Wednesday Snippets
Boxwish salutes the Saab 900 convertible as their car of the week, highlighted by its use in the movie Sideways. I’m not sure where Boxwish is based, but if they’re in California, they might have made an extra effort if they knew that the actual Sideways convertible is available as a loaner from Walter Wong’s Saab workshop in LA.
Thanks Kroum!
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As a few have noted in comments, Lotus are currently in the process of out-Saabing Saab.
Right now they’re developing a two-stroke, variable compression biofuel engine. It’s a research engine only at the moment, but Lotus have a habit of spending their R&D money wisely and finding a use for it.
The full press release is available over at Autoblog.
If you’re new to Saab, they used to run their cars on two stroke engines many years ago, they developed a wicked variable compression engine back in 2000 that has never been used, and they’re European pioneers in the use of Biofuels with their BioPower engines that run on E85.
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For you Aussies, there’s a very interesting article at Go Auto. It’s a piece on Australia’s potential to be energy independant in the automotive sector. The main interviewee in the piece is GM vice-president for research and development and strategic planning, Larry Burns.
Burns sees several non-gasoline options for Australia, including LPG, CNG, biomass ethanol, hydrogen, and even solar.
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And whilst we’re talking alternative propulsion, there’s a conference going on in Iceland next month where they’ll be talking about it for a couple of days straight. One of the presentations will cover Saab’s work with Volvo in developing hybrid technology in Sweden.
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And from the I-don’t-trust-Cadillac-as-far-as-I-can-throw-them files comes news that they might be canning their larger cars, the DTS and STS. They’ll be introducing more variants of the CTS and sidelining their large cars until they’ve got a better idea as to the market for butt-ugly land yachts.
This is also quite possibly a prime factor behind the decision to go smaller with Saab. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I still hate them anyway.
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Jesus, what does Cadillac have to do to get a grudging nod from you!?
:p
At saab there were some pioneers on many sensible things, mainly for saab-use only.
At lotus they are pionering a lot more for everybodies use and gaining cash for themselves.
Must be smart people in Hethel.
GM reducing saab to a designer-brand with less input from engineers is a dangerous operation.
Does that exige 2-stroke have a bio-smell ?
I don’t mind future 9-5 being 2-stroked …
Swades new motto…
Praeterea censeo Caddilac esse delendam
So, the 900 convertible didn’t meet its demise in the movie like Boxwish said? Did they crash a lookalike into the tree, or was it repairable? Just wondering. I never saw the movie, but I want to now.
Oh, come not Swade-man, Cadillac’s current models are actually quite sharp.
Jeff: sink to the bottom of the sea.
Gunnar: that should make them sink faster, then!
‘That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I still hate them anyway.’
Jeff, that is a grudging nod…
saabyurk: Walter Wong told me they popped the hood on the car and doctored the crash. They didn’t really crash the car into the tree.
Wilfried: I don’t think that Lotus has a two-stroke Exige. They simply are building a two-stroke single-cylinder variable-compression bio-fuel capable testbed engine. They do however have a Tri-Fuel (gasoline/ethanol/methanol) Exige called the 270E. However, as far as I know it’s a four-stroke.
Saab last used their SVC prototype to figure-out the best compression ratio for the BioPower 100 concept.
A company called Secant offers a conversion for the Elise/Exige where they remove the 1.8-liter Toyota powerplant and replace it with a supercharged GM 2.0 direct-injected Ecotec engine. With upgraded brakes, suspension, and other mods this car keeps up with a V10 Dodge Viper on the track.
Lotus is getting 280 bhp (coincidentally the same Saab is getting out of their 2.8T V6 Turbo X) out of GM’s 2-liter Ecotec engine. Saab has only been able to get at best 255 bhp out of essentially the same engine, but with a turbo rather than a supercharger and minus the direct-injection.
Lotus out-Saabing Saab? Indeed.
Back in the mid-seventies, Saab were dabbling in alternative propulsion techniques and they actually designed a working steam engine codenamed ULF. I think it was a contraption with nine cylinders, weighing about the same as the early two stroker engines and generating the same output as the first Saab Turbos. Supposedly, there was also a “steam-powered” prototype 99 built. Now this could be something for GM and Saab to consider again
Should be possible to use any combustible fuel.
Recently in the Saabclub forum we were talking about some work done by saab about a new engine is in development. One member talking with one colleague of its company that seems is working in a project for Saab, were talking with one engineer that explained him they are developing a new Wankel engine, able to reach over 400bhp, with a low consumption. The big problem as all this engines and the big headache, to reach a realibility at long term with the sealing problems commonly associated to this type of engines.
regards
Tim - That was a bit TOO grudging.
I get that Swade hates Cadillac for taking all of Saab’s money, but I can’t take all the Caddy-bashing seriously until he flogs a CTS-V around some twisties.
Well, if Saab started making money for GM like Cadillac rather than losing it, they might get more development and marketing support.
Sam- I get your point that Saab needs to make money before extra money comes, but in reality investments must always begin with an inversion of capital, and only then can a product be created. No product means no sales, and products can’t come without investment.
Case in point: leaving Saab’s flagship vehicle in its same form for over a decade is not a way to make money. For all intents and purposes there is no 9-5. I’ll explain- first of all, the 9-5 doesn’t even have variable valve timing! The B235 engine has been a great engine, but it’s long past its prime- just like the rest of the 9-5. Therefore the car is rarely even considered at all when people are shopping in that class. It’s almost as if the car didn’t even exist. And isn’t that how the brand is, too? Few people think of Saab or consider it a viable competitor- almost like Saab weren’t around. And that’s the real problem: little-to-no value as a brand or as a vehicle is just like not even existing. Which will never sell products.
The only way to break out of the cycle is by investing capital to create a true existence and a true product.
Smaller, lighter, economical engines with enhanced power using innovative technology. That’s a great tag line for a Saab comeback! Reminiscent of the simple and innovative themes that Honda cultivated in its early days. To think that Saab was already working on cool stuff like this several years ago makes me both proud of its engineering prowess and sad over how that prowess has been neutered and/or hijacked.