Saab 9-3 convertible

In the most recent automobile manufacturer merger that screams to be filed in the “It’s so crazy, it just might work” drawer, Swedish exotic car manufacturer Koenigsegg (CON-eegs-egg) has won the bid to purchase Swedish passenger car manufacturer Saab from bankrupt American car manufacturer General Motors.

Who is Koenigsegg, other than a name so confusingly spelled that only the “copy and paste” function is saving me from misspelling it so badly that you think it’s a dietary supliment? Koenigsegg is a teeny tiny little company of less than 50 employees who sold a total of 20 cars last year at a price of 1.2 million dollars EACH. I myself had never heard of Koenigsegg car company prior to my first viewing to the English television show “Top Gear” on BBC America. On the other hand, Saab is such a small company that it’s model range is 2. Maybe 3. If Koenigsegg is seriously going to make a go of Saab as a competitor to Audi, BMW, and even mazda, they’ll have to up the model line pretty quickly. Those swedish trolls had better get busy!

Koenigsegg CCXR

Part of the agreement reportedly is that GM will agree to allow Koenigsegg to put into the production of the replacement 9-5 based on the Vauxhall insignia, and the Cadillac SRX inspired 9-4.

Vauxhall Insignia

Cadillac SRX

It’s anyone’s guess as to how long GM will be willing to sign up for doing this, as they’ve been trying very hard to force feed the Cadillac brand to Europe as a “world car” for some time now, and it won’t do to have a similarly designed Saab already on the market.
Saab has always been known for it’s safety and excellent driving standards (as have Saab drivers, according to Top Gear’s presenter Jeremy Clarkson), so I personally hope that Koenigsegg forgoes those designs ASAP (especially the ones derived from America) and comes up with some interestingly designed (and safe!) cars of their own.

It is fun to note that Saab was once the arm of the company that builds fighter jets, and Koenigsegg builds cars that look like fighter jets… Perhaps a new car company will be born: Koenigsaab!

Koeniggsegg

- Brett Garrett