Thanks to EduSaab for sending this story through.

Automotive News are the source for….well…..Automotive News. They’re a highly respected publication and I’ve relied on their content more than once in the past.

But I’ve got to say, this article by Jamie LaReau contains a number of errors, some of which are quite glaring and make me wonder what’s going on there. Has the global financial crisis meant a cut in the editing and fact-checking staff there?

Here’s the article in full:

Saab gets a crossover in 2009; everything else is on hold

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
October 6, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

Saab might be born from jets, but General Motors is struggling to get the brand’s sales off the ground. One way GM plans to revive sales is through new products, including a crossover and compact hatchback.

Through September, Saab’s U.S. sales were down 32.4 percent from the year-ago period to 17,362 vehicles.

Despite the numbers, GM hopes that Saab someday will be more than a niche player. Here are some of Saab’s plans.

9-X BioHybrid concept: Saab revealed this compact hatchback concept at the Geneva auto show in March. If it goes into production, the 9-X likely would be dubbed the 9-1 and compete with the Audi A3 and Volvo C30.

With the spike in fuel prices this year, GM is considering the car for the United States. But spending priorities have pushed a production version “way down the queue,” said a source familiar with GM’s product plans. GM needs other small cars to fill out its other brands first.

If GM brings it here, the car would go on sale in 2011.

9-3: GM is working on the next-generation 9-3, but it has been pushed back to 2011. The car will be re-engineered and restyled using GM’s front-drive Epsilon 2 vehicle architecture. Initially, the new 9-3 would have come in 2010, but GM held it up because of concerns about federal corporate average fuel economy regulations. The company will engineer and assemble the car in Ruesselsheim, Germany, not Sweden.

9-5: Saab is working on a redesigned 9-5 sedan that GM could show at next year’s Geneva auto show. For 2010, the 9-5 will switch to the re-engineered Epsilon 2 architecture.

9-4X: Saab plans to debut a medium-sized, five-seat crossover in 2009 or 2010, depending on what fuel economy rules are in place.

GM showed a concept of the 9-4X at the Detroit auto show in January. It would be developed on the re-engineered Theta Premium architecture, essentially developed using elements of the Theta and Epsilon 2 architectures. That architecture also will be shared with the Cadillac SRX crossover.

GM has not said which of its North American assembly plants would build the vehicle. But assembly in the United States will help GM overcome the weak dollar, helping the 9-4X compete with the BMW X3 crossover.

9-7X: The SUV shares a platform with the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy, both of which are being phased out. U.S. sales of the 9-7X have been lackluster, and the vehicle is likely to be phased out next year. The 9-7X is built at GM’s Moraine, Ohio, plant, scheduled to close in 2010.

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The points of concern:

* If the 9-X were to be made by 2011, I’d be a very happy man. Going from undecided to having a production version in just over two years would be a record for most companies. For Saab it’d be a bonafide miracle.

* The next generation Saab 9-3 has been confirmed for production on the next-generation Delta architecture. This has been widely reported in the automotive press. My story about it is here.

* The Saab 9-4x has been very widely reported as headed for production in Mexico.

* And the real kicker - The 9-7x plant in Moraine, Ohio, is not being shut down in 2010. News came through just last week that it’s scheduled for closure in December 2008. Here’s the story, from Automotive News!

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By the way, I’ve received some new Saab future model timeline information from Djup Strupe, which I’ll be posting in the next day or so.

There’s good news and there’s bad news in there and it’s all quite different to the dates posted here.

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