2003 Saab 9-3 Super Clean, Automatic, Leather, Sun Roof, Priced Right, on 2040-cars

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China's Evergrande says it will start making electric vehicles in June

BEIJING — Chinese property firm Evergrande Group will start producing its first electric vehicles in June as part of a goal to become the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) company within the next three to five years, according to its chairman. Hui Ka Yan made the comments at a conference in the eastern city of Tianjin over the weekend, according to a statement published on the company's website on Tuesday. "The new energy automobile industry has a huge market prospect. Evergrande has completed the entire industrial chain layout in the field of new energy vehicles," Hui said. He also said that Evergrande plans to start selling its first electric vehicle model globally "soon," which will use electric car production technology from Swedish car makers Saab and Koenigsegg, and drive systems from Netherlands' e-Traction, according to the statement. Evergrande, China's second-largest property developer by sales, has been aggressively expanding into the automotive space in search of new areas of growth as the Chinese property market slows. Its subsidiary, Evergrande Health, invested in vehicle manufacturer National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), which picked up the assets of Saab, and Chinese auto battery maker Shanghai CENAT New Energy Co this year. It is also the majority investor in Swedish super car brand Koenigsegg. Not all of Evergrande's investments have gone smoothly, however. Last year, Evergrande Health bought 45 percent of Chinese electric vehicle firm Faraday Future as part of a $2 billion plan but the deal eventually turned sour. The companies have since ended their legal fight. Sales of NEV vehicles have remained a bright spot in China's car market, jumping 61.7 percent in 2018 to 1.3 million vehicles even as the overall car market contracted for the first time since the 1990s. China's biggest auto industry association predicts NEV sales to hit 1.6 million this year. Auto News Green Plants/Manufacturing Koenigsegg Saab NEVS

GM denies Spyker claims in $3B Saab lawsuit

Reuters reports General Motors has dismissed claims by Spyker outlined in a $3 billion lawsuit. Spyker alleged GM deliberately bankrupted Saab by preventing a deal with Chinese investor Zhejiang Youngman Lotus. GM, meanwhile, filed a response with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan saying that as the former owner of Saab, GM had the legal right to approve the deal with Youngman. But Spyker's lawsuit claimed GM's refusal to approve the deal with Youngman stemmed from the fact that the American automaker didn't want to create a competitor in China.
GM has said the issue stemmed more from the fact that it would stop licensing its technology to Saab or stop building vehicles for the manufacturer in the event it was bought by Youngman. Since Saab built its own platform that didn't use any GM tech, Spyker says that argument is meritless.
The lawsuit has Spyker seeking $3 billion in compensatory damages, though that number could swell with interest, punitive damages and legal fees, as well. Victor Muller, Spyker chief executive, has said the lawsuit is being funded by an anonymous third party. That party will share in any settlement. Youngman has refused to comment on whether or not it's footing the legal bill.

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Saab 900 Turbo

The Saab 900 sold well in Colorado, and owners of these cars tend to hang onto them for decades. For those reasons, I still find 900s while making my rounds of the self-service wrecking yards in the Denver region. The turbocharged models tended to fail more quickly than their naturally-aspirated counterparts, though, so the 900 Turbo can be tough to find today. Here's a 1986 that took its final tow-truck ride into a Denver yard a couple of months back. The 900 received a makeover for the 1987 model year, so today's Junkyard Gem comes from the final year of the 900 with the endearingly 1960s face derived from its 99 predecessor. Most of these cars didn't chug along for quite as many miles as their Volvo 240 countrymen, but that may be attributable more to the differences in driving style between Volvo and Saab owners. The word TURBO had magical connotations during the 1980s, and so most turbocharged cars of the era boasted big, obvious badging. Red car interiors were all the rage during the 1980s and 1990s. Try to imagine the vivid bordellitude of this upholstery before it faded beneath the blazing Colorado sun. Was it a runner when it arrived here? We'll never know. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Born from jets, sure, though the original Saab jet was known as "the Flying Barrel" and wasn't especially graceful-looking. Featured Gallery Junked 1986 Saab 900 Turbo View 14 Photos Auto News Saab Automotive History