Good riddance to Saab. I remember one time a friend who was rabid about Saabs, got a used one. I drove it around the block and I remember thinking what a weird, ugly car it was. Goofy ergonomics (apparently built for tall Swedes). How could anyone be passionate about this!


Years later, much to my dismay, my daughter bought a used convertible Saab. What a piece of junk. I never drove such a rattle trap in my life. I thought Saabs were known for their body integrity, but this one felt like the whole suspension was coming off every time I went over a bump.


I took matters into my own hands and bought her a Saturn Coupe. What a great solid car it is. Fun to drive and solid as a brick. (As an aside, the mileage sticker on the window was 40 MPG highway. That s right, 40! Of course that was before they EPA changed their rules a few years ago, but still
)


Saab was never anything more than a niche player, and whatever qualities it had could never be kept once GM bought it. What were they thinking they were going to do with that company? Sell millions of quirky cars? Wasted money.


Incidentally, much as I like Saturns, I think THAT company was a wasted investment by GM too. They already had FIVE car divisions. How many did they need? The R&amp;D money for Saturn was ripped off from other GM divisions and so they got cannibalized to create a car that Chevrolet, the low end division, should have produced.


I rant like this now and then because if I was running GM during those years none of this would have happened. Lots of other mistakes too, like going to all front-wheel drive for it s big cars. And Cadillac should have been left to create its own cars to compete with Mercedes.


I think Michael Moore is an ass clown, but he was right about Roger Smith. That guy single handedly pulled the foundation out from under GM, ruined Flint Michigan, and set the stage for the collapsed General Motors of today.