Jamie LaReau

Automotive News Europe

February 23, 2009 06:01 CET

General Motors executives were surprised by the speed at which Saab filed for court protection from its creditors last week, leaving them with few answers for anxious U.S. Saab dealers.

GM tried to provide that information during a dealer broadcast Friday, but dealers said details were sketchy.

“The GM leadership was surprised by the filing and didn’t know it was coming, so they are going through scenarios right now that they don’t have the answers to, such as buying back inventory and so on,” said a Saab dealer who listened to the broadcast.

A GM spokeswoman said the company had no advance word about the timing of the filing. Although GM owns Saab, it had moved to set Saab up as a separate entity with its own board.

“We knew a filing was a potential, but it could have happened this week or later,” Joanne Krell, spokeswoman for the Saab brand in Detroit, said Friday. “It just wasn’t entirely clear.”

The Saab dealer who heard the broadcast said GM assured them it will honor warranties and prepaid maintenance and provide parts.

GM leaders told dealers they will be putting more incentives on Saab vehicles in March to help move inventory.

GM also said it will begin paying suppliers to Saab Automobile AB the $127 million due for parts shipped as of today, Feb. 23, say GM sources.

The move comes after Sweden’s government rejected a request for financial aid from GM, the carmaker’s U.S. parent. On Friday Saab said it had filed for reorganization under a self-managed Swedish court process.

Saab said it would continue to operate normally during the reorganization, with GM and the Swedish government providing some support.

The Saab reorganization is headed by an independent administrator appointed by a Swedish court. The administrator’s job is to formulate an outline for restructuring and present it to creditors in three weeks.

The process will be concluded in three months, at which time the reorganized company either emerges as viable, with new funding from private or public investors, or moves into liquidation.

John Revill of Automotive News Europe and Robert Sherefkin contributed to this report

My next topic came to me some time ago in dramatic form. The shelf life of tires was featured on an ABC News info drama. I choose to leave the fearful drama aside but think it’s a topic worth noting. The video can be found on ABC’s website.

I broach the topic for the Bellingham Business Journal with the help of our ever present inquisitive customer.

Q: My father in law asked me how old my new tires are? I just bought them they are new, right?

A: Not necessarily. Like milk, eggs or corn chips, tires have a “best if used by” date printed on them. Only outdated tires could be a lot more hazardous than tainted treats. On the side wall of every tire is a sequence of letters and numbers beginning with the letters DOT.  For example: DOT B97R FW6X 2202.

The numbers at the end of our example are the week of the year the tires were manufactured. In our example the tires were manufactured in the twenty second week of two thousand two. Tires older than six years may be unsafe and should not be used.

A reputable tire store will readily make this date available for you. I recently bought a set of tires for my wife’s Toyota. The dates of manufacture; 0309, the third week of 2009 were conveniently printed on the invoice.

MMMM fresh tires.