Saab History

Image Credit: Saab History

As a follow-up to the posting I made back in November of 2006 on the logo history, it is about time that I compliment this information with the following on the correct capitalization and nomenclature of the models of the Saab Automobile brand. I hope this sheds some more light in our dialog about Saabs, SAABs and all of the great products that have been developed over the years.

I have provided a fairly well written piece already done on Wikipedia that I would like to articulate if I may regarding the correct capitalization and model nomenclature as a guide.

It is my hope that as a result of this posting, others will be able to better articulate their writing and speaking when referring to all of Saab’s products from 1947 until present. I also think that this posting will help to end search criteria that is typically entered in Google as follows: (SAAB 93 XWD, SAAB 92 ABS, Saab 94 Ski Rack, 2001 SAAB 95, 1999 93, etc.) If this search criteria was taken literally, as it should as google can only do just that, we would have had Cross Wheel Drive available in the late 1950’s, ABS in the late forties, and two long production runs for the SAAB Ninety Five and Ninety Three. Let’s hope that this clarifies this naming and model nomenclature once and for all.

1947-1969 (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget)

The Company: When referring to the company in both written and oral communication where the products were produced between 1947 and 1969, it is proper to use SAAB in all capital letters to refer to these vehicles.

The Models: When referring to vehicles model nomenclature in both written and oral communication that were produced during this time, they are written and pronounced as 92 (Pronounced: Ninety Two), 92 (Pronounced: Ninety Three), 94 (Pronounced: Ninety Four), 95 (Pronounced: Ninety Five), 96 (Pronounced: Ninety Six), 97 (Pronounced: Ninety Seven)

1970-2000 (Saab-Scania)

* Note: Although the merger took place in 1990, the original products continued. (excluding NG900, 9-3 & 9-5)

The Company: When referring to the company in both written and oral communication where the products were produced between 1970 and 1990, it is proper & acceptable to refer to them as Saabs in lower case letters or Saab-Scania vehicles, also in lower case letters.

The Models: When referring to vehicles model nomenclature in both written and oral communication that were produced during this time, they are written and produced as 97 (Pronounced: Ninety Seven), 98 (Pronounced: Ninety Eight), 99 (Pronounced: Ninety Nine), 90 (Pronounced: Ninety), 900 (Pronounced: Nine Hundred), 9000 (Pronounced: Nine Thousand), 9-5 (Pronounced: Nine Five), NG900 (Pronounced: New Generation 900), 9-3 (Pronounced: Nine Three).

2001 - Present (Saab Automobile / General Motors)

The Company: When referring to the company in both written and oral communication where the products were produced between 2001 and the Present, it is proper & acceptable to refer to them as Saab in lower case letters and/or Saab Automobile / GM vehicles.

The Models: When referring to vehicles model nomenclature in both written and oral communication that were produced during this time, they are written and produced as 9-X (Pronounced: Nine X), 9-2x (Pronounced: Nine Two X), 9-3x (Pronounced: Nine Three X), 9-3 (Pronounced: Nine Three), 9-4x (Pronounced: Nine Four X), 9-5 (Pronounced: Nine Five), 9-7x (Pronounced: Nine Seven X)

I leave you with a brief summary from Saab Automobile’s entry from Wikipedia.

Saab / SAAB Correct Capitalization and Model Nomenclature:

While Saab is in fact an acronym, and, as with many other manufacturers, the word “SAAB” appears in all-capitals within the corporate emblem and in on-vehicle badging, the current correct capitalization of Saab when in print is “Saab,” and not “SAAB.”[citation needed] Other manufacturers such as Volvo, Toyota, Lexus, Acura, and Chevrolet employ the use of all-capitalized vehicle badging, but they are still considered proper names and capitalized as such when written. Likewise, Saab is treated as a proper name and not an acronym, despite its origins..”[citation needed]

Furthermore, all current Saab vehicles are badged with a large 9 and a smaller 3, 5, or 7x following the 9, such as “9³”. However, the digits are considered separate, and are spoken as, for example, “nine three,” and written as “9-3.” Nearly every Saab model ever produced has begun with the number 9 (Saab 600 being an exception), and Saab’s two models became 9-3 and 9-5 in the late 1990s, which was likely a marketing attempt at positioning the vehicles as direct competitors to the BMW 3-series and 5-series, respectively.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Automobile

Photo Credits: Carl Levine

This is a great writeup on the comparison between the 1998 Saab 9-5 and the current 2008 Saab 9-5, by Carl Levine of Granite-Embedded Systems, the inventor of the Audio Troll device that seamlessly integrates the Ipod and the Saab.

