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Saab begins 9-3 EV pilot production

To say that Saab has had a tough time lately would be like saying that it's been a little colder than usual this winter. After General Motors finally gave up and sold it to Spyker in 2010, Saab declared bankruptcy the following year. GM successfully blocked Spyker from selling Saab to Chinese automaker Youngman the following year, but ultimately it ended up in the hands of another Chinese consortium called NEVS. Standing as it does for National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the new owners promised not only to restart production of the long-suffering 9-3, but also to turn it into an electric vehicle. And that's just what it's doing.
The latest news coming out of Sweden indicates that NEVS/Saab has started building the first examples of the 9-3 EV. These first 200 or so examples are set to be shipped off to Qingdao - the Chinese city that is home to the Tsingtao brewery, hosted the sailing components of the 2008 summer games on Beijing, was supposed to host an IndyCar race in 2012 before it was canceled, and also itself just happens to own 22 percent of NEVS.
These first EVs have their batteries mounted down low in the chassis for a low center of gravity and have a range of about 20 miles on a full charge. That's absolutely paltry compared to the other EVs on the market: a Nissan Leaf will travel more than four times that distance, and a Tesla Model S will go ten times farther on a charge.

One-off 1997 Saab 900 EX prototype headed to auction

An obscure and fascinating part of Saab's history is looking for a new home. The one-off 1997 900 EX was built in Norway to celebrate the company's 50th birthday, and while it was not approved for production it shows what a sporty, 900-derived coupe could have looked like. British auction house Bonhams explains that Per Ekstrom, an auto body expert and enthusiast according to The Drive, worked closely with Saab and Norwegian road authorities to create the 900 EX. His goal wasn't merely to create an eye-catching coupe that's pretty to look at but impossible to drive; he wanted the model to be street-legal and drive like a regular-production car. The auction description notes that the 900 EX was built by experienced professionals with Saab's blessing and that the process required between 3,000 and 4,000 hours of work. The end result is stunning. While the headlights and the grille create a strong visual link between the EX and the second-generation 900, which enthusiasts often refer to as the GM900, the roof line has been lowered by nearly three inches and the body has been considerably widened thanks in part to 9000 CS-sourced front and rear wheel arches. We're told that the rear window comes from a 900 Cabriolet's soft top and that the hatch is a modified panel sourced from a standard 900, though pictures of the back end haven't been released as of writing. Bonhams describes the build quality as "exceptional" and says that the panel gaps are better than those seen on many modern cars. It adds that the red and gray paint (which is a tribute to the combination often seen on the 900 SPG) is original and "in close to perfect condition."  The interior is largely standard 900 fare. There's wood trim, leather upholstery, a three-spoke steering wheel, and the big knobs and buttons that characterized Saab models for decades. The brand designed the switchgear so that it could be easily operated by someone wearing gloves. The odometer displays about 141,600 kilometers, which represents approximately 88,000 miles, though Bonhams pegs the engine's mileage at around 154,000 kilometers (roughly 95,600 miles). Most of the miles were reportedly added before engine ended up in the EX. Speaking of the engine, power comes from a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder sourced from Saab's regular-production parts bin and tuned to send 220 horsepower to the front wheels. It's bolted to a five-speed manual transmission.

GM wins appeal, dismissal of $3B Saab-related Spyker suit

It's been a long time since we last heard of the legal battles between Spyker CEO Victor Muller and General Motors, the automaker from which Muller's company purchased the embattled Saab brand back in 2010. To refresh your memories, after struggling through 2011 and entering into bankruptcy, Spyker attempted to save the Saab brand by selling it to a Chinese consortium. General Motors, though, blocked the sale because it did not want any of its intellectual property, of which Saab was in possession of from its days under the GM umbrella, in the hands of a potential rival automaker. Spyker then sued GM for intentionally blocking what it said was Saab's only chance of survival. The $3-billion suit was dismissed after a judge ruled in favor of GM, which apparently had granted a license to Saab to continue building cars using its technologies, but reserved the right to cancel that agreement if Saab again changed hands. Spyker appealed, and, according to Reuters, the appeals court upheld the previous ruling, again siding with GM. National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the company that eventually purchased Saab out of bankruptcy, managed to restart production for a short period before itself falling into financial trouble. We have at least another month to wait before hearing how Saab's next chapter may read.