Grote 44840-5 - Fog And Driving Lamp Relay on 2040-parts.com

Saab enters Court Protection – just as we predicted

Victor Muller takes Saab in to Court Protection Two weeks ago we reported that Saab were about to seek court protection from its creditors in a bid to buy time until investment from China arrives. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Saab are waiting for investment funding from China – via Pang Da and Youngman – totalling €245 million which should put Saab back on a solvent footing – at least for a while – and allow the beleaguered Swedish car maker to resume production and push on with future plans.

First Sight: Holden VE Commodore and Statesman

GM Holden last week launched its biggest program ever, the $1 billion all-new Holden VE Commodore range. Designed at Holden's Port Melbourne design center, the 4th generation Commodore is the first all-new model of the series to be fully designed and engineered in Australia. Previous generations of Commodore since 1978 have always been based on lengthened and widened Opel large car platforms of the day but since the demise of the European Omega in 2003, GM lacked a suitable rear-wheel-drive donor platform for a new Commodore, hence the clean sheet approach for the latest VE model.

Maserati Levante SUV – 525bhp & Made in Italy

The Maserati Levante – the production version of the Kubang Concept SUV – is based on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and it was planned to be built in the US alongside the Jeep, but demand for the new Grand Cherokee means Maserati will be building the Levante in Italy instead. Which will probably do its credentials no harm at all. Nor will its engine offerings, which will include the new 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 from the Ghibli with around 400bhp, the new diesel engine from the Ghibli (and perhaps Fiat’s new V8 diesel when that arrives) and the thumping twin-turbo V8 from the Quattroporte with a round 525bhp.