If we do not take into consideration such products of badge-engineering as SAAB 9-2 and 9-7?, then until recently the model line of the Swedish company looked more or less balanced. Still, when the model 9-2 was taken off the serial production the model line featured a considerable gap, as the “smallest” representative of the company was the sedan SAAB 9-3. It is a D-class car which cannot be called a compact one.

At the same time in GM’s Table of Ranks, Saab is called the European premium-brand which should compete with the German top 3 and with their countrymen from Volvo. To tell you the truth, this competition has been going very poorly so far. Volvo is increasing its sales, and SAAB goes round in a circle year after year. Volvo launches new model into production and SAAB offers the same old 9-3 and 9-5 and the transatlantic loser 9-7X. At the same time the competitors, including Volvo, have recently reinforced the segment of compacts, and GM had nothing to do but widen the range of production. This is the way the concept SAAB 9-1 appeared.

In the base of the car lies the reliable and proved global platform Delta (Opel Astra, Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion), the engines will be shared with the extensive GM family including Isuzu (which tubro-diesels worked well on 9-3 and 9-5). But the potential competitors all well known – the hatchback BMW 1-series, Audi A3, Mercedes A-class and Volvo C30. These are the cars SAAB 9-1 will compete from the middle of 2009 when the car is launched serially. However, the situation of SAAB and GM on the whole is truly unstable and no one knows what can happen during one and a half years.

The second biggest European motorcycle manufacturer, the Austrian company KTM, will start the production of the 2-seat sportcar X-Bow from the beginning of 2008. For the first time, the car has been showed in Geneva and was one of the brightest premieres of the show.

X-bow, besides the futuristic exterior, is peculiar for a number of interesting solutions: the carbon monocoque (which has been made in collaboration with the Italian company Dallara) weights only 70 kg. The car is equipped with a supercharged 2.0-liter Audi TFSI with 220 hp. Power train is caddied out through a 6-grade double-clutch S-Tronic. X-Bow weights 700 kg and has really incredible characteristics: the 0-100 km/h acceleration takes 4 seconds, and the max speed is 300 km/h.

During 2008 the company plans to produce around 1000 cars. The cost of the novelty is $55 000. In fact, the model has few competitors, only one, to be precise – the English sportcar Ariel Atom. But it is quite figuratively to speak about some kind of competition – these car will be quite rare to encounter on open roads.

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