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?
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
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.
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.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Saab 9-4X BioPower live reveal
Several months ago word started circulating that Saab was working on a new crossover that would share a platform with a similar vehicle from Cadillac. We still haven't seen the Cadillac but spy photos of a mule with a Chevy Trailblazer body shell and Saab 9-7x front clip combined with a shortened wheelbase have been seen on several occasions. Now just in time for the North American International Auto Show we have the Saab 9-4x BioPower concept.
As the name implies, this new crossover is propelled by one of Saab's BioPower flex-fuel engines. Ethanol has been gaining in popularity as a motor fuel in Saab's home country of Sweden and the GM division has been pushing it hard. Both the 9-3 and 9-5 are available in BioPower editions which is Saab's way of saying flex-fuel power-trains. The 9-4X concept is an all-wheel-drive CUV that gets motivation from a 2.0L turbocharged four cylinder and we've got the full story after the jump.
It sure gets leaky before an auto show, doesn't it? While GM and Saab would like to keep a lid on the news of the Saab 9-4X BioPower concept CUV, the word is out, thanks to Automotive News (subs req'd). The full details of this eathnol-ready CUV will be coming on Sunday at the Detroit Auto Show, but we do know that the concept is powered by a four-cylinder, 2.0-liter turbo engine that, when burning E85, can produce 300hp at 5,400 rpm as well as 295 pounds-feet of torque at anywhere between 2,600 to 5,100 rpm. The 9-4X BioPower also features amenities like a place to store your skis (what, no Segway?), a panoramic glass roof and flush-mounted starter button. There will be more details on Sunday - at the latest.
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.
As we announced a few months ago, Saab is finally offering its full range of 9-3 vehicles with E85 capability in all of Europe. Besides the improvements for the 2.0 turbo powerplant, Saab has tuned the base 1.8 liter engine to create an E85-capable version, which, according to the brand, outdoes the regular powerplant. When running on E85, the BioPower engine provides 17 percent more maximum power (175 hp v 150 hp) and 10 percent more torque (195 v 177 lb-ft) compared to running on straight gasoline.
With this new engine, all Saab 9-3 models: Sport Sedan, Sport Hatch and Cabrio can have two E85-capable engines, in both Linear and Vector trimming and either with manual or auto gearboxes. Prices aren't cheap, a Sport Sedan with the 1.8t engine starts at 32,245 EUR (in Spain) and the Cabrio 2.0t tops at 45,650 EUR. Bearing in mind the different taxing system and the conversion rates, Saab certainly thinks "cashed up greenies" will be ready to pay for biofueled power.
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.
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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