Project, Saab 9-3 2001 Red Convertible Engine Only 73k, Does Start on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1987 Saab 900 4-Door Sedan

Saab sold the original 900 in the United States from the 1979 through 1993 model years (followed by another few years of Opel Vectra-based 900s), and most of the 900s you'll find today are the higher-end models with 16-valve engines and/or turbochargers. Last year in this series, we saw a 900 Turbo and a 900 Turbo Convertible in Colorado car graveyards, and now it's time to take a look at a used-up Colorado 900 with the base 8-valve engine and few extras. The cheapest new 1987 Saab available here was the base three-door hatchback with 5-speed manual transmission, which had an MSRP of $14,395 (about $39,497 in 2023 dollars). If you wanted a new 900 with four doors that year, the price of admission started at $14,805 ($40,622 after inflation). That's the car we've got here. The engine is a 2.0-liter SOHC slant-four, the direct descendant of the engine originally developed in partnership with Triumph for use in the Saab 99 and Triumph Dolomite. The Triumph TR7 used members of this engine family as well. This engine was rated at 110 horsepower and 118 pound-feet. The naturally-aspirated 16-valve version in the '87 900S made 125 horses, while the 900 Turbo had 160 horsepower. The automatic transmission cost an extra $430 (about $1,180 now); most 900 buyers chose the five-on-the-floor manual. In fact, I have never documented a junked 1979-1993 Saab 900 with an automatic. This one came close to the 175,000-mile mark during its life. The paint is somewhat faded, but the interior looks good for a car this age. Its owner or owners took good care of it. The body has a few dents but no rust worth mentioning. If it had been a 900S or a 900 Turbo, it would have had a better chance of avoiding this fate. Saab's innovative technology for 1987 starts at around $15,000 and goes up to the $20,000,000 Viggen (the fighter plane, not the later hot-rod 9-3 that borrowed the Viggen name).

First test drive shows promise of Saab 9-3 EV

We can't read Swedish, so when it comes to a first-drive review of a Saab 9-3 electric-vehicle prototype, we'll trust Inside EVs' translation of a write-up from Swedish automotive publication Elbilen i Sverige. And it's a decent one. The write-up, that is. The translation, too, we hope. Taken to the test track, the Saab was found to be quieter than a Tesla Model S and had the stability commensurate for a car that tipped the scales at about 4,000 pounds. The sedan accelerated from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10 seconds, though the goal is to bring that time down to 8.5 seconds. The prototype also uses a 37-kWh prototype battery made by China-based Kai Johan Jiang Annual National Modern Energy Holdings that should be good for over 180 miles (and there's room for a bigger pack in the car, apparently). The 9-3's electric motor will be able to deliver 200 horsepower but, for testing purposes, it was limited to about 140 horsepower. The overall impression was that the car is not yet ready for prime time, but has a lot of promise. When prototype becomes production is the real question, given the financial condition of Saab parent National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). The company acquired the brand in 2012 and started making cars at Saab's Trollhattan plant in Sweden last year, but production stopped in May because of cash-flow issues. Late last month, Swedish courts denied NEVS protection from its creditors, so the company is now looking to restructure.

NEVS Saab EV prototype on display, with top speed of just 75 mph

National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the Saab-owning Swedish holding company that is in turn owned by Chinese investors, has some problems (i.e., no cash). But that isn't stopping NEVS from showing off a prototype Saab 9-3 Electric Vehicle this week. But wait, you might be saying, didn't NEVS already start production of a 9-3 EV? Yes, indeed, and the vehicle displayed this week was indeed built at the Saab plant in Trollhattan in May as one of those early pilot builds. A modified Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan, the EV has had the lithium-ion battery pack jammed under the floor, so all of the cargo and passenger space of the gas-powered 9-3 remains available. "The starting point for our development of the Electric Vehicle project was to maintain all the good attributes and characteristics," said NEVS' vice president of engineering and product development, Stig Nodin in a statement. You can find the press release below. The li-ion pack comes from Beijing National Battery Technology (which is owned by the same company that owns NEVS) and can offer a range of about 120 miles, NEVS says. The prototype also has a 100-kW electric motor that offers 140 horsepower that provides a 0-60 miles per hour time of 10 seconds and a top speed of just 75 miles per hour. That's unlikely to be fast enough to outrun Saab's creditors, but NEVS says that the prototype is here "to serve as a reference for specification of coming production model(s)," so let's hope the speed number can be increased while the range at least stays the same. Today Nevs presented the Saab 9-3 Electric Vehicle as designed and produced as part of a prototype series in Trollhattan. The car is a modified Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan where the batteries are placed under the floor, keeping the full interior space as well as the luggage compartment intact. With that, the Saab 9-3 EV is just as practical as the Saab 9-3 Aero with gasoline engine. The Saab 9-3's famous driving-experience is of course preserved in the EV, helped by its low center of gravity and a 50/50 weight distribution. "We are happy to present the result of Nevs engineering into a real Saab EV product. The Saab cars' well-known performance and safety is maintained and we foresee a very good product for the market. When we developed the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan Model Year 14, we focused on enhancing the driving experience, safety and quality.