Saab History

Photo Credit: Larry West

In 1988, Saab-Scania’s Saab Car Division, presented during a “Springtime in Sweden” event, a limited edition Saab 900 “Springtime in Sweden” convertible.

The following are the specifications on this limited edition Saab 900 convertible:

Production: There were only 288 Springtime in Sweden or SiS models produced during this time.

Distribution: These vehicles were specifically designated for each Saab dealership in the United States at that time.

Engine: 2.0 Liter Turbocharged engine

Transmission: Automatic

Exterior: All of the vehicles were painted black, included a matching black convertible top, all badges were removed, and included SPG wheel arch mouldings, SPG body panels and the SPG three-spoke alloy wheels.

Interior: The interior included a special steering wheel, buffalo grey leather seats rounding out with a commemorative badge indicating that it is a “Springtime in Sweden” edition shown below.

Existing owners of this vehicle take pride in knowing that they own a true limited edition Saab convertible.

*There has been talk of a registry to list current owners and locations in the United States, so if there has ever been a good time, perhaps we can begin one here:

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Ref: Larry West

Image Credit: New York Times

The New York Times has recently posted a piece about a computer game that could make you a safer driver. It is interesting to note that this game called “DriveFit” features two classic Saab 900s prominently displayed.

I have also done some “virtual” test driving of the Saab 9-X (2001), Saab 9000 (1988), and SCANIA truck and I think that as a result, my driving has improved. Let’s hope so given the results from those videos here.

It goes to show that when it comes to driving safety, the Saab Automobile is the preferred choice.

     
A frequent visitor to Saab History has just notified me of a classic Saab 900 that was featured in a recent Avis Rental Car TV advertisement.
  
I am beginning to see a trend in product placement for the Saab brand from the 2008 Saab 9-3 Aeros featured in the two Superbowl ads for Bridgestone to the Saab 9-7x showcased in the recent movie, “Untraceable”.
  
It is truly great to see the classic Saab Nine Hundreds making a comeback! This ad featuring this classic Saab 900, gives me hope about the ongoing project of my recent acquisition of a similiar classic Saab 900.
  
Enjoy the ad!

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

As a follow-up to the previous post on Genuine Saab parts, here is a nice nostalgic re-introduction. The old blue oil filters that Saab Automobile discontinued are now back thanks to the work of site Elkparts and the original company that used to manufactur these long-life oil filters. No more trips to the auto part stores or making phonecalls to Sweden to hunt these down any longer.

Here is the history with the Blue Saab Long-Life Oil Filter:

Saab stopped making the blue filter after many years - replaced by black filter which had better filtration

Saab owners wanted blue filter.

Saab allowed the manufacturer of the black (improved filter) to make them in blue to the Saab specification and paint them blue provided that they DID NOT have SAAB logo, word nor part number on it.

—

Below is the description from Elkparts about the Saab Long-Life Oil Filters.

The blue oil filter that fits all Saab four-cylinder petrol engines between 1967 and the present day (excluding Saab 9-3 Sport models from 2003 on).

Manufactured by the same company to manufacture Saab oil filters and to the same specification as Genuine Saab oil filters, this oil filter is the same in every respect except that the part number and the SAAB logotype were not permitted to be printed on the filter.

This blue oil filter is suitable for the following Saab 4-cyl petrol engines:

* Saab 95V4
* Saab 96V4
* Saab 99
* Saab 90
* Saab classic 900
* Saab 9000
* Saab GM900
* Saab 9-3
* Saab 9-5

Note: Not suitable for 9-3 Sports Saloon

To place an order, please click here Elkparts Oil Filters

Photo Credit: Saab-Scania AB

I have located the original photograph in my archives from the Frankfurt Motor Show that Saab used in their press release to showcase the original Saab 900 Turbo Cabriolet prototype in 1983. This vehicle was also featured in the Saab Olympics which took place in Los Angeles in 1984.

Here is the caption from the photograph as I am still looking to obtain this original press release:

SAAB 900 TURBO CABRIOLET — The Saab Turbo Cabriolet is a design study based on the Saab 900. The prototype presented at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show in West Germany is powered by the Swedish automaker’s 175-horsepower third generation turbocharged engine with four valves per cylinder and intercooler. Top speed is in excess of 125 miles per hour. No decision has been made about production.

Photo Credit: Mike Parris / Winding Road

Winding Road has recently reviewed the 1986 Saab 900 Turbo Convertible that is part of the Saab USA Heritage Collection which is managed and safely and securely stored at the GM Heritage Center.

This vehicle marks the first year of the Saab 900 Convertible and is quite a nice review that I suggest you read. I also suggest you watch my recent interview of Robert J. Sinclair, the former CEO & President of Saab-Scania of America who was the visionary behind the convertible, ultimately leading to its success.

The year after this, a promotional film was made titled “Snap Your Fingers” that I encourage you to also watch.

The Year 1986 was a good one for fans of the iconoclastic Saab 900. From its introduction in 1978, the 900, especially in turbocharged trim, had provided drivers with a potently practical mix of offbeat styling, first-rate ergonomics, and mannered performance. But it wasn’t until the mid-Eighties that Saab managed to infuse the 900 with the pure joy of lidless motoring.

Starting life as a design exercise at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 900 convertible was rapidly adopted as the way forward for expanding model sales, especially in the U.S. Shortly after the concept appeared, Saab answered the overwhelmingly positive response to the car by green-lighting convertible production at its Valmet facility in Finland. The first examples rolled off the line in the spring of 1986.

For the rest of this four page review, please visit the link here.

Whether your experience with your Saab was long ago or more recent, both Saab Automobile USA as well as Saab History want your Saab stories!

Saab Automobile USA has recently launched a page on their site called Saab Stories where they are encouraging people to post their stories onto their site, which I hope will be used, especially the videos for a future advertising campaign that includes a good amount of customer testimonials and positive feedback about their Saab experiences.

I have also started a Saab stories section, originally posted on the New England Saab Association website, back in 1997 of which I have recently ported over to the Saab Stories section here on Saab History. I am also continuing to solicit more Saab stories for the Saab stories section, so please contact me with your information, photographs and/or videos!

While there are arguably some great Saab stories at both Saab Automobile USA’s website as well as Saab History’s website, my favorite video has to be the one by Marc Schwarz posted about a year ago featuring his classic 1993 Saab 900.

“My Saab Story by Marc Schwarz”

This film involved of course Marc Schwarz produced by two producers, Rob Travalino and Harry Kafka, and a resilient classic Saab 900.

Marc recently provided me some insight into how and what inspired the film, with some great ideas that I hope the people at Saab Automobile USA will think about with their “Saab Stories” sourcing project.

Here is a bit about the film by Marc in his own words:

The Inspiration: My personal experience is unique, but me love for the car is universal amongst all 900 owners.

The Script: With the help of Rob, the director, they crafted this loosely scripted true story of my experience, set it to some original tunes Rob created, and came up with 2 minutes and twenty seconds of video that every Saab owner can relate to.

The Equipment: I am not sure of the Camcorder used for this. I seem to remember the director saying it was a pretty average camera. The MP4 format was done by the editor who uses top of the line AVID systems for the feature film and commercial editing that he does. Harry, the editor, actually dumped about 3 hours of tape into the AVI.

The Compensation: This gives you an idea of just how lucky I am to work with talented guys like this, who literally gave a ton of their time (Rob actually flew from New York to Los Angeles with all of his equipment to shoot this - my cost was a couple of cups of Starbucks at the end of the day!) and expertise all because they were rallying around a really cool idea and believe most importantly that it is a story that should be told.

