Car Throttle

The year 2012 is now upon us, which may mean a few things.  One is that we've only got 350-odd days before the Mayan's prediction of the apocalypse comes true and we all die.  (I'm not betting on it!)  The other thing it does mean is the Detroit Auto Show is just around the corner- just a few days, in fact.  So I've awoken from my Christmas/New Years slumber to share the news. This little trucklet is the new Ford EcoSport, debuting at the New Delhi Auto Expo.  Based on the Fiesta, this miniature soft-roader is the second generation of the EcoSport, which was previously only sold in Brazil.  This new one should be more widely available, with production in Brazil and India, as part of

It's a sad day for car people.  If you've been on the internet, especially Facebook, and especially General Motor's Facebook page, you probably heard today's big news. Saab filed for bankruptcy in a district court in Sweden today.  We don't make a habit of reporting industry news here at Car Throttle, but this is Saab we're talking about, and this story has been leading to this inevitable conclusion basically since Spyker bought Saab from GM.  With no money to buy the parts to build cars, or pay the workers to build the cars, Saab was in a rough spot.  With accusations of their funding coming from shady places it was hard to secure additional funding to float the company.  And with GM unwilling to supply

Is this the next Saab 9-3? And more importantly, shouldit be the next Saab 9-3. That is the question. Saab's most recent concept car, the Pheonix, had a name chosen for what the company hoped would happen - seeing Saab rise from the ashes after being declared dead. Anyone paying attention (and a lot that aren't) know the roller coaster Saab has been through in just the past year. And boy, it goes back even farther than that. We'll spare you the details though. Chief Executive Officer Victor Mueller and company have pulled every rabbit out of their hat that they can, and their latest deal involves a Chinese buyout. Yes, wholly and completely Chinese owned. Pang Da and Youngman have submitted a bid, which

Props must seriously be given to Saab's management team. They have pulled off an extraordinary feat, dodging so many bullets we can't even count. They seem to always secure the right partnership for the right time, just enough to get them scraping by. It seemed the time of reckoning had finally come though. Saab wanted to reorganize itself and get back wages paid by the Swedish government. The latest two deals, with Chinese companies Pang Da and Youngman Automotive, were originally said to secure their financial future. They didn't include short-term funding however. In order to get wages paid by the Swedish government and complete some "reorganization" until long-term financing kicked in, Saab applied for protection from the government. The Vanersborg District court rejected

One thing is for sure: Saab has been drug through the mud more than any other manufacturer out there. Really. It just can't catch a break. For the past three years it has endured one bad thing after another. Just when you think the brand's future might be looking up, something else happens. Saab recently signed deals with Chinese distributor Pang Da and manufacturer Youngman Automotive. Those moves were supposed to open up big opportunities (and most importantly, cash) for Saab in China. However, Saab has run into trouble with its suppliers. It is unable to pay its workers, and production at the Trollhattan, Sweden plant that produces the 9-5 and 9-3 has been stopped for months. Despite this, 9-4X production continues at the General Motors

The new 9-5 is a crucial vehicle for Saab.  If you're reading this site, you're probably aware of the financial troubles that the Swedish automaker, recently kicked to the curb by GM after 20 years of neglect, is going through.  It hasn't been pretty, and it still isn't going smoothly - no cars are rolling off the line at Tröllhattan at the time of this writing, because there still isn't money to pay employee wages.  It's dire times indeed.  What Saab desperately needs is a good car to sell. I can't call the current 9-3 a bad car, because it isn't - it's a good car, just like it was when it came out in 2003.  But 8 years is a very long time for a car

It is, to be kind, a rough time to be a Saab dealer.  And I suppose any time is a rough time to be a Spyker dealer.  But with Saab still not actually making any vehicles in Tröllhattan, and people not buying a whole lot of Saabs in the first place (Saab sold 323 cars in the US in June, which admittedly is almost 50% more than they sold in June of last year, but still less than Suzuki, Porsche, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mitsubishi...), Saab dealers everywhere have to do something to make sure people realize they're still alive, and they're still selling cars.  And in fact, they're still selling very good cars - like the new 9-5 Aero XWD, which I test drove, and will

Some cars don't see the production light of day, and it is a good thing when they didn't. The "Vuick" from General Motors comes to mind. This new one comes from the Saab file. When Saab was under GM's ownership, management briefly got a brilliant (not!) idea to have Saab and Subaru share models. They're both quirky, right Well, it turns out the similarities and opportunities for successful cross-branding ended there. One product resulted from the pairing; the 9-2X, based off the Subaru Impreza. It didn't meet sales success, and was quickly axed after GM sold off its 20% ownership in Subaru. A second project was in the works though, a 9-6 based off the Subaru Tribeca. Many have said Saab's problem and reason it was losing

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

Some features that come standard in cars these days we take completely for granted. The type of stuff that if it wasn't there, we'd be very confused.  Power steering, servo-assisted brakes, a rear windscreen defroster, synchromesh in the gearbox, a parking brake - these are all things we take for granted, because cars need them in various ways to be functioning transportation appliances.  And as technology marches on, other stuff is becoming a given - it's pretty hard to find a car, any car, for sale in the US now without power windows, a radio or stereo of some sort, rear infant seat anchors, tire pressure monitors, traction control (still iffy; my 2007 Honda doesn't have it), variable-intermittent windshield wipers - even cool but useless