Car Throttle

Although production at Saab's Trollhattan plant is stopped, the company is soldiering on. Another $36 million short-term lifeline has been thrown to the company via the Gemini Investment Fund. This is in addition to a order for 582 cars by an "undisclosed" Chinese manufacturer. Meanwhile, deals with Chinese distributor Pang Da and Youngman Automotive are pending regulatory approval. General Motors is also doing its part by continuing production of the highly-important 9-4X crossover at its plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Production there began in February. Saab is looking to restart production soon at the Trollhattan plant in Sweden, which produces the 9-5 and 9-3. A model enthusiasts have had a particular affinity for has been the 9-5 SportCombi. The 9-5 SportCombi has to rank among

At the Geneva Motor Show, Saab showed off its styling future with the PheoniX Concept. It appeared that with the new 9-5, 9-4X and refreshed 9-3 either on sale or going on sale, the brand's future prospects were improving. However, things aren't so rosy behind the scenes. While the company's business plan was said to be funded until next year, the company's finances are in bad shape. The financial situation has worsened to a point where Saab is unable to pay key components suppliers, resulting production shutdowns at the Trollhattan plant in Sweden. Russian businessman Vladamir Anotov is looking to invest in the company, helping to supply it with cash until sales recover and losses slow down. Bloomberg is now reporting that the Swedish government is

At the Los Angeles International Auto Show last year, Saab debuted its new 9-4X crossover. The 9-4X is aimed at getting Saab a piece of the red-hot crossover segment in the United States. In Europe though, their more practical wagon counterparts are big sellers. As such, it is a critical part of Saab's sales growth strategy to introduce a wagon variant of the 9-5. Introduction of the new SportCombi, as it is called, is set to happen at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Saab has released a teaser photo of the new variant, shown below. It looks very similar to renderings and spy shots that we have seen. And boy is that a good thing - the 9-5 promises to be a very stylish

In this modern age of convenience and technology, consumers want their products now. That is particularly the case in America with our automobiles. Unlike other continents such as Europe, we buy our cars off the lot and don't do order to specification. To those with a bit of patience, placing an order to get exactly what you want is the best option especially with such a major purchase. BMW is one manufacturer aiming to show the benefits of that method with a new build-to-order campaign for the X3, and Saab appears to be aiming to make it more attractive as well. It works sort of like a tracking number for a package, tracking it all the way to delivery - only even better. According to What Car Saab

Saab is in the midst of a large-scale launch campaign for the new 9-5. A highly important product? No doubt. As such, Saab isn't about to rest on its laurels. The impressive sedan, launched for the 2010 model year, has already gotten more engine options for 2011 to broaden its appeal in the marketplace. The new 9-5 gets three new engine options to choose from  - a 1.6-liter turbocharged gas unit, a 2.0-liter turbo diesel and a 2.0-liter turbo BioPower flex-fuel engine. BioPower is unique in its ability to run on gas and E85 ethanol in any variety or blend. Saab says that regardless of fuel or the percentage, the BioPower engine produces 220 horsepower and  and 258 pound feet of torque. Nice!  The BioPower model is available with

The new Saab 9-5 is coming - after 13 years, we can finally say that. It's almost here in fact. So close, that Saab has released its new commercial debuting the car. The ad will remark the brand's return to television advertising as it hopes to make the new car a success. Gone is "Born from Jets" and in comes something far different. It shows nice shots of the car - and no voiceovers. How refreshing. It's upbeat and uniquely Saab. We like it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8Wv2crB7M&feature=player_embedded#!

Saab just recently was pulled from disappearance from the automotive scene by none other than Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker. Interesting seeing another small sports car company purchasing the (comparatively) volume brand after the Koenigsegg deal fell through. The 2011 model lineup and pricing was just introduced, with the 9-5 surprising many with its price tag coming in near the $50k hurdle at $49,990. A four-cylinder turbo model is slated to be coming with a pricetag below the 40k mark. With this pricing, one thing was made clear to us at the time - Saab couldn't be expecting a high amount of volume. With manufacturers that are Saab's size, often a conundrum is created of not enough profit (due to economies of scale) to be made on volume vehicles and

It seems like everything about the Saab 9-5 takes a long time - the last generation was around forever and we've been hearing about this new generation model for quite some time. It wasn't even clear if it was even going to be produced or not at all. Recently, Saab released pricing information for the car, with the 9-5 Aero coming in at around the $50,000 mark. Now, new images have leaked of the wagon model. This isn't the first time this has happened either. The rendering shows a similar design to what we've seen before. In other words, just about the coolest wagon around. It isn't clear where this image came from, but it looks legitimate. Could a Saab 9-5 estate (SportCombi here in the United States)

Last year was a difficult year for the automotive industry - iconic brands being lost and lots of changes in the order of things. Porsche was bought up by Volkswagen, and over at GM Pontiac, Saturn, and now HUMMER have all disappeared. Saab was almost added to that list more than once, until an unlikely bid came from Spyker that saved the brand. Now, the car that everyone hopes will save the brand - the 9-5, is getting official pricing for the United States market. It is good to be talking product again! The 9-5 a product many thought would never get to see the light of day. Autoblog attended the opening of Saab's new U.S headquarters in Royal Oak, Michigan and while they were there,

OK, this wait is getting quite tiring. However, it is better than the alternative - shutting down Saab altogether. Current General Motors management is making an effort to get the brand sold rather than just shutting it down, and that is a good thing. One of the rumored reasons for the departure of GM's recent Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson is that he just wanted to shut down the brand, in opposition to the board. Now it seems as if the company is extending the deadline. Around the time of the Los Angeles International Auto Show, GM announced they would be considering bids for Saab until December 31st, 2009. Paul Akerlund, the head of the IF Metall trade union, is saying that the date is not in