97 Saab 900 Se Convertible on 2040-cars

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National Electric Vehicle stops Saab 9-3 production amidst financing woes

It seems that quirky, Swedish automaker Saab might be on life support yet again. Its owner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, has announced that it's reducing its workforce and temporarily halting production of the 9-3 due to financial problems. NEVS was only building six cars a day, anyway.
The company put out a press release admitting its economic woes, but it still appeared hopeful. NEVS claims it's developing "a new platform on the Phoenix architecture," and it has a frame agreement with an international automotive OEM. It didn't give any specific details about either one of these assertions though. According to The Wall Street Journal, NEVS needs the partnership to lower development costs in order to stay afloat. Saab spokesperson Mikael Ostlund told Autoblog in an email that the stop in production of the 9-3 in Trollhättan would last four weeks.
NEVS says it's in negotiation to sell a portion of the company to an automotive company. Its current monetary woes are caused by shareholder Qingbo Investment Company not financing the company as agreed. "We plan to have the results of the discussions at latest during June," said Ostlund.

Spyker and Youngman sign deal, plan to build D8 SUV and Phoenix-based range

It appears Spyker is strengthen its ties and carmaking ability with Chinese carmaker Youngman. This comes in the wake of the brand's latest dealings with a $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors regarding the demise of Saab.
Youngman is reportedly investing €10,000,000 ($12.5M USD) for a 29.9-percent stake in the company. The shares are being sold for €0.05 (6.3 cents) each, representing a fully diluted share. Youngman has said it will not take on more than the 29.9-percent stake.
Additionally, Youngman will invest €25,000,000 ($31M) for the development of an all-new Spyker vehicle, called the D8 P2P, named for the Peking-to-Paris rally. The vehicle had been shown as a concept by Spyker previously, but things had been quiet since then. It appears Spyker will now build the uniquely styled D8 Concept shown above. The vehicle is to launch at the end of 2014 and carry a price of $250,000 per vehicle.

Son surprises mom with her dream car, a 1973 Saab 99

Often, it feels like the news is just a never-ending stream of one depressing headline after another. It can be so liberating to see something positive and uplifting every once in a while. Just look at the ecstatic expression on this mother's face after receiving her dream car from her son. Mom has some seriously quirky taste too: she isn't after a muscle car or a two-seat droptop; instead, it's a 1973 Saab 99 EMS in a very '70s shade of copper at the top of her wish list. According to the video, it took her son about a year to track down this hunk of Swedish steel and save up the money to purchase it. Though, judging from his mom's reaction, it was worth every penny. She puts together what's going on with the Saab pretty quickly and immediately starts swearing at her son – out of love, of course. If you're feeling a little blue, consider this a much-needed pick-me-up. Watching the unbridled joy of someone getting something that they always wanted just feels wonderful.