Autoblog UK

The new 9-5 from Saab gives a strong indication of the direction the company intends to take, despite its last few crisis-ridden months. The future is at least looking a little brighter with the prospective sale to Koenigsegg moving ahead. The Saab 9-5 could mark the start of a new era, though how this era will look is anyone's guess. Will they revert more strongly to their avant-garde roots? Might they extend their range with a few smaller models? Which other automotive players will Saab seek to collaborate with? Will they be venturing into hybrid territory? A lot of questions remain unanswered, so we will (as the old saying goes) "await developments with interest". But the new 9-5 could certainly be the first of many. Let's hope so. Because it's nice to see there's life in the old dog yet .

If Saab is survive under the unlikely control of new owner, Koeniggsegg, this car needs to succeed. First impressions are mixed. On the plus side, the new car will be a huge improvement to drive compared to the old model, whose chassis dates back to the 1990s Vauxhall Vectra (which was stretched to accommodate the body of the larger Saab).

On the minus side , the styling is proving controversial. A straw poll of observers suggested the exceptionally large and heavy-looking C-pillar, behind the rear passenger door, is a problem . "It seems to come from a car two sizes bigger " was a typical comment.

The front half of the car and the interior are clearly Saab, albeit considerably modernized. Time will tell if the new car can tempt new customers away from Audi, BMW and Mercedes, which it needs to do. As Bob Lutz, former product development boss at GM said, "There are not enough college professors with leather elbow patches to keep Saab going".

Saab have a genuine SUV (the 9-4X BioPower concept) in the pipeline. But whether it will ever make it on to the market is anyone's guess. For bankrupt Saab could well become the next victim of the collapse of General Motors. Formerly a small but upmarket brand with a niche appeal, it was a bad day for Saab when it was taken over by GM. Gone were the innovative ideas of yesteryear. Today, what we have are bog standard series production cars with no upmarket pretensions which still expect to compete in the premium segment of the market. This quite clearly doesn't work. Whether the luxury sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg can really save Saab remains to be seen. It would, however, be a shame if this marque, steeped in tradition, really does go down the pan. But at the same time, that is the market economy. Only the strong survive.

1. What exactly is bioethanol?

Bioethanol (ethyl alcohol) is made from renewable resources by distillation after alcoholic fermentation, or by another similar biochemical method. In Germany, sugar beet or cereal crops such as wheat and oats are most commonly used to produce bioethanol. At present, no commercial manufacturing plants in Germany are producing bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials, e.g. straw or wood. Such processes are still at the pilot stage.

The Swedish car manufacturer is close to being declared insolvent, which will merely hasten the split with its ailing US parent company General Motors. Saab want the courts to appoint an administrator who can restructure the cash-strapped car maker and decide whether parts of the operation could survive independently of the US parent company.

There is no appetite within the Swedish government for offering General Motors any form of subsidy. Consequently, the GM subsidiary Saab is faced with bankruptcy. Discussions are already taking place on alternative uses for the Trollhättan works. Just as with Opel in Germany, the American parent company asked the Swedish government for assistance without coming up with concrete proposals for the future of its Scandinavian subsidiary. Saab has been up for sale since last year.

A few days ago, the stricken American automotive giant recommended to its loss-making Swedish subsidiary that it should file for bankruptcy. General Motors warned that Saab could go under before the end of the month if no state aid were forthcoming. The US parent is keen for Saab to become an independent company by 2010. At GM Europe, they are looking into the option of a takeover by Opel.