Autoblog

Looks like that Moraine, Ohio plant that was going to be shut down next year is actually going to be shuttered on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. This is the plant responsible for production of the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and Saab 9-7X. The General had already slowed the plant to just one shift as SUV sales, particularly sales of old SUVs like these, continue to tumble, but the plant was expected to remain open until at least early next year. On Friday the remaining 1,100 workers were gathered and told of the revised plan.

The closure isn't a total surprise, as General Motors had already announced that the Dayton-suburb plant would be closed so the company could focus more on production of small cars. That initial announcement seemed to indicate a 2010 closure, but the company has continually revised the closing date until this most recent word came. Moraine is one of four GM plants that are going to be shut down. When Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico join Moraine in closure, a total of 8,350 workers will be looking for new jobs.

[Source: Detroit News]

The Saab 9-4X has been caught in these new spy shots without the Keith Haring tape job it was wearing the last time we saw it. Features like the converging window lines on the side, the rear lights, and the Saab grille, give away its lineage. From the side, especially from the A-pillar back, you could be forgiven for confusing the Saab with a lot of other CUVs, while lines that are quite distinctive on the smaller 9-3 and 9-5 look to have been stretched into rather bland expanses on the 9-4X. It's still early, so we look forward to seeing the fully Saab-ified retail version. If Saab's managing director is to be believed, what won't be bland is one of the engine choices: a diesel with 250 hp and 406 lb-ft. That's the kind of quirky we can get behind.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Marketers have been known to make claims that test our good sense, our gullibility and our patience. But in a field in which it's often the best story -- not the best product -- that wins, some of the more unsightly details can get left out when making a pitch. Nevertheless, there is still, as Pinocchio's nose would tell you, a line between a tall tale and what's commonly referred to as a lie.

Saab Australia drove its entire model range over that line when it claimed in a campaign last year that "Every Saab is green, with carbon emissions neutral across the entire Saab range." The ads also said Saab would plant 17 native trees to offset the CO2 emissions for the lifespan of each car it sold. Turns out that 17 trees only offsets the carbon produced in the first year of a car's life. Saab left that part out when they lied added the small print.

Australia's competition watchdog took Saab's parent company, GM Holden, to court, and in a verdict for truth and the environment, Saab's claims were declared, ahem, "misleading". GM has pledged to "retrain its marketing staff in relation to making green claims," and plant a forest of 12,500 trees to cover the lifetime emissions of all the cars sold during the campaign.

[Source: Drive]

Saab unveiled the 9-X BioHybrid Concept hatchback last March at the Geneva Motor Show, and it will be joined next month at the Paris Motor Show by this: the 9-X Air BioHybrid Concept. Both vehicles are said to herald the coming of a production Saab 9-1 small car, but the 9-X Air goes a step further and replaces the original concept's closed roof with a flat-folding canopy top that's said to celebrate the brand's history in the convertible building business. Aside from that, the concepts appear to be almost identical right down to sharing the same turbocharged 1.4L Saab BioPower engine producing 197bhp. We'll bring you more pics and info of the Saab 9-X Air BioHybrid Concept straight from the show floor in Paris next month.

UPDATE: Many more high-res images added to gallery.


[Source: GM]

The LA Auto Show is still a couple months away, but images of vehicles set to be unveiled in the land of fruits and nuts are already leaking onto the web. GM's Chilean website had the above photo of the production Saab 9-4X available for all to see earlier today, so now we know the production model looks almost identical to the 9-4X Biopower concept from last year's Detroit Auto Show. We'd be interested to see if the concept's integrated tail pipes and large front/side air dams make it to production but, judging from spy photos we've seen, probably not. The 9-4X will be built on the same platform as the upcoming front- or all-wheel-drive Cadillac SRX, which will also be unveiled this auto show season.

We don't have many details on the 9-4X just yet, but it will have a turbocharged 2.0L engine with 245 hp and 265 lb-ft mated to a six-speed automatic. The concept also ran on ethanol, which is also likely for the production vehicle considering that two thirds of all vehicles in Sweden are of the flex fuel variety. Other engine choices could include GM's 3.6L V6, which is likely to be found under hood of the SRX at launch, and an upcoming 250-hp 2.9L diesel. Either way, European customers will likely have an engine lineup twice as large as what we'll be offered in the U.S.

