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The Saab saga continues: Spyker Cars, a producer of expensive sports cars, and its Russian owner, Converse Bank, have submitted a bid to General Motors to buy Saab, a source said last week.
Saab is back in play after a bid by Koenigsegg Group AB, another tiny sports car maker, fell apart last month.
Last week the GM board was poised to kill Saab. But it said in a statement that it would accept bids through December. Lacking a good bid, "We will begin an orderly wind down of the global Saab business at that time," the board said.
Other potential bidders include a state-owned Chinese automaker, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., according to news reports.
Spyker is a publicly traded Netherlands maker of hand-built sports cars. Spyker built 21 cars in the first half of this year.
"People may wonder why a company that makes less than 100 cars a year can benefit from buying a company that makes more than 100,000," Spyker CEO Victor Muller said last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. "Over time there are massive benefits. The main benefit is that it is not closed down."
(Source: Automotive News)
We take a look at the coolest, and nutties cars from the LA Auto Show and give you the long and short of that Toyota gas pedal issue. Also, Audi wants drivers to scribble on their dashboard. Have you seen the latest in high tech auto seats? We also go for a ride in the Lincoln MKT.
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EPISODE 147
SHOW NOTES• CNET's L.A. auto show coverage
• Audi intros in-dash handwriting recognition
• CNET's review of the 2010 Mazda6
Saab's new model doesn't look very happy at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
A week before the Los Angeles Auto Show, GM's deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg fell through, making the Swedish carmaker's future uncertain. But the company's plans for a future that might never come are evident in the 2011 9-5 sedan. This car incorporates much of the jet fighter design Saab used in its Aero-X concept from a few years ago. The pillars and roof of the 9-5 have a more angular design than previous Saabs, yet still maintain the Saab identity.
Saab also modernized the technology in the 9-5, going to a hard-drive-based navigation system and a USB port for audio sources. The driver will see information projected on the windshield through the car's Pilot HUD feature.
Motivating the 9-5 is a turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6 making 300 horsepower, putting power to all wheels through Saab's XWD system. An electronic limited slip differential helps keep power going to the right wheels when cornering. Saab also incorporated an adaptive suspension in the car to minimize body roll.
The company says it will start selling the 9-5 in late 2010, but Saab's currently tenuous situation might mean the 9-5 never sees production.
The Saab deal unravels: Is the Swedish tech innovator dead? What we're looking for at the L.A. auto show. The best time to buy a car may surprise you. BMW revamps the 5-Series and makes a run at the kind of diesel America never loved and Europe always has. And we take a ride in the GMC Terrain.
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EPISODE 146
SHOW NOTES• BMW launches new 5-series online
• BMW set to offer small, 4-cylinder diesels in U.S.
• Bad news for Saab: White knight turns and rides off
• Ferrari hybrid seems imminent according to what looks like a cocktail napkin sketch
• CNET Video: What you'll need to replace your factory car stereo
DETROIT -- General Motors will follow through on plans to provide U.S. Saab dealers with a new crossover, assuming a deal to sell the automaker to a small Swedish company is completed.
The 9-4X will be launched in the 2011 model year and will replace the 9-7X, says Steve Shannon, GM's executive director of product and marketing for Cadillac, Hummer and Saab.
Meanwhile, on June 12, GM sent new dealership agreements to owners of Saab's 220 U.S. dealerships.
Under the agreement, the dealerships would continue selling vehicles under the new owner, a consortium led by tiny Koenigsegg Automotive AB. But the agreement allows for the possibility that the new owner might drop some dealerships. The deadline to sign was Friday, June 19.
On June 17, a court ruling in Sweden allowed Saab to cut 75 percent of its more than 10 billion kronor ($1.28 billion at current exchange rates) of debt after creditors gave the go-ahead. The sale to Koenigsegg is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
Saab plans to continue the 9-3 and to redesign the 9-5 in 2010. The 9-7X, a lightly reworked Chevrolet TrailBlazer, sold poorly--just 3,660 units--in the United States last year.
GM's European operations are designing the 9-4X, expected on a front-wheel-drive platform.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson said last week that GM "will provide support in terms of power train and other technologies."
Through May, Saab has sold 4,607 vehicles in the United States, down from 10,196 in the same period last year.
Saab sold 93,295 vehicles globally in 2008.
(Source: Automotive News)
STOCKHOLM -- General Motors on June 12 was close to selling its loss-making Saab unit after tiny Koenigsegg agreed to ride to the rescue of its fellow Swedish carmaker, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters. A deal would put a company that has fewer than 50 employees and turns out only a handful of $1 million supercars in charge of Saab, which produces that many family cars every hour.
(Source: Automotive News)
Did Saab just become a high tech supercar? BMW rewrites the rules for voice command, thankfully. Airbags in places you wouldn't believe. And a ride in a big, comfy, annoying Mercedes!
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SHOW NOTES
Mercedes ESF 2009 safety car has airbags in goofy places and people in foil suits loving it.
(Credit: Mercedes-Benz)• Mercedes ESF 2009 safety car
• iPhone will finally get real turn-by-turn navigation
• BMW to dramatically ease voice command in cars
Every once in a while a YouTube clip will inspire you, though this one may give you the chills. The Saab Performance Team is in Northern Sweden putting the Saab 9-3x through the paces on an icy track. This clip posted by Swade99 will warm up any winter day.
Sirius XM averts possible bankruptcy (for now), GM kills off its hot rod division, Hyundai won't just take your car back--they'll pay for it! And we take a ride in a car Mazda has to get a home run out of.
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SHOW NOTES
• New Moto phone safe for gas station use
• States consider billing you for each mile driven
Saab will debut the 2010 Saab 9-3x, a more rugged-looking wagon for buyers who are honest enough to admit that they really don't need the off-roading capabilities of an SUV, want more driving comfort than a crossover, yet still desire all-wheel drive and bit more ground clearance.
The 9-3x is equipped with a 2.0 turbocharged 4-cylinder engine producing 210 horsepower that is paired with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
The promotional video floating around YouTube.com shows the 9-3x riding a little higher (1.4 inches higher) than the 9-3 SportCombi, with dark gray front and rear bumpers, side sills and the edges of the wheel arches to protect against road debris and mud. Curiously, it also shows the new wagon sporting GM's BioPower badge, although no announcements have been made that the 2010 model will be flex-fuel capable.
