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Apple iPod suspected in bizarre Swedish car fire

An iPod music player is at the centre of an investigation into a mysterious car fire which completely destroyed a Saab automobile in western Sweden over the Midsummer holiday weekend.

Apple iPod suspected in bizarre Swedish car fire

The car, a two-year-old Saab 9-3 station wagon, was parked and its engine was cold when it suddenly caught fire.

Within minutes, the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames, with the owners just having enough time to save the family dog from the roaring flames.

Following a thorough examination of the car’s remains, Saab Automobile’s fire investigators concluded that the fire was not deliberately set, caused by a technical malfunction, or by negligence.

Their investigation did find, however, that the fire started in the front seats, between which were a number of electronic devices, including two iPods, a camera, and a mobile phone.

But suspicions of what may have caused the blaze have centered on the iPod nano.

“Technicians discovered heat damage on the interior of the music player. They suspect the damage was likely caused by overheated electronics,” said Saab dealer Bengt-Erik Johansson to the Hallandsposten newspaper.

But officials from Saab aren’t willing to say that the iPod caused the violent car fire.

“There was electronic equipment in the car’s middle console. We have examined it,” said Saab spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs to TT.

“There were signs of interior heat damage in it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the fire was caused by it.”

While the iPod’s possible role in the fire remains unclear, the case is far from the first time Apple’s popular music player has been implicated in suspicious fires.

Back in 2007, a man from Atlanta reported that his iPod nano burst into flames while in his pocket.

And on June 25th of this year, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards issued a statement urging Apple Korea to recall first generation iPod nanos after several reported cases of batteries overheating or exploding, the Dow Jones news service reports.

According to the car’s owner, the iPod is being sent to Apple for further examination and is reportedly being handled by the company’s legal department.

“It’s important to look into whether there is a risk of iPods causing fires when you consider how many there are on the market,” the owner told TT.

According to TT, it was unable to reach a representative from Apple for a comment on the matter.

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CARS

Former Swedish Saab bosses appear in court

Swedish car maker Saab's former CEO Jan Åke Jonsson and the firm's former head lawyer Kristina Geers have appeared in court in Vänersborg in west Sweden, accused of falsifying financial documents shortly before the company went bankrupt in 2011.

Former Swedish Saab bosses appear in court
Saab's former CEO Jan Åke Jonsson. Photo: Karin Olander/TT
The pair are accused of falsifying the paperwork at the height of the Swedish company's financial difficulties at the start of the decade.
 
A third person – who has not been named in the Swedish media – is accused of assisting them by issuing false invoices adding up to a total of 30 million kronor ($3.55m).
 
According to court documents, the charges relate to the firm's business in Ukraine and the paperwork in question was signed just before former CEO Jan Åke Jonsson resigned.
 
Both Jonsson and Saab's former head lawyer Kristina Geers have admitted signing the papers but denied knowledge of the Ukranian firm implicated in the case.
 
All three suspects deny all the charges against them.
 

Saab's former head lawyer Kristina Geers. Photo:  Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT
 
Saab filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2011, after teetering on the edge of collapse for nearly two years.
 
Chief prosecutor Olof Sahlgren told the court in Vänersborg on Wednesday that the alleged crimes took place in March 2011, when Saab was briefly owned by the Dutch company Spyker Cars.
  
It was eventually bought by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (Nevs), a Chinese-owned company after hundreds of staff lost their jobs.
 
The car maker, which is based in west Sweden, has struggled to resolve serious financial difficulties by attracting new investors since the takeover.
 
In October 2014 it announced it had axed 155 workers, close to a third of its workforce.
 
Since 2000, Saab automobile has had no connection with the defence and aeronautics firm with the same name. It only produces one model today, the electric 9-3 Aero Sedan, mainly targeting the Chinese market.