2009 Saab 9-3 on 2040-cars

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Saab to hire 200 engineers, might build gas cars with Mahindra

The brand formerly known as Saab is still intent on teaching The Little Engine That Could a few ticks about persistence. We say "formerly known" because it turns out that National Electric Vehicle Swedent (NEVS), the Sino-Japanese investment consortium that just bought the majority of Saab's assets, minus Saab Automobile Parts AB, may not actually own the rights to the Saab brand name. According to a report in Di.se via Saabs United, NEVS will need to negotiate with Scania and the Swedish aerospace and defense group, Saab AB, for the right to name its forthcoming electric car the Saab 9-3.
NEVS is hiring 200 engineers now to work on its electric car program, and reports are that it will hire more as it gets closer to the 2014 launch. It will be based on the current (read: ancient) 9-3, and we hope NEVS is succeeds in getting the naming rights, because the NEVS 9-3 just doesn't have the same ring. NEVS will likely target China as the model's main market.
However, it's rumors of their second negotiating ploy that we're really rooting for: to work with Mahinda & Mahindra, the Indian company once in the running for Saab's assets, develop a petrol-powered 9-3 on the next-generation Phoenix platform, based on Jason Castriota's design.

Dealership refunds student for broken Saab with bags of pennies

Every so often, we come across the story of someone trying to "stick it to the man" by paying a parking fine or speeding ticket in pennies or dimes. Never, though, have we heard of a business stooping to such cliched lengths. Enter Florida. Irena Mujakovic bought a 2003 Saab way back in January from Holiday Motors, in Jacksonville, FL. Shortly after the purchase, the transmission started acting up. She returned to the dealer and paid for the repair, and purchased a warranty for future issues. Total cost: $300. But then the trans crapped out not long after the initial repair, and Mujakovic was back at Holiday Motors. This is where things start going south. This second trip cost Mujakovic $400, with her warranty in hand. That's because the man that runs the dealer, Ed Di Miranda, neglected to mention that the warranty didn't cover labor costs. "The warranty did not cover labor and I failed to write that in and that was her loophole," Di Miranda told First Coast News. The young college student filed a complaint with the Florida DMV, who sided with her and ordered Holiday Motors to refund the money. Di Miranda and the dealership did just that, but when Mujakovic came to collect her refund, it was to a bag of pennies, with a few dollar bills sprinkled in for good measure. Di Miranda, doesn't seem to think he's done anything wrong, claiming that only about $85 was in change, while the rest was paper money. "I am doing what DMV asked me to do," Di Miranda said. "It is legal tender." Mujakovic has not collected her refund. Have a look below for the video news report. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: First Coast News via Jalopnik Car Buying Government/Legal Car Buying Saab

GM re-recalls 11k SUVs

General Motors is recalling a bunch of previously recalled SUVs because, well, they still aren't quite fixed. The latest repairs are necessary on 10,974 SUVs in North America, including 9,932 in only the US. Affected models include the 2006-2007 Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and GMC Envoy; plus the 2006 Trailblazer EXT and Envoy XL. While not listed by NHTSA, a statement by GM to Autoblog says the 2006-2007 Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender are also affected. In these SUVs, it's possible that liquid could get into the driver's door master power window switch module and cause a short circuit. This could potentially lead to a fire, and owners are urged to park the vehicles outside until repaired. GM has been trying to fix this issue for years. It started as an investigation into fires, and that led to a recall for about 250,000 vehicles in cold-weather states. A nationwide campaign came in 2013 for 193,000 of them in the US. Last year, the automaker decided to replace the whole module as a repair. However in a recent investigation of these recalls, GM discovered that this latest group of SUVs never received the new part. According to documents submitted to NHTSA (as a PDF), "Some dealers incorrectly used the labor code associated with module replacement when, instead of replacing the module, they only added a protective coating to the module." To fix things this time, the models finally get the correct component. Related Video: GM Statement General Motors is recalling 9,932 older midsize SUVs in the U.S. because they were mistakenly excluded from an earlier recall. Certain 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL, and 2006-2007 TrailBlazer, Envoy, Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender vehicles may continue to have a condition in which the printed circuit board inside the driver's door may corrode and short if exposed to certain fluids such as melted snow containing road salt. GM is aware of four fires but no crashes, injuries or fatalities associated with the expanded recall. The total number of vehicles being recalled, including Canada, Mexico and exports is 10.974. Customers are urged to park these vehicles outside until repairs have been made. GM reported this recall to the NHTSA on September 23.