1996 Saab 900s 5spd Clean Car on 2040-cars

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Victor Muller to pay Sweden back taxes for Saab work

Victor Muller, Saab's CEO from 2010 to 2011, has been ordered by the Swedish court to pay the back taxes he owes the country for his work at Saab, Autoweek and Volkskrant report. When he was the automaker's CEO he received a salary of about 8 million Swedish Krona ($1.25 million), which was recorded as a reward for consultancy work for a company in the US that Muller owns. The move allowed him to evade taxes for awhile, but the court has ordered him to pay taxes on his full salary.
Muller, who is also CEO of Spyker, and two other Saab executives were accused of accounting fraud in May, which took place in 2010 and 2011. According to reports, Muller maintains that he is not subject to taxes in Sweden.

Saab to reintroduce 9-3 SportCombi as Phoenix development continues

The saga of Saab goes to show that you can't keep a good automaker down. Founded back in 1947 (the same year, incidentally, as Ferrari, TVR and Maserati defector OSCA), Saab split off from its aerospace division, merged with Scania trucks, was subsequently picked up by General Motors, then pawned off onto Spyker before its current Chinese owners brought it back out of bankruptcy. Now under the auspices of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), Saab has official restarted production of the 9-3 sedan, but what are its plans for the future?
In correspondence with Autoblog, NEVS communications director Mikael Ostlund gave us an idea of what to expect. First of all, NEVS is living up to its name by launching an electric version of the 9-3. As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the 9-3 EV currently is undergoing a pilot launch in the Chinese city of Qingdao (which owns part of NEVS) before being rolled out in other markets around the world. But that's not all NEVS has planned for Saab.
The reborn Swedish automaker also plans to relaunch the 9-3 SportCombi to supplement the 9-3 sedan. The wagon version was part of the second-gen 9-3's rollout in the early 2000s, offering increased cargo space and versatility - particularly vital since GM had seen it fit to replace the previous hatchback bodystyle favored by the brand faithful with a more traditional trunked form to lure new buyers into the fold. Although Ostlund confirmed that NEVS has "the option of adding the convertible" back into the lineup, nut has yet to decide on if and when it will do so.

Motorweek looks back at 1983 Saab 900S

These days, Saab is a zombie marque. Technically, the brand is still shambling around under the ownership of National Electric Vehicle Sweden, and there are continued promises of an electric version of the 9-3. However, we all suspect that the company is never really coming back, at least not as the quirky Swedish brand of the past. That's what makes watching this latest Retro Review of John Davis and the Motorweek crew driving a non-turbo 1983 Saab 900S so special. This is a great chance to see Saab still alive and kicking. While not one of the more famous turbocharged examples, the naturally aspirated 900S is still a quintessential Saab in every other way. The reviewers definitely aren't sold on the looks though, and there are plenty of jokes at its expense. Although, only paying attention to the polarizing exterior styling makes missing the good handling and immense interior utility easy. Sadly, without the aid of forced induction, the 900 offers very lackadaisical acceleration. According to this clip, the sprint to 60 miles per hour is more of jog in a leisurely 12.2 seconds. At the brand's best, Saab provided the motoring world with an alternative. If you didn't want just another boxy sedan, the brand offered something like nothing else on the road. Plus, drivers found a well-tuned turbocharged engine that provided good performance for the day. It's a company worth remembering, despite the current state of things.