GM said it was going to reassess the situation and would advise next week. The thinking in most of the car press is that it will finally pull the plug on Saab, unless—and it’s a big “unless”—a buyer in China or India can be found. The Chinese firm BAIC, which was prepared to take a stake in Koenigsegg, said it would also “cautiously evaluate” the situation (whatever that means).

Unfortunately, this seems like a replay of the Penske back-down with respect to Saturn less than two months ago. When Roger P. couldn’t find a Saturn supplier in Renault, his plans rapidly went south. Then GM abruptly reneged on an almost-final deal to sell Opel. Now, there seems no chance that Koenigsegg will reconsider. One month ago, we wrote about that company’s ambitious plans to reorganize Saab and take it upmarket. At this point, one must conclude that there’s simply no market to take it up to.

The Swedes are putting a good face on it, but they are in a tough position, according to Edmunds’ Michelle Krebs (quoted in a CNN story):

Losing the deal could cost GM additional cash to shut down dealerships and manufacturing facilities in Sweden if it is unable to find another buyer. “This might not get much notice here, but they’ll notice in Sweden,” she said. “The big question is what will the Swedish government do now, whether they’ll allow the plants there to shut down.”

Celebrating the 100,000th Saab 96 in 1963

There’s also the small matter of GM’s $912 million write-down this year on Saab. Over ten years, GM paid out some $725 million to buy the company. Now, money promised from the European Investment Bank ($600 million) on the Koenigsegg deal is also out the window. Saab has 4,500 workers, most in Sweden, whose jobs are plainly in jeopardy.

Financially, it’s a sad story. Emotionally, it’s hard to see a great car company die.

Can a white knight be found to rescue Saab? Let us have your thoughts.

—jgoods

The policy would require that when vehicles are running at speeds less than 20 kilometers per hour that they activate a beeping noise that is similar to the sound of the engine. The policy would not allow the sound to be musical or a chime and would permit the driver to temporarily disable the beeping sound.

Too bad, we were hoping for musical chimes, filling the streets of Tokyo with irritating car music. BTW, how can a beeping noise sound like an engine? Only in Japan.

A new BMW 1 Series hybrid (above) is now testing in Germany. The gas-engine version has been around for a while, and the hybrid (so far) looks the same: like a car out of the 1930s. Details here. The company is going whole hog, if you will, on hybrids, with the ActiveHybrid X6 and the 7 Series, both of which we looked at. BMW is not likely, we imagine, to produce the car in this form, and it won’t come to the U.S. until 2011 or 2012 in any case. So there is still hope.

Mercedes will show the F-cell hydrogen electric at the L.A. Auto Show on December 4. Built on the B-Class platform, this is an entirely new car for Benz, with zero emissions of course, and very little prospect of being widely available anytime soon. However, there will be 200 production F-Cell cars in the U.S. and Europe made available to lease customers for “real-life testing.”

Benz has had the S400 Hybrid for sale in the U.S. for a while now, and you know how we feel about overpriced, overweight cars like this. But this news just in from Autoweek has laid us out. They reported on an event in Manhattan called Eco-luxe whose purpose was to bring journalists to a fancy restaurant to consort with green marketers selling everything from “quintuple-filtered vodka made in low-landfill facilities to carcinogen-free water bottles…. Guests who wanted test drives held off on cocktails before sampling the rides,” thank God, which included the S400 Hybrid.

GM, it appears, has not given up on using the so-called two-mode hybrid system, which it developed with Mercedes and Chrysler in 2004. This technology combines “an electric continuously variable transmission (eCVT) with two electric motors, four fixed gears, various clutches and planetary gearsets, heavy-duty electronics, and originally, a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack.” The Volt, as you know, will use lithium-ion batteries, but this complex system was developed for trucks, buses, and heavy-duty applications in which it works well. One wonders what kind of vehicles GM envisions for it in the future.