I find this writeup a great addition to my recent writeup of the 2007 Saab 9-5 Anniversary Edition done this past October.

Enjoy this piece in his own words:

Ten Years Of The Saab 9-5, A Comparison 1998-2008

Tonight we’re gonna party like its MY99 and take a look at the evolution of Saab’s flagship model in its ten years on the American market. The premium segment in 1998 was quite fresh with a brand new Audi A6, one-year-old BMW 5-Series, fairly recent E-Class Mercedes-Benz, a beautiful new Volvo that looked unlike anything Gothenburg had made before called an S80, a myriad of leather-clad Camry and Accord badged as Lexus and Acura… and then there was the Saab 9000. The venerable Saab 9000 had been a staple of the premium car segment for twelve years before it faded away into the hallowed halls of the Saab Bilmusem and the worldwide used car market, and by the end of its run, sales were at their all time lowest. I contend that the 9000 grew old gracefully, but I also had faith that Saab would start being a bit competitive on the market so that its replacement would be a short-lived car lasting four or five years before a complete overhaul.

At the 1997 Saab Owners Convention in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, Saab introduced the 9-5 to the American market; a 4-door notchback sedan replacement for the versatile and cavernous 9000. The Saab faithful had mixed feelings about the new car which abandoned the innovative hatchback design that had become the most popular body style for Saab since its introduction on the 1974 Saab 99. Light pressure turbo engines carried over from the then-discontinued 9000CS variant with a few internal changes to reduce friction and increase efficiency, along with an all new version of Trionic to make that motor do its thing. The Saab faithful had their feelings, but its impact on the market was never fully realized in the wake of customer perceptions of the brand and ineffective marketing.

The 9-5 went on sale in April of 1998 with a base price of $29,995. Two months later, the car I’m driving today rolled off of Trollhättan’s assembly line headed for its new home in Wilder, Vermont. And much to the contrary of my assertion that Saab would have replaced the vehicle with something more advanced and competitive within 4 years, brand new 2008 9-5s are still rolling out of Trollhättan with no structural differences. In this article, I will be discussing the 9-5 from the viewpoint as an owner, technician, and former Saab sales associate in an effort to show that despite its advanced age, there is no reason why these cars shouldn’t be flying off the lots of Saab dealers around the world.

Let’s meet the contestants:

In the Scarabe Green corner, we have my 1999 Saab 9-5 SE. 2.3 liters of Swedish fury tied to a 5-speed manual transmission. Trionic box has been upgraded to the Saab Performance ECU, yielding an apparent 200hp and 229 ft/lb of torque. Original engine, original turbo. As an SE model, this car is equipped with Sand Beige classic leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, 9-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, sunroof, and that nifty passenger side mirror that dips down when you stick it in reverse. This car stickered for approximately $38k in the spring of 1998. This car has towed my life across New Hampshire on its Class-II hitch, chased bad guys with unrestrained cargo in their pickup truck at 120+ mph (after one of his pallets hit and exploded on the front of my car, no less), made me abandon my pursuit of becoming an educator to design an iPod adapter for it and otherwise provided me with 75k miles of unsurpassed reliability and performance. Best Saab I’ve ever owned from a practicality and reliability standpoint. Oh, and did I mention it has (as of this writing) 228,000 miles? Yeah. Awesome.

In the Jet Black corner, we have my local, friendly Saab dealer’s brand new 2008 Saab 9-5 2.3T. Still 2.3 liters of Swedish fury tied to a 5-speed Sentronic automatic transmission. In this tune of Trionic 7 in concert with a Mitsubishi TD-04 turbocharger, this 9-5 makes 260hp and 258ft/lb of torque. The 2.3T trim is what we would used to call a base model, but there is nothing base about it. “Aero” seats, all the stuff from my SE (except the rear heated seats) and some nifty available stuff like Xenon headlights, folding side mirrors and rear park assist.

Overview:

The fundamental differences are merely skin deep. The 9-5’s exterior was redesigned for M02 and M06. At that time, the front and rear facades were revamped and the suspension got a little tighter each time. I’ve had the pleasure of driving every model year of 9-5 since its introduction, and the improvement in the past 10 years has been phenomenal. Of course, all of these changes are bolted onto the car. Saab has not had to change the presses for anything structural in any significant way since 1997.

The 2006 redesign has been an issue of great contention from the moment it was revealed in 2005. I’d even go so far as to call it divisive — it alienated a customer base that was perhaps in the market for something a bit more conservative in design. As a long-time Saab owner and enthusiast, I’d be remise if I didn’t say that the design has grown on me over time and that if I were in the market for another car of that size, I’d totally get one. The improvements that began in 2006 and have carried forward into this model year are what the car should have been 10 years ago, but Saab never had the foresight to realize how important a really tight suspension, painted door handle and trim, an expandable audio system and big bolstered seats could have had in the initial public offering.

