GM head honcho Rick Wagoner showed off some of GM’s future offerings a few days ago, including the Saab 9-4x. The image that went around at that time was small and got very blurry when enlarged.

A new version of the image has popped up at Edmunds and whilst still not print quality, it gives a much better idea as to what the front quarter profile of the production car will look like. It’s not much different to what we’ve already seen in the concept car, to be honest. The greater interest will be in the back, where they’re sure to tame down those tail lights.

Click.

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I got a few emails overnight about this one: Mercedes Benz to Introduce Fully Turbocharged Lineup by 2010.

I’ve been saying for a long time that Saab should have established ownership of the Turbo segment ages ago. First BMW brought out their 335i and now Merc are going to go full-on into it too. I guess everyone is.

It’s pleasing to see some Saab defenders in comments there (Go David!)

It’s good to see Saab emphasising turbocharging in their recent advertising. They really, really need to hammer this home.

And speaking of that…..

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Saab History has noted that SaabUSA have made some modifications to the “Recycle” TV ad that was featured here last week.

The voiceover, which repeated the script three times in the initial ad, has been edited to cut it down to two repeats (it’d definitely have potential to get on your nerves showing six times an hour during the Tour de France coverage) and the tagline at the end has changed as well.

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Andy Rupert is the voice behind the “Release Me” video, a former Saab 900 owner (and I know deep down he really, really misses it) and as of a few months ago - a Volvo sales guy.

With the recent featuring of “Release Me” in the video widget (see the right sidebar), the song got a new lease on life, especially at Andy’s workplace, where they managed to entertain themselves with some high-volume repetition and a Volvo adaptation.

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There’s been a bunch of recent Turbo X reviews come in:

* You can click here to download Go Auto magazine, an excellent Aussie publication, which has a review of the Turbo X based on the same session as the one I attended at GM’s proving grounds here in Australia. If you only read one of these reviews, make sure it’s this one.

* Drive.com.au cover the same event:

The test drive finished with a burst around the dirt circuit, where the Turbo X demonstrated a higher degree of sure-footedness than the front-wheel-drive Aero we were benchmarking it against.

A lap of the dirt track at rally car speeds with Johansson behind the wheel shows just how capable the Turbo X can be in skilled hands.

* Walkerton.com, from Canada, give a great insight into the good old days of Turbo in the X-review:

Count one, two, and then bang as the boost came on. You had to anticipate this rush because there was a phenomenon called torque steer.

Those were the days…..

Potent and sexy, the only real problem with the Turbo X is that only 100 are allotted to Canada and most are already spoken for.

* Autoweek have a “short stint” as well:

Most impressive is how it handles rounding turns. The all-wheel-drive system and sport-tuned suspension do a great job of keep the car planted when attacking corners. There are some signs of understeer when you push it hard, but for normal to semispirited driving, it provides all the grip you need. The stiffened suspension isn’t too harsh, either, for day-to-day motoring.

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And finally……some Japanese Chinese towing images that I got via email. Unbelievable.

Thanks to Ying for the correction!

I just thought I’d pass on the news, from two separate parties this weekend already, that the Saab Turbo X is definitely on it’s way.

One purchaser has indicated to me that his car has been produced, is US bound and should land on the docks in around 2 weeks from now.

I’ve also been contacted by a dealer with similar information, so you Turbo X buyers should be looking at deliveries some time soon after that.

I’m hoping to first Turbo X delivery photos through some time this week from either the UK oe somewhere in Europe. I’m sure the grins will be of the ear-to-ear variety.