Topic: SAIC to buy Buick?

[Boxer2500]

Makes sense to me. It's sad to see GM lose such a huge part of their heritage to the Chinese, but Buick is a dead brand walking in the US. Conversely, Buick is one of the strongest nameplates in the Chinese market.

SAIC may buy Buick brand from slimming GM
By George Gao  From:Gasgoo.comApril 07, 2009

Shanghai, April 7 (Gasgoo.com) To get the financial support from the Obama administration, General Motors has to lose more weight and reduce the number of its brands to three. The U.S. auto task force will slash the Buick brand that has posted the lowest sales in the American market.

As China is the biggest market of the Buick cars, the largest Chinese automaker and GM partner SAIC is considering buying the Buick brand from GM or taking over the rights to use the Buick brand in China, Shanghai Securities News said today.

Obama's auto task force is closely examining the operation of General Motors so as to stanch the "bleeding" of the U.S. auto giant. After rejecting GM's plans to raise its credit commitments to Delphi to $450 million from $300 million, the U.S. government will require the automaker to reduce the number of brands to focus on the globally profitable brands for survival.

The ailing US car giant has said it is "prepared" for bankruptcy proceedings if it is not able to restructure out of court, according to a regulatory filing it made to the Treasury Department.

The Obama administration gave GM, the largest US car maker, 60 days to develop a more aggressive restructuring plan and a credible strategy.

http://autonews.gasgoo.com/auto-news/1009903/SAIC-may-buy-Buick-brand-from-slimming-GM.html

[Bezor]

Was going to add, but you covered it, that Buick is a very strong brand in China.