Back-to-Back road test:

In the interest of empiricism, I’ve selected a road test course that involves highway driving as well as intricate driving along tight, twisty New England roads. Driving the same course in both cars will give a pretty good indicator of not only how amazing the changes have beento the 9-5 over the past ten years, but also how a 10 year old 9-5 with
nearly a quarter of a million miles still gets on!

Slipping behind the wheel of the 2008 car, the first obvious difference is the height of the seat cushion. For 2008, Saab made the Aero-style bolstering standard equipment across the 9-5 range with varying qualities of leather depending on the variant. In this humble 2.3T model, the leather was the same quality of previous years Linear or Arc models with a rough, well-wearing pebble-like texture. The instruments have carried forward from the 2006 redesign and are more consistent with the rest of the product range. Performance from a cold start was consistent with other Trionic-7 equipped cars, and the Sentronic manual shifting was subject to a bit of lag. With this in mind, I kept the automatic gearbox in drive and let sport mode pick my battles. The first leg of the course involved normal, suburban driving. This 9-5 cruised along quietly and comfortably as the heating system and seat heaters started to come into effect. XM radio is standard across the Saab range for 2008, and the sweet sounds of XM9 provided me with a good soundtrack to remind me of this car’s roots… in the 1990s. Enter part two of our little 10-mile-loop, a quick blast two exits west on a 4-lane arterial highway. At this time, I switched into Manual mode and let my fingers do the talkin’. A safe cruising speed was attained quickly, without excessive noise, vibration or harshness. The B235 under the hood is the last of a legendary line of Saab (and Saab-Scania for that matter) built engines and I will still argue that it is quieter than the L850-based aluminum block B207 series in the 9-3. Direct lockup in 4th and 5th gears provided the same smooth acceleration and impressive performance as a manual transmission equipped car as the gearbox was not constantly hunting for the right gear under acceleration. In the third and final stage, the 9-5 handled the twisty roads heading to the back entrance of the dealership like a champ.

Upon leaving the dealership, after driving the 9-7x Aero of course, I found myself at the helm of the beast of a car that was once as nice as the 2008 I had just driven. Approximately ten-thousand times the mileage of the test car, my 9-5 felt more like an old 9000 than anything else. The steering, for instance, was really tight and responsive on the brand new car as one would expect. Back in 1999, when I worked with these cars and drove them every day, the steering was nice but never as heavy feeling as the 2008. The five speed manual gearbox, still crisp and
somewhat quiet at its old age put the power to the pavement as I replicated the test circuit. Clearly Saab was doing something right with the very early 9-5 models, because the reliability and build quality is still superior between the 1999 variant and the 2008. Some materials have changed, some for worse such as the dash pad or the seat upholstery and some for better like the carpets. Early 9-5 models had issues with the plastic rivet ripping the carpet by the A-Pillar and having the carpet essentially “shrink” in place. Changes over time as a whole have improved the car, but it was never consistent with the amount of marketing the company could have been doing to move the cars off the lot. In its prime, the 9-5 was quite the volume seller and dealers had no problem moving ones in popular colors such as Scarabe Green, Midnight Blue, Sun Green (Dime for every one of those I sold in 2001…), Silver, Steel Gray and of course, Black. Companies like Johnson and Johnson used the 9-5 as a company car, issuing them to many of their regional employees and introducing many of them to the brand for the first time.

In Closing:

To bring it all together, the 9-5 has been an amazing car for Saab around the world. In America, it gave buyers a more conventional car to aspire to in the Saab range and spurred a number of conquest sales in the first 3 years on the market. The 9-5 was the victim of a number of really ineffective marketing campaigns (or lack thereof for a number of years) and even Born From Jets can’t seem to bring the masses in like it does for the 9-3 series. Of course, the story is much sweeter across the pond where the 9-5 is not only a popular car among individuals but also in fleet sales and public service. While some argue that the 9-5 has grown long-in-tooth, and perhaps uglier over time, we can be thankful that it will never see its awkward teen years like the 9000 did. But we cannot discount the 9000 because a lot of the same endearing qualities that manifested themselves with age in that car also hold true in well-cosseted 9-5s. Wear items such as front lower control arm bushings are very similar in design between the 9000 and 9-5, and wear out in the exact same fashion for instance. The 9-5, however, is significantly more reliable and predictable in its failure trends as it ages than the 9000 ever was. Repair costs are significantly less, and used parts availability for those trying to keep older ones running is quite plentiful with all these misinformed customers changing their oil once a year.

