The bankruptcies of Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. seem to have flushed out of the garage every name in the industry looking to scavenge for parts. The latest to drive out is Swedish supercar specialist Koenigsegg Automotive AB, which has agreed to purchase GM's Swedish brand Saab Automobile AB for an undisclosed price.
Koenigsegg is just the latest unfamiliar name to American ears. Italian automaker Fiat SpA took a bite out of Chrysler in an effort to race into the U.S. marketplace. Then there is China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd., which signed a tentative agreement for gas-guzzling Hummer SUVs. Another name not familiar to American consumers is Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc., which last month agreed to take GM's German Adam Opel GmbH unit. Perhaps the most familiar name of the scavengers is U.S. car dealer chain Penske Automotive Group Inc., which agreed to buy GM's Saturn brand.
However, Fiat is not entirely unknown in the U.S., having made an effort to bring its small cars to the U.S. after the oil shock of the late 1970s, but it retreated in the 1980s after trouble, notes a Wall Street Journal story.
Given Saab's history and marketing campaign about its lineage from an aerospace company, Koenigsegg seems like a natural fit because the buyer operates at a former Swedish air force base in a hangar that used to house fighter jets. Koenigsegg was founded 15 years ago by Christian von Koenigsegg to develop supercars that compete with Ferraris. - Matthew Wurtzel
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