Saab engineering and technology may live on after the Swedish automaker’s bankruptcy, but we may never see the brand’s name on another car.

The name Saab comes from Swedish Aerospace AB, the aircraft company that built cars as a sideline until it sold that business to General Motors Co. in 1990. Swedish Automobile got the right to use the name — and Saab’s distinctive badge, which features the griffin, a mythological beast with an eagle’s head and lion’s body — when it bought the brand from GM a couple of years ago.

Automakers from developing countries may bid on the new Phoenix small-car architecture Saab developed. Phoenix could help a young automaker become competitive with global companies sooner. Saab owns the intellectual property in Phoenix, which was to be the basis for a new 9-3 that Saab hoped to sell within a year or so. The asset sale may include Saab’s factory equipment, but no GM know-how for building and developing cars, powertrains and vehicle architectures.

Meanwhile, GM will handle warranty work on vehicles sold while it owned Saab, through the 2009 model year. Saab Cars North America is working on warranty coverage for the relatively few 2010 and 2011 models its dealers sold. Saab’s U.S. dealers have about 2,400 unsold new vehicles in stock.

LEXUS INTERRUPTUS: Toyota’s Dance of the Seven Veils revealing a series of partial photos of the Lexus concept car it will reveal at January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit came to an abrupt halt last week when photos of the vehicle leaked onto the web.

Sporting a long hood and low roof, the LF-LC concept looks like a potential replacement for the SC luxury coupe and convertible Lexus sold for years.

The concept has a hybrid powertrain. Lexus says the design, which includes narrow, slitted headlights, prefigures its new styling direction.

DETROIT VS. DELHI? Add Ford to the growing list of automakers that will introduce new vehicles at the New Delhi auto show in India, which coincides with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Jaguar and Land Rover recently revealed that they will skip Detroit to show their new concept vehicles at the show in New Delhi.

Ford will unveil a couple of very high-profile vehicles in Detroit — stick to the Free Press for details and photos — but a new small crossover it developed specifically for developing markets promises to be one of New Delhi’s main attractions.

India’s biggest auto show is rising in importance, as the country’s economy and car sales grow. Watch for it to become the next challenger as the Detroit Auto Dealers Association fights to keep the NAIAS one of the world’s top shows — and one of the region’s top moneymakers.

SCORE ONE FOR DETROIT: Meanwhile, Tata Technologies, the engineering arm of the Indian conglomerate that owns Jaguar and Land Rover, will unveil a new electric vehicle concept at the NAIAS in Detroit, Jan. 11.

Tata Technologies, which employs several hundred people in Detroit, will show the vehicle as part of the Michelin Challenge Design exhibit of vehicles for future cities. Tata Tech did much of the engineering work on the innovative little Tata Nano car, so be prepared for big ideas in a small package.