Saab 9-5 Turbo Linear Wgn on 2040-cars

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There will be five new SAAB EVs, starting in 2017

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which bought Swedish automaker Saab out of bankruptcy in 2012, has finally solidified some of its vehicle-making plans. And given the prominence of the word "electric" in the company's name, NEVs is staying true to its vision, announcing that it will have five electric vehicle models for sale by 2018. The company recently made the announcement in Stockholm, according to Saab Blog. The first EV will be based on the Saab 9-3 platform and may be available in China and Sweden by 2017. The following year, NEVS is planning to debut four more all-electric models, including a sports car, SUV, crossover, and a fastback. The cars will be assembled in Tianjin, China. Whether the Saab badge will actually be used remains in question, as NEVS is no longer affiliated with the Saab AB aerospace company. Making things even potentially murkier is the fact that NEVS said this fall that it would sell the intellectual property rights for the 9-3 to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), which would make the model the official Turkish National Car. Then again, nothing's been simple for Saab, which has passed through General Motors and Spyker and has had multiple reorganizations. Either way, the plan follows up a summer announcement that NEVS would work with China-based automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. to develop electrified vehicles. Dongfeng has worked with electric-vehicle leaders Nissan and Renault as well as Honda, Kia and Peugeot. The company made more than 3.8 million vehicles in 2014.

Nicolas Cage flogs Saab-based Senova from Beijing Auto [w/video]

BAIC has officially pulled the covers off of its new Senova D Series sedan for China. The four-door is based on the old Saab 9-5 and boasts a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Local buyers can get their hands on the machine for around $22,745 at current conversion rates. Other engine options include a turbocharged 1.8-liter four cylinder as well as turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder, and a wide range of safety equipment comes standard on every trim except the very base model. Those goodies include a tire pressure monitoring system, active head restraints, blind spot detection, driver fatigue detection and parking sensors.
The Senova nameplate serves every model based on former Saab architectures, including the Epsilon, GM2900 and GM2400 platforms as well as engine and transmission tech. In order to promote its new products, BAIC has hired Hollywood staple Nicolas Cage to serve as the company's brand ambassador. Cage stars in the Senova-heavy Town of Car Legends action-packed video short (directed by Olivier Megaton of Transporter 3 and Taken 2 fame) which you can view by scrolling below.

Deal brokered to get Saab warranty service honored at GM dealers

When Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn were killed off, at least current owners never had to question where they would have to take their vehicle in case it needed to be serviced. The same couldn't be said for Saab owners... until now. General Motors and Saab Automobile Parts North America (the remaining entity of the bankrupted automaker) have signed an agreement that provides 179 service centers to current Saab owners to receive factory-trained technicians and official Saab replacement parts.
These warranty service providers will have all the tools, training and parts to maintain and repair Saab vehicles, and they will also have access to a technical assistance center for the technicians. Next year, SPNA will also set up a customer assistance center, which will likely be most useful in helping current owners find repair shows, as well as a program called Saab Secure to give added service support to owners of late model (2010 and 2011 model year) Saab vehicles. Finally, to make sure customers have a sufficient parts supply to keep their cars on the road, SPNA operates out of a 153,000 square foot warehouse in Michigan that has the ability to ship more than 3,000 parts orders per day.
GM's official press release on the agreement is posted after the jump.