I received some mail about this and I've been holding off asking it because it seems a little bit macabre. PT alluded to it in comments on the Audi A5 Sportback post earlier, so I figured "why not?"

It is one of those interesting questions and once you get past the awkwardness of it all, I'm sure it'll provide for some interesting answers.

The Saab deal looks incredibly promising and I'm really looking forward to seeing Saab under Spyker's ownership and Victor Muller's influence. I think the future is extremely bright.

However, picture life in an alternate universe where Saab is now being wound down and you're being forced to re-think your vehicle purchase choices. It's time to 'fess up and spill the beans.

What would you be looking to buy if Saab were being closed down?

Are you holding out for the 9-1 and would therefore start looking at Minis, or the Audi A1?

Would you save some money and change tack completely, looking at the Hyundai Genesis Coupe?

Or would you just keep buying old Saabs until there were none left?

I think it's a fairly open secret around here that Alfa Romeo occupies a pretty large space in my heart so I'd probably be looking to Italy for my future vehicle needs (and may still pick one up in the near term to accompany the Saab fleet).

I've also had a big soft spot for Jaguar ever since my Dad bought me a book on them around 25 years ago, so maybe one of those would occupy my future years as well.

The only other marque I've got on my must-own list at some stage is Porsche, but that one's looking less and less likely as I can't justify plowing $30K into a 30 year old car - plus maintenance.

So, if worse came to worst, where would you be looking?

UPDATE - Apparently they're older shots that we've featured before. I lose track of all the photos I see and post up here. Still fun.

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AutoWeek had a one-pager on the Saab sale in their latest issue and MoodySaaber was kind enough to scan-and-send a copy of it via email.

I mentioned a few days ago that Auto Motor and Sport have a big Saab special in their latest issue and it'll be interesting to compare these images to AMS's as I'm pretty sure it's the same agency doing the photochops for them both (Motor Forecast).

Here is the new 9-3 as they see it......(notice the door count there)

....and as a special treat, their take on a new Sonett (put a roof on that sucka, please!).

How close they might be to reality is anyone's guess, but if these are the same as the AMS images then they might be reasonably close. Those Swedes have amazing contacts!

I'm pretty sure that if Saab released a hatchback version of the new Saab 9-5 or even the current 9-3, people would be whoopin it up all over the place.

Not so over at Audi.

It's mesmerising the ladies.....

And it's apparently so steamy sexy that even the ground itself is sweating....

Polo-neck guy is smiling....

And yet despite all this newness, all this coupe-sedan-avant beauty and a whole new naming convention, there's nary a photo of the actual new feature on the website.

I got all of these images from the a5sportback website after seeing an ad on a news website I frequent and getting curious about it. I actually made a point of going through the whole thing (almost) and was astounded that the main feature (for me) was shown so rarely.

Are we Saab fans really that different? Is the hatch really so disliked that even here in Australia - a land not that averse to the hatch - Audi feel like they shouldn't show it?

The website instead focuses mostly on the design of the car, and yes Audi are the latest company to claim they've build a 4-door coupe. Or is that a 5-door coupe?

It's no ugly duckling, though I'm not sure the front really sets it off that well.

But here's one of only two shots I found on the site that actually feature the hatch.

In a Saab ad, there'd most likely be a wide shot of the entire car with the hatch open so that you can see the full extent of the load capacity. These shots are all very close in, almost like they want to hide the car from view when the hatch is open.

Relevance?

Not much, I guess, but I just find it interesting how other companies develop and then promote new vehicles.

Why go to the trouble of developing a body style like this if you're not going to max out the promotion of it?

If you're wondering why there's been precious little whining about the Swedish media around here so far this week, it's a combination of a few things.

1. Better news in the form of funding from Hereema and the EU approval for Saab's EIB loan.
2. SAS, the airline, being up the creek without a paddle and - get this - getting a financial bailout from the Swedish government!

The Swedish government own 20 percent of the company, with the governments of Norway and Denmark having a 14% stake each, along with the Wallenbergs.

The airline has been bleeding cash for some time with an ageing fleet and cut-price competition. That's the background, but the big headline for Saab fans is seeing Maud Olofsson announce that the Swedish state will be pouring some cash in to prop up the airline (pardon the pun).

From SvD:

- It is important to preserve the value of the company, it is taxpayers' money, "says Olofsson.

And of course, therein lies the difference. They have government ownership involved already, whereas Saab were owned by GM.

They could blame GM for Saab's failure, but if SAS fails, they can only blame themselves.

I hope there's a solution for the people who rely on SAS for their livelihood, but the irony of the situation just had to be noted here.

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Thanks to OKSaab for the tip!

WooDz is one of our long-termers from the days of Trollhattan Saab. He's got a bit of a unique perspective on things given that he lives in Germany but it is an expat Brit. Oh, and he used to sell Saabs for a living, too, so he's pretty familiar with markets and customers, etc.

He's sent me a little ventitorial and I figured it'd be good to get out in the open.

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There's a few things that have been going through my mind lately and it's now reached the point where I need to vent a little.

First up is OPEL and the recent news that Nick Reilly is convinced that GME OPEL can return to profit if they kill off 20% of their production and 10% of their workforce (not meaning they'll literally kill 10% of their workers, but.....you know....).

I can only guess that means 95% blue collar, hard grafting people and 5% white collar managers on 4 times the blue collar wage, who for the past year have endured a few bouts of RSI, churning out bar graphs and pie charts in true GM fashion, quite possibly showing the forecasted levels of 'Pi**ed-offedness' felt by Magna and the German government for each month they dragged their heels on the sale of said German company.

The Great Plan also consists of injecting 11 billion Euro and bringing 9 new models to market. Naturally this 11 billion isn't just for new models, it will also be used to improve OPEL's facilities, meaning the canteen will now offer latte and cappuccino as well as regular filtered coffee. Maybe that's where the nearly 3 billion Euros will go from requested government aid.

What confuses me, and maybe some of you would like to open my eyes to something I'm missing here, is why should the German government give 2.7 billion Euros in aid, when the result still leaves over 2,000 people in search of work? In January, 340,000 people registered for state benefits in Germany, pushing the total of unemployed, in one form or another, to over 10 million for this month.

How about OPEL cutting its production by 20%, cut off the dead wood in redundancy packages, stop 'crying wolf' to the EU and invest 8 billion Euros instead?

Even 8 billion Euros is an obscene amount of money. This is a company who couldn't find 500 million Euros to invest in a premium brand like SAAB each year. OPEL has 9 products and is looking to increase that by a further 3 new products. SAAB, on the other hand, should have at least 5 products. A Sub-Compact, A Compact, Mid-size Sedan/Estate, Over-sized Sedan/Estate and an SUV/MPV. If you want to give them names be my guest.

If GM had invested 4 billion Euros into SAAB I'm 100% convinced that SAAB's product wouldn't be in so much need of attention. This 11 billion Euros is just another reason why I am so happy to see SAAB finally setting off on another course and the quicker they can stop using GM components the better. I'd much rather see SAAB use Peugeot/Citroen as a supplier than have GM receive one more Euro of their money ........which brings me to the 9-4x.

I like the 9-4x, it fills a massive void in SAAB's product line-up. If you don't like SUVs then it's not going to be for you. However, please don't be all elitist and start spitting fire at the thought of a SAAB off-roader. If Porsche can have one, then any manufacturer can have one.

However, why on earth are we waiting until 2011 for this vehicle?

The concept debuted 2 years ago. It's production ready. What excuse does SAAB have not to launch the 9-4X sooner? Production costs? Shipping Costs? This is the beauty of the 9-4x. GM build it, SAAB slap on their margin, customer pays for it.

I know what you're think though. Marketing; we need flashy TV adverts. No we don't! TV is dead and expensive. Stick to print and online marketing.

So SAAB what are you waiting for? Place an order for 100 Units per month to get started and watch your demand rise to over a 1,000 units a month by the end of the year, without the need to discount them. Keep at least a 6 month waiting list as orders rise and see how well the residuals hold on the used car market. I'm not teaching these boys anything new, just reminding them that flooding the market with unsold cars is very bad for business.

With SAAB producing just 100 units per day they are in a very advantageous position over presumably all other manufacturers who are looking at cutting production and down-sizing. SAAB doesn't need to just right-size their vehicles - they can right-size their production too.

My hopes for SAAB are high but maybe, like many of you, I'm still getting over the fiasco of the last 15 months. I'm tired of all the what if's. I want to see some action, new products and I want to see them soon; not in summer and not in 2011.

Now's the time to capitalise on all the press coverage and launch a new model every 6 months, starting with the 9-5 sedan in March. If it can't be ordered, it can't be sold. If it can't be sold it's not earning you money.

Just remember you own advertising "The Time is Now!"

One of the great outcomes from the Saab Support Convoys is that there will be several new Saab Car Clubs formed out of people getting together for a common cause.

Whilst there are a couple of car clubs in Pennsylvania already, there's nothing in the south-eastern area so John Carter has decided to leverage the support of his employer - General Sales Saab in West Chester, PA - to form a local Saab Club: the SE Pennsylvania Saab Club.

The support of the dealership means that there are no membership fees for interested people and the club will have a base for meetings, etc.

John has set up a forum for interested persons and hopes to get a few activities going, with a view to maybe organising a combined activity with members of the three other PA Saab clubs at some stage.

Link: SE Pennsylvania Saab Club forum.

Good luck to all of you. It's always great to see a new Saab Club form and get active in their support and enjoyment of the brand.

I'm posting this as a follow-up to a piece I wrote about the Toyota situation here in Australia last week.