UPDATE: Saab has confirmed that the image above is not the production 9-4X, but rather a creative photoshop of the 9-4X Concept from last year's Detroit Auto Show produced by third-party reps down in Chile.


[Source: Motor Authority]

During yesterday's press briefing, General Motors let its upcoming Saab 9X Air concept out of the bag ahead of its official debut at the Paris Motor Show, and today we finally have official pics and details of the new Swedish open air coupe. Based on last year's 9X BioHybrid concept from Geneva, the 9X Air loses its hard top in favor of a cloth piece and rear glass that pops up from the rear hatch. A concept-worthy interior features four black-and-white seats along with a digital dash.

Power flows to the front wheels via a turbocharged 1.4-liter E85 flex-fuel engine and six-speed dual clutch gearbox. along with an electric motor powered by lithium ion batteries. Acceleration to 60 comes up in around eight seconds and fuel mileage is theoretically in the 40 mpg range. Sounds good so far. We are expecting the Air, along with its 9X forebear, to spawn a production model likely called the 9-1. Just how many of the high-tech features will make it into production? We'll see, though we are pretty sure both the hatchback and convertible body styles will make the transition.


[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Hooray – the Saab 9-3 2.0T Sport is getting XWD, the Swedish automaker's cross-wheel-drive system. Boo – you're going to pay more for your Saab whether or not you get XWD. The rear-wheel-driving traction-enhancer was previously available only on upper crust models like the Aero and SportCombi, but Saab has announced it will hobnob with the hoi polloi on the 2.0T for 2009.

Any XWD models will also come with a moonroof, the Winter Package and an automatic transmission, though a 6-speed manual is also available. The Convertible will not be offered with XWD, since its platform can't accommodate the necessary mechanicals.

As we mentioned, the Saab range also gets price bumps. A new 9-3 2.0T Sport Sedan (without XWD) goes up $420, to $29,610, while the 9-3 SportCombi adds $680 to hit $31,040. General Motors did not list a price for the XWD option alone, but it appears to add a hefty $5,000 surcharge – the 9-3 2.0T XWD Sport Sedan will run you $34,870, and the 9-3 Aero V6T XWD Sport Sedan will list for $41,885.

[Source: GM]

The next stab at a Saab SUV is reportedly going to be... a Saab. Word is that the newest hauler will have "Saab-DNA design and technology." Designed by teams in Sweden and Germany, that means an Aero-X-like snout, some combi-type curves in the back, and an ascending shoulder line. No word on engines yet, but there looks to be a full range of options, and dealers who have seen the final car are excited. This is all very good news to Saab mavens who don't want another badge-engineered Tahoe. For the rest of us, our first chance to see it could be as soon as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

[Source: Next Autos]

With TrollhattanSaab's future uncertain, Saabophiles may be looking elsewhere for their daily news and forum fix. The crew that brought you VWVortex, Fourtitude, MWerks and other make-specific sites has finally created a spin-off of Swedespeed to cater directly to Saab enthusiasts on the web.

TurboNines.com launched yesterday, taking the traditional forum template and replacing it with a cleaner, more intuitive design. Readers familiar with MotiveMag will undoubtedly see a resemblance to the online pub's format, with a news and features section, along with galleries, resources and the traditional discussion forum for users to talk smack and wax poetic on their favorite Swedish marque.

If you're already a member of Motive's other sites, you'll be able to login using your existing user name and password, and even if you're not, a quick visit to TurboNines is worthy of a few minutes of your Thursday.

A Saab owner attending the 2008 Saab Owner's Convention posted a recap of the events at Trollhattan Saab (which we thought was defunct, but if not, we're glad it's back). One of the most noteworthy events was something on which he barely commented: a sketch of the new 9-5. Saab has been threatening for a while to start incorporating Aero X cues into its vehicles, and this could be it.

The text around the car says it will have "aircraft heritage," "fuselage bodysides," a "wraparound winshield," and a "grille inspired by a J21." We find the J21 bit and the fuselage sides a stretch, but it's still a good looking place to start. The sketch also hints that the tech in the new 9-5 is already being used in the Turbo X.

While other Saabs are supposed to be downsizing, the 9-5 will actually grow since it's based on the Epsilon II platform along with the Opel Insignia and next-gen versions of the Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu. The car's engine will be shrinking, though, down to a 1.6-liter turbocharged unit. And could this be the Saab that Wagoner said will be built in North America?

[Source: Trollhattan Saab via Motor Authority]