did not lose power, but they did get hit with the ice and unfortunately have lost trees in their neighborhood.

Assuming our cabin was hit with ice as well, I doubt any further roofing or other work will be done on it for quite some time! In fact, work may be done for the season. I expect there will be nothing but snow up there from now until April. However, we will probably still go up and check on it over New Year's weekend so we can try out the Jeep. Think the ice will have gone away by then? (No, neither do I). At least we had no power to lose!

On another subject, check out this link which will bring you to a site called "Igetblues.com" which has posted two videos that you have to watch. I can't embed them so you must go there. They show what life would be like without the blues (picture the Rolling Stones and the polka...enough said).

On a more serious note, as you already know, the Senate did not pass the bailout bill for the auto industry, which is not good for us since we just bought a Chrysler product and it has a lifetime warranty. Lifetime of the car or lifetime of the company? If the latter, it may be a very short warranty.

However, Bush is apparently going to give them some of the $700 billion already allotted by Congress for the Wall Street bailout. I guess Bush doesn't want to be known as the president who let the American automobile industry go down the tubes.

While I don't have sympathy for the CEOs of these companies, who have not made much effort to keep their industry in pace with the times, something many people forget is that their workers and retirees are costing more because of healthcare insurance so there is less money for innovation, quality or keeping the costs of the cars down vs. competition. If our country had universal healthcare as many foreign carmakers' countries do, this would be taken out of the equation and the disparity in wages between Detroit and foreign companies would not be that large.

The GOP is trying to blame things on the UAW, but there are many factors at play here. Besides, the GOP was perfectly happy to throw $700 billion at Wall Street with basically no strings attached, but can't manage to give the car companies $14 billion without adding so many conditions that the talks broke down? Come on, it's class warfare pure and simple. They just want to blame the union.

If anyone thinks it's OK to let the American car industry go under, this Op Ed article in the NY Times reminds us what happens when car companies go out of business.

"Misery has rarely been mentioned as a reason to pass an auto industry bailout. But walk through the Packard plant on a December day and you will know that once a car company disappears, in southeast Michigan at least, nothing comes along to take its place."

Detroit has been trying to redevelop this factory since it closed in 1957. You can go here to see a whole group of pictures of the abandoned building, which was once a marvel of architecture in its day.

Let's hope whatever Washington does, we can save the American auto industry and prevent a further meltdown of our remaining industrial strength.