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2011 Geneva Motor Show: The Luxury Sedans & SUVs

Every year the Geneva Motor Show features a staggering array of new luxury sedans, estate wagons, crossovers and sport-utility vehicles on display. And this year's show, still ongoing at the Geneva Palexpo, has proven no exception.

Among the production and concept debuts in these diverse categories were new vehicles from Audi, BMW Alpina, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saab and Volvo, as well as the return of De Tomaso. Follow the jump to see what these European automakers had in store for us this year.

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2011 Geneva Motor Show: The Premium Hatchbacks

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

While they may just be catching on here in America, across the ocean premium hatchbacks like the Audi A3 and Mini Cooper represent the way things are done. They offer the luxury of a larger sedan or SUV, but in a smaller, more economical and more urban-friendly form. And at this year's Geneva Motor Show, there was no shortage of automakers unveiling their new visions for the segment.

Mini came back with an even smaller concept, Infiniti and Saab threw their proverbial hats in the ring, Fiat showcase two new variants of its popular 500 model and its sister company Lancia joined with a new entry of its own. Follow the jump to see what they had to offer.

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Saving Saab: Spyker To Sell Luxury Sports Car Biz To Save Swedish Icon

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Spyker, maker of hand-built exotic cars, is selling that business to a Russian billionaire, while it concentrates on reviving Swedish premium carmaker Saab.

Spyker, which bought Saab from General Motors in 2010, has signed a memo of understanding to sell the Spyker business and brand to Russian financier Vladimir Antonov, who owns CPP Global Holdings in the U.K.

The sale of Spyker is expected to raise $44 million, substantially reducing the company's debt, and positioning it better to give Saab a shot at surviving as a niche premium car brand.

Tags: Bob Lutz, GM, Saab, Saab 9-3, Saab 9-5, Spyker, Victor Muller, Vladimir Antonov

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Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition

Saab is preparing to unveil a special edition of their 9-3 Convertible at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, and this is our first glimpse.

Called the Independence Edition, it commemorates the first anniversary of Saab's departure from General Motors and into the (relatively) independent ownership of Spyker Cars. The special edition is decked out in a reddish-orange, with a parchment leather interior characterized by an orange stripe down the seats and an orange needle on the turbo gauge, nestled into a leather-trimmed dashboard outfitted by Saab specialist Hirsch. It also gets special 18-inch wheels, but the highlight is the 220-horsepower 2-liter turbocharged four borrowed from the larger 9-5 sedan. Only 366 examples will be made available worldwide, with deliveries beginning in the spring.

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Tags: 2011 geneva motor show, 9-3, geneva, geneva 2011, geneva motor show, saab, Saab 9-3, Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition

Saab To Unveil Hatch Concept at Geneva

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Saab Cars is trying to engineer a coming out party since breaking loose from General Motors last year, and plans to show four models at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Saab, now owned by Dutch exotic car-builder Spyker, is expected to show a hatchback concept of what we believe is the next 9-3 to come out of the new ownership. The other three cars figure to be special editions of the current 9-3 and 9-3 Cabrio. The 9-4X crossover will be on the stand, as well, we're told, as well as the 9-5 SportCombi.

Saab almost didn't make it. Worldwide sales have tumbled in recent years. And last year the company managed fewer than 6,000 sales in the U.S. But the company is advertising again, and has a fresh Saab 9-5 to draw fans.

GM was compelled to sell the Swedish carmaker after two decades of losing money on the arrangement, which started out as for GM as a controlling stake and then later an outright ownership.

Gallery: Saab Cars at Geneva

Preview of Saab Cars at 2011 Geneva Motor Show

Tags: Geneva Motor Show, saab, Saab 9-3X, Saab 9-4x, saab 9-5, spyker

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Saab Previews New 9-5 SportCombi

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

It's been a bumpy road for Saab. The Swedish automaker was jettisoned by General Motors, and after several rounds of negotiations with potential buyers fell through, was eventually sold to Dutch exotic automaker Spyker. The new 9-5 was developed under with GM resources, but unveiled as the first new product under the new management. And now Saab is preparing to follow up with the 9-5 SportCombi.

