1989 Saab 900 Convertible on 2040-cars

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Koenigsegg plans a ‘CO2 neutral’ hybrid supercar

Fresh from receiving a 150 million-euro infusion from National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the Chinese-backed company that bought up Saab's assets out of bankruptcy, supercar maker Koenigsegg has signaled just what it plans to do under the new joint venture. Christian von Koenigsegg gave an interview to Top Gear in which he said he wants to develop an all-new supercar to sit below ultra-exclusive models like the Agera RS and Regera, priced at around ˆ1 million (about $1.15 million) to grow sales from 20 a year into the hundreds, because "our brand has outgrown our production volumes by quite a big margin." And it will feature a novel, "completely CO2 neutral" hybrid powrtrain using the "freevalve" camless combustion engine technology the company has been developing in concert with battery-electric power. "Given the freevalve technology, we can actually cold-start the car on pure alcohol, down to -30 degrees Celsius, so there's no need for any fossil fuel mix then," he told Top Gear. "The idea is to prove to the world that even a combustion engine can be completely CO2 neutral." Von Koenigsegg previously hinted at the setup after talking about how his engineers were responding to Tesla's claims that its forthcoming next-generation Roadster would be capable of a 1.9-second 0-60 mph time. He further hints that the new hybridized supercar will look unmistakably like a Keonigsegg but be in a different segment altogether from either the Agera RS or plug-in hybrid Regera. Consider us very much intrigued and eager to hear more. Meanwhile, Koenigsegg has said it plans to reveal the successor to the Agera RS next month at the Geneva Motor Show based on a refined version of the same supercharged V8 combustion engine. The new joint venture with NEVS, meanwhile, sees that company take a 65 percent ownership stake, with Koenigsegg holding the rest and contributing its trove of intellectual property, technology licenses and product design. NEVS also gets a 20 percent stake in Koenigsegg itself. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Top GearImage Credit: Drew Phillips Green Automakers Koenigsegg Saab Alternative Fuels Emissions Ethanol Hybrid Performance Supercars supercar NEVS koenigsegg agera rs koenigsegg regera

Saab's Victor Muller wanted to nix Griffin, return to airplane emblem

According to Just-Auto.com Victor Muller wasn't a fan of the Saab Griffin logo. The executive was quoted as saying he wanted to "abolish" the Griffin logo and return to the airplane emblem. Muller made it clear that if he'd had his way, the propeller would have replaced the Griffin across the Saab lineup long ago.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the company that recently bought Saab, was forced to abandon the Griffin logo due to the fact that the emblem is still used by truck manufacturer Scania. The manufacturer is reportedly concerned about potential Chinese counterfeiting - NEVS is owned by Youngman, a Chinese automaker - though it's unclear how that relationship would lead to illegal copies.
Either way, NEVS has said the loss of the Griffin logo isn't that important to the company so long as it can continue to build on the Saab name. Muller, meanwhile, said he wishes NEVS luck in the company's electric-vehicle endeavor, but that he doesn't understand its new business model.

Saab still alive and well at New Jersey dealership

We all know the Saab story: a niche automaker that just couldn't last in the quickening pace of an increasingly competitive industry, despite its loyal following. But just because the automaker has all but completely disappeared, it doesn't mean that the loyal following has as well. In fact Saab Automobiles Parts North America estimates there are some 450,000 Saabs still in use in the United States, and many of them are still die-hard brand faithful who are adamantly clinging to the bankrupt brand they love. And many of those loyal customers are still finding a home at Park Avenue Saab in Maywood, NJ. Although the Park Avenue Auto Group operates Acura, BMW and Lotus franchises, it hasn't given up on Saab just because the company isn't making any new cars anymore. Instead it's set up shop in an old Suzuki showroom and is building a growing list of Saab customers across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – parts of that list acquired from other, closed Saab dealers in the region. The dealership stocks spare parts and is ready to perform whatever service and maintenance existing Saab owners might need, but it's also still buying and selling Saabs: used models with low mileage and manufactured as close as possible to the end of production in 2011. So when an owner of an old Saab is ready to trade up, the dealership has something to offer. And many of those loyal customers, according to Automotive News, are willing to pay top dollar rather than switch to another brand. If and when a Saab owner needs to buy something newer – as most will have to – the dealer is ready to introduce them to a new Acura or BMW, but to date, very few have. That's why Park Avenue Saab still sells about 40 used Saabs every month to customers in the vicinity, across the country or even overseas. Between the sales and service departments, the dealership is still turning a brisk business, but unless NEVS, Mahindra or some other knight in shining armor swoops in and manages to do what GM and Spyker couldn't, the dealership's management know the business can't last forever.