Saab History – Year In Review

Posted on 18. Dec, 2007 by Ryan in 2000-2009

Saab History celebrates its first full year since it officially launched the website last fall.

As you may know, Saab History is an independantly founded and managed grassroots awareness campaign that in the form of a promotional website, officially began in the fall of 2006. The objective of this ongoing project is to educate people through the viewing of the history of Saab through written, photographic and audio/ visual content consisting of Saab Automobile’s past and present and future.

With this year in review marking the first year anniversary, I have provided a number of significant milestones that Saab History has made possible below.

Saab History Content

A lot of material has been gathered over the year since Saab History officially took formal internet presence and here are the current statistics:

These include 1,200 content rich posts, nearly 400 videos in the Saab Film Archive, 51 finely crafted and detailed scale models, 39 books in the Saab Book library, nearly 50 Saab magazines with over 20 Saab soundings that can be downloaded in electronic format in the Saab Magazine archive, 14 Saab Accessory Catalogs that can also be downloaded, and an ever growing archives section dating back to 1947, the year SAAB began as an automobile manufacturer.

Saab History has also been fortunate to have received support in the form of site sponsorship from two Saab dealerships, Garry Small Saab in Portland, Oregon as well as Saab of Hunterdon of Lebanon, New Jersey, both in the United States and one Saab Independent Shop, Atomic Auto, also of Portland, Oregon.

Saab History urges more site supporters to join these sponsors in order to keep the site up and running for next year as this is currently the only financial mechanism ensuring the continued success of the site.

It has been quite a good launch year for Saabhistory with the celebration of both Saab Automobile USA’s 50th Anniversary in the United States back in 2006 as well as Saab’s 60th Anniversary here in 2007 as well as a number of other important events and activities that took place.

The first area of focus that Saab History continues to tirelessly work on is the Saab Film Project, formerly Saab Videos.

Saab Film Project

The Saab Film Project is an effort within Saabhistory.com to assist in the preserving and transferring of any films old and new to digital format for the record. Over the past few years, a number of films have been donated to Saabhistory and with that, these films with the help of donations from Saab Enthusiasts worldwide, have contributed to the successful professional processing of such films from analog to digital format.

It is expected that as more films surface and various phases continue to be built upon, this project will continue to serve as a platform in this film conversion process and thus will be permanently designated as a work in progress.

Saab History thanks everyone who has contributed to this effort, but this ongoing effort is far from over. Saab History is asking you for any and all Saab related films, advertisements, promotional clips, outtakes and any other footage that you may have in your possession that has been almost entirely done in a non-amateur, professional format that specifically speaks and makes references to any aspect of Saab Automobile’s history internationally (there could be exceptions).

The current count in the Saab Film Archive is three hundred seventy, so if you come across any material, please review the film list directly on the Saab Film archive list first before contacting Saab History that you have a number of films that you would either a) like to donate or b) like to share with the expectation of having them returned promptly after processing (even internationally). I have carefully provided a number of venues and suggestions for people that I believe are great starting points. While I cannot expect to be present at all of these various locations throughout the world for obvious reasons, I hope that in my absense, you can do your part to support this cause by asking questions of everyone you know of that has or has had some connection to Saab and even go the extra mile having them ask their friends as well for such Saab footage.

Saab Automobile’s history is an incredible one that keeps getting better each day and without a centralized source for all of this material, it will be hard to track and maintain and properly archive it for generations to come.

Possible venues for Saab films & related footage:

Saab Corporate Offices, Saab Dealerships, Independent Saab Mechanics & Garages, Saab Clubs, Former Saab, SAAB-SCANIA or SAAB employees, Former Saab employees family or friends, etc, etc, etc.

As this content continues grow, it is my hope that the nature of the project coincides with the original objective of the project:

The second area of focus is Saabhistory’s active participating and involvement in a number of Saab events and activities thanks in part to Saab Automobile USA & General Motors.

