Upcoming fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and carbon dioxide emissions limits in Europe appear set to take a bite out of the next generation Saab 9-3. The current 9-3 is derived from GM's Epsilon platform and the new 9-3 was due to come off the Epsilon II that underpins the new Opel Insignia, but a change may be in the works. GM has reportedly canceled the Epsilon II-based 9-3 in favor of a model built off the Global Compact Car platform that will be the basis of the next Astra/Cobalt and, of course, the Volt. If the new plan, proceeds that would give Saab two cars off the new chassis with the smaller 9-1 being the other. New structural construction technology in the new architecture will apparently help maximize interior space in the smaller car.
Since last year, Saab and Volvo have been working together to develop a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Volvo officially announced the project in March 2008, and showed us pictures of the ReCharge concept on the road. Those were nice to see. The Invest In Sweden Agency will be updating visitors to the Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor Conference and Symposia in Tampa, Florida (which starts May 12) on the status of plug-in and electric vehicles in Sweden. The focus will be on Swedish hybrid technology projects, including what's happening with the Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC). This is where the Volvo-Saab - along with the Vattenfall energy company, ETC Battery, FuelCells Sweden and some parts of the Swedish government - project is taking place. The SHC will be funded with $40 million over five years. More details after the break.
Do you have a fleet in the UK and you want to know how green it is? Business Car, which is specializes in cars for fleets, has taken CO2 emission information for the three best-selling fleet models, the automaker's CO2 reduction figures, as well as other considerations regarding low-emitting models across the range.
Their results are quite interesting. The top marques are, surprise, Toyota, not only because of the Prius, but thanks to clean diesel technology. Volkswagen follows, thanks to the availability of Bluemotion models across the range and a hybrid announcement. Third is Citroën, which has a lot of cars with low CO2 emissions, although the same can't be said for the upper models. Fourth is BMW which has brought "ecology" to the luxury car segment.
On the negative side there's Saab, which struck out due to the Swedish marque's bet on biofuels and the lack of biofuel support in the UK, as well as the lack of availability of smaller models. Then there's Mercedes, which was hit because they don't (currently) have any green technology vehicles on sale; the company's larger cars are available, though. Closing our the four worst list is the Land Rover, with a high CO2 average, and Mazda, which suffers due to a lack of an eco label. I bet they wish Econectic, parent Ford's green brand, could be handed down.
When Saab debuted the 9-X BioHybrid concept at the recent Geneva Motor Show, aerodynamics was a big part of the equation. The compact 9-X has a smooth, rounded nose, a raked back wrap-around windshield and a downward sloping roof. To help reduce the drag at the back end of the short body, a spoiler that wraps around the roof extends backward up to four inches. A new video featuring some of the designers talking about the aero work that they did has just been posted on the GMnext web site. You can check out the video after the jump.
That Saab loves itself some ethanol is no secret, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Saab Great Britain's managing director, Jonathan Nash, isn't too pleased with the UK's Chancellor decision to take away the fuel tax rebate for biofuels starting in 2010. Nash said the move shows that the government might be turning its back on biofuels and that the UK will fall behind other European countries on the biofuel front. Nash's full statement is pasted after the jump, but here's a bit of the flavor:
We are fearful that this will do nothing to encourage the use of E85 and could drive up the cost of eco-friendly bioethanol E85 at the pump for the consumer.
That may be, but Nash's biggest mistake here is implying that the UK is in Europe. Doesn't he know how many Britons feel about the Continent?
GM's biofuel parade in Geneva marches on with GM vice chairman Bob Lutz and Mark Adams, vp of design of GM Europe, talk to the Newspress cameras about bioethanol and the new Saab 9-X BioHybrid. Lutz talks mostly about how ethanol is the best short-term way to use less gasoline. For those of you interested in why Mr. Crock of Sh*t's would care about using less gas, he says that reducing CO2 emissions is just as important as reducing oil imports from unfriendly countries. Speaking about the 9-X BioHybrid, Adams explains a bit about the concept's aeronautic heritage (see the rear window) and talks a bit about the next-generation GM Hybrid system. Watch 'em both after the jump.
The Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept that debuted in Geneva this week has been picked as the Best Concept in show by the crew at AutoWeek. The 9-X is a vision for a new small Saab coupe to slot in under the 9-3 based on the next generation of GM's Global Compact Car platform. Two years ago Saab won the same award at Geneva for their Aero-X concept. The 9-X has a 200hp 1.4L flex-fuel four cylinder engine paired up with GM's next generation mild hybrid system. A production 9-1 based on this design is highly likely within the next couple of years and the updated hybrid system will be all over GM starting in 2010.
A TV ad for Saab BioPower was yanked off the air in the UK for tying bioethanol to reduced carbon output. According to the UK's Advertising Standards Agency, Saab's "Release Me" commercial (watch it below the fold) incorrectly states that using bioethanol-capable cars reduces your carbon footprint. The ad said carbon is reduced thirty percent when you drive with bioethanol. Unfortunately for Saad, it's closer to carbon neutral if you measure from seed to tail pipe. However misleading the ad campagn, I think the "more horsepower and a smaller carbon footprint" idea is very compelling.
You know these names and have read about what these vehicles are and what they promise. Now, you can kick back and spend some time getting better acquainted with how these vehicles look. The gallery for the Sintesi is below. Check out over 75 more photos after the jump.
Gallery: Geneva 2008: Pininfarina Sintesi on the stand
Saab is giving the world a preview of their newest model with the 9-X BioHybrid that's debuting in Geneva this week. The new 9-X is a premium compact intended to compete against cars like the MINI. When this car does go on sale in the next couple of years the name will probably change to 9-1 in keeping with brands nomenclature where X typically describes an all wheel drive model and the second digit indicates the place in the size pecking order.
As the concept's BioHybrid name implies, the little Saab carries forward the ethanol flex-fuel capability of most recent vehicles from the Swedish brand and adds hybrid functionality as well. The engine in the 9-X is a 1.4L turbo four cylinder that puts out 200hp. In a first for Saab, the engine is paired up with the next-generation GM Hybrid system which we'll have more about tomorrow. Efficiency is further enhanced by solar power and active aerodynamics. A photovoltaic panel embedded in the roof provides extra charging capability for the hybrid battery.
Aerodynamics on small cars is always tricky as the airflow falls off the trailing edge of the roof. The 9-X tries to address this with active aerodynamics. A spoiler that wraps over the rearmost pillar and roof extends backwards when speeds get over 70km/h. The effect is further enhanced by a diffuser that comes out below the rear bumper. The two components increase the effective length of the car and help improve the airflow off the rear. The 9-X can accelerate from 0-100kph in 7.9 sec on E85 and 8.3 sec on gasoline. Carbon dioxide emissions come in at a low 105g/km on ethanol and 117g/km on gasoline. Fuel efficiency is 36.8mpg (US) on biofuels while each gallon of gasoline will take the 9-X 48 miles.
Details continue to trickle out the concept that Saab will unveiling in Geneva next week, although images are still restricted to the one shown above. It's now being reported that the car will be called the 9-X BioPower BioHybrid rather than the 9-1X. As previously discussed, the 9-X will run on ethanol as is the fashion in Scandinavia these days. The engine itself will probably be a 1.4L turbo which is likely to be a preview of the engine coming to the Astra next year. Again following the pattern of other recent Saab concepts, the engine will be optimized to run on ethanol with higher boost and possibly compression to yield 200hp. The design will almost certainly drawn on the Aero X and previous 9X as well as the 9-4X that we saw in Detroit. Watch this space on Monday for all the details on the new small Saab. Until then, take a look at some images of the Aero X in the gallery below. Update: It was just pointed out to me that the source article actually calls the concept 9-X BioHybrid, rather than BioPower which implies that the BioPower engine is paired up with a hybrid system. That would probably be GM's mild hybrid setup since the Two-Mode would probably be too large to fit in what is supposed to be a small car.
In what should come as a surprise to no one, the new Saab concept that will debut in a little over a week at the Geneva Motor Show will in fact use BioPower engine. BioPower, for those that haven't been paying attention, is Saab's branding for ethanol-capable flex-fuel engines. Saab Development Director Jörgen Nylén confirmed to Spanish site MotorPasion that the concept that will presage a new model (likely to be called the 9-1 or 9-1x) will be a premium compact car meant to compete with the likes of the Volvo C30 and Audi A3. One other thing we can confirm is that the center car in the image shown above is the only official one of the new concept. The other image that has been floating around showing a car in profile with a sheet draped over it is actually from a Swiss Saab ad according to a Saab spokesman. The car is shown in that ad is almost certainly an older concept called the 9X that appeared several years ago. The 9X is the car on the left above.
Saab will be debuting a new concept at the Geneva Motor Show in just a couple of weeks and most people are expecting it to be a new mini-car. We already showed you what Motor Trend thinks Saab has cooking in Trollhättan. Now a teaser image has turned up on the media site where GM is announcing the presentation of the new car. With the silhouette of the new car flanked by the previous 9X and Aero-X concepts, it's clear the new concept is continuing some of the design language seen on recent Saabs, particularly the head lights and and wrap-around windshield glass. Beyond that and the presence of two front wheels we know nothing else at this point. One safe bet - considering Saab's fondness for ethanol - is a flex-fuel engine. With GM recently confirming that they will offer a 1.4L turbo four starting next year, an alcohol-burning version in the Saab seems like a no-brainer.
The Geneva Motor Show is coming in less than three weeks, and one of the world premieres at the show will be a new concept from Saab. In the announcement from GM, the conceptis supposed to show"a further step in its continuing product range extension." Given that it's unlikely that Saab will expand its line with anything larger than the 9-5, and we already saw the 9-4x in Detroit, the most likely new model would be something below the 9-3.
According to Motor Trend, someone spotted a sketch of a MINI-like car while touring the GM E-Flex studio recently. So MT set artist Mark Stehrenberger to work creating a rendering of what a small Saab might look like. Is this wee Swede what Saab will be showing at their preview party in Geneva? As soon as we know, you will, but if I was a betting man it would bet on this 9-1.
Click on the Saab 9-4x BioPower concept for a high-res gallery
When it comes to seriously promoting ethanol as a motor fuel, two countries jump to the forefront and neither of the them is the United States. While the U.S. government provides a lot subsidies to corn growers and ethanol producers as well as fuel efficiency credits to vehicles capable of running on E85, the market here is still tiny. Brazil, of course, got into the ethanol game a long time ago thanks to their cultivation of sugar cane. Sweden, however, is the one racing ahead with plans to completely supplant fossil fuels with renewable replacements within the next two decades. While the U.S. has barely topped 1,200 E85 pumps nationwide, the Scandinavian nation of 5 million drivers has over 1,000 already.
The Swedish government gives drivers a break with no pump taxes on ethanol. Hometown brand Saab, with its predominantly turbocharged engine lineup, has been promoting E85 through its BioPower branding. The forestry industry in northern Sweden is also investing heavily in cellulosic ethanol research as a way of making use of their waste products. Now the Michigan government is looking to Sweden for guidance in developing a renewable fuels industry here. With any luck Michigan will be able to create at least a fraction of the 400,000 jobs that are claimed for the renewable fuels industry in Sweden.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Saab 9-4X BioPower Concept
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Saab 9-4X BioPower live reveal
That Saab loves itself some ethanol is no secret, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Saab Great Britain's managing director, Jonathan Nash, isn't too pleased with the UK's Chancellor decision to take away the fuel tax rebate for biofuels starting in 2010. Nash said the move shows that the government might be turning its back on biofuels and that the UK will fall behind other European countries on the biofuel front. Nash's full statement is pasted after the jump, but here's a bit of the flavor:
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