Bizzare story on msn today says Saab will still be manufactured by a Chinese assembly line beginning at a rate of less than 10 year. Making it even more bizzare the 5 speed manual is actually $2,000 less than the automatic (both with turbo) and the business plan is to begin making them slowly into electric / or hybrid vehicles (sounds like yet another plan to fail situation to me) The car is $42,000 and you can drop the deposit online but factor in tickets to China/ or Sweden.. - the car won't be sold in the US or Europe and the company says you have to come pick the car up in person and they will deliver a 'first class customer service experience' 
Have to wonder if these cars will go up in value after the company begins making electric versions and then most likely fails in 3-4 years (if not 2 years)
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/po ... autos_5037
copied in case they take it down* :
By next Tuesday, Saab will be resurrected yet again.
That's the word from National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), a Japanese-Chinese group that bought the Swedish automaker's remnants from Dutch-based Spyker Cars in August 2012.
In September, the factory's 600 workers in Trollhättan built two 9-3 sedans to demonstrate that the assembly line still worked. Now, NEVS says it's planning to build 10 cars per week and "gradually increase the production volume" when it releases an electric version by next spring, spokesman Mikael Östlund told MSN Autos.
Saab 9-3 restarts production in Trollhättan ... sort of
Both cars will be built alongside each other, with the majority exported to China. Qingdao, the group's part-owner, has ordered 200 of the yet-to-be-built EVs as part of a test pilot. Most of Saab's former suppliers are being contracted for parts as production restarts, Östlund said. The company also plans to hire 100 new factory workers by the beginning of next year.
The sole model is the 9-3 Aero with the turbocharged 220-hp four-cylinder engine, which was last built in series production -- and at a much higher rate than 10 a week -- more than two years ago. The price is 279,000 kronor for the manual version ($42,600) and 289,000 kronor for the automatic ($44,100). NEVS declined to elaborate on a warranty and servicing, but said that buyers in Sweden would have to pick up their cars at the factory in order to provide a "first class and engaging customer experience." No one has placed an order.
But don't get your hopes up, Saabophiles. China and Sweden are Saab's sole markets, and without any dealers in either country, it may prove more difficult to purchase than a Koenigsegg. NEVS will only sell directly, without dealers, via its website, and there are no plans to export the cars to other countries.
We're treading cautiously on this news announcement, because many people and companies have promised to restart Saab only to see it die again. We're also not sure if NEVS can make a profit with such low volume -- this is a 9-3, after all, not a Bentley.
[Source: NEVS]
Have to wonder if these cars will go up in value after the company begins making electric versions and then most likely fails in 3-4 years (if not 2 years)
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/po ... autos_5037
copied in case they take it down* :
By next Tuesday, Saab will be resurrected yet again.
That's the word from National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), a Japanese-Chinese group that bought the Swedish automaker's remnants from Dutch-based Spyker Cars in August 2012.
In September, the factory's 600 workers in Trollhättan built two 9-3 sedans to demonstrate that the assembly line still worked. Now, NEVS says it's planning to build 10 cars per week and "gradually increase the production volume" when it releases an electric version by next spring, spokesman Mikael Östlund told MSN Autos.
Saab 9-3 restarts production in Trollhättan ... sort of
Both cars will be built alongside each other, with the majority exported to China. Qingdao, the group's part-owner, has ordered 200 of the yet-to-be-built EVs as part of a test pilot. Most of Saab's former suppliers are being contracted for parts as production restarts, Östlund said. The company also plans to hire 100 new factory workers by the beginning of next year.
The sole model is the 9-3 Aero with the turbocharged 220-hp four-cylinder engine, which was last built in series production -- and at a much higher rate than 10 a week -- more than two years ago. The price is 279,000 kronor for the manual version ($42,600) and 289,000 kronor for the automatic ($44,100). NEVS declined to elaborate on a warranty and servicing, but said that buyers in Sweden would have to pick up their cars at the factory in order to provide a "first class and engaging customer experience." No one has placed an order.
But don't get your hopes up, Saabophiles. China and Sweden are Saab's sole markets, and without any dealers in either country, it may prove more difficult to purchase than a Koenigsegg. NEVS will only sell directly, without dealers, via its website, and there are no plans to export the cars to other countries.
We're treading cautiously on this news announcement, because many people and companies have promised to restart Saab only to see it die again. We're also not sure if NEVS can make a profit with such low volume -- this is a 9-3, after all, not a Bentley.
[Source: NEVS]
