Saab

Mirroring efforts by several major car makers to trim their retail networks, Saab Cars USA has acquired the last of three Saab franchises that once served Orange County and Long Beach and turned over the entire territory to a single dealer. Campbell Automotive Group in Santa Ana said Tuesday that it has been awarded the exclusive right to sell Saab automobiles in the region. Saab acquired and closed its Long Beach dealership in 1996 and its Mission Viejo franchise last year.

Saab is caught between a rock-solid dedication and hard placement of its cars. Regular customers, of course, come first. Saab feeds their devotion by gentle, periodic stroking of disciples' loved ones with no sudden moves that might shrivel the car's aviation heritage. Or dilute its harmless quirks that have made owning a Saab a social statement. Like polka dot bow ties. Devotees, however, are typically a smallish population that doesn't get any younger.

General Motors Corp. said Monday that it will pump more money into Saab Automobile and could obtain full ownership of the struggling Swedish auto maker within three years. GM and Saab co-owner Investor each will put $262 million in loans into Saab through 1997. In addition, GM will receive an option to buy some or all of Sweden-based Investor's 50% stake in Saab in 1999 or 2000.

Dania Saab is using her international relations degree in a way she never imagined. From her Encino home, the 28-year-old Saab has launched an international campaign to free her father, Khodr I. Saab, from a Lebanese prison where he has been held for nine months on charges he bilked an investor in his Southern California real estate deals.

Ed McDonald, owner of McDonald Motor Co., plans to shut his Saab and Mercedes-Benz dealerships at the Ventura Auto Center effective next Sunday. At the same time, McDonald plans to complete the sale of his separate Volkswagen dealership to Barber Ford. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. McDonald, 57, has had his multiple-brand dealership at the auto center for nine years; he had previously operated dealerships in Hollywood, New York City and other parts of the country for nearly 20 years.

Jerry Adams says all his customers ask the same thing: What are you doing out here? Adams' Saab auto dealership is in Meyer, Iowa, an unmapped enclave of about 40 people. Adams' father, Edmund, opened the garage during the Depression and began selling Saabs in 1964. Jerry Adams took over in 1974. There isn't much of a market in Meyer for pricey cars. Most customers come from Des Moines, a three-hour drive south, and Minneapolis, two hours north. "I had a heck of a good month last month.

Swedish auto maker Saab said its car sales in the United States from January to July, 1992, were down 1% to 15,832 from 16,012 in the same period in 1991. The company said its U.S. car sales in July fell to 2,110 from 2,149 a year ago. Saab Auto is jointly owned by General Motors Corp. and Sweden's Saab-Scania.

This is the story of the world's most obnoxious automobile. Of course, a car can't be obnoxious--like a dog, it takes after its owner. So as you read this story, try to picture the kind of person who would allow this car out of the garage. It's not a pretty thought. This experience occurred one night a couple of months ago, right after I put my name in at a Marina del Rey restaurant. Stepping outside, I heard someone ordering someone else to move away from something.

The trial of a La Canada Flintridge man charged with using a pool cue to smash the windshield of an already-demolished car was postponed Wednesday after the judge urged the defendant not to act as his own attorney. Ara Aprahamian, a 48-year-old real estate broker, was ordered to return to Glendale Municipal Court on July 3 for his trial. On Wednesday, just as his trial was to begin, Aprahamian told Judge Joseph F. De Vanon that he had dismissed his attorney.

Saab Automobile today said it is closing its 18-month-old model production plant after losing more than $18,000 on each car it made. Saab Automobile, a joint venture with U.S.-based General Motors Corp., suffered a loss of more than $840 million in 1990. Some of the 770 factory workers and 100 administrative personnel will be transferred to Saab's aircraft division. Others will be given the opportunity to move from Malmo, in southern Sweden, to the Trollhattan auto plant in western Sweden.