From Jalopnik:
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/gossip/...bid-130267.php

Carlos Ghosn made an offer to Ford for Volvo, but was turned down, and may now be looking at buying Saab off of GM.

Seems Nissan wants to launch the Infinity brand in Europe, but wants to do it with an existing luxury marque.

I have to question why Ghosn thought Ford would sell Volvo (which is profitable, and a nice place to get good platforms), but the offer on Saab makes more sense.

 

Wow, interest news. Ford tried to recruit Ghosn twice and was turned down. Now, Ghosn wants to buy Volvo from Ford. I wonder what's his real plan for either Volvo or Saab. I don't see why they can't just use the Infiniti brand in Europe. Doesn't Toyota have Lexus there now?

 

I think Nissan would let Saab be Saab again, and it would be nice to see a Sweedish car without the Chevrolet steering wheel.

 

why is everyone seeing this as nissan making an offer for volvo and saab? it's renault.

or saabs will eventually start looking like wacked out renaults (eg, nissan quest)

 

wow...nissan makes offer on volvo and saab...wow

 

I can see Renault making an offer for either Swedish automaker.
Nissan? No, the Japanese are not interested in acquiring basket cases.

 

Nissan is already in Europe. I drove a Nissan Primera for 2 weeks that last time I was there and saw the US Infiniti I35 there badged as a Nissan Maxima. There is no Acura or Lexus in Europe either...it is all Honda and Toyota...and my guess is it will stay all Nissan too.

I am not sure why Ghosn would persue this but he must see a profit somewhere.

 

Right, the I35 was an Infinity branded Maxima.

The speculated goal, I think, is to introduce Infinity product with an existing, upscale badge, rather then investing in launching Infinity. I know European marquees are generally more flexible then US brands (see the Mercedes A and B classes), but it makes a certain amount of sense.

An FX35 works better as a Saab then a Trailblazer badged as a Saab, but that's just me.

 

If I were GM I would sell Saab in a heartbeat.

 

Like the article said, Renault is buying Saab, not Nissan. Ghosn probably see a profit in buying Saab, although I don't. It wouldn't make any sense for Nissan to buy it since Ghosn already said he'll take Infiniti global. If i'm not mistaken, Renault is a more low end brand compare to Saab. So maybe he'll just use Saab as the high end channel for Renault. Either that, or there have been rumors that Renault want to re-enter the US market. They can just badge the cars as Saab instead of Renault.