This morning Swedish car company Saab, which has been struggling financially for well over a year, announced its assets would be liquidated. No more future buyers, no more automobiles. This is the end, beautiful Saab. Somewhere in literary heaven, Kurt Vonnegut sheds a tear.

*There are 1,659 Saab models left in Cars.com’s new-car inventory:

9-3: 781 units
9-3X: 49 units
9-4X: 135 units
9-5: 692 units
9-7X: 2 units

Saab currently offers financing deals of 1.9% APR for 72 months through Jan. 3. IF you buy a Saab vehicle now, keep in mind that resale value will be minimal, and finding parts will become difficult, and more expensive for the owner to maintain.

As is customary on all Pedia blogs – we like to send off dying/deceased auto makers (see: Hummer) with a classic jingle:

*Cars.com Stats

If all goes as plan, Saab will soon be the beneficiary of $181 million dollars US, after a sales goes through to Zheijang Youngman, Lotus Automobile, and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. However, Saab still owes over $188 million US to their creditors. According to Bloomberg, Swedish Automobile could be forced to liquidate.

Saab still has money to make, with many dealerships across the US and Canada in business. Saab is also waiting on funds from the sale of company shares to Spyker.

“Private equity of firm North Street Capital LP has made an agreement to purchase Spyker for 32 million euros, which is translated into 42 million U.S. dollars,” according to Bloomberg and Automotive Discovery.

Saab is not out of the fire yet.

Source: Automotive Discovery

Revealed as part of Saab’s agreement with Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus, the plan calls for a 9-1, 9-6, and 9-7. Details are sparse as of now. 9-1 will apparently be an entry-level model, previously the 9-2, while 9-6 and 9-7 will be “prestige” vehicles. Saab will engineer and design the vehicles, while Youngman will provide the “necessary financial investments.”

Saab CEO Victor Muller added, “This joint venture offers Saab Automobile the opportunity to develop models that were not envisaged nor funded in our original business plan: for instance, we will now be able to develop a small entry level Saab, a car that has long been on the top of our wish list.”

Read more: WCF

Alas, production started again Friday, where an initial batch of 100 cars will roll off the line. By Monday, production will be back to 218 vehicles a day. On hand at the restart event were Victor Muller, CEO of Saab, as well as Mr. Pang Qinghua, Chairman and CEO of Pang Da Automobile, the Chinese distributor that has invested in Spyker Cars.

According to World Car Fans: “The deal brought Saab a much needed €30 million in cash up front, in exchange for 1,300 vehicles for a Chinese automaker to distribute in China. That firm, Pang Da Automobile,would receive a 24 percent stake in Dutch-based Spyker Cars and an additional batch of Saab vehicles to distribute in China should the €110 million deal be approved by various government parties.”

“This is a great day for our company and it is great to see the plant running again. We have gone through a rough patch in recent weeks, but Saab is back in action again,” added Muller.

The announcement came with Spyker’s annual report. They’ve suffered a significant financial loss in 2010. Operating losses were experienced by both the Saab and Spyker; the company spent considerable money taking over Saab production from General Motors. Financial losses for the year were anticipated in Spyker’s business plan, but as they’ve stated, “the actual cash need was higher than planned.”

March sales of Saab automobiles reached 888 units in Sweden, 830 in the United States. Both are significant increases from 2010.

But that couldn’t stop Saab from being forced to shut down production on three separate occasions, when key suppliers and carriers held back deliveries cause of non-payment.

This particular crisis seems to have blown over. Deals were reached with all the vendors in question.

“A controversial but wealthy suitor is indeed in the wings for Spyker and Saab,” according to Automotive News. “Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, who helped Spyker finance the deal to buy Saab from GM before being squeezed out for ties to organized crime, is said to be a willing investor. Antonov insists that he has no ties to organized crime, and is being vetted by Sweden’s Debt Office, who has a say in any ownership changes at Spyker.”

Good luck, dear Saab, we’d hate to lose you after so many struggles.

Via The Car Connection

Details are limited, but Autocar adds the platform “is highly adaptable and will be able to accommodate vehicles which measure from 4.2 to 5.5 meters long. It is reportedly being developed with the assistance of Scania, who is helping the company create a “future-proof” platform which can be easily upgraded over several generations without significant re-engineering.”

Phoenix will feature a unique MacPherson strut arrangement, along with a new “race-car style” five-link rear axle. Rumors also state this platform could underpin the replacements for the 9-5 and 9-4X.

The updated Saab 9-3 for 2012 should hit dealership lots this October.

Source: WCF

“In an interview with Sweden’s Dagens Industri, would-be Russian investor Vladimir Antonov stated he doesn’t believe Saab will reach their goal of selling 80,000 cars in 2011. He added this would cause problems with the European Investment Bank which could result in Saab being declared bankrupt within five days after the loan is due. Furthermore, Antonov said the company likely needs €1 billion to stay afloat and he is willing to invest half that amount.

While nothing is official, Saab’s financial situation could explain Spyker’s recent decision to sell their supercar division to CPP Global Holdings. Of course, this could also be chalked up to an overzealous investor who’s peeved that his alleged ties to organized crime deep-sixed his original attempts to back Saab.“

The 9-5 SportCombi comes with dual exhaust and a pairing of blade-like 19-inch ten-spoke alloy wheels.

This new ride, which will make its official debut in Geneva starting from March 3rd, will arrive in dealerships this September. It will sport an improved versions of the 1.6 and 2.0-liter turbo gas motors, and the 2.0 TTiD engine, which is also available on the sedan and is mated with the XWD all-wheel-drive system.

This new partner for the 9-5 “Saloon” will offer an alternative choice in the large wagon market segment, still a small section for Saab in the US. It could actually sell even better than its four-door peer, since wagons and hatchbacks are making a huge comeback.

SOURCE: Auto Evolution

Most notably, President and CEO Jan Åke Jonsson confirmed the next-generation 9-3 will arrive in 2012. This had been expected, but the upcoming 9-3 facelift caused speculation that the redesign might have been delayed until 2013.

As we have previously reported, the new 9-3 will ride on a modified version of the current Epsilon I platform and likely be offered in three- and five-door bodystyles. A variety of engines will be available, but a recent agreement with BMW will ensure there’s a MINI-sourced 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbo with start/stop technology.

Besides talking about the 2012 9-3, Saab announced plans to unveil a new special edition. Details are limited, but the model will likely be based on the current 9-3 Convertible.

Despite the company selling just under 31,700 Saab cars globally in 2010, it reported a 129 per cent jump in figures between September and December; 11,448 cars were sold in this period, a 31 per cent jump on the previous quarter.

At the beginning of 2010, Spyker had to slash Saab’s sales target of 45,000 cars because it had to rebuild its supplier base after the unit was bought by Spyker from GM in February. This caused a severe production disruption, but Saab sales did, nonetheless, see a progressive sales hike in key markets.

According to a statement by Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson: “I am confident that we can keep up the current sales momentum as we continue to enhance our offering with the biggest ever product offensive in Saab’s history.”

The company will continue to expand its distribution network in China and Russia and expects rising sales figures in 2011 thanks to its entry into markets such as Japan, Canada, Portugal and Australia last year.