Saab

DETROIT - A small Dutch automaker will try to do what U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. couldn't - make money by selling Saab brand automobiles in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. GM signed a deal Tuesday to sell Saab to Zeewolde, Netherlands-based Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash plus $326 million worth of preferred shares in Saab. The deal hinges on a $550 million loan from the European Investment Bank, which the Swedish government on Tuesday committed to guaranteeing.

The motorist who slammed into the back of a Baltimore police car that struck an officer and sent her plunging over the side of elevated Interstate 83 has been convicted of three traffic offenses, closing one chapter of a horrific crash that has ended the officer's career. A District judge fined Robert R. Vanderford $260, assessed three points against his license, ordered him to perform 250 hours of community service at a city police station, and, upon the insistence of the victim, ordered him to spend two days in the city jail.

Business owner Sid Saab edged out lawyer David A. Tibbetts by 87 votes in the Sept. 12 Republican primary for Anne Arundel County Council District 4, according to complete, unofficial returns posted yesterday by the county Board of Elections. With all the absentee and provisional votes counted, Saab defeated Tibbetts, 1,544 to 1,457. The Crownsville resident, who owns a jewelry business in Prince George's County, will face Democrat Jamie Benoit in November. Results will be certified and made official Tuesday.

Officer Teresa Rigby, who was thrown over the side of I-83 last month and fell 30 feet into a parking lot, has been released from rehabilitation, said Det. Nicole Monroe, a Baltimore City Police spokeswoman. The Northern District officer was standing on the highway's northbound shoulder near the Pepsi sign when a Saab struck her patrol vehicle. The cruiser knocked her over a retaining wall and down into the Pepsi plant parking lot below. After several surgeries, Rigby was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center less than a week after the incident and was transferred to a rehabilitation unit.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it will pump more money into Saab Automobile AB and could obtain full ownership of the struggling Swedish automaker within three years.GM and Saab co-owner Investor AB each will inject $262 million, or a total of $524 million, in loans into Saab. In addition, GM will receive an option to buy some or all of Investor's 50 percent stake in Saab in 1999 or 2000.The move continues GM's recent efforts to make its Saab investment pay off by taking greater control of the automaker.

LONDON -Swedish automaker Saab filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday and is looking to attract new investors after its troubled owner, General Motors, said it would cut loose the money-losing division as part of its vast restructuring. Saab said it is seeking funding from private and public sources and that the reorganization, pending court approval, will be executed over a three-month period. "We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab, and it was determined a formal restructuring would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment," Saab Managing Director Jan Ake Jonsson said in a statement.

PARIS -- Lockheed Martin Corp. struck back at suggestions that its F-16 fighter's technology is out of date, saying the United States will keep the planes in service until 2020 and production will continue well into the next century.Bob Elrod, vice president in charge of F-16 sales for Bethesda-based Lockheed, spoke yesterday at the Paris Air Show in response to comments from Saab Aircraft that its Gripen fighter alone is the first fighter to have "fourth-generation" technology that integrates sophisticated electronics and missiles.

Sid Saab won the Republican primary for County Council in District 4 by 87 votes - and after waiting 10 nail-biting days for all the ballots to be counted. Jamie Benoit rolled past three other newcomers seeking the Democratic nomination, claiming nearly 70 percent of the vote Sept. 12. The two political novices - one a county resident for two years and the other born and bred in West County - took different paths for the chance to succeed Democrat Bill D. Burlison, who is prohibited from seeking a third term.

With his shimmering gowns and rich brocade dresses, Lebanese designer Elie Saab's haute couture pieces have adorned Arabian queens and celluloid stars from Catherine Deneuve to Bo Derek. But until Halle Berry stepped onto Oscar's magical red carpet in a spectacular, burgundy Elie Saab gown Sunday, the little-known designer was hardly a regular in the pages of Vogue, much less a household name. One night, however, can make all the difference. After dressing Hollywood's new Cinderella on the biggest night of her career, the question in America's fashion industry this week has been, "Who's Elie Saab?"

LONDON - It's another hard day of performance art and clearing out of closets for Michael Landy. Dressed in a blue boiler suit and standing on a scaffold, the 37-year-old British artist is watching as his lifetime's possessions literally pass along a conveyor belt, each object destined for an industrial shredding machine. He is examining them this one last time in company with an audience of strangers. David Bowie records? To be sent to the shredder. An air intake box from a 1988 Saab 900?

