2010 Saab 9-4X Spied In The Nude

Codenamed GMT168, the new Saab 9-4X is intended to kick off Saab’s highly anticipated aesthetic overhaul with its introduction in 2010. Until recently, photos of the 2010 Saab 9-4X were limited to heavily camouflaged spy shots, but Brenda Priddy and her team of espionage experts managed to score some stills of the new 9-4X showing some skin.

Check out the undressed 9-4X after jump

Engineered to be Saab’s first Crossover vehicle, the 2010 9-4X shares a platform with the Cadillac SRX and is intended to replace Saab’s current SUV offering, the 9-7X. Powered by a 2.0L turbocharged engine, spec sheets leaked from GM have the Saab 9-4X putting out a whopping 245-hp and 295 lb-ft of torque while still maintaining a healthy EPA average of 25 mpg city/37 mpg highway. In-house tests claim the 9-4X can accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds, but I’d like to reserve final judgement on the matter until my hands are graced with a set of keys.

[News Source: Edmunds.com, Photo: LeftLaneNews.com]

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GM, Ford Fight To Keep Government Bailouts, Say Detroit Is Not Wall Street

Earlier this month, mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which collectively own or guarantee roughly $5 trillion in mortgages, were seized by the U.S. government to prevent an even more catastrophic housing industry collapse. Last week, when global investment firm Lehman Brothers began to go belly up, the federal government wasn’t nearly as charitable and on Monday, Lehman Brothers headed into bankruptcy. Watching the events unfold from Detroit, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have begun to get nervous.

With the failure of Lehman Brothers, some auto industry analysts fear the government has drawn a line on federal intervention, just when the Detroit 3 need it most. Getting proactive, teams of lobbyists and executives representing the biggest auto manufacturers have begun to flood Washington, hoping to remind them that Detroit is not Wall Street. “[It's] a very separable issue,” said Ford. Still, lawmakers are approaching the loan requests with caution, and the foot dragging is yielding to frustration. According to Auto News, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was quoted explaining to the press, “The financial markets have worsened so much since the energy security act was passed last year, that providing the loans would seem to be the appropriate and fair thing to do right now.”

Other accounts report that auto makers are cautiously optimistic that they’ll receive the bailouts they need, and as of right now, no one is planning on shutting their doors. Said Wagoner, “I can’t really say at this point that I’ve seen specific ramifications from yesterday’s actions [referring to the Lehman Brothers failure], but we have to watch that closely.”

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Prius Owners Aware of Elitist Image, Shrug Nonchalantly And Instruct Young, Supple Cabana Boy To Fetch More Grapes

According to a story run by FOX news, Prius owners are aware of their own pretentious, self-absorbed stereotype and are basking in the exclusivity. Ingeniously creating a way to worship not only themselves but also each other, Prius owners inspired the creation of Priuschat.com, a self-described online “support group”. The website provides several resources for Prius owners, including multiple tips for bagging out your Prius. One suggestion advised [which we quote verbatim], “Impress your friends by keeping your car clean with these WeatherTech Toyota Prius Extreme-Duty Floor Liners & Cargo Liner Mat.” In addition to hot-rod modification tips, priuschat.com also features - as the name would imply - a chat forum largely dedicated to allowing Prius owners to commiserate on the hardships of living amongst the wastrel dregs of society. As one poster on priuschat.com lamented, “I think that we Prius owners need a dating/whatever program, to hook us up with other Prius owners.” Vivid memories of repeatedly being shoved in lockers probably terrorized him, because the poster was quick to classify the comment as a joke, but did add that he does have a sincere “…inability to look at people with gas-burning cars as attractive.”

We are so stunned by the blatant arrogance, we can’t even think of a decent pedophelia-related retort.

[Source: Fox News]

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ATTN SUV Owners: Rumble w/ Hybrid Drivers, Parking Lot, 4pm

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, if you do not currently own (or are at least seriously contemplating owning) a Toyota Prius, you are probably unworthy of drawing oxygen into your lungs. And if you own a Chevrolet Avalanche? Well, you just go ahead and start tightening that noose – we’ll stand by and kick the chair out from under you when you’re ready.

Singling out the Chevy Avalanche Fan Club of North America’s South Florida chapter, the article interviewed several of the chapter’s charter members while maintaining a distinct air of disdain. In addition to obnoxious editorializing the article also cities statistics that are technically inaccurate. Among the discrepancies;  a reported EPA estimate of 12mpg as opposed to the listed 14mpg, and an average curb weight of over 7,000 lbs – roughly 1,500lbs more than the Avalanche’s actual 5,500lbs.  Though obviously not a gross manipulation of the data, the inconsistencies coupled with the article’s sanctimonious undertones appear to communicate a growing belief that SUV owners are guilty of negligence of criminal proportions.  Congratulations on adhering to the journalists’ creed of accuracy and fairness, Sun Sentinel – take a bow.

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