So Flux has set up a...
So Flux has set up a "text quote" service, whereby the customer texts "call me" to the special number 81232. A text acknowledgement is sent by Flux, followed by a call from an advisor within two minutes. The service costs 50p on top of whatever the text costs by the caller"s network provider. A typical quote for a new risk is estimated to take five minutes, sometimes more, so the text option could save money.
Auto Express can exclusively...
Auto Express can exclusively reveal the world"s only picture of the 9-3X, an SUV crossover model that would have seen Saab take on BMW"s X3 in the small 4x4 class.
From the beginning of the 9-3"s design process, there were plans for five variants, but only three have ever made it to the showroom. The saloon was set to be joined by a smaller three-door hatchback - canned for cost reasons - and the all-wheel- drive version seen in the picture top right.
At the time of the 9-3X concept"s unveiling at the Detroit Motor Show in 2002, designers were well on the way to finishing the production version seen here. However, Saab had one major problem with the platform. Based on the same underpinnings as the Vauxhall Vectra, the 9-3 family lacked the capacity for four-wheel drive.
Not keen on producing a front-drive only SUV, bosses pulled the plug on the 9-3X project, instructing stylists to switch their efforts to a conventional load-lugger (second image). This late change of plan explains why this year"s Sportwagon took so long to arrive.
News of Saab"s defunct 9-3X project comes only weeks after we revealed its plans for a larger Subaru-based off-roader had been ditched. For the moment at least, the Swedish firm is still stuck in neutral when it comes to an SUV for Europe.