Saab Event Highlights

Over the past year there have been many exciting events, activities, launches and other venues that Saabhistory has participated in or been involved in one way or another. I have provided you a brief taste of some of the higher points for your reading enjoyment below:

Saabhistory was recently invited to the 2008 Saab 9-3 Saab Turbo-X North American debut at the 2007 Boston Auto Show to cover the event which took place on November 27th, 2007.

The 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo-X North American Debut – Boston, Massachusetts

On November 23rd, 2007 Saab History got the opportunity to test drive a 2007 Saab 9-5 Aero Anniversary Edition thanks to International Motors.

Saab 9-5 Aero Anniversary Test Drive – Maryland

On Sunday, October 21st, 2007 Saab History visited the Swedish Car Day which took place at the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline, Massachusetts, now in it’s 8th year running. At Swedish Car Day you will find a great mix of the Saab lineage in concert with the other Swedish automobile manufacturer as what is referred to as one of the most picturesque annual fall events for Saab owners and Enthusiasts in the North East region of the United States.

The 8th Annual Swedish Car Day – Brookline, Massachusetts

On August 27th & 28th, 2007 Saab History participated in the 2008 Saab 9-3 Media Drive event that included a surprise taste of the new cross-wheel drive (XWD) test vehicle here in Washington, D.C.

2008 Saab 9-3 Drive Event – Washington, D.C. , Saab 9-3 Cross-Wheel Drive Test-Drive – Warrenton, Virginia

During the 25th Annual 2007 Saab Owners Convention in Troy, Michigan, Saab History managed to visit the General Motors Heritage Center as well as Custom Automobile Services that houses the entire Saab USA Heritage Collection.

25th Annual – 2007 Saab Owners Convention in Troy, Michigan

At the recent 25th Annual 2007 Saab Owners Convention in Troy, Michigan, Saab History managed to showcase over 200+ films from 1947 until present from the Saab Film archive. This television channel was run through a remote computer transmitted through the in-house television channel at the hotel, ultimately enabling attendees to enjoy the films in the luxury of their hotel room on their televisions as well as the front lobby of the hotel, twenty-four hours a day throughout the 4-days of the convention. A well received addition to such a successful Saab Owners Convention.

Saab Television Channel A Success!

This past June 7th-10th, Saab History also attended the 60th Anniversary Saab Festival that took place in Trollhättan, Sweden and did a writeup that has been featured in the latest Nines Magazine. This writeup is also available here for your enjoyment where you can find a number of integrated videos produced that are sure to grab your interest throughout!

The 60th Anniversary 2007 Saab Festival – Trollhättan, Sweden

On May 19th, Saab History attended for the first time, the annual “Saabs @ Carlisle” event in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The event was well attended, so well in fact as far as Saab Enthusiasts and their vehicles are concerned, that they outnumbered every other marque hands down. A great event, and some good photos to show you, enjoy.

Saabs @ Carlisle – May 18-20th, 2007 – Carlisle, Pennsylvania

For the first time ever, Saab History was invited to a Saab Automobile USA media launch event on February 6th & 7th. This particular event was focused on the “60th Anniversary of Saab Automobile”, whereby Saab History along with other media and journalists were flown into in San Diego in order to test drive the special 60th anniversary editions as well as “driving” a number of vehicles from the Saab USA Heritage Collection! This was a real treat and I hope that my coverage best illustrated this wonderful event.

The Saab 60th Anniversary Drive Program – San Diego, California

Saab History has had one incredible launch year and the future continues to look brighter. I strongly urge you to keep coming back to the constantly updated website for more news and information spanning both the past and the present on the Saab Automobile.

Thank you again for your encouragement and I urge you to help support this site in any way you can to ensure that 2008 continues the success of this independent effort in preserving Saab Automobile’s History in the making.

Tags: 9-3, 9-5, Aero, Automotive Component Group, Boston, car, General Motors, new 9-5, new saab 9-3, saab, saab 9-3, saab 9-4x, saab 9-5, saab 9-5 wagon, saab 900, saab 9000, saab 99, Saab Automobile, saab ng900, saab owners convention, Saab USA, Sweden, United States