Skip to main content

Bad news, performance fans: Saleen says it’s out of money, and owes millions of dollars

Saleen 302 Mustang
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Saleen Automotive has been on a roll lately, announcing plans to tune the 2015 Ford Mustang and unveiling a modified Tesla Model S. However, it may not survive long enough to see these plans through.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission uncovered by Jalopnik, Saleen admitted that it only had $7,261 in cash on hand as of September 30.

Things get worse from there. The company apparently owes $5,634,841 to various parties, including $500,000 in payroll taxes.

Over $1 million of those bills are 90 days overdue, and Saleen expects to default on a $398,176 loan unless the bank gives it an extension.

Worse still, Saleen is reportedly posting quarterly losses in the millions, and it only has $668,629 in assets, so selling things off to service debt isn’t really an option either. The company is hoping for a buyer that will provide a major infusion of cash.

It’s latest episode in what has become something of a soap opera.

Founder Steve Saleen left his namesake business in 2007, and went on to compete with it by starting SMS Supercars. He regained control of Saleen Automotive in 2012, and restarted production of high-performance tuned Mustangs.

The subsequent ambitious move into the electric-car field seemed to indicate that things were going well, but apparently that’s not the case.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
The Kia EV3 could be the cheap electric SUV we’ve been waiting for
White Kia EV3

The Kia EV9 was already one of the cheapest ways to get an electric SUV, but now the company is taking things to the next level. After teasing the Kia EV3 last year, the car is now official.

The EV3 is built to be a slightly smaller, cheaper version of the EV9 -- following the path of the Rivian R2, which arrived after the Rivian R1S. It's certainly not as technologically advanced as the EV9, but it still looks unmistakably like a modern Kia, and is clearly a sibling of the larger SUV. On the outside, the vehicle has the same split taillights and very similar Tiger Face front. But it is quite a bit smaller. The vehicle will be available in nine finishes -- however only "Aventurine Green" and "Terracotta" are being announced right now.

Read more
Kia EV3: release date, performance, range, and more
White Kia EV3

Kia is on a roll. Hot on the heels of the success of the Kia EV6 and EV9, the company is already announcing what could be its cheapest electric vehicle yet -- the Kia EV3.

The Kia EV line seems to follow the rule of lower numbers indicating a lower price — and if so, the EV3 will end up being the cheapest electric car Kia has released to date. That, however, thankfully doesn’t mean that the EV3 will be a low-end car — it just means that Kia may be pushing the boundaries on electric car pricing.

Read more
Kia EV3 vs Tesla Model Y: Can Kia’s new entry-level car take on Tesla?
White Kia EV3

The Kia EV3 is finally coming, and it could well end up being the best small-size electric SUV to buy when it finally rolls out. It's smaller than the Kia EV9, but it offers many of the same design elements and features. But there's another small-size electric car that's currently one of the most popular vehicles out there -- the Tesla Model Y.

How does the Kia EV3 compare with the Tesla Model Y? And is one vehicle actually better than the other? We put the Kia EV3 and the Tesla Model Y head-to-head to find out.
Design
The design of the Kia EV3 is very different than that of the Model Y, though they're both reasonably good-looking vehicles.

Read more