GENEVA -- General Motors Corp. Director Jerry York has backed away from his earlier recommendation that GM drop its ailing Saab brand, the automaker's Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Monday at the unveiling of a striking concept coupe by the Swedish carmaker.

"I've spoken at length with Jerry York," said Lutz, referring to the board member who is a key aide to the automaker's third-largest shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian. "And he's off this get-rid-of-Saab thing."

Prior to joining GM's board earlier this month, York had urged GM to shed the Saab brand and consider dropping the Hummer nameplate to stem its huge losses totaling $8.6 billion last year.

"Saab is no longer an independent company that you could sell off as a unit," Lutz said.

He said GM had integrated the Swedish carmaker into its new global vehicle development system, sharply reducing the unit's costs. "It will be profitable soon," he said. "Of course we'll keep it."

GM bought a 50 percent stake in Saab in 1990 and became full owner in 2000, but has yet to see a return on that investment. GM officials declined to say what Saab has cost the automaker, but the sum is now estimated in the billions.

By contrast, GM's rival Ford Motor Co. has been more fortunate with its 1999 acquisition of Sweden's Volvo Cars, which unveiled a redesigned version of its S80 flagship sedan here on Monday, the eve of the first press day of the Geneva Motor Show.

Volvo Cars is the most profitable brand in Ford's Premier Automotive Group and it has contributed engineering and vehicle safety expertise to the Dearborn automaker.

The new S80, slightly taller and wider than the current version, comes with a choice of two engines, including the first V8 offered in a Volvo sedan.

The automaker expects to sell 50,000 S80s a year, or nearly double the sales last year of the outgoing model. The vehicle's biggest market is the United States.

"The S80 has all the main brand attributes while in my opinion improving on them," said Stephen Judson, president of brand consultants Judson Management Group Inc. of New York City. "The style conveys luxury but it's understated. It's absolutely recognizable as a Volvo."

Volvo's sales worldwide totaled just over 440,000 in 2005, compared with Saab's global sales of 130,000.

Saab's Aero X concept emphasizes the carmaker's origins as a manufacturer of airplanes, with its sleek lines, wrap-around windscreen, green-lit instrumentation and jet fighter-inspired intakes. Mimicking the old plane cockpits, the car's doors and roof lift to allow access to the interior.

"This car shows that Saab is really on the move, and speaks of the confidence GM has in Saab," said Jan-Ake Jonsson, Saab's managing director.

Although GM and Saab officials said they did not expect to build a vehicle based on the Aero X concept, some of its design cues would appear on future models. GM plans to add a crossover to Saab's lineup, in addition to the 9-3 and 9-5 sedans and new 9-7X SUV built in Moraine, Ohio.

But GM officials emphasized that Saab needs to improve its performance and contribute to the turnaround at GM Europe, which aims to break even this year.

"We left it independent way too long," said Lutz, who is GM's top global product development manager. "Three years ago, Saab had its own capital budget. They ran the business as if it didn't belong to General Motors. Now, it's totally blended into the worldwide (vehicle) architecture plan."