Aussie Motoring

The Queensland Government today reaffirmed its support for ethanol blended fuels at Saab Australia’s launch of its revolutionary BioPower car at the Holden Performance Driving Centre on the Gold Coast.

The Saab BioPower car is the first ethanol production car in Australia that runs on 85% ethanol using its flex-fuel capability, giving motorists the ability to swap between normal unleaded petrol, E10 (10% ethanol and 90% petrol blend) and E85 (85% ethanol 15% petrol blend) when it becomes available.

Minister for State Development John Mickel is delighted that the Queensland Government has been asked to trial the Saab BioPower car, Australia’s first ethanol production car, under local conditions in the coming month.

“Saab Australia has recognised the Queensland Government’s commitment to promoting the use of ethanol blended fuels among motorists and our leadership in building up this burgeoning industry,” Mr Mickel said.

“Presently most motor vehicles in Australia are compatible with ethanol blended fuels up to 10%. However, blended fuels are here to stay and based on overseas trends E85 will be the next step.

“The Beattie Government is championing +e fuels in Queensland and the opportunity to partner with Saab Australia will demonstrate to the automotive industry and the community that this is a fuel for the future.”

At its launch today, Saab Australia presented one of its revolutionary BioPower cars to Minister Mickel beginning a one month trial driving on local Queensland roads.

“The Saab BioPower vehicle will be driven alongside conventional QFleet vehicles to assess how it performs against fossil fuelled vehicles,” Mr Mickel said.

The Director of Saab Australia, Mr Parveen Batish, said Saab was committed to bringing BioPower to market locally as soon as possible.

“If the QFleet trial is a success and we get positive feedback on the BioPower program we would like to move quickly to launch BioPower for sale in Australia.”

“With Saab BioPower we hope we can play a role in stimulating demand for renewable fuels, such as E85. This would be an important step towards breaking the current ‘chicken and egg’ situation we face as a community in relation to introducing alternative fuels,” Mr Batish said.

And if you’re wondering why Saab would choose a Holden facility for this launch then we can tell you that Saab is marketed in Australia by Holden.

Saab will become the first ‘carbon neutral’ car brand in Australia in 2007 with the carbon emissions of every new Saab vehicle sold to be offset by the planting of new trees.

Beginning this year, Saab will purchase a one year ‘offset’ to Greenfleet for every new or demonstration Saab vehicle purchased, making Saab the first brand to offset its entire range.

Under the agreement Greenfleet will plant 17 native trees for each vehicle, which will absorb the greenhouse gas emissions produced by a car in one year.

The trees will also help tackle salinity, improve water quality and provide essential habitat for native species.

Director Saab Australia and New Zealand, Parveen Batish, says Saab’s Greenfleet program is an important part of the brand’s environmental leadership.

“Saab has a clear commitment to ‘performance with responsibility’,” Mr Batish said.

“The partnership with Greenfleet is another way for the Saab community to drive with a green conscience irrespective of which vehicle they choose.”

Specialising in reducing the environmental impacts of transport, Greenfleet Australia began in 1997 and has planted nearly three million native trees to create permanent forests on behalf of motorists to sequester carbon emissions.

“It is really terrific that Saab has taken this very practical step to offset the carbon emissions from their whole range of cars,” said Greenfleet acting CEO Sara Gipton.

“It is so important that we all reduce our impact on the planet and Saab’s initiative demonstrates how easy it is to make a positive difference. Transport is the fastest-growing source of carbon emissions in Australia - just imagine what we could achieve if all car manufacturers were to follow Saab’s example.”

The woes of at least one of America’s car giants is not limited just to the American mainland. Back in 1990 General Motors bought a 50% share in the Swedish car manufacturer Saab for $1 billion with a toptal cost tothe company coming in at $4 billion.

Obviously General Motors lacks the Midas Touch so it should come as no surprise that in the last 15 years Saab has failed to turn a profit on 14 occasions.

So what is wrong with Saab? Well since 1990 here in Australia Saab seems to have moved upmarket and these days Saabs are not as common on our streets as they once were. On the other hand if you drive in any of the major capital cities and regional centres you will often find yourself behind a bus that was built by Scania - Saab’s trucking arm.

There has been some suggestions that General Motors should give Saab the chop but then, from Holden’s point of view, that would not be such a good idea. Many Saab’s around the world are powered by a Holden motor but that doesn’t mean that Saab’s are cheaper here than anywhere else.

In fact even the entry level Saab - the 9-3 Linear Sports sedan kicks off at $A39,900 and for that price you only get a basic car.

Included in the basic car are:

Electronic Stability Program (traction control by another name)

Roof rail airbag - side curtain airbags for front and rear passengers

ReAxs - passive rear steer

Cruise Control

Automatic Climate Control

Heated front seats

Rain sensor - that turns your wipers on if you don’t notice that it’s actually raining outside

To that you can add:

Leather trim and 16 inch alloy wheels for an extra $3000

Bi-Xenon headlamps with automatic levelling $1500

Body coloured bumper and side skirts $1000

Color-matched door handles $490

Intergrated front fog lamps $500

Saab Sentronic automatic 5 speed transmission $2100

Sport Chassis - that supports a more active driving style $500

Dark walnut or red walnut veneer trim $750

Saab Infotainment system (Premium 150) $500 or

Saab Infotainment (Prestige 300) $1000

6 disc in-dash CD Player $750

Intergrated telephone $1000 (hands-free preparation for mobile phone is standard)

Auto-dimming inner mirror $320

Electrically adjustable driver’s seat $1250

Electrically operated glass sun roof $2000

Saab Park Assist $750

Saab Anti-theft Protection Alarm $750

And now you are beginning to see why there aren’t too many Saab’s on Australian streets.

Plus would you like to drive a car with a dashboard that looks like this?

Every one of those buttons is a distraction and an accident waiting to happen.

You will find a road test of the Saab 9-3 Linear Convertible here - but note that the starting price for the convertible is way above that of the entry level sedan. If you want the convertible then you are going to be paying $64,900 just to get started.

You will find the Saab Australia website here