It is with great sadness that we report the death of Saab’s auto division. The automaker had been producing cars for 62 years.

GM, Saab’s owner, had been trying to offload the struggling brand for some time now as a part of its restructuring. Things were looking up for the brand when fellow Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg stepped in to help. But just as fast as they came in, they went running. This left Saab open to other bidders such as  Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company (BAIC) and Dutch supercar maker Spyker. BAIC came away with only Saab parts and the Spyker deal couldn’t be achieved in GM’s rather tight deadline.

So now the grave has officially been set. It’s not entirely clear what will happen to the recently unveiled 2010 9-5 or the soon to be introduced 9-4x (based on the Cadillac SRX). We’ll keep you posted when we know more.

The upside is, there is likely going to be killer deals on Saabs now. If you can find a 9-3 Aero X (likely the brand’s current best model) let me know.

Personally, I will remember Saab’s 9-3 Viggen. With loads of torque steer and turbo lag bad enough to induce a heart attack when making left hand turn into oncoming traffic, it definitely had its faults. But it was such a fun, quirky car to drive, with loads of character. Probably the least missed model would be Saab’s 9-7x which was a Trailblazer in Swedish clothing. It did not sell, and for good reason. Loyal Saab fans tore it to shreds when it first came out and shamed GM for even proposing the idea. They weren’t fooled by the ignition key between the seats, it was definitely no true Saab.

Do you have any fond or not so fond memories of Saab? Sound off in the comments.