1998 Saab 900 2.3 Liter No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1988 Saab 900

Saab had a cult following in North America going back to the two-stroke Saab 96, but it wasn't until the 900 made its debut for the 1978 model year that the marque started to be considered a mainstream – if still a bit odd – brand here. Based on the venerable 99 but seeming a lot more modern, the 900 sold well to those who wanted to drive something sensibly Scandinavian but didn't want the stodginess of a Volvo. These cars were especially popular in Colorado, and I found this high-mile-but-solid '88 in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. Nearly made it to 300,000 miles, but it never got the chance. The key is still in the console-mounted ignition switch, and the steel lanyard indicates that this car went to the wrecking yard via an insurance-company or dealership-trade-in auction. Since the car has no major body damage, that means that its final owner traded it in – reluctantly, we hope – on another car, and nobody was willing to bid over scrap value for the elderly Swede at auction. Most such auctions have an arrangement with a local wrecking yard to take all the unsold cars for a set price, and that's what we can assume happened to this car. Chances are that it was still in running condition when it showed up here. You could get a 1988 Saab 900 with a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission, but I can't recall having ever seen one so equipped. Most Saab 900 buyers insisted on manuals. The engine in this car is a slant-four based on the same Triumph engine used in the Triumph TR7. By the 1980s, Saab had made sufficient improvements to the design that it was several orders of magnitude more reliable than its British Leyland ancestors. This one made 110 horses, which did an acceptable job of moving the car's 2,695 pounds. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This ad sums up the way Saabs were marketed in the United States in 1988. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1988 Saab 900 View 16 Photos Auto News Saab Hatchback

NEVS completes Saab purchase, earns right to brand name but not griffin badge

According to the Associated Press, a Hong Kong-based concern is close to building new Saab models. After some delays, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has completed the purchase of bankrupt Swedish automaker Saab.
NEVS says it plans to debut an electric vehicle in about 18 months. When the car comes to market, it will wear the Saab name, but not the marque's well-known griffin logo. Reuters reports that the company will produce EVs based on the Saab 9-3 platform, with intentions to sell these vehicles primarily in the Chinese market. Due to the continued use of the distinctive griffin head logo by commercial truckmaker Scania and the Saab aerospace group, NEVS was only granted access to the Saab name, not its emblem.

Rare 9-5 SportCombi, 9-4X models being sold off in Saab asset auction

Saab lovers take notice. Swedish auction house KVD has some ultra rare Saab products on the block, and we're not talking about a 1950s Saab 92. Up for auction are a bunch of low-mileage Saab models being sold off as part of the bankrupted automaker's assets. Included in the lot of cars are models like the 2012 9-5 SportCombi (above), the 2012 9-4X (shown below) and even a 9-5 sedan driven by Victor Muller himself.
Discovered by PistonHeads, this Saab auction has numerous 9-5 SportCombi and 9-4X models, which should prove to be very rare cars. Only a small number of 9-4Xs were ever sold, and Saab closed up shop before the 9-5 SportCombi could even go on sale here. In addition to the rarity, many of the cars have fewer than 10 miles on their odometers and seemingly low reserve prices; a 9-4X 3.0 XWD Premium with just six miles has a current bid of 180,000 Swedish Krona (just over $27,000 USD) that has already met the reserve price. Some of the cars still have the protective factory shipping tape covering up the interior and exterior.
Other than the rare SportCombis and 9-4Xs being auctioned off, there's also a sharp 2012 9-3 Cabriolet with 11 miles on the clock and a V8-powered 2006 Saab 9-7X with just 3,003 miles.