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1999 Saab 9-3 Viggen is a Swede worth remembering on MotorWeek

Today, Saab survives in name only after a protracted series of bankruptcies and attempted comebacks with new owners. At the turn of the millennium, however, the brand was still able to make some great cars, though. MotorWeek is showing off one of its very best in this vintage review for the 1999 9-3 Viggen. The jet-inspired Viggen was the pinnacle of everything Saab's engineers could do at the time. Starting with the standard 9-3, the suspension was hunkered down to improve handling and lower bodywork was added for better aerodynamics. Now that the exterior looked the part, the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder was tweaked to make 225 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque. While that output may not sound hugely impressive by modern standards, those were strong numbers in the day, and the following model year made even more power. After some time behind the wheel of the VIggen, MotorWeek came away quite impressed with this Swede. While the Viggen might not have offered the full capability of high-performance, European contemporaries like the BMW M3, Saab really showed its strengths with this model.

Saab 9-3 production to start in China in 2013 [UPDATE]

We knew that National Electric Vehicle Sweden planned to restart production of the last-gen Saab 9-3 at some point in the future, we just didn't know exactly when, or exactly where. As it turns out, the answers to those questions are soon, and China.
Though NEVS had initially said it will build vehicles in Sweden before shipping them to China, the latest report from Autocar suggests that the cars will instead be built right in Quingdao starting later in 2013. That's right, this calendar year. Also on the docket is a followup electric version of the 9-3, which is slated to come to market in 2014 in an effort to satiate China's wish that there be half a million EVs silently filling its streets within the next two years.
NEVS wants to be part of the EV solution, but it's not going to be easy. Naturally, if these cars are to be built in China, a factory has to be located or built, tooling needs to be in place, workers need to be hired and trained and a lengthy trail of paperwork has to be signed off by the government before even the well-known gasoline-powered 9-3 can be a reality, let along the unknown quantity that is the 9-3 ePower.

Saab begins 9-3 EV pilot production

To say that Saab has had a tough time lately would be like saying that it's been a little colder than usual this winter. After General Motors finally gave up and sold it to Spyker in 2010, Saab declared bankruptcy the following year. GM successfully blocked Spyker from selling Saab to Chinese automaker Youngman the following year, but ultimately it ended up in the hands of another Chinese consortium called NEVS. Standing as it does for National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the new owners promised not only to restart production of the long-suffering 9-3, but also to turn it into an electric vehicle. And that's just what it's doing.
The latest news coming out of Sweden indicates that NEVS/Saab has started building the first examples of the 9-3 EV. These first 200 or so examples are set to be shipped off to Qingdao - the Chinese city that is home to the Tsingtao brewery, hosted the sailing components of the 2008 summer games on Beijing, was supposed to host an IndyCar race in 2012 before it was canceled, and also itself just happens to own 22 percent of NEVS.
These first EVs have their batteries mounted down low in the chassis for a low center of gravity and have a range of about 20 miles on a full charge. That's absolutely paltry compared to the other EVs on the market: a Nissan Leaf will travel more than four times that distance, and a Tesla Model S will go ten times farther on a charge.