General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre says he is “not confident” that a deal to save Saab Automobile can be negotiated.

In a Wednesday press briefing, Whitacre said no bidder has offered solid financing to buy the Swedish automaker. Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV has been trying to complete a deal, and GM extended its deadline from 31 December to 7 January.

But Whitacre says GM has not yet seen a viable offer. “It’s real easy,” he tells reporters: “Just show up with the money and you can have it. But nobody’s shown up with the money so we’re in wind-down mode here.”

An expected sale of the unit to Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg AB abruptly collapsed in November, and GM described Spyker’s initial follow-up bid as insufficient.

GM also is trying to sell its Hummer brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Whitacre insists that deal, which was announced seven months ago, is “proceeding as it should proceed.”

Separately, Whitacre startled investors by predicting GM will earn a profit this year. He also says the company is not likely to launch an initial public offering before late 2010. For the immediate term, Whitacre says GM’s goal is simple: “We have to sell more stuff,” he declares.

European carmakers will unveil at least three new electric vehicles next week during media preview events ahead of the Detroit auto show.

BMW will introduce an electric version of its 1 Series coupe called Concept ActiveE. The four-seater’s electric motor generates 170 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the car from 0 to 100 kph in less than 9 seconds.

Two lithium-ion battery packs located beneath the rear seats and under the hood provide enough electricity for a driving range of 160 km. The batteries can be recharged in three hours when connected to a 240-volt power line.

BMW says it will lease limited numbers of the vehicle in selected markets late this year.

Chrysler Group LLC will showcase an electric Fiat 500 minicar, although the company has not announced plans to sell the EV in North America.

Volvo Cars will show the electric-powered C30 compact sedan. The car debuted in concept form at the Frankfurt auto show last fall but arrives in Detroit with a full interior and improved battery packaging.

Volvo plans to test 50 electric C30s in 2011-2012, reports AutoWeek. The car has a top speed of 130 km/hr, can accelerate from zero to 100 km/hr in 10.5 seconds and travel 149 km on a single charge.

An index of consumer confidence in the current British economy fell from 74 in November to 69 in December-the largest month-to-month decline in a year, says the U.K. Nationwide Building Society.

The society’s index of optimism about the economy over the next six months dropped by eight points to 101. Analysts say the downturn suggests that British consumers are growing more cautious about the pace of economic recovery likely this year.

Year-on-year producer prices in the 16-nation eurozone declined by 4.4% in November, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office.

The decline was led by a nearly 9% drop in energy prices. Analysts say slumping prices suggest Europe’s economic recovery will be slow.

Eurostat also reported yesterday that industrial orders declined by 2.2% from September to October last year, reversing 1.7% in growth from August to September. The European Central Bank has forecast that the eurozone’s economy will expand only 0.8% this year and 1.2% in 2011.

General Motors Co. is considering multiple diesel-electric hybrid models for possible sale in Europe within five years, reports Autocar. The first such car is likely to feature a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel under development in GM’s Turin technical center.

GM tells Autocar that midsize cars such as the Insignia and Astra are the best candidates for this technology. Other possibilities include a diesel-electric version of the upcoming Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid.

GM already is testing prototypes in the laboratory. Cisternino wants to limit the powertrain’s cost to a €1,000 premium over gasoline-electric hybrids but concedes GM has not met that goal yet.

Fiat SpA confirms it is working with partner Tata Motors Ltd. to develop a new small car that will be produced in India in 2012. The model will be smaller than Fiat’s Palio hatchback and contain at least 80% locally produced parts, according to the head of Fiat’s Indian operations.

Daimler AG says it expects to become the first carmaker to sell a diesel-electric hybrid car when the powertrain debuts in late 2011 in a special version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan.

PSA Peugeot Citroen announced previously that it plans to introduce diesel-electric versions of the Peugeot 3008 crossover and Citroen DS5 luxury sedan next year. PSA’s system will use a diesel engine to power the front wheels and an electric motor to drive the rear wheels.

Daimler’s hybrid will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel. That engine is mated to an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery.

Volkswagen AG has applied its so-called BlueMotion technology-regenerative braking, automatic stop/start and gear-change indicator light-to its 118-hp, 1.4-liter gasoline-powered Eos small car.

It’s the first time VW has applied the technologies, which it debuted for diesel engines in 2006, to a gasoline engine. The company says the modified engine with six-speed manual transmission emits 8 g/km less CO2 and delivers average fuel economy of about 19.5 km/liter.

Former Renault Formula One team principal Flavio Briatore says he is “very likely” to sue former Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. and his father for claiming he ordered the younger Piquet to crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The accident allowed teammate Fernando Alonso, whose career Briatore managed, to win the race.

Earlier this week a French court lifted the FIA World Motor Sport Council’s lifetime ban prohibiting Briatore from association with any FIA-sanctioned activities, including driver management.

Briatore had threatened legal action when Piquet made the allegations in September but agreed to quit the team before the issue came before the FIA. After the scandal surfaced, Briatore accused Piquet’s father, former F1 world champion Nelson Piquet Sr., of blackmail and extortion. The senior Piquet threatened his own lawsuit to break Briatore’s management contract with his son.