2006 Saab 9-3 Convertible 2.0 Turbo 101k One Owner Fla Car All Orig Serv By Saab on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New owners of Saab don't get to use the name

Saab won't be revived as a Chinese-backed electric car brand. Aerospace and defense company Saab AB has declined to let the new owners of the dormant automaker's old designs and factory use the name on new cars, Automotive News reports. It's a blow to fans of the Swedish brand, who hoped the name would be revived on new vehicles coming out of the same factory as models like the 99 Turbo. National Electric Vehicle Sweden, known as NEVS, bought major assets of the Saab operation in 2012 following former parent Spyker's decision to liquidate the company in December 2011. This not only included the Trollhattan assembly plant in Sweden, but the rights to the Saab 9-3 and the platform of its successor. NEVS built some new 9-3s using leftover parts and powered by the old 2.0-liter turbo engines, with the intent to raise money to produce new electric vehicles for Europe and China – and to use the Saab name. When General Motors bought all of Saab Automobile in 2000, it used the name under license from the Saab AB. That permission was then passed to Spyker in 2010 and later NEVS, albeit without the griffin logo. But when NEVS sought creditor protection in 2014, Saab AB revoked the naming rights. Following reorganization, NEVS in August announced a deal with Dongfeng Motor Corp. to develop a new lineup of electric vehicles, which was revealed in December to include five new models by 2018, some assembled in China by 2020 – the first of which being an EV version of the old 9-3. However, Saab AB told Automotive News that discussions have ended regarding the use of the Saab name on these vehicles. NEVS owner Kai Johan Jiang told a Swedish radio station the company will find a new name to market the cars under when they go on sale. It's similar to what happened to SAIC when it purchased vehicle technology from bankrupt British carmaker MG Rover. While it had the tooling to essentially make the Rover 75, the brand name at the time belonged to BMW and barred SAIC from using it, so the Roewe brand was created in China. It's unclear why talks broke down and also where NEVS will get a new name (there aren't nicer ways to spell Saab, and it was originally an acronym, anyway). Will Saab AB attach its name to another line of cars? Probably not. What it does mean, however, is that Saab fans have to cling tighter to their old cars now. Perhaps that's for the best. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Renault's electric motors, BMW i3 is AM free

Why isn't AM radio offered in the BMW i3? Some drivers – particularly those interested in local traffic reports – have noticed its absence. BMW says that the electromagnetic interference from the electric drivetrain caused poor performance, and that while reception wasn't always terrible, it wasn't up to their standards. Rather than have customers complain to their dealers, who would be unable to do anything for them, BMW has disabled AM reception in the i3. Some customers have hacked their cars in order to enable the AM radio, despite possible warranty issues, and have found the reception to be acceptable. Read more at Green Car Reports. Saab's current parent company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), broke ground for production and R&D facilities in Tianjin, China. The facilities are part of joint ventures with the city of Tianjin and State Research Information Technology (SRIT). In addition to investments of over $190 million from SRIT and Teamsun, NEVS has received $1.6 billion in credit from the Bank of China to develop its business there. The new Tianjin factory will have a capacity of 200,000 new energy vehicles per year. The facility in Trollhattan, Sweden will provide manufacturing planning, training, and product supply for the Tianjin plant. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release from NEVS. Renault is building the new R240 electric motor for the Zoe at its Cleon plant. The plant and its employees, which specialize in the Energy dCi diesel engine, have adapted to produce high volumes of the electric motor as well, including a 6,000 hours of training for the staff and millions of dollars in investments. "We aim to become the leading powertrain plant for the Alliance," says Cleon plant director Mendi Ammad. The plant is capable of producing 50,000 units of the R240 motor per year, with that number expected to double in the future. Read more about the plant and the production process the press release below. NEW ELECTRIC MOTOR STRENGTHENS POWERTRAIN EXPERTISE AT CLEON ZOE's new electric motor, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, is a 100% Renault motor manufactured at the French site of Cleon, already specialized in highly technical powertrain production. Until now, the flagship of the Cleon plant was the Energy dCi (130, 140, 160) internal-combustion engine. The diesel unit with advanced technological content has made a name for itself at Groupe Renault, the Alliance and with our partners.

Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety