The Astra isn't the only GM model getting a new diesel option in Australia. The performance Aero model of the Saab 9-3 is now available with a 177hp 1.9L diesel. The 295lb-ft of torque is apparently enough to motivate the 9-3 Aero TTiD at similar rates to the gas engined version. The gas-fueled model however cannot approach the 41.3mpg (U.S.) rating of the manual transmission model. Even the automatic version achieves 34.6mpg (U.S.). The diesel in the Saab has the two-stage turbocharger setup with a smaller turbo for quick low speed response and a second larger unit for maximum power. Here in the U.S., the Aero with the 2.8L turbo V6 is rated at a mere 16/24mpg by the EPA. Even accounting for differences in test procedures, the diesel is clearly far more efficient than the V6. Unfortunately, here in the States we again don't have this option.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

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.


[Source: GMnext]

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.

click for high-res gallery

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.



[Source: Telegraph via Crash.Net, AOL Lifestyle]

This morning at the Detroit Auto Show, GM officially revealed the Saab 9-4X BioPower concept. This car was part of a glamorous press conference (gaudy, in fact, just like all the big automakers have here) that also introduced the Hummer HX concept and the GM-Coskata partnership (more on that, including an audio recording of the annoucment in a minute). This post is all about the live pics of the Saab.

The 9-4X BioPower concept is Saab's first CUV and signals the brand's expansion into other formats. As you can see in the many press releases after the jump, Saab partnered with Salomon for a place to stow your skis in the vehicle, but the green news here is the ethanol capability and the increased power the biofuel provides. I mean, the 9-4X BioPower gets 245 hp and 353 Nm of torque on gasoline versus 300 horses and 400 Nm on delicious yellow gold.

Friends of the Earth Europe thinks that some of Saab's latest ads are nothing but greenwashing, and has publicly warned the automaker to withdraw them or face legal challenge. FoEE instigated a summons (PDF) that was served to Saab's office in Belgium and "calls on the company to remove all wording and imagery from its website and brochures which associate its cars with nature or the protection of the environment. It must also withdraw false claims that driving a Saab reduces CO2 emissions." Another problem, FoEE says, is that Saab is not being clear about the CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption numbers of the BioPower engines, "which is a violation of Belgian and European law." If Saab doesn't meet the demands in eight days, FoEE "will file legal proceedings."

Related:

• Detroit 2008: Saab 9-4X BioPower Concept
• ACEA and voluntary CO₂ notes in European car ads
• It's Friday: Is Jeep's "Rock Me Gently" ad greenwashing? o|||||||o
• Tell the FTC how to regulate green ads before the Jan. 25 deadline

[Source: Friends of the Earth Europe]

Is that an AMC Gremlin that I see in profile above? Nope... it's a sketch from TopSpeed of what the impending new Saab 9-1X could look like. We've seen some other possible drawings of what shape the new Swedish beauty might take, and all of them have a few peculiar design elements. Saab is known as a "quirky" brand due to their unusual tendencies like placing the ignition between the seats and offering a "blackout" option for the instruments. In fact, many Saab loyalists have been upset with the direction the company has taken after being acquired by General Motors, as their vehicles are losing their "edge," so to speak. If drawings like the one above prove at all accurate, though, we'd expect that those same loyalists will be back on the Saab wagon soon enough... but are there enough of them around to make Saab cater to them as opposed to the masses? We could find out as soon as the 2008 London Motor Show, according to TopSpeed. Along with the funky new look, diesel and hybrid powertrains may also be a part of the equation. Don't forget that Saab is big into E85 with their BioPower vehicles too.

[Source: TopSpeed via Winding Road]

The Volvo ReCharge

The other day, we got a tip from Stefan N. about a story he found that discussed a new partnership between Saab and Volvo on developing new plug-in hybrids. I asked him to provide us with a more complete translation of the original article (it was in Swedish) and he then provided us his own English version. Thanks, Stefan!

I've put the full translation after the jump. Here are the highlights:

As we said, Volvo and Saab will put ten PHEVs on the road by 2009 to create a strong Swedish plug-in market, with vehicle testing to begin next year. Using vehicles from these two automakers, technical know-how from Vattenfall and lithium-ion batteries from ETC Battery, the plug-in hybrid project will have a budget of 62 million Swedish crowns (around $9.6 million U.S.) The vehicle models that will be used and other details are being kept quiet. Continue after the break for more.

The Volvo ReCharge

Well, for this post we're going to need to rely on our tipster, Stefan N. The link he sent is to a story in Norwegian (I think), a language I can't read. Therefore it's difficult for me to confirm any of what Stefan N. says (and Google Translate doesn't have Norwegian). Still, what I hear the story says is that Volvo and Saab are collaborating on plug-in hybrids. "In brief, Volvo and Saab plan together with Vattenfall (electric supplier) and ETC (battery provider) to have 10 PHEV in traffic by 2009. The project has budget of 10 million US$," he writes. I do see words like "Saab" and 'Volvo" and "plugin-bilprojekt" so it seems accurate. I've asked Stefan for more help, but does anyone else want to flesh out the details?

[Source: Miljorapporten, h/t to Stefan N.]

Recently, I wrote about a claim by Jeremy Clarkson that the Porsche 911 Turbo could actually clean the air. A comment to that article referenced a video by Saab about a system called Trionic that you could say cleans the air by "digesting" it. In The video demonstration above, the amount of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in the exhaust of a Saab car with Trionic and an older, dirtier burning car are measured. A pipe is put over the exhaust of the older car that leads to the air intake of the Saab with Trionic. What happens?

The Trionic car's emissions increases at first but then the Trionic system detects the increase of CO and hydrocarbons, and the emissions goes down. So, yes, it's conceivable that Porsche has developed similar technology and while the promotional video is from 1992, Trionic seems to be available in Saab cars you can buy today. The car is really just burning fuel older cars did not burn so you probably get better mileage in polluted cities because you are getting free fuel from the air. ... That's a seriously disturbing thought.

[Source: Google Video via Phoenexius]

An AutoblogGreen reader from Down Under has let us know that E85 fuel will most likely finally be available in Australia next year. A specific date isn't set, but United Petroleum seems set to sell the ethanol-petrol blend in "early 2008" at the price of about $1AUS per liter, starting around Melbourne and Sydney.

The ethanol-pusher in this case was Saab, which has been selling an E85-capable 9-5 in Australis for $1,000 more than the standard version, without any E85 available for people to put into the tank.

Related:

• Australians can now buy carbon-neutral car insurance
• Why Bush failed to reach a deal on ethanol with Australia
• Australian Biodiesel Group finding local market tough

[Source: Drive.com.au via Alt Fuels Australia, h/t to Nathan]

Potential benefits of biofuels seem obvious with a reduced carbon footprint being a key reason. But, as we've covered in the past, alcohol fuels such as ethanol can also increase the performance of an engine if the engine is optimized properly. Saab realizes this fact and is considering implementing the idea for future powertrains.

The use of turbocharging can help take advantage of an engine running on ethanol and Saab has a history of force-feeding mass quantities of air into their engines. This being the case, it's not hard to understand why they might be interested in lowering the emissions of their engines by combining E85 capability with turbocharging. In so doing, they can actually reduce the displacement of the engine while still making the desired amount of power. They believe that this may be a short-term way to meet new emissions requirements while still delivering the driving experience that their customers desire. Saab sees hybrids as a potential long-term solution, but they are not yet ready to get one into production.

One might question, though, is whether or not Saab's intended market is ready to concede that small-displacement four-cylinder engines can be just as worthy in a sporty entry-level luxury car, no matter how much power they might produce.

[Source: Channel 4]

The world has known about a possible compact-sized Saab since early September. Since then, there has been talk of the compact car getting a hybrid drivetrain. No official word is out yet on the matter, but Swedish publication NyTeknik is reporting that the compact will go on sale after 2010 and will be available with a hybrid drivetrain from day one. If the article is correct, the new Saab will be the 9-1 and will use the same platform as the Opel and Saturn Astra. That's the Delta platform, which is the same platform which is expected to underpin the Chevy Volt.

While we've already reported that the Volt -- if it is indeed produced -- will be made in Detroit, but maybe other Delta hybrid models will be built elsewhere, like in Saab's plant in Trollhättan, Sweden. In fact, Saab would like to built all of the hybrid models based on the Delta platform at their plant. Other interesting tidbits from the article are that the Saab team of engineers want the platform to support gasoline, E85 and diesel engines. They also have developed a second motor to power the rear axle (maybe like what they've already shown here), potentially offering all-wheel-drive. Take a look over at Trollhättan Saab to read a translated version of the article. Could we see a turbocharged, Biopower ethanol capable, all-wheel-drive Saab 9-1 hybrid in America? We'll just have to sit back and wait. Feel free to speculate away in the meantime!

[Source: Trollhättan Saab]

As promised, here is the second video from GM Europe for the day, this time highlighting the Saab BioPower 100 concept vehicle. This car differs from standard Saab cars sold today by being powered by 100% ethanol. Again, like the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle we showed you earlier today, ethanol is another of the controversial suggested solutions to our dependence on petroleum as our main motive fuel source. As you probably already know, ethanol is an alcohol fuel that is derived from plant matter. In the U.S., that plant is usually corn, and in other parts of the world, such as Brazil, sugarcane is used. There are many plants which would be better than corn, but that is another posting for another day.

Kjell ac Bergström, CEO GM Powertrain Sweden, here suggests that a smaller engine would suffice for any particular vehicle if it were powered by ethanol as opposed to gasoline. This is because ethanol burns cooler and at a higher octane level, allowing a greater amount of power to be generated at any given engine size over gasoline. Smaller, more efficient engines are certainly a step in the right direction, and the fact that performance would not be diminished is icing on the cake.

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of the Volvo V70.

Volvo has announced the all-new, third generation Volvo V70 premium wagon, which is said to offer a "perfect balance of luxury, versatility and safety." With this model Volvo is looking to bring a new level of design and comfort to modern luxury wagons, and hopes to broaden the model's appeal beyond families with growing children to include active people that demand everything of their cars. In targeting the premium end of the market, Volvo has added a six-cylinder engine for the first time, an efficient 3.2-litre inline-6 which generates 175 kW / 235 hp. No mention is made of the fuel economy in the press release with the focus clearly on the V70's leading safety features that Volvo claims make the V70 to safest car in its segment.

Safety features on the V70 include highly efficient energy absorption thanks to its patented body structure and the latest generation of side airbags and whiplash protection. Usable storage space has also been increased to add flexibility to the vehicle.

Analysis: As Saab goes down the path of flex-fuel and ethanol vehicles, and Volkswagen pursues high fuel economy diesels, it seems that Volvo is continuing to focus on safety. I am surprised that Volvo didn't even mention fuel economy or emissions in its press release for the V70 at a time when Volvo trucks are leading the way in reducing emissions. I want to see more details on this model though before I pass judgement.



Full press release after the jump.

Related:

• Volvo Trucks create Environmental Product Declaration website
• Volvo Trucks to display parallel hybrid diesel-electric system at U.K. show
• Volvo C30 plug-in hybrid concept: high-res pictures and specs

[Source: Volvo]