The Saab 9-5 is the last vestige of what I would refer to as an old-school Saab. Saab engineers were given a somewhat more modern GM platform to work with in 1993 and spent 5 years making it feel like a Saab. Compare this to the NG900/C9-3 series which was running on a 1989 platform from 1993 till 2002, and four years of development. Most of those development years were spent increasing the efficiency of vehicle assembly, whereas the 9-5 development was clearly more product-based and signaled the start of what was at that time a very comprehensive plan to turn things around with GM as half owner of the company. GM’s full ownership of Saab was questioned when the purchase of the other half took place in 2000, but having seen how GM can leverage international resources to build a Saab 9-3 that is finally competitive, I am confident that when the 9-5 reaches the end of its run it will have a very worthy replacement.

The 9-5 is rumored to be up for replacement at some point in CY2009, with a new Anniversary variant due out this fall.

This article can be downloaded as a podcast at http://www.ipodmysaab.com/nines292.m4a (requires iTunes).

/Carl Levine is the owner of Granite Embedded Systems in New Hampshire, dedicated enthusiast and former Saab salesman./

The Saab Test Pilot program (Test Piloterna in Sweden), started this past year as a promotional event in Sweden featuring two Swedish female “pilots” that test drive a standard Saab 9-5 that runs on gasoline and as well as BioPower 9-5 that runs on E-85 Ethanol.

This appears like a great program that can really connect to people, why can’t this program be running in the United States as well?

Please enjoy the first video in this series in “Test Piloterna”

Kaj Zakrisson, a professional skier sponsored by the Saab-Salomon partnership, who I interviewed recently at the 2008 North American International Auto Show has been included in a press release some years back that as far as I am concerned, is as applicable today as it was back then.

Please enjoy what he has to say on the topic of ski equipment to the right driving equipment:

2004-11-16

Winter fun - on and off-piste

Picture someone racing down a snow-clad mountain in a swirl of powder, effortlessly carving his initials as he sweeps from side to side through the untouched snow off the prepared slopes. Suddenly a bare rocky crag looms up in front of him. He jumps clean over it and continues his journey down at breathtaking speed through the deep snow. That, basically, is freeskiing. Just as windsurfers ride the crest of the waves, so freeskiers ride the crest of the mountains as they carve their way through the powdery virgin snow.

One of the world’s top freeriders is the 31-year old Swede, Kaj Zackrisson. He skis, for example, in the Big Mountain races, which, with their trails bristling with craggy rocks and almost impossible mountain slopes, are regarded as the crème de la crème in freeskiing. Powder rather than prepared pistes, mega-fun rather than mass tourism, action rather than après-ski. With his eye-catching dreadlocks, Zackrisson is rather unconventional – just like his car, a Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon.

He drives about 50,000 kilometers in it every winter, and a roof box helps with stowing his skis and camera gear. Whenever he hears a report on the radio that a lot of fresh snow has fallen somewhere, you can bet that Zackrisson is already behind the wheel on his way there.

“Last March, I had a truly amazing week shooting photos,” says the Swede with a smile on his face. “We looked on the net to find the best snow, then loaded my 9-5 Aero Wagon and took off. We drove through some intense blizzards, but ended up at five different ski resorts in five days.”

Anyone who travels around in winter as much as Zackrisson does knows a lot about safe driving on ice and snow. There are, after all, a number of parallels between driving on a snow-covered road and skiing off-piste: “Choosing your line, control and technique – these are the three main aspects with freeskiing… and with driving.” On the next few pages, Zackrisson has put together some tips on the right equipment and driving technique in the winter months.

Read more »

Norwegian born, Einar Johan Hareide, began with Saab as a designer in 1985 and worked until 1989 before he decided take a job with Mercedes Benz briefly, then returned to Saab in 1991 as a designer until 1994. In 1994, he was appointed design director otherwise known as chief designer until 1999. It is important to note that Hareide worked alongside Björn Envall on the new generation 900 designs (Envall-Hareide era).

Einar Hareide was also responsible for the early introduction of the 9-5 until the first modification was made in 2002, the 9-3 which was the successor to the new generation 900, as well as the 9-3 Sport Sedan designs from 2003 until 2006, and exterior design until 2007.

Today, Einar Hareide has been running his own design business focusing on a variety of industries with offices in Moss, Norway and Gothenburg, Sweden called Hareide Designmill.

