2004 Saab 9-5 Aero on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Man in a convertible drives in the rain with a Christmas tree

A man in a convertible had his holiday cheer extinguished thanks to England's infamous weather. Nicholas Dodd saw this sad, soaked through couple while driving down the A38 near Plymouth, Devon, according to the Daily Mirror. Dodd told the publication he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a Saab, top down, in a pouring rain storm. That's not all. The top was down because of the large Christmas tree wedged in the back seat. "We couldn't believe what we were seeing," Dodd said. "It was crazy - especially with the weather - but I guess he just wanted to get his Christmas tree home anyway he could." The Saab driver's female passenger also looks less than pleased by the sudden squall. "His missus was beside him but they didn't seem to find it as funny as we did," Dodd said. "He was just keeping his head down in a vain attempt to avoid the rain but was getting a real soaking." Dodd posted the video to Facebook, where commenters also had a good laugh at the soaking wet Saab owners. Weird Car News Saab Videos christmas rain

Saab didn't want this electric, 99-like delivery van from the 1970s

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) purchased the remains of Saab in 2012 to turn it into an electric-only brand. While its vast heritage is turbocharged and rooted in racing, Saab didn't shy away from dabbling in battery-powered drivetrains, and there's an experimental mail delivery van in its official museum to prove it. The name Saab in the last paragraph should be followed by an asterisk. The prototype kind of looks like a 99 when viewed from the front, and it wears the soccer ball-style alloy wheels seen on several of the brand's models during the 1970s, but the museum's curator told Autoblog it was built in Linkoping, Sweden, by the company's defense and plane-making division. It's certainly a Saab, but not quite the kind you're likely thinking of. Engineers began the project in the early 1970s, at about the same time archrival Volvo launched its own experiments in the field of electrification. The idea was to create an electric, short-range distribution van that could be used by Sweden's postal service, for example. Two prototypes were built in 1975 and 1976, including the example in the museum, and each had a low-speed driving range of about 40 miles. Additional technical specifications are lost to history, partly because Saab's car-building division in Trollhattan -- the folks that developed the 99 and the 900, among others -- didn't like the van at all and wanted nothing to do with it. Saab electric van prototype View 2 Photos We peeked inside and under it and spotted a bulky, lead-acid battery pack integrated into a tray that could be pulled out from the back after flipping up the panel onto which part of the rear bumper was mounted. This layout was relatively common in early electric prototypes, like the Bus that Volkswagen developed in 1972 and tested in select German cities. Recharging the battery pack took hours, so swapping it out was considered the more practical alternative. Period documents and images confirm the electronics were mounted under the hood. Saab made two electric prototypes, including one it fitted with front-end parts like headlights (complete with wipers), turn signals, and a plastic grille from a 99. The second wore round headlights, bullet-shaped turn signals, and looked more like something you'd see in an episode of "Scooby Doo" than what you'd find in a Saab showroom. The van's resemblance to the 99 was purely artificial; it was its own thing, on its own chassis.

Look familiar? NEVS 9-3, 9-3X are Saab-derived EVs for China

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) have been working on creating EVs based on its Saab assets for years. We heard back in 2015 that we'd have an EV based on the 9-3 this year, and now we're finally getting to see the results. NEVS has unveiled its 9-3 and 9-3X EV concepts, which it will use in a mobility project in Tianjin, China. NEVS is showing the 9-3 EVs at CES Asia in Shanghai on June 7-9, where it will also provide more details about the cars, its Tianjin project, and future plans for the brand. As for Tianjin, NEVS will provide the cars and the services for carsharing and ride-hailing programs in the city. For that project, NEVS is collaborating with Tianjin Binhai Hi-tech Industrial Development Area (THT), which is the industrial park where its shared factory (with joint venture partner Dongfeng) and R&D center are located. NEVS President Mattias Bergman says, "We are excited by this great opportunity to develop smart, sustainable mobility solutions together with a progressive city as Tianjin, and develop them in full scale with real people in real life situations, with the vision to create a future integrated urban mobility solution." As for the 9-3 EVs, they're not much different in appearance from the GM-era Saabs, but they have NEVS badging (NEVS doesn't have rights to the Saab trademark). They have a driving range of about 186 miles, offer in-car Wi-Fi, smartphone connectivity, and can get over-the-air software updates. NEVS says the cars are equipped with a "world-class" cabin air filter, which helps keep harmful particulates out of the car (important in the polluted urban centers China is working to improve). They're being built in China, and are expected to hit the roads there in 2018. Related Video: