GM came one step closer to shutting down the legendary forever unprofitable Saab brand on Monday as Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said that none of the submitted bids for the automaker were good enough, adding “They were not financially strong enough. It takes more money.”

Even though GM has hired a professional liquidation firm to wind down Saab, Whitacre has not closed the door completely. If someone shows up with the right amount of funds, GM would gladly hand the Swedish company over: “Give us 450 million dollars and we have a totally different situation,” Whitacre told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show.

Today (January 12, 2010) is the last day to submit bids. Several other companies, including Spyker Cars and a group comprised of Genii Capital and F1 king Bernie Ecclestone, have already presented GM with last-minute bids for Saab and are reportedly working around the clock to close the deal.

[Source: The Swedish Wire via Saab History]