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GM denies Spyker claims in $3B Saab lawsuit

Reuters reports General Motors has dismissed claims by Spyker outlined in a $3 billion lawsuit. Spyker alleged GM deliberately bankrupted Saab by preventing a deal with Chinese investor Zhejiang Youngman Lotus. GM, meanwhile, filed a response with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan saying that as the former owner of Saab, GM had the legal right to approve the deal with Youngman. But Spyker's lawsuit claimed GM's refusal to approve the deal with Youngman stemmed from the fact that the American automaker didn't want to create a competitor in China.
GM has said the issue stemmed more from the fact that it would stop licensing its technology to Saab or stop building vehicles for the manufacturer in the event it was bought by Youngman. Since Saab built its own platform that didn't use any GM tech, Spyker says that argument is meritless.
The lawsuit has Spyker seeking $3 billion in compensatory damages, though that number could swell with interest, punitive damages and legal fees, as well. Victor Muller, Spyker chief executive, has said the lawsuit is being funded by an anonymous third party. That party will share in any settlement. Youngman has refused to comment on whether or not it's footing the legal bill.

NEVS' reorganization plan approved after all?

What a difference a day makes. Thursday, we reported that current Saab parent National Electric Vehicle Sweden had its application for creditor protection denied by the Swedish court for being "vague and completely undocumented." But NEVS was back in court on Friday, and this time the application was granted. However, the story continued to get weirder as defense contractor Saab AB allegedly revoked NEVS' rights to use the Saab name.
NEVS did put out a brief press release confirming the court decision saying: "The District court of Vänersborg, Sweden, today August 29 approved the application for reorganization from National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB." The company allegedly has over 90 creditors, and according to Reuters, it owes them roughly 400 million Swedish krona ($57.56 million). The business says that it is in negotiations with two, unnamed companies to get additional funding.
Also, according to Reuters, Saab AB, best known for making fighter planes, has revoked NEVS' rights to the Saab brand name because the company's application for creditor protection gave the defense contractor that right. When NEVS bought Saab, it only acquired the automaker's physical assets, and had to negotiate for the rights to use the name.

Nicolas Cage flogs Saab-based Senova from Beijing Auto [w/video]

BAIC has officially pulled the covers off of its new Senova D Series sedan for China. The four-door is based on the old Saab 9-5 and boasts a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Local buyers can get their hands on the machine for around $22,745 at current conversion rates. Other engine options include a turbocharged 1.8-liter four cylinder as well as turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder, and a wide range of safety equipment comes standard on every trim except the very base model. Those goodies include a tire pressure monitoring system, active head restraints, blind spot detection, driver fatigue detection and parking sensors.
The Senova nameplate serves every model based on former Saab architectures, including the Epsilon, GM2900 and GM2400 platforms as well as engine and transmission tech. In order to promote its new products, BAIC has hired Hollywood staple Nicolas Cage to serve as the company's brand ambassador. Cage stars in the Senova-heavy Town of Car Legends action-packed video short (directed by Olivier Megaton of Transporter 3 and Taken 2 fame) which you can view by scrolling below.