Finally, AMP=D showed a marvelous ’33 Ford electrified hotrod coupe at SEMA 2009, demonstrating that the good ol’ hotrod spirit is alive and well. The crew took a high-torque (660-lb-ft) motor designed for a bus, dropped it into this well-executed fiberglass ’33, and they project 0-60 mph in 3 seconds. Its range is 100 miles. Have a nice day.

Should hybrids and electrics require noisemakers? Are pedestrians in danger? Why or why not?

—jgoods

1985 Lamborghini Countach

If I could pick one decade to be stuck in forever, it would be the 1980s.

The girls wore leg warmers and tube tops, the guys in metal bands used more hair product than the girls, and Michael J. Fox was a major movie star (”Teen Wolf”!).

The best part of the 1980s, though, was the cars. This was a decade that finally gave everyone ample choices for whatever kind of car they wanted. The supercars of the ’80s were the stuff of dreams. Those wedge-shaped, gull-winged, super-powered Ferraris and Lamborghinis fueled an obsession for cars that could have easily gotten lost in the ’70s. The 1987 Ferrari F40 could compete with supercars of today. The 1985 Lamborghini Countach epitomized ’80s style.

Then there were the trucks. Whether you wanted an American 4×4 or Japanese reliability, you had options. The Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer ruled the streets and the trails. Toyota placed the incredible 22R engine into its Pickup, some of which are probably still running with no maintenance other than the occasional oil change.

Even the family car was exciting in the ’80s, as the all-new Ford Taurus (and SHO!) blew the segment wide open, while imports such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry were in the heyday of quality and fuel efficiency. The Japanese provided us with fun, fast pocket rockets such as the Honda CRX and Acura Integra. Chrysler invented the North American minivan category with its 1984 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.

Even among all this, American muscle managed to make a comeback. The 1985 Chevy Camaro Z28 and IROC, along with the 1987 Pontiac Trans Am GTA satisfied the horsepower-crazed gearheads. Even the 1987 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 was a good car, if not up to the standards of, say, a 1967 Shelby GT500.

Car-wise, the 1980’s were an enthusiast’s heaven and fostered many fine memories as the excess and blah of the 1990s set in.

What are your favorite cars from the 1980s?

-tgriffith

Cars have graced our green Earth for over 100 years.

While some people will argue that cars have made our planet a little less green in that time, few will disagree with the fact that cars have made our existence on Earth much easier.

But it wasn’t until the 1960s that cars finally got fun.

All of you who fondly remember your ‘55 Chevys and ‘57 Thunderbirds can argue with me all you want, but I believe that the decade of the ’60s was the beginning of excitement in the auto world.

Specifically, the year was 1964 1/2. Of course, that’s when the Ford Mustang was introduced and then set the tone for the next 50 years of driving fun. The Mustang also inspired the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger. (I know, the Plymouth Barracuda officially came to market before the Mustang, but I don’t count it because it was basically just a Plymouth Valiant until 1967.)

The Mustang/Camaro/Challenger trio was an unbeatable combo of automotive innovation and heart-racing fun that had never been seen before. Add in the Pontiac GTO, Plymouth Road Runner, Chevy Chevelle SS, Mercury Cougar, Oldsmobile Toronado, and more, and the 1960s go down in history as the decade that spurred a lifetime obsession for millions of junior high school kids. Kids who today are buying up 2009 and 2010 versions of the cars that started their love affair with the automobile.

No one in the ’60s gave a second thought to gas mileage, emission output, or carbon footprints… it was all about placing a big block V8 on a medium-size chassis and roaring onto the still-growing national highway system.

Of course that all changed in the 1970s, when a little something called the Clean Air Act combined forces with an OPEC oil embargo and instantly rendered muscle cars obsolete.

Even still, the legacy of the ’60s is still going strong, even as we near 50 years later.

Do you agree that cars finally got fun in the ’60s? What’s your favorite car from that decade?

-tgriffith

Why would I do such a thing? Because I like cars. And I like you. And I’d like you to have the car you’ve always wanted. In fact, maybe instead of saying I’m just pretending, maybe it’s more like I’m planning ahead (hey, you never know).