In that post, I wrote about the unsatisfactory responses I'd received from Toyota PR about the situation with accelerator pedals here in Australia. They said the recall didn't matter because pedals used in Australian cars were manufactured at a different plant. I countered saying if it's a global design, then the point of manufacture didn't matter as it is the design that's the problem.

They didn't answer for a full 4 or 5 days, until today, when they pointed me to a website they've setup here in Australia with some FAQs, including the following:

Why are Toyota vehicles sold in Australia not affected by the recall announced overseas? Accelerator pedals for Toyota vehicles sold in Australia, and those manufactured in Australia for export, are provided by a different supplier to another design.

Interesting.

I'm not planning on following that up any further, but I'd love to see the results if someone did.

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Speaking of Toyota, they're still all over the news services and despite efforts like this editorial in the Washington Post from Akio Toyoda himself (he's the prez), it's just not looking good. I'm not a fan of Toyota at all, but this is a massive motoring story with plenty of lessons to be learned.

First there were floor mat recalls, then the accelerator pedal recalls. Now they're recalling the 2010 Prius and Lexus HS250H for faulty brakes, there are reports coming through that it may also apply to earlier Prius model years, too, and your mobile phone may be in danger of interfering with steering your late model Corolla. There are criticisms of the US Govt committee that's been set up to look into all this as many of them have rather deep Toyota connections and as if that wasn't enough, Toyota are now thinking of having to change their way their push-button-start systems operate in order for them to respond adequately to a panic situation.

Imagine having to respond every day to an overwhelmingly critical press?

I take no joy or satisfaction from Toyota now having to face media criticism like Saab have had from the Swedish press for 12 months. It's just an interesting set of circumstances to watch unfold.

It's a delicate time for Toyota to say the least and whilst some US writers are quietly dancing a little jig, I think they should be mindful of the fact that if and when Toyota come out of this, their transparent approach could lead them to being stronger than ever in terms of customer appreciation.

They've got a long road to hoe, but if they do it right.....

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The Saab-9-1-of-the-future benchmark from that other German company has just been unveiled online ahead of its physical unveiling at Geneva next month - it's the Audi A1.

This does not excite me one little bit, I have to say.

And speaking of the potential for the Saab 9-1....... there was a link to an Auto Motor and Sport video of the 9-X BioHybrid and Saab 9-4x in comments yesterday.

Anyone notice how long that 9-X BioHybrid is? It was huge.

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$5000 and you can hit 200mph.

Ezra Dyer just did it.

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A move that was set in motion some time prior to Spyker placing a bid for Saab has come to fruition today, with Spyker commencing production in Coventry, England.

Spyker Cars said its new 20,000sq ft plant at CPP Manufacturing in Whitley, Coventry, will help it to increase production levels and cut costs.

The relocation from Zeewolde in Holland, announced last November, is likely to create around 40 jobs in Coventry, lifting CPP's workforce to 150.

Spyker's founder Victor Muller and chairman Vladimir Antonov visited the Coventry site today with Brendan O'Toole, managing director of CPP.

Capable of turning out five Spyker Aileron supercars each week on one shift, the new plant was described by Mr Muller as a landmark in the car-maker's history.

"This move makes sense on many different levels," he said. "CPP has been producing our body panels for 10 years and we have an extremely close working relationship with the company.

"More than half our components are sourced from the UK, so moving here will bring us considerable efficiency savings, which is vital for a car company of our size."

The BBC has a nice little photo gallery commemorating the occasion, and I've got to say that whilst the bright Spyker interiors left me reaching for my sunglasses a little, it all makes a lot more sense in basic black, a-la the C8 Laviolette LM85.

Dave R tells me that the region has quite a history in terms of vehicle manufacturing, with over 600 different companies - six hundred! - manufacturing vehicles of one sort or another there over the last century.

That's history, though, with only London Taxis International in the area now, and Spyker, of course.

Whenever someone does a Top-XX list of things covering a long period of time, there's bound to be some contention. And so it is here with GQ's list of 50 stylish rides from the last 50 years.

There's some obvious inclusions here - Jaguar E-Type, Aston Martin's DB5 and DB9, Mercedes SL, Porsche 911 and the eternal Ferrari 308. But then there's the Volvo Turbo Wagon and the Cadillac Allante, which IMHO look out of place in any top list except for perhaps top 10 cars you'd like to crush. OK, maybe not the Volvo.

The cars are sliced and diced into decades, with 10 representatives from each of the last five decades from the 60s until now.

Something I'd be interested to do a straw poll on - what's your favourite decade from those represented?

Before you get to that, though, celebrate the Saab 900 appearing at slide #26 and looking like the epitome of the 1980s. It even earns a James Spader reference, which made me smile.

Make sure you click 'next' and check out #27 :-)

And is it strange that this is the first time I've been on the GQ website, or that I've never ever read the magazine? So un-hip.

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Thanks to Joe P for the link.