1993 Saab 900 Convertible on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Renault's electric motors, BMW i3 is AM free

Why isn't AM radio offered in the BMW i3? Some drivers – particularly those interested in local traffic reports – have noticed its absence. BMW says that the electromagnetic interference from the electric drivetrain caused poor performance, and that while reception wasn't always terrible, it wasn't up to their standards. Rather than have customers complain to their dealers, who would be unable to do anything for them, BMW has disabled AM reception in the i3. Some customers have hacked their cars in order to enable the AM radio, despite possible warranty issues, and have found the reception to be acceptable. Read more at Green Car Reports. Saab's current parent company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), broke ground for production and R&D facilities in Tianjin, China. The facilities are part of joint ventures with the city of Tianjin and State Research Information Technology (SRIT). In addition to investments of over $190 million from SRIT and Teamsun, NEVS has received $1.6 billion in credit from the Bank of China to develop its business there. The new Tianjin factory will have a capacity of 200,000 new energy vehicles per year. The facility in Trollhattan, Sweden will provide manufacturing planning, training, and product supply for the Tianjin plant. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release from NEVS. Renault is building the new R240 electric motor for the Zoe at its Cleon plant. The plant and its employees, which specialize in the Energy dCi diesel engine, have adapted to produce high volumes of the electric motor as well, including a 6,000 hours of training for the staff and millions of dollars in investments. "We aim to become the leading powertrain plant for the Alliance," says Cleon plant director Mendi Ammad. The plant is capable of producing 50,000 units of the R240 motor per year, with that number expected to double in the future. Read more about the plant and the production process the press release below. NEW ELECTRIC MOTOR STRENGTHENS POWERTRAIN EXPERTISE AT CLEON ZOE's new electric motor, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, is a 100% Renault motor manufactured at the French site of Cleon, already specialized in highly technical powertrain production. Until now, the flagship of the Cleon plant was the Energy dCi (130, 140, 160) internal-combustion engine. The diesel unit with advanced technological content has made a name for itself at Groupe Renault, the Alliance and with our partners.

New owners still struggling to secure rights to use Saab name

Not to state the obvious, but if you're going to buy an automaker, it's probably advisable to secure rights to use the name.
That's what the new owners of Saab are trying to work out after buying the iconic Swedish automaker earlier this month, Automotive News reports.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), the Chinese-Japanese conglomerate, acquired the company's physical assets, including its factory in Trollhättan, but didn't get rights to use the Saab name and logo. Truckmaker Scania and defense company Saab AB maintain the name and logo rights, and will need to sign off on NEVS using it, according to the publication. The parties are in discussions.

Mahindra buying majority stake in NEVS, Saab saved again?

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), owner of Saab, might not be dead yet, because the company is reportedly close to having a new owner with deeper pockets in near future. The declaration comes from the business's latest request to prolong its reorganization and includes the claim that NEVS has a signed letter of intent from an unnamed Asian automaker to take majority ownership of the beleaguered brand. While NEVS doesn't specifically name this potential, future owner in its filing, Automotive News Europe cites a SaabsUnited story proclaiming that the suitor is none other than Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra, a development that would confirm months of rumors. The Swedish automaker is reportedly just waiting for the majority investment to be finalized before making an official announcement, and the whole purchase could be complete by February. NEVS also claims that it's still negotiating with a separate, unnamed Asian automaker on a joint venture to co-develop new vehicles. Assuming the deal goes through, the new owner could regain the rights to the Saab brand, too. According to ANE, negotiations are underway with the Saab AB aerospace business to be able to use the trademark again. NEVS lost that right when it filed for reorganization. Mahindra has shown interest in owning Saab for quite some time. It was reportedly among the final three bidders for the brand in 2012, and the Indian automaker was allegedly eyeing a stake in NEVS as far back as June. Scroll down to read the brief press release from NEVS about the extended reorganization, and the full document can be viewed in PDF format, here. Nevs applies for prolonged reorganization Monday, December 01, 2014 National Electric Vehicle Sweden, Nevs, has today submitted an application to the District Court in Vanersborg, requesting that the company reorganisation shall continue for an additional time period of three months. The administrator Lars Eric Gustafsson expresses the rationale for why Nevs should be granted an extended reorganization in this enclosed statement.