With all of the bad news coming out of the Saab world lately, it was a bit of a mystery why Saab was announcing their newest concept car called the PhoeniX at the Geneva and New York Auto Show. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sweden’s National Debt Office and Saab have been in deep discussions about the Swedish car makers debt that has forced the company to halt production for weeks now. Saab’s suppliers have stopped shipment of the parts needed to make the vehicles which gave Saab no choice but to turn the lights out until they can come to an amicable arrangement with their debtors.
Meanwhile, that didn’t stop them from debuting the Saab PhoeniX at multiple car shows, but how exactly will they be able to make this vehicle and get them onto the lots of Saab dealerships around the world? And so far the only arrangement that they’ve come to with the government is to allow Saab to sell their property and have their collateral released for sale (since Saab is owned by Spyker Cars NV). That in itself doesn’t sound promising.
Will Saab be able to get enough interest in the PhoeniX to continue production and is there light at the end of the tunnel for Saab? In the same Wall Street Journal article are a lot of different ideas, but whether or not it can save the company is unknown. Saab has never truly recovered from the last big automotive fallout a couple years ago, but Saab is putting a lot of hope behind the wheel on the PhoeniX.
The PhoeniX is a muscular shaped car with butterfly doors, “aeromotional” design and a liquid metal look that is said to be the design future of Saab according to their press release that shares an inordinate amount of detail. It was apparent that they are really trying to sell this car as their future and it certainly makes for good reading if gasoline runs through your veins. With all of the details and photos (all found in the press release), it certainly is bringing a lot of excitement to the Saab name again. And hopefully it will be enough to give the company a fresh start.
