1996 Saab 900s 5spd Clean Car 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

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.

NEVS to build new Saab models in China's Qingdao

National Electric Vehicle Sweden has officially signed a deal with Qingdao Qingbo Investment Company that will see the NEVS build EVs in Qingdao, China. The move is the first step on the road toward eventually selling vehicles in China. Reuters reports that the Chinese company has agreed to invest $307.33 million, after which point Qingdao Qingbo will receive 22 percent of the NEVS shares. Currently, there's no word on exactly when the funds and shares will change hands, but the Swedish automaker has previously said it fully intends to launch its first EV by early 2014.
NEVS has also made waves about potentially building a version of the old Saab 9-3 with a traditional internal combustion driveline. Currently, the manufacturer says it plans to ship the vehicles it builds in Sweden to the Qingdao port and distribute them to the rest of China from there. Later down the line, a manufacturing facility in Qingdao will supply the country with Chinese-built Saab models.