So in my little fantasy world I have $100,000 that is yours; but the deal is you have to spend it all on a car. What are you going to buy?

You could buy new and pick up a screamin’ fast BMW M6 or Porsche 911. You might even be able to score a deal on a Maserati Quattroporte or Aston Martin V8 Vantage. You could go for a fully optioned Jaguar XK or a wildly customized Ford Mustang (Saleen Dark Horse, anyone?). The options are limitless.

I’d also have a rule that you can only buy one car. I wouldn’t want my money going towards something practical, like 5 Honda Fits.

You could look towards the used market though! A 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo could be in the running, as could an ‘04 Ferrari 360 Modena (minus the girls, pictured above). Or maybe you skip the luxury/exotic thing altogether and go for something classic like this 1970 Dodge Challenger RT or this 1934 Ford Coupe.

What else in that price range would catch your eye? The floor is yours! Let’s hear what car you’d buy with my money.

Keep in mind though, you’d have to pay the insurance and any 5-figure maintenance bills that Ferrari requires. Even in my fantasies, I’m not that loaded.

-tgriffith

Mercedes McLaren SLR

Here is some really hot news that you can celebrate over the weekend. Our gurus have learned that silver remains the world’s top choice in car colors—for the ninth year! If that doesn’t make you want to buy a German car right now, you have no racing blood in your veins.

In a variety of hues, silver paint lies on top of one of every four vehicles sold in the U.S. and covers 35 percent of new European cars and 34 percent of Asia-Pacific cars. We have this on good authoritiy from Jane Harrington, manager of color styling and automotive coatings for PPG Industries, as reported in the Detroit News and on MSNBC.

However, Jane didn’t really tell us why silver has remained so popular—other than saying it “looks great on any car, shows off all of the lines and helps people blend into the crowd.” What? Helps people blend into the crowd? Our take is that silver is popular because people want their cars to look like money. Anyhow, here are some great-looking silver cars, courtesy of flickr.

Ferrari F430 Spider

1962 Silver Corvette

BMW Alpina Z8

Buick Skylark

Which do you like best? Why do these cars look good in silver?

—jgoods

Clunker?

The official Cash for Clunkers website has released a list of cars that were traded in on the program, and some the vehicles on the list are downright shocking.

Most are not… there are at least 60,000 Ford Explorers on the list, most of them from the early to mid-90s, though a couple of 2008 models were turned in.

But check out these cars that were on the list, and keep in mind that the law requires the engines of these vehicles to be permanently disabled. Try not to weep:

• 1997 Aston Martin DB7 Volante (I found one for sale here for just $69,500. )
• 2006 Audi A4 Cabriolet Quattro (OK, so it’s not a supercar, but still…)
• 1992 BMW 850i (For sale here for $24K.)
• 1987 Buick GNX (Only 547 were ever built.)
• 2007-2008 Chrysler 300 AWD (There were 3 of these.)
• 1987 Excalibur Autos Phaeton (No joke, but still hard to believe.)
• 2000 Jaguar XK8 convertible (I would’ve gladly paid that guy 5 grand for his car rather than see it killed just to get $4,500 off a Hyundai.)
• 1985 Maserati Quattroporte (You just don’t junk a Maserati.)
• 2005 Mazda RX8 (Still worth about $15K)
• 1997 Rolls-Royce Continental R (Ever heard the words “Rolls-Royce” and “clunker” in the same sentence?)
• 2008 Scion xD (Wait a minute. This thing is rated at 29 mpg, for one thing. Secondly, it’s still worth about $16K. How’d this one slip through?)

You can see the full list here, but I’m warning you, it’s got everything. Corvette and Camaro fans may want to stay away.

Would you have taken any of these cars off owners’ hands before they were sent to the crusher?

