SAAB Automobiles RIP | 1950 - 2011

Famously born from jet fighter planes, one of the quirkiest, most geeky car companies ever gave it up today. And it was a sad thing.

Sweden's SAAB Automobiles was not, after much time and effort, capable of sustaining its business model nor putting together the kind of deal to keep the company afloat in hard times. Management was in talks with potential Chinese white knights until the last possible moment. Then it all collapsed and the world lost a great and storied auto maker.

The author adored the 1976, red turbo 99 that graced more than one driveway for almost a decade. That was one wonderful car, one of the first to deploy a turbocharger, and a joy to drive and to look at.

So sure-footed on any kind of terrain. So nimble in the turns. So freaking much fun to drive. I can't tell you how many times that car got me out of nasty, slushy snow; or how it could virtually ford small streams. When on a skiing trip to Vail, Colorado, it was not surprising to find the local constabulary equipped with SAAB police cruisers. Uh-huh. That's right.

The best SAAB memory that remains with me these many years later, is driving all day through the southern Oregon forest and finding ourselves at dusk on an unmarked timber road.  But hey, we had the SAAB. No problem.

VentureOne Makes 3 Wheels Look Good

I'm starting to like some of these new vehicles, as previous posts will record. Here's what hybridcars.com had to say about this sleek, three-wheeled wonder.

What do you get when you combine the exhilaration of riding a fast motorcycle, the safety and comfort of a commuter car, and the fuel efficiency of advanced automotive technologies? The VentureOne—a two-passenger, three-wheeled, 100-mpg plug-in series hybrid from Venture Vehicles in Los Angeles.

Read the rest of the hybridcars post and watch their video here.

Technorati Tags: Green Vehicles, Electric, Venture One

Cool and Unusual Wooden Vehicles

There's just something about smooth wood. The look, the feel, and all the intangibles. And you know your riding on furniture. But before going any further, The Author owns to a bias against cutting down old-growth trees. Just don't do it. Ever again.

That said, the art of the woodworker is a visceral part of human existence - passed down through the ages and based on the most honorable of all labor, working with natural materials by hand. This post focuses on unusual wooden vehicles, including the work of Italian artist Livio De Marchi. That's him below in one of his two, floating cars designed for use in Venice.

Much of the material for this post came from the fine ArtCar blog. Thanks and credits for a pic and some fine links.

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Wooden Cars

Fine Rides - Fuel Efficient

For the style- and ride-conscious, The Author submits the following totally hot cars that boast well over 30 MPG. Two are European and one is Japanese. No surprises there. My personal fav is the Mini Clubman - which is to die for and gets way good gas mileage (above). But you've gotta love the 1.9 litre turbo diesel which is so popular in Europe. That motor shows up in a lot of vehicles, like several versions of Audi's A-4. The motor also comes standard with the New Beatle (pictured). You want mileage and spunk? Check out that motor, it's an engineering triumph.


I've included the New Toyota Scion on my list, just because it looks so cool. Admitedly, the cars pictured are not stock models - with the exception of the Clubman.

So why are we so focused on BioFuels, when there are turbo-diesels that get between 50-and-60-MPG? Seems kind of counter-intuitive in the middle of a food crisis.
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fuel efficient