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Junkyard Gem: 1983 Saab 900 Turbo 4-Door Hatchback

I've been finding quite a few interesting Saabs in Colorado car graveyards lately, including a 96 and a 99 (sadly, a discarded example of a Saab 92 has eluded me — at least in the United States — so far), and now it's the turn of the factory-hot-rod Saab that gave car shoppers more horsepower per dollar than anything they could buy from Germany at the time: the 900 Turbo. I found this car a few weeks back in a yard just south of Denver. Saab sold the original version of the 900 in the United States for the 1979 through 1993 model years (after that, the 900 name went on a car based on the Opel Vectra and closely related to the Saturn L-Series), and the early 900s looked very much like their 99 ancestors. Saab was an early adopter of turbocharging, and so the 900 Turbo was available here for the entire 1979-1993 sales run. This engine, a 2-liter slant-four derived from a 1960s Triumph design (and first cousin to the engine used in the Triumph TR7), was rated at 135 horsepower in 1983. That was big power for a small car in the Late Malaise Era, and it gave the 1983 Saab 900 Turbo a power-to-weight ratio similar to what you got in the Mitsubishi Starion and Porsche 944 that year. Electronic fuel injection finally made turbocharging work well for everyday driving (though the Maserati Biturbo stuck with blow-throw Weber carburetors all the way through 1986 in the United States), and it wasn't long before TURBO became a magical word. Yes, by 1984 you had Ozone and Turbo break-dancing while Ice-T makes his film debut. A few years earlier, with the (carbureted) Turbo Trans Am's not-so-stellar reliability on display, Boogaloo Shrimp's character would have been assigned a different name. Though it's possible, based on the fact that at least one 1980s boombox was built from a Saab 900 dash, that Turbo's name was inspired by Saab. Saab should get credit for doing so much to push turbocharging into the daily-driver mainstream. You could get a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission in your new 1983 Saab 900, but it added 370 bucks (about $1,075 in 2022 dollars) to the cost of the car and made it much less fun to drive. This one has the 5-speed manual; I assume the E next to fifth gear stands for "efficiency." The five-door 900 Turbo listed at $16,910 with five-speed manual, which comes to about $49,055 today. A new BMW 528e cost $23,985 that year ($69,580 now) and offered just 121 horsepower.

Turkey buys rights to Saab 9-3 for domestic car

Just in time for Halloween, a Saab is rising from the dead. National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which controls the Swedish automaker, is selling the intellectual property rights for the second-generation 9-3 to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). This government-supported agency intends to turn the sedan into the "Turkish National Car," according to NEVS. Using the aging 9-3 as a backbone, Turkey intends to strengthen the nation's auto industry by producing an extended-range electric vehicle by 2020, Daily Sabah reports. The goal is for 85-90 percent of the components to come from the country. "From design to production, Turkey will be the center for all parts and processes regarding the first domestically produced car," Interim Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Isik said to Daily Sabah. TUBITAK considered developing its own vehicle from scratch but calculated at least $1 billion in costs. Without going into specific detail, Isik said that buying the rights to the existing Saab turned out to be a better option. Despite having sold the 9-3 IP, NEVS is signing on to help with a business plan and to create the necessary supply and distribution chains for the EV. NEVS previously tried to revive the 9-3 itself by briefly continuing production and attempting to launch an electric version. Earlier this year, it partnered with Dongfeng to develop green vehicles. The company has been beset with financial problems, embroiled in a seemingly interminable post-bankruptcy reorganization progress. NEVS has been chosen by TUBITAK as its partner for developing a Turkish National Car TUBITAK, (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) which has been assigned to develop "Turkish National Car" and realize this important mission, has chosen National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, Nevs, as the industrial partner for the project. The cooperation has started in June 2015 between Nevs and TUBITAK and future industrial synergies in terms of development and manufacturing shall be generated with this cooperation. In the short term perspective this cooperation shall put Nevs' assets to work and shall give Turkey quick access to extensive automotive knowledge and experience. Nevs shall also provide its know-how in the developing of the business plan and establishing of the supply and distribution chains to TUBITAK.

Saab's latest Chinese owners facing their own credit woes

Poor Saab, it can't seem to get a break. General Motors couldn't seem to make a go of it, neither could Spyker, and now it seems that its latest owner is encountering some problems of its own.
That owner, of course, is National Electric Vehicle Sweden, a Swedish holding company owned by Chinese investors. NEVS recently restarted production at the Saab plant in Trollhättan, Sweden, and had some ambitious plans for the brand's revival, but it appears to have run out of cash.
This according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which discovered that NEVS is having trouble paying its suppliers. One such supplier, called Labo Test, has reportedly been owed some $22,000 by NEVS since February, and without payment, petitioned the Swedish government to place NEVS into bankruptcy proceedings. If that seems a little extreme to you over twenty-two grand, it would seem the parties agree, as the petition has reportedly since been withdrawn.