Breaking Saab news: No more warranty coverage.

Breaking news from Saab. Saab North America will no longer be honoring warranties on Saab vehicles sold in the U.S. Additionally, all new Saabs sold will be sold "as-is" with no warranty coverage what so ever. 

Effective Dec. 19, "warranty coverage is suspended indefinitely for all new Saab vehicles sold. During this period, the warranty booklet must be removed from the owner information packet," Saab Cars North America said in a statement provided to Automotive News.

"For any vehicle sold or leased during this period, the customer should be affirmatively advised that the vehicle does not carry any warranty coverage and is sold 'as is.' "
Saab Cars North America also said it has suspended the processing and payment of all claims, including but not limited to:

• New-car warranties
• Powertrain warranties
• Emission warranties
• Parts warranty
• Safety belts, airbags
• Towing
• Recalls and campaigns
• Certified pre-owned coverage
• Goodwill
• No charge maintenance

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111220/OEM/111229990#ixzz1h6iiimoE

Until February of 2010, General Motors handled all warranty claims for Saab, but that had since stopped when Swedish Automobile AB purchased the automaker.

What does this mean for potential sales of new Saabs over the next few weeks/months? Well there probably won't be many. Currenty, Saab says they have 2,400 new Saabs available for purchase nationwide. And with sticker prices well over the $30,000 mark, I don't think too many potential buyers want to shell out that kind of cash on a new car that won't have warranty coverage.  So will dealers be offering huge blowouts on cars in inventory? I can see that on the horizon. But I wouldn't hold my breath on any of these new cars being collectible for the time being. We will keep everyone updated on any further drama on the Saabs of our Lives.

Source: Automotive News.

Little known history of the Chevrolet Bowtie.

Some automotive brands are pretty clear about how their corporate logos have come about. Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Porsche and Ferrari all come to mind. One that's not well known, but also shrouded with a bit of mystery is the bowtie logo of GM's Chevrolet division.

Several stories have emerged as to how the now famous logo originated. One from Billy Durant's daughter who says that it originated from her father's imagination one night at dinner. Another from Durant's widow saying that her husband found a similar logo while reading a newspaper while on vacation in 1912. Others say it is a stylized version of the Swiss flag cross as Louis Chevrolet was born in Sweeden.

The official origin from General Motors is that Billy Durant saw the logo as part of the pattern on some wallpaper in a Paris hotel that he would tear down and return to Detroit with in 1908. The earliest known use of the the bowtie logo dates to 1913. So who's to say which one is the true meaning behind the bowtie? Durant passed away in 1947, so the answer has certainly gone to the grave at this point. But there is no denying that it ended up being the right choice as now, 100 years later the Chevrolet brand is still in business making cars.

Press Release:

DETROIT, Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Globally recognized today, the Chevrolet bowtie logo was introduced by company co-founder William C. Durant in late 1913. But how it came to be synonymous with the brand is open to wide interpretation.

Durant's version of how the logo came into existence is well known. The long-accepted story, confirmed by Durant himself, was that it was inspired by the wallpaper design in a Parisian hotel.

According to The Chevrolet Story of 1961, an official company publication issued in celebration of Chevrolet's 50th anniversary:

"It originated in Durant's imagination when, as a world traveler in 1908, he saw the pattern marching off into infinity as a design on wallpaper in a French hotel. He tore off a piece of the wallpaper and kept it to show friends, with the thought that it would make a good nameplate for a car."

However, conflicting accounts have emerged, each of which is plausible enough to deepen the mystery and suggest it may never be solved. Two of the alternate origins come from within the Durant family itself.

In 1929, Durant's daughter, Margery, published a book entitled, My Father. In it, she told how Durant sometimes doodled nameplate designs on pieces of paper at the dinner table. "I think it was between the soup and the fried chicken one night that he sketched out the design that is used on the Chevrolet car to this day," she wrote.

More than half a century later, another Bowtie origin was recounted in a 1986 issue of Chevrolet Pro Management Magazine based on a 13-year-old interview with Durant's widow, Catherine. She recalled how she and her husband were on holiday in Hot Springs, Va., in 1912. While reading a newspaper in their hotel room, Durant spotted a design and exclaimed, "I think this would be a very good emblem for the Chevrolet." Unfortunately, at the time, Mrs. Durant didn't clarify what the motif was or how it was used.

That nugget of information inspired Ken Kaufmann, historian and editor of The Chevrolet Review, to search out its validity. In a Nov. 12, 1911 edition of The Constitution newspaper, published in Atlanta, an advertisement appeared from by the Southern Compressed Coal Company for "Coalettes," a refined fuel product for fires. The Coalettes logo, as published in the ad, had a slanted bowtie form, very similar to the shape that would soon become the Chevrolet icon. Did Durant and his wife see the same ad – or one similar – the following year a few states to the north? The date of the paper was just nine days after the incorporation of the Chevrolet Motor Co.

One other explanation attributes the design to a stylized version of the cross of the Swiss flag. Louis Chevrolet was born in Switzerland at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canton of Neuchatel, to French parents, on Christmas Day 1878.

Whichever origin is true, within a few years, the bowtie would emerge as the definitive Chevrolet logo. An October 2, 1913 edition of The Washington Post seems, so far, to be the earliest known example of the symbol being used to advertise the brand. "Look for this nameplate" the ad proclaims above the emblem. Customers the world over have been doing so ever since.

Many variations in coloring and detail of the Chevrolet bowtie have come and gone over the decades since its introduction in late 1913, but the essential shape has never changed. In 2004, Chevrolet began to phase in the gold bowtie that today serves as the brand identity for all of its cars and trucks marketed globally. The move reinforced the strength of what was already one of the most-recognized automotive emblems in the world. More than 4.25 million Chevrolets were sold in more than 120 countries and regions during 2010.

About Chevrolet -- Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers "gas-friendly to gas-free" solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com

Source: GM

What affect does the crisis in Japan have on the auto industry in the U.S.?

Actually, a lot more than you may think. As if the dealer and plant closings and the unfortunate bankruptcies were bad enough. Here comes news from Japan of an Earthquake followed by a Tsunami followed by the now extremely good chance of a nuclear meltdown. How does this affect the U.S. auto industry you might ask. Well here's how it does. The factories in Japan that produce U.S. bound cars for Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi to name a few are offline entirely. Secondly, due to the tsunami, billions of dollars (with a B) worth of vehicles were lost or destroyed. That's going to hurt dealers world wide, not necessarily in the immediate short term as there is a supply of cars already at dealers, but in the coming months this will start to become a major issue for dealers.

The next issue that comes into play are the suppliers. Here's where it starts to become a much larger issue. Not only to the Japanese manufacturers get components from suppliers in Japan (some still haven't been able to be contacted for status updates), but U.S. and European manufacturers also get some components produced in Japan. This has already affected General Motors which has had to shut down production at their Shreveport, Louisiana factory which produces the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. While this GM plant is the first to stop productions, others have scaled back production. So we'll have to wait and see now, what further issues arise.

Lastly comes the new scare of a possible nuclear meltdown. With each passing day, this is starting to look more and more likely to happen. Which is terrible in its own right. If a meltdown happens, the plants that produce vehicles and components in the projected radius (and it is many factories) will essentially become useless for decades. That means new factories will have to be built to take up the demand and get the industry back up and running.

We are monitoring the news closely in the wake of this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Japan in this tough time.