An internal embargo at GM? Did GM not allow Saab to reveal their plug in hybrid first?
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Jan 8th 2007 at 9:02AM 
As posted earlier, Saab has released a new concept car at the Detroit auto show, according to The Car Connection. The vehicle looks to be a 9-3 convertible, but underneath is a rather high tech vehicle using three electric motors and a CVT transmission in addition to its E100 2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged (whew) engine. The juice for the electric motors comes courtesy of a 42-cell, 300-volt lithium-ion battery bank. The vehicle uses a "modular" design so changes to the donor vehicle (Saab 9-3 convertible) are kept reasonable. One of those three motors powers the rear wheels via a differential and drive shafts, making this vehicle all wheel drive. Pretty high tech stuff, here.
So, what is this follow-up post for? It seems, according to the Saab Weblog, that GM may have put an internal embargo on Saab so as not to upstage their other internal projects. Did they not want the rest of the world to know that Saab had engineered a plug-in hybrid? According to the Saab Weblog, they have uncovered the "smoking gun", proving that GM ordered Saab to glue shut the plug port at the rear and cover it with a plaque that says "HYBRID".
This is to take nothing away from the Chevy Volt concept, which has some amazing hybrid technology of its own, but why not allow Saab to get some good press for themselves? Possible, however unlikely it may seem, is that Saab chose to postpone this new information until Detroit. Who knows? Anyone out there with some other inside information relevant to this story want to give us the goods?
Related:
[Source: Saab Weblog - Trollhattan Saab]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OhmExcited 11:13AM (1/08/2007)
GM owns Saab. When you buy a company you have the right to control the timing of your own press releases, advertisements, and product offerings. Not everything is a sinister conspiracy.
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jcwinnie 2:29PM (1/08/2007)
This is more than inter divisional chauvinism. If GM had shown a Saab 9-5 convertible without the plug concealed rather than a futuristic in appearance concept car, people would be going to the showrooms asking, “How much?” Obviously, not what our Big Oil masters want.
Felix Kramer, Cal Cars founder and member of Plug-in Partners, reminds us that the Chevrolet Volt fanfare comes from the same company that created, then crushed the EV1 and still is part of an auto industry lawsuit against the State of California.
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jiltedcitizen 3:27PM (1/08/2007)
the Chevrolet Volt fanfare comes from the same company that created, then crushed the EV1
You are right, that means they can't be trusted, just like Toyota can't for crushing the Rav4 EV...
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Michael 3:45PM (1/08/2007)
Toyota didn't crush all of their Rav4's. They also anounced that they would continue to service them. Which is why they are selling for tens of thousands of dollars more than what people paid for them on ebay.
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Dr. Drive 5:43PM (1/20/2007)
IMHO, SAAB is on its way out. Did you see all the "GM" cars at Detroit? They look good, but nothing new for SAAB. Lets not take it personal, but a possible reason all SAAB products are not new from ground up and news to come are so far away is the sell or closing of SAAB is nigh! Watch another GM brand take the ignition... Watch another gm brand take the Aero X door opening design and Lutz will say, "Other auto companies do it why can't we?
Renault, buy SAAB and save the day!
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