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GM is looking to make future Saab models more compact than it had originally planned. The next-generation Saab 9-3 was planned to use GM’s global upper-medium Ypsilon-2 platform, but executives at GM of Europe have decided to move it to the more compact lower-medium Delta architecture.

With that, the upcoming Saab 9-1 will move from the originally planned Delta architecture to GM’s small Gamma architecture. The Saab 9-1, based on the Saab 9-X Concept , is planned to make its debut in 2012.

"We don’t want Saabs to grow in size but rather keep them more compact," Carl-Peter Forster, chairman of Saab Automobiles, told Automotive News Europe at the London Auto Show.

Forster also said that 4-cylinder turbo engines will find their way in future small and medium Saab models to increase fuel-efficiency.

Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept:

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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