General Motors has officially announced the end of Saab. After trying to sell the brand first to Koenissegg and then Spyker, GM has announced that Saab will close out at the end of the year. This goes along with Saturn and Pontiac also scheduled to end this year as well.

Saab was historically seen as the quirky alternative to the likes of BMW, Mercedes and its staid Swedish cousin Volvo. In the 80's the Saab 900 convertable became a yuppie status symbol.

During the 90's GM bought the ailing firm from the Swedish gov't. GM really did not know what to with it at first, angering many long time Saab loyalists.

In the end Saab got lost in the shuffle of high end European and Japanese luxo-cars and could not really distinguish itself enough to form a loyal fan base.