-tgriffith

I know there are a ton of Camaro fans clicking through the CarGurus pages lately, so this news should reach lots of happy readers:

According to the good folks over at Edmunds InsideLine, the C7 Corvette will feature that long-lost but much-loved design feature known as the split window. Pretty cool, huh?

Funny how the split window, which was featured only on the 1963 ‘Vette, has created such a loyal and fanatic following… vaulting the prices of ‘63 Corvettes into the stratosphere.

Visibility on those vintage ’63s, though, was another issue, something that, in modern times, can be addressed with cameras and sensors. While those are no substitute for seeing with ones own eyes, they at least make the split window feasible, so I’m all for it!

What I’m not sure about are those monster modern-day tail-fin tunnels on the back. Hopefully those are toned down a little come production time… or maybe Chevy will just throw a jet engine into each one for a little extra thrust.

What do you think: Are you glad to see the return of the split window, or has the retro design trend finally gone too far?

-tgriffith

According to PorschePurist.com,

The shoot used 16 cars from Jerry Seinfeld’s collection and another 15 more from the likes of Roger Penske, Brumos, Mat Drendel and others. While the commercial was filmed at a former Marine Air Base in El Toro, California, it will be altered to look [like] the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Now the cars are running, some 50 of them. I have to say the Panamera looks like it came from a different universe.

As a footnote, we should add that Avis locations throughout Germany are going to make the Panamera available for rental beginning October 1. Autoblog opines that the rates are “a surprisingly reasonable €189 per day from Monday to Thursday. If, on the other hand, you plan to hit the autobahn for a weekend getaway, the tariff goes up to a more Porsche typical €567.”

Wow, what a bargain: $835 a day to drive this machine. Pick up your phone and call Avis today! Would you do it if you had the bread?

—jgoods

Inside the Porsche museum

Whether you’re into the latest exotics, extravagant classics, original American muscle, or have an appreciation for the bizarre, there’s a car museum that caters to your tastes.

Visiting museums in person is the best way to experience them, but since traveling the globe in search of automotive lore is impractical, we’re proud to present you with the websites of some that should be on the top of your “to visit” list. In no particular order, here they are:

1. The Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany

Open since January 2009, this is perhaps the most state-of-the-art auto museum in the world. Divided into three main areas, visitors can follow the chronological history and development of Porsche.

2. The Volo Car Museum, Volo, IL

No, not Volvo. The Volo Car Museum in Illinois makes the list because of its Hollywood collection, featuring the original Batmobile, K.I.T.T., the General Lee, and many more.

3. The National Packard Museum, Warren, OH

Compare their website to Volo’s and you’ll get a sense of how vastly different car museums can be. From the 1903 Model F to the 1958 Packard Hawk, these are true classics.

4. Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum, Shipshewana, IN

Three words: 1954 Hudson Hornet. Okay, one number and two words, but this car alone is worth the visit!

5. National Auto Museum, Reno, NV

Cars from 1892 all the way to 1994 grace the halls of this automotive hodgepodge. Want to see what a 1937 Airomobile Experimental looks like? How about a gold-plated 1981 Delorean? These, plus Ferraris, Fiats, and more await you in Reno!

6. The Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum, Oxfordshire, England

Housed in a 15th-Century barn, some of the best (Lagonda, anyone?) British cars ever assembled are here.

7. Galleria Ferrari, Maranello, Italy

It’s a Ferrari museum at the home of Ferrari. Do I need to say any more? Well, okay: From famous F1 racers to nearly mythical sports cars, this is pure automotive heaven. (If you don’t speak Italian, look for the “English version” button on the website.)

8. Lamborghini Museum, Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy

I just figured, you know, since you’re in Italy, you might as well check out the other Italian supercar maker.

9. The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI

A 9-acre display floor with 40-foot ceilings does justice to the automotive spirit that invented the American auto industry.

10. The National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, KY

I just put this one up here for my die-hard muscle-car horsepower-loving friends. I easily could have mentioned this Mustang museum or a Camaro museum, but I couldn’t find one. If you know of one, let me know!

Do you have a favorite car museum?

—tgriffith