The wagon version is to be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. And when it does, sources are expecting turbocharged four-cylinder and V6 engines with or without Saab's proprietary XWD all-wheel drive system. Volvo had better take note.

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Tags: 2011 geneva motor show, 9-5 SportCombi, geneva, geneva 2011, geneva motor show, Saab, Saab 9-5, Saab 9-5 SportCombi

LA Auto Show: Saab 9-4X

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Swedish automaker Saab was sold last year by owner General Motors to exotic car maker Spyker. And though Spyker is anxious to chart a new course for the always quirky Saab, the ties to GM re still very much in evidence.

Witness the debut of the Saab 9-4 luxury crossover at the LA Auto Show, a fine looking vehicle that was completely developed by GM on the same platform as the Cadillac SRX crossover. That's not a bad thing, as the bones of the SRX are very nice indeed.

Even under GM management, though, the Swedes were allowed to Saabify the 9-4 as much as possible. Indeed, the exterior styling does look more akin to the Saab 9-5 sedan than the SRX.

It has lots of luxe goodies like eight-way power adjustable seats, Bluetooth connectivity and a tri-zone climate control system. Under the hood, there is a naturally-aspirated 265-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 and a direct-injection, turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 that produces pumps 300 hp. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. All-wheel-drive is standard.

Gallery: LA Auto Show: All New Saab 9-4

Tags: LA Auto Show 2010, los angeles auto show 2010, Saab, Saab 9-4, Spyker

Saab Unveils New 9-4X Crossover

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Psychologists insist that everything we do in our lives is a reflection of our upbringing, and that every decision we make is based on either what our parents would do in the same situation, or the exact opposite. So what does that say about luxury automakers and their parents?

For years Swedish carmaker Saab was lived under General Motors' roof. Now that it's living with Dutch exotic automaker Spyker, Saab is responsible for launching its own products. The new 9-4X crossover, meanwhile, was developed while still with GM, so it shares its platform and engines – V6 with or without turbocharger – with the Cadillac SRX. It's a little early to tell if that's a good thing or not, but Saab has given us a look at the new 9-4X before its unveiling at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. Only time will tell if it's enough to separate the newly independent child from its parents.

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Tags: 9-4x, 94x, saab, saab 9-4x, saab 94x

Fancy a Saab 9-5? Then Get to Know it with Saab's iPhone App

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Saab wants you to like its new 9-5. Based on the reviews the brand-new-and-free-of-GM sedan is getting, that shouldn't be such a hard thing to do. But until you're actually in the showroom singing on the dotted, Saab believes a little persuasion in its favor wouldn't hurt things, and portable persuasion would hurt things even less. That's how we get the Saab 9-5 app for iPods and iPads and iPhones.

As per usual, you can watch videos, admire the plentiful photos Saab has taken of the car, or dress one up yourself and spin it around just like you do with your significant other at Saks. When it goes on sale it will start around $38,000 and climb all the way up to nearly $50,000 for a loaded Aero model. So if you want to save time at the dealership figuring out how much quirkiness you really want to buy, the iTunes app store is where you should be headed.

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Tags: app, app store, apple, ipad, iphone, ipod touch, saab, saab 9-5

Saab Spyker 9+ Tribute Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What could a future collaboration between Saab and its new owner Spyker produce? A cross between a stylish Swedish sedan and a Dutch supercar of course. Eduard Gray, an industrial designer educated at Coventry University in the UK and now based in Saab's hometown of Trollhättan, Sweden, has come up with a viable vision for this automotive offspring. His long, lean two-door Saab Spyker 9+ concept car imagines an evolution of Saab's Aero-X enhanced by some of Spyker's exoticism. The design features a Spyker chassis with a mid-mounted engine and low down aerodynamics, including a system to reduce friction in straight line driving whilst increasing traction in cornering and braking. An enormous panoramic glass roof gives it an airy feel as well. Envisioned as a 2+2 model in the storied GT tradition, engine-wise it's speculated to house a V6 bi-turbo capable of producing over 600 hp, perhaps powered purely by ethanol.

