Saab unable to pay wages as financing crisis deepens

Saab's money troubles have worsened to the point that the struggling car maker is unable to pay its employees' wages on the eve of the Swedish mid-summer vacation period.In a brief official statement last night, Saab's parent company Swedish Automobile N.V (formerly Spyker Cars) announced that it was 'will be unable to pay the wages to employees as it has not yet obtained the necessary short-term funding.'  While Swedish Automobile and Saab continue to pursue options for securing short-term financing to solve the cashflow crisis, the company admitted 'there can however be no assurance that these discussions will be successful or that the necessary funding will be obtained.' Saab share prices tumble, Swedish government will not intervene Reaction to the worsening financial crisis from stakeholders has been predictably bleak. Swedish Automobile's shares dropped 61% in value yesterday, and are currently trading at 0.948 euro. The Swedish government, already guaranteeing a €400m loan to Saab by the European Investment Bank, shows no inclination to bail-out Saab, which employs 3800 staff.

U.S. auto sales rise 5 percent in July

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. posted their smallest U.S.

BMW set to debut diesel 7-series in the US

While Mercedes-Benz has let us Americans buy diesel versions of its flagship sedan from time to time, BMW has kept a number of versions of the 7-series from our shores, among which are 7-series sedans with diesel engines. Well, it looks like we'll finally be getting a diesel 7-series after all, with the arrival of the 740Ld later this spring. The 740Ld will be powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six diesel engine with a single turbocharger with variable vane turbine technology, making 255-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, and will be coupled exclusively with BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system.