After months, GM finally sells a SaaB

DETROIT (AP) — They said it Couldn’t Be Done! U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. has defied the current downturn of the U.S. automobile market by selling the cutest little runabout ever — this baby-blue Saab 96, which has hung around a New Jersey showroom since 1961.

GM signed a deal Tuesday to sell the Saab (pronounced S-O-B) to Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash plus $326 million worth of preferred shares.

Pundits called it the most expensive car ever sold on the planet, more expensive than the ATV Tree-Killer in James Cameron’s Avatar. But hey, that was on Pandora.

The sale is a possible lifeline for GM.

But don’t hold your breath! Times being what they are, the finance companies have to get into the act. So… the deal hinges on a $550 million loan from the European Investment Bank.

This may not go through, as a secretary at the giant automaker was recently found to have accepted a donut from her boss on the way into work last Thursday, which may violate the new caps on executive bonuses.

But who will drive the World’s Most Expensive Car? Word on the street (literally imprinted into the sidewalk on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame) is that automotive enthusiast Jay Leno may hand over the Tonight Show to Senator Joe Lieberman so he can spend quality time with the frisky runabout.