Saab History

The Saab Project Designs by Model

Posted on 28. Jun, 2008 by Ryan.

As a follow-up to the previous writeup on the past and present Saab designers and their achievements, it was necessary to include a chronological up-to-date listing of Saab projects both production and concepts.

This listing includes each Saab project, year introduced along with each designer and/or engineer that contributed to the given project.

This list is a work-in-progress, so any additions and/or modifications that you see necessary below, please add your comments to ensure correctness and accuracy.

Photo Credits: Saab Automobile

Design Contributions by Model

SAAB Scandia 90 (1946-1958)

Bror Bjurströmer

SAAB 91 (1947-1966)

A.J. Andersson

SAAB 92001 (Prototype) (1946/1947)

Sixten Sason

Gunnar Ljungström

[...]

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1997 Saab 900 Talladega #1 – IMHOF Talladega, Alabama

Posted on 11. Jun, 2008 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: International Motorsports Hall Of Fame

The remaining 1997 Saab 900 Turbo Talladega with designation #1 has been recently identified and is safely residing at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

This vehicle along with 7 others, participated in the “900 Talladega Challenge” event at Talladega Super Speedway in Talladega, Alabama back in October 1996 for 8 days.

Two out of the remaining seven also reside at the Saab Museum in Trollhattan, Sweden as well as the Saab USA Heritage Collection in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The question now is where are the other five vehicles that consist of naturally aspirated, turbo’d and V6′s? The numbers listed are 1-8, with #1 being here, #8 being in the United States and the others are unknown.

900 #1 donated by Ollie Axelson V.P. Saab Automobile, Trolhatten Sweden

If you are interested in seeing the 1997 Saab 900 Talladega #1 in real life, please visit the following address where you can even purchase museum tickets online. This museum that opened in April of 1983 offers more than 120 racing vehicles and memorabilia dating back to 1902, spans three buildings and enclosed courtyard, so plan your time accordingly!

International Motorsports Hall Of Fame
3198 Speedway Boulevard
Talladega, AL 35161
256-362-5002

http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/

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The Saab Naming and Model Nomenclature

Posted on 25. Feb, 2008 by Ryan.

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

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Saab Sighting of the Week – Washington, D.C.

Posted on 08. Jan, 2008 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab History

This Tuesday, marks the first installment for the 2008 season continuing the Saab Sighting series.

This week, I spotted a beautiful green NG Saab 900 4-door coupe in the Dupont Circle area neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Of course I dropped a nice note underneath the windshield wiper in hopes that the owner would be inspired enough to visit the site and see their car prominently displayed. Here’s hoping, enjoy!

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Saab Sighting of the Week – Arlington, Virginia

Posted on 16. Oct, 2007 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab History

Today is Tuesday and that means another installment of the Saab Sighting of the Week. This past weekend during a bike ride to Alexandria, Virginia, I managed to spot a beautiful new generation Saab 900 convertible prominently displayed at a Marina that runs alongside the Potomac River just south of National Airport. The photo opportunity was just too good to pass up.

If you have any photographs of Saab sightings that you would like to share, please contact me directly and I will gladly post them.

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Saab Sighting of the Week – Washington, D.C.

Posted on 25. Sep, 2007 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab History

I have not done a Saab sighting of the week in quite some time, until today. Today, I happened to spot a beautiful cirrus white, NG900 passing by the Embassy of Argentina.

I hope to find some more good sightings in the future, but it’s all about timing as you can imagine and by the looks of this photo, I just managed to take the photo while the Saab started to take flight.

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Saabrina The Electric Saab – Update

Posted on 25. Sep, 2007 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Mark Ward

Mark Ward of St. Charles, Missouri is now getting very close to getting his project “Saabrina”, the electric Saab NG900 driveable.

He has just received his battery charger now, so he’s almost there. Please take a look at his website to see his amazing progress.

It is quite incredible how much this project has advanced in the last few years, I look forward to seeing this electric Saab NG900 roll down the road, and function almost entirely like a normal Saab NG900, but without the internal combustion engine.

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1994 Saab NG900 Cutaway Saab USA Heritage Collection

Posted on 01. Aug, 2007 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: GM Heritage Collection

1994 Saab NG900 Cross-Cut Saab USA Heritage Collection. At this time, Saab History has no additional information on this car other than that it is part of the Saab USA Heritage Collection at this time.

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