My information comes from my neighbour who was the service manager for a chain of SAAB dealerships. I suspect he knows a lot more about SAAB than any of the overgrown children who present Top Gear. When SAAB were in trouble, but still trading, he couldn't get SAAB spare parts for customer's cars but simply ordered them from the local Vauxhall dealer and the technicians fitted them.
Yes, there is generally about 30% parts sharing between Saabs and the Vauxhall models on which they are based. However, GM wanted far greater commonality between models in order to bring Saabs costs down, but they wouldn't do it. If you want to prove the extent to which sharing occurred, take a Saab down to a Vauxhall dealer (even an independent one) and see if they will service it for you.
Yes there are shared parts between Saab 9-3s and Vauxhall Vectras, but they are a very long way from simply being re-skinned and re-badged Vauxhalls, as you claim.
I am surprised you didn't know that Volvo has been owned by Geely Automobile of China for 18 months now. Ford was the previous owner. There are still many Ford components on Volvo's current models but that will change as more components are supplied from China.
There certainly isn't any technology being transferred from Volvo to Ford now, if there ever was. The technology transfer looked as though it was 100% in the other direction, with all Volvo models using Ford platforms and mostly Ford-sourced components by 2010.
Yes I am aware of Volvo's recent change of ownership. I am also aware, as a former owner of a V50, that there are a lot of shared components and the use of Ford engines and running gear in at least some of their models. But there is also a lot of Volvo components in other Ford-owned marques, such as Volvo satnavs and keyfobs turning up in Aston Martins.
But what I'm really talking about is technology, not components. For example, the Low Speed Safety System on the new Focus is actually Volvo's City Safety first seen on the XC60 back at the end of 2006. As I said above, Saab never did this which is partly why GM lost patience with them. They were constantly going away and redesigning the wheel at great additional expense and building their cars out of armour plate. OK so a Saab could survive a collision with a moose, but when you're driving round the backroads of anywhere except Scandinavia (and lets face it, they will have sold cars in far more markets overseas than at home) when are you ever likely to find yourself in such a situation?
Saab made some interesting cars and, with Volvo and others, moved car safety forward. But they were bonkers and made some real howlers in their time, and they never really grasped one of the most important things. That making cars is a BUSINESS and to survive you have to sell them and make a profit, all of which means making cars that lots of people actually want to buy.
O L Leigh