Gallery: Saab Spyker 9+ Concept

Tags: concept car, eduard gray, Saab, saab spyker, saab spyker 9+, Saab Spyker Automobiles, Spyker, supercar, Sweden

Spyker Benefits from Saab deal, D12 Peking-to-Paris Back on Track

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

We're all very well aware that the recently sealed deal between Spyker and General Motors means good things for the ailing Saab brand – in fact, without Spyker's eleventh-hour intervention, the Swedish automaker would have been lost to the annals of history entirely. Apparently, though, the Saab tie-up will bring good things to come from Spyker too.

Believe it or not, it was four years ago that Spyker first showed off its Peking-to-Paris luxury SUV at the Geneva Motor Show, and now company head Victor Muller has reportedly announced at this year's festivities in Geneva that the monster 'ute is back on track. Not surprisingly, the finalized handshake with The General is partly to thank for the reinvigorated D12 program.

Consider the years of technical expertise that Spyker gained with it brought Saab on board, not to mention the additional production capability and manpower. It remains to be seen what powertrain Spyker will choose for its hulking SUV, but previous rumors had a supercharged mill from Cadillac underhood. We shall see.

[Source: Autocar]

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2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: all-new 2010 Saab 9-5

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Saab's entering a new era. After twenty years under the General Motors umbrella, the Swedish automaker has been sold to the supercar-maker Koenigsegg. And this is its first new product.

The result of several years of development, the new 9-5 shares many mechanical components with other GM products, but will be assembled entirely in-house at Saab's own factory in Trollhattan, Sweden. And the design is uniquely Saab, drawing from the company's background in aviation. Turbocharged engines include a 220-horsepower 2-liter four and a 160hp diesel, available with Saab's proprietary XWD torque-shifting four-wheel-drive system. Whether it will help Saab sink or swim in today's competitive premium auto market remains to be seen, but you can have an early look in the photo gallery below.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Saab 9-5

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Saab's Pivotal New 9-5 Luxury Sedan Leaks onto the Internet

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you've been on the market for a new luxury automobile recently, you may have skipped over Saab entirely. Because while Saab's Swedish neighbor Volvo has progressed remarkably over the past few years, Saab by and large has not. But this is the vehicle that could change all that.

A long time in the making, this is our first look at the new Saab 9-5, the vehicle that could turn the quirky Scandinavian automaker around and make it a real challenger again among European luxury sedans. This first batch of images, which you can see more by clicking on the picture above, show a svelte new shape that stands to entice new buyers while still remaining uniquely Saab, coupled with a commodious and distinct interior cabin space. And while we may be a little while off from receiving the official pricing for this new model, the one it replaces hovered in the area of $40,000, making the 9-5 a compelling alternative to Germany's best, including the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6, which all start in the mid-$50k range.

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Tags: new saab, NewSaab, saab, saab 9-5, Saab9-5, sweden, swedish

SAAB's Funk-Is Ice Scraper

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos

With a December birthday I tend to receive winter-inspired gifts and yes, I've been given an ice-scraper in the past. But one look at Saab's Funk-Is Ice Scraper makes mine look pretty sad. Designed in Sweden, the scraper sports frosted plexiglass in an angular shape padded by a sheepskin edge for a comfortable grip and even includes a notch to accommodate cleaning of the all-important wiper blade. Leave the gas station, plastic-form ice scraper at the counter and keep this compact, luxe-looking scraper in your car this season. ($72.50)

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Tags: funk-is ice scraper, Funk-isIceScraper, saab, saab funk-is, saab ice scraper, SaabFunk-is, SaabIceScraper