Photo Credit: Hareide Designmill

Work Experience:

1994 - 1999 Chief Designer, Saab Automobile
1991 - 1994 Designer, Saab Automobile
1985 - 1989 Designer, Saab Automobile

Education:

1985 - 1986 Transport Design, Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan
1981 - 1985 Master of Design, HDK Gothenburg

Site Sponsor, Saab dealership, New Salem Saab of Albany, New York has recently provided Saab History a great video that showcases the Saab 9-5 and the lineage that it followed dating all the way back to SAAB’s first car, the 92001 Prototype in 1947.

This video not only shows where in the sequence of product launches (more or less) of the Saab 9-5 came from, but it also showcases some of the stronger points of the MY98 9-5 including safety and performance as part of the launch of this new vehicle design for Saab at that time.

A thank you again to New Salem Saab and a great addition to the growing Saab Video Archive. Enjoy the footage!

Photo Credit: Peter Gilbert

This just in from Peter Gilbert, the former million mile Saab 900 SPG owner that received a free Saab of of choice, in which he chose the Saab 9-5 Aero.

Here is his summary as to why he chose the Saab 9-5 Aero as his free Saab from Saab Automobile USA out of all others available:

A thank to Peter for providing this writeup in his own words below:

Having driven 2.5 million miles in Saabs since 1967, choosing the 9-5 Aero was for me, the most logical choice. I have only had three Saabs with trunks, all the majority were hatchbacks or station wagons.

My first Saab was a 1966 96 2-Stroke, but had the ability to go through the trunk into the boot, as well as convert into a bed, which was very practical, when I took this car on a camping trip to Sweden in 1968, along with three friends, four suitcases, a 6′x6′ tent, a case of oil, food, etc. There was even storage under the back seat.

My first hatch was in 1978 when I bought my first brand new Saab, the venerable 3-door hatch burgundy 99 Turbo, which replaced my 1974 2 door with a trunk. With all the many things that were hauled in the million mile SPG’s hatch, I only dreamed of the 9-5 Aero Combi, as the successor.

After forty years driving Saabs, I noticed they do not change, they just evolve. As I went from model to model, I wanted better performance, and more room, as I am now much bigger than, when I was a teenager.

When my SPG went the the museum, I bought a temporary ‘89 4-door 900 which was my first four door car. I appreciated the ease of access to the back seat for my heavy briefcase. this car was totalled in a 55mph collision, and was only around until I found a decent, used 9-5 Combi, which I acquired a year ago.

Not only did I need a large car, to handle my ingress and egress, due to my damaged knee from the accident. I wanted the accessibility of a hatch, with the ability to to place a full six foot load into the back, with the floor flush with the bumper. Because I own a 2001 Viggen, I just had to have a car, with BMW bashing performance.

No sooner had I just broken-in the new engine on my 1999 9-5 Combi, when Jay Spenchian ‘phoned me to ask which Saab did I want to replace the SPG? Without hesitation I chose the 2007 9-5 Combi, in Titan Grey, which is in my opinion, the most practical color Saab has ever offered, because the car still looks clean, even when it is dirty.

This Aero was also the first automatic car that I have owned. My manual Viggen is still available for weekends, but all those miles have been taking a toll on my clutch-knee. I love the choice of three transmission modes, especially the automatic in the city, and the paddle-shifters on the race track. I had so much fun at the Aero Academy, as well as a day at Waterford Hills at The 2007 Convention. These transmission options are even better than the 9-3.

The fuel consumption is as good as The SPG, in spite of the extra weight and greater horsepower. I am averaging 28mpg, using 100% 93 octane. It drops to 25mph with E-10 ethanol, which is why I love the BioPower, which gave me 24mpg., when I drove one for a week in Sweden. E-85 is only $2.39 per gallon in Wisconsin, and If available I would do a conversion.

The comfort in the Aero is outstanding, especially when I was driving for twenty hours or so from Milwaukee to Hamilton Ontario, over the Great Lakes, en-route to our August Convention later in the week.

When you add up the room, fuel consumption, comfort, performance, road-holding, ease of getting in and out, especially during the recovery from surgery on my left knee, one can only thank Saab for such a great car at a reasonable price. This is why I preferred the 9-5 over the 97X. I prefer the squared rear end to a hatch, because I am able to load even more cargo into the car. This was so useful for all the luggage plus a set of boxed wheels, which I purchased at the “Parts Tent.”

38,000 mile are now on the odometer, and all I have done are oil and tire changes
The only repair was I hit a bad gap in a rail road track, which tore the sidewall in the left-front tire, which shocked the leveling system for the xenon headlight. Kenya has ant-eaters, Wisconsin has potholes!

Peter G. Gilbert

Photo Credit: Saab History

A few weeks ago,