The Baltimore police officer who fell off an elevated section of the Jones Falls Expressway in an accident Tuesday remained hospitalized in critical condition after undergoing two surgeries, one to repair a fractured leg and pelvis. Officer Teresa Rigby also underwent facial reconstruction surgery at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a Police Department spokesman. The 27-year-old who patrolled North Baltimore was in intensive care late Wednesday afternoon and her condition had stabilized.

GM to sell Saab to Dutch carmaker DETROIT - A small Dutch automaker will try to do what U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. couldn't - make money by selling Saab brand automobiles in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. GM signed a deal Tuesday to sell Saab to Zeewolde, Netherlands-based Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash plus $326 million worth of preferred shares in Saab. The deal hinges on a $550 million loan from the European Investment Bank, which the Swedish government on Tuesday committed to guaranteeing.

DETROIT - A small Dutch automaker will try to do what U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. couldn't - make money by selling Saab brand automobiles in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. GM signed a deal Tuesday to sell Saab to Zeewolde, Netherlands-based Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash plus $326 million worth of preferred shares in Saab. The deal hinges on a $550 million loan from the European Investment Bank, which the Swedish government on Tuesday committed to guaranteeing.

An eight-acre swath of Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood would be transformed from a longtime auto dealership into a mix of housing and shops under preliminary plans from a developer buying the site. The owner of Anderson Automotive, one of the 1,100 dealerships whose franchises won't be renewed next year by General Motors Corp., plans to sell a portion of his property to a developer planning to invest tens of millions of dollars and bring in hundreds of jobs, said an attorney for the developer.

LONDON -Swedish automaker Saab filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday and is looking to attract new investors after its troubled owner, General Motors, said it would cut loose the money-losing division as part of its vast restructuring. Saab said it is seeking funding from private and public sources and that the reorganization, pending court approval, will be executed over a three-month period. "We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab, and it was determined a formal restructuring would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment," Saab Managing Director Jan Ake Jonsson said in a statement.

A Maryland State Police trooper responded to an unusual request for assistance yesterday afternoon: a woman in labor on Interstate 95. According to a combination news release and birth announcement, Trooper T.R. Robinson of the JFK Highway barracks in Perryville found the woman, Dontrace Ballou of Havre de Grace, had given birth to a baby girl just before 5 p.m. Ballou's husband had been driving her south on I-95 to a hospital with their young son...

Two people were killed on the Capital Beltway early yesterday when they left their car and were struck by other vehicles. About 4 a.m., a woman exited the front passenger seat of a 1986 Saab while it was still moving on Interstate 495 near River Road, police said. It was not clear why she left the car, police said. The woman landed in a highway lane, where she was struck by a 1994 Honda Civic driven by Shao-Puo Chen, 30, of the 4800 block of Norwich Road in College Park, police said. The Saab and the Civic stopped in the same lane.

Officer Teresa Rigby, who was thrown over the side of I-83 last month and fell 30 feet into a parking lot, has been released from rehabilitation, said Det. Nicole Monroe, a Baltimore City Police spokeswoman. The Northern District officer was standing on the highway's northbound shoulder near the Pepsi sign when a Saab struck her patrol vehicle. The cruiser knocked her over a retaining wall and down into the Pepsi plant parking lot below. After several surgeries, Rigby was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center less than a week after the incident and was transferred to a rehabilitation unit.

Sid Saab won the Republican primary for County Council in District 4 by 87 votes - and after waiting 10 nail-biting days for all the ballots to be counted. Jamie Benoit rolled past three other newcomers seeking the Democratic nomination, claiming nearly 70 percent of the vote Sept. 12. The two political novices - one a county resident for two years and the other born and bred in West County - took different paths for the chance to succeed Democrat Bill D. Burlison, who is prohibited from seeking a third term.

Business owner Sid Saab edged out lawyer David A. Tibbetts by 87 votes in the Sept. 12 Republican primary for Anne Arundel County Council District 4, according to complete, unofficial returns posted yesterday by the county Board of Elections. With all the absentee and provisional votes counted, Saab defeated Tibbetts, 1,544 to 1,457. The Crownsville resident, who owns a jewelry business in Prince George's County, will face Democrat Jamie Benoit in November. Results will be certified and made official Tuesday.