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In some cases, comparing Firefox to a car could be apt

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/10/2312232/renault-opens-up-the-car-as-a-platform
http://newsroom.saab.com/news/news/worldfirstfromsaabsaabiqonopeninnovationincarinfotainment.5.741c75ab12da7f448807ffe719.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BOd9oX1p4s ;)

SAAB was first with this concept, in their IQON system:

http://media.saab.com/press-releases/2011-03-01/world-first-saab-saab-iqon-open-innovation-car-infotainment

Too bad it will likely never see production since SAAB is probably going to be dead next week. (one could argue SAAB is already dead and the mortician just hasn't declared time of death yet)

There will soon be an electronic Saab 9-3 to.

Spyker also announce a co-operation with American Axle for developing a four-wheel drive system with regular engine on one wheel pair and electronic on the other one afaik.

http://www.electroengine.se/true-electric/index.php
http://newsroom.saab.com/news/news/saab93epowersaabsfirstev.5.6a0ed975128ec1d13f17ffe2327.html
http://www.nitrobahn.com/news/saab-american-axle-form-joint-venture-for-electric-drive-systems/

They have also announce co-operation with BMW for engines (but most likely not related to this) and talks with Volvo.
Seems like good things happened as soon as they left GM. Easier to be unique that way I guess.
(The new 9-5 is out to: http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/201007/18/20100718032427_Realtid221/20100718032427_Realtid221.dbp.asp)

Actually you just need minor modifications to modern car. In Sweeden, the E85 mix is readily availiable, and both SAAB and Volvo is selling cars that run on both E85 and regular unleaded. The reason for these minor modification is simply the higher strain on some parts due to the octane level of E85, which is 101 i believe (as opposed to 92, 95 and 98 which are the usual ones).
Benefits of this is of course cleaner car emissions, but also a more potent mix, creating cars that actually put out more horsepowers than with 98 unleaded. Example is the new SAAB 9-5 Sportcombi Aero, which produces above 300 BHP using this fuelmix, as opposed to about 260 BHP in their Aero edition of the car on regular 98. Also, the 2.0t BioPower plant produces 180 BHP compared to the regular 150. This link will show you the difference in engine preformance (from SAAB): http://www.saab.com/main/SE/sv/model/95_WAGON/2/fc .shtml .. Just click on the BioPower and it has the normal engine preformance in there as well to compare between them.

The cars are there, the fuel is of course getting more popular, and for the driver it seems to be a boon in terms of BHP output as well.

Cheers.

This is the worst case of misinformation I've ever seen on slashdot. The only part where you are correct is compression ratios and air-fuel ratios.

Ethanol burns BETTER in a "gasoline" engine than gasoline - if the engine is designed for ethanol. (Mess up the air/fuel or compression ratio and you can have problems) It is cleaner, burning, and higher octane.

Ethanol contains about 2/3rds of the energy as the same volume of gasoline. However because ethanol burns better (in an ethanol engine, a gas engine conversion will not see this efficiency) it will get the same fuel milage, and/or more power. Saab has already demonstraited such a car.

A car designed to run on ethanol or gas will generally see about a 10% loss of fuel economy when running on ethanol, despite the significantly greater loss of energy in the fuel.

Sure, you could buy a Saab Viggen, or you could buy a Saab Viggen.

Or maybe a Kawasaki motorcycle, or a Kawasaki satellite.
How about a Countach, or a tractor

Even software or hardware
Or the other guys

Lots of companies diversify. MS is plenty big enough to both if they choose.

The new Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan can already be factory-equipped with Bluetooth technology. The system supports hands-free voice control and calling via a Bluetooth headset, as well as wireless dial-up networking functionality using a Bluetooth PDA or laptop.

The car's internal network uses fiber optics with a signal capacity fifty times greater than conventional wire circuitry.

And btw, with a supercharged 210 HP engine in the Aero version, the car is probably not only fun to play with, but also a great driver :-)

SAAB had a similar concept known as the vehicle exhaust recirculation concept. It was an experiment to address the fact that the majority of pollution given off by modern automobiles occurs at startup, before the catalytic converter reaches the critical temperature needed to properly "scrub" the exhaust of its pollutants.

SAAB's response was to develop a system that would route the exhaust of the car for the first 25 seconds into a balloon. After 25 seconds, the catalytic converter SAAB was using had heated sufficiently to properly scrub the exhaust, so the balloon's exhaust contents would then be filtered back through the intake manifold into the engine to be run through it again. The flow is regulated so as not to affect engine performance.

The net result from this system was lower emissions than the US Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standard, but SAAB hasn't announced any plans to put it into commercial use.

There is an article with more details here. Once the page loads, you can quickly get to the SAAB information by searching for "SAAB".