** 2002 Gray Saab 9-5 Linear Low Mileage Clean Carfax Loaded Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

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Chunk of ice smashes man's windshield

Driving a car piled with snow isn't just lazy, it's dangerous. A driver on Interstate 495 South in Massachusetts learned that the hard way last week after a huge chunk of ice flew off the top of an SUV and onto his windshield. Jeffrey Cote's dashboard camera was running as he drove his Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon down the freeway in Haverhill, MA, Wednesday morning. He was following an SUV in the left hand lane. The SUV doesn't appear to have too much accumulation on it, but the owners clearly didn't remove the snow and ice from the very top of the vehicle. A large chunk of ice flew off the top of the SUV, spun through the air and shattered Cotes windshield. Cote's must be one of the cooler heads on Massachusetts' roads. He didn't swerve, or swear or even gasp. Despite being unable to see the road and covered in glass Cotes safely moved over to the right lanes and safely pulled off on to the shoulder after the accident. The ice not only totally destroyed Cote's windshield but damaged a wiper arm and his side mirror as well. "If I had braked harder, I could have avoided impact," Cotes wrote in the video description. "But it initially appeared the piece was going to fall in front of me." Cotes couldn't read the driver's license plate on the footage and told CBS Boston that he doesn't think the other driver even realizes what occurred. He told the news station he hopes the video reminds people to do the right thing and clear the snow off their cars. "Just a few seconds, just try to slam as much ice as possible off your roof," Cotes told CBS Boston. "Because, it could have gone a lot worse, and it could save someone's life if you do a better job cleaning," Cote said. News Source: CBS Boston Saab Driving Safety Videos snow winter driving cold

Saab still alive and well at New Jersey dealership

We all know the Saab story: a niche automaker that just couldn't last in the quickening pace of an increasingly competitive industry, despite its loyal following. But just because the automaker has all but completely disappeared, it doesn't mean that the loyal following has as well. In fact Saab Automobiles Parts North America estimates there are some 450,000 Saabs still in use in the United States, and many of them are still die-hard brand faithful who are adamantly clinging to the bankrupt brand they love. And many of those loyal customers are still finding a home at Park Avenue Saab in Maywood, NJ. Although the Park Avenue Auto Group operates Acura, BMW and Lotus franchises, it hasn't given up on Saab just because the company isn't making any new cars anymore. Instead it's set up shop in an old Suzuki showroom and is building a growing list of Saab customers across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – parts of that list acquired from other, closed Saab dealers in the region. The dealership stocks spare parts and is ready to perform whatever service and maintenance existing Saab owners might need, but it's also still buying and selling Saabs: used models with low mileage and manufactured as close as possible to the end of production in 2011. So when an owner of an old Saab is ready to trade up, the dealership has something to offer. And many of those loyal customers, according to Automotive News, are willing to pay top dollar rather than switch to another brand. If and when a Saab owner needs to buy something newer – as most will have to – the dealer is ready to introduce them to a new Acura or BMW, but to date, very few have. That's why Park Avenue Saab still sells about 40 used Saabs every month to customers in the vicinity, across the country or even overseas. Between the sales and service departments, the dealership is still turning a brisk business, but unless NEVS, Mahindra or some other knight in shining armor swoops in and manages to do what GM and Spyker couldn't, the dealership's management know the business can't last forever.

NEVS Sango autonomous shuttle rises from the ashes of Saab

National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), the company that purchased Saab's bankrupt carcass in 2012, has introduced an autonomous ride-sharing shuttle named Sango and announced plans to test it in real-world conditions. It also outlined a system named PONS that will allow operators and riders to connect with the shuttle. Saab famously claimed its cars were born from jets, but the Sango looks more like something you'd find in a store that sells small kitchen appliances than on an aircraft carrier sailing across the Atlantic. It wasn't designed to go fast, or to deliver engaging handling. Stylists intentionally gave it a boxy silhouette to maximize interior space and let operators offer three cabin configurations called private, social, and family, respectively. Its six seats can be moved around and rotated as needed, and the passengers can raise privacy walls if they don't feel like socializing with fellow riders. The shuttle's seating capacity drops to four with the walls raised. Chinese technology firm AutoX provided the Sango's self-driving hardware and software, though NEVS pointed out its shuttle is modular enough to use any autonomous system on the market. This is a wise strategy that widens its target audience. Operators will in theory be able to choose whether they want to purchase a turn-key self-driving shuttle or buy the basic structure and stuff their own technology into it. NEVS grouped the app customers will use to request a ride and a fleet management system into a software package it named PONS. Technical specifications haven't been released. All we know is that it's electric. NEVS confidently stated autonomous shuttles are closer to the mainstream than many think. "Getting from A to B with self-driving electric vehicles is not as far off as perhaps the car industry is implying. The era of one person per car and the era of owning a car are soon things of the past," opined Anna Haupt, the company's vice president of mobility solutions, in a statement. Engineers have started testing the first running Sango prototype at NEVS' headquarters in Trollhattan, Sweden. Looking ahead, the company plans to deploy a fleet of 10 autonomous shuttles in Stockholm, where they will be used by members of the general public. Autoblog learned from a company representative that testing will probably start in 2022, and that the firm is taking COVID-19-related concerns into account.