ONE of the saddest episodes in the history of car manufacturing is the bankrupcy of Saab. The company, 64 years old and a baby compared to many, crashed after months of teetering on the financial brink. It is doubly sad because its current range of cars are now up to standard when compared with equivalent German models. The demise of this company is due to the usual sad saga of a great brand being swallowed up by a giant corporation which really did not know what to do with it. The corporation in Saab's case was General Motors and the Swedish way of doing things did not equate to the GM philiosophy which even saw Saab produce small Cadillacs for Europe from its production lines to diversify the company's activities. A ray of hope came from sports car manufacturer Spyker and for a short time things looked good. But finances became worse and a Chinese offer to buy the company looked promising until General Motors balked and refused to transfer the necessary licences for technology. But all is not lost it seems. There are stirings on Wall Street over word that Indian manufacturer Mahindra, known for bargain priced 4x4s, may be interested in purchasing the car manufacturing side of Saab. At the moment Mahindra is staying tight lipped but this could be a way of seeing the Sab brand on our roads again. India may seem an unusual place to produce the Swedish 'Thinking Man's Car' but strange things happen in the automotive industry. Look what happened to Land Rover and Jaguar which were steering close to the rocks until rescued by Indian giant Tata. The company is now doing better than most commentators would have expected and there is no reason to believe that a union between Saab and Mahindra may be any less fruitful. | 
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