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If I write something at TS, I try my best to make sure that it’s based on solid information. If it’s a piece of educated guesswork, I’ll identify it such so that you’ve got an idea as to what it is that you’re reading.

In the last week, the 9-6x patent story’s made its way around the web and it’s now being headlined at Truck Trend as follows:

New Saab SUV Leaked Via Patent Images

This is completely erroneous, but such is the way of the internet sometimes. So how did we get to this?

Last Saturday, the 9-6x patent story started right here at Trollhattan Saab after I received the results of EduSaab’s patent research. It was a fun side note but the only question that could reasonably be raised from it why “Why register the patents now?”.

That was the end of it until the guys at TurboNines decided to pen a piece on the issue. The piece starts as a pretty good comparison between the 9-6x images and the revised Subaru Tribeca from 2007. In my opinion, that’s probably the reason or the patents and it’s where the article should have finished. Unfortunately, they went on stating that there might be reasons to think that the 9-6x project was being revived:

Thinking about the current cash-starved plight of Saab and its owner GM, the idea of a rejuvenated 9-6x project begins to make sense.

They then go on to list their reasons and to their credit, they DO conclude on the fact that it’s all based on circumstancial evidence and a bunch of assumptions.

But that’s not the way it gets picked up.

A day later, and I assume after an email from Turbonines that was similar to the one I received, Autoblog and Jalopnik both covered the issue with the possibility that Saab could be digging this vehicle out of the grave right there in the text.

From Autoblog:

Just this month a patent was filed for a Saab vehicle that can be nothing but the 9-6x that we all thought was dead. Why now? Well, the folks at TurboNines posit that we may yet see the Saabaru crossover for a couple of solid reasons.

From Jalopnik:

The interesting part is the supposed Saab 9-6X swipes much of its architecture and styling from the Subaru Tribeca, even though GM split with the Japanese automaker shortly after the original spy photos. These filings are dated as of November 4, 2008, so it’s not like they’ve been floating around in the ether for 3 years. It’s also possible the web is in the process of getting snookered by some photoshopper who thinks he’s a funny guy. If real it would be a replacement for the 9-7X which is about to be killed off with a plant closure.

They were both skeptical, but even a possibility of something like this gets picked up by the readers as happening and sure enough, the commenters at those sites had a fun old time talking about how Saab were so lame, blah blah blah.

A few days later, I spoke with Eric Geers and knocked the whole issue on the head. The 9-6x is off the table and has been for a number of years. I emailed both Autoblog and Jalopnik but nothing’s happened to update the story on either of those sites (apart from a few of you commenting in the original stories there – thanks).

Still, even after this story’s been killed, it showed up at Truck Trend with the headline I mentioned at the beginning of this story. The front page of the TurboNines site still shows the feature story Saab 9-6x On Again? and the story features no update as to the situation.

I don’t blame anyone for this. TurboNines probably should update their story to show that it’s off the table, but their original story DID say that it was based on inference and supposition.

It’s just an interesting study in how getting a story around the web can sometimes be like a giant game of Chinese Whispers.

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