The Dream: My hope is that Saab sees this and decides to run it as an online campaign, maybe even a contest, where Saab owners globally submit their “Saab Stories” to Saab and the top 3 videos, as judged by Saab and the public, win a Saab lease or something. I think it would be a great way for Saab to bridge the gap from the old guard 900 series purists to crossover to the new Saab of today. Just a thought…..Take care.

Thank you Marc for sharing, I hope your project inspires more people to get out their video cameras and do more of this.

On September 10th, 2001, a whole six years ago today, I spent the day as the President of the New England Saab Association, walking the tarmac at Burlington International Airport of Burlington, Vermont. My how times have changed.

Below is the original article I wrote including photographs above.

Saab Friction Tester - Burlington International Airport

On September 10th, 2001 while I was visiting Burlington, Vermont I decided to finally stop by at the Burlington International Airport to see this widely spoken of “Saab Friction Tester” (SFT). To my amazement, the stories stood true to form as I found out that the airport did have a 1986 Saab 900 Turbo which has been in good working order since it was brand new. Once I got got this message from the receptionist at the airport administrative office, I eventually got the opportunity to meet the Airport Facilities Manager who graciously showed me the SFT inside and out! The overall condition of this Saab, combined with my sheer amazement that I was actually able to examine it was just a dream come true! From popping the hood to opening the trunk, this was one experience I will never forget!

To start with in introduction to the Saab Friction Tester I should inform you that and I quote “it is a sophisticated measuring deviced designed to measure surface friction on airport runways. It may be used for both operational testing, as an aid to ongoing air traffic; and for friction maintenance purposes.”

When not being used for testing purposes, the Saab Friction Tester may be operated as a general purpose airport vehicle.

The Saab Friction Tester is composed of three basic elements — the rear axle assembly, the computer panel, and the watering system

Rear Axle Assembly : The Saab Friction Tester is equipped with a special measuring wheel mounted behind the rear axle. The measuring wheel is connected to the rear axle through a chain drive which is geared to maintain a constant 12% slip on the measuring wheel vs the speed of the vehicle.

The raising and lowering of the measuring wheel is controlled from the driver’s control panel and is operated hydraulically. When the wheel is lowered onto the pavement surface, the forces acting on the wheel are transferred to the chain drive, which passes over the torque sensor.

As the friction forces from the pavement vary, the tension on the chain varies, creating varying pressures on the torque sensor. The electrical currents passing through the strain guages within the torque sensor are affected by measuring these variations in the electrical current and converts the analog signals into “coefficient of friction” readings.

Computer Control Panel: The computer control panel is located on the console in the driver’s compartment. In addition to providing a variety of control switches, the panel also houses the electronic circuit boards which control the function of the friction measuring equipment; performs calculations and provides digital and printed output of the system.

Watering System: The watering system is made up of a 105 gallon water tank, water pump, nozzle and pressure gauge. The watering system provides a controled layer of water ahead of the measuring wheel for friction maintenance testing. (The watering system should not be used at temperatures near of below freezing)

In addition to the the SFT being used with with a Saab 900, it also currently being used on a Saab 9000, Saab 9-5 Sedan, Saab 9-5 wagon and trailer unit.

Once the grand tour was over, I got a chance to take a look at some of the literature from the Saab Friction Tester which included ample time to read through the official SFT workshop manual which is where a great deal of the aforementioned material came from.

The best part about the experience with the SFT was that while checking out the instrument panel, guages, computer control panel, I noticed that the Saab 900 had only 16,563 miles on it!

If I had the opportunity, I would love to purchase the vehicle since it is quite a rare Saab and it is in beautiful pristine shape throughout. One would only hope that when the 20 year contract with Saab runs out soon with the Burlington International Airport, they will decide to purchase another Saab Friction Tester because this one has lasted quite some time and isn’t showing any signs of going away anytime soon.

New England Saab Association

Contact Information
New England Saab Association
Post Office Box 119
Keene, New Hampshire 03431

E-mail info@nesaab.org

This is another promotional video uncovered from the recent donation of films that is titled “Saab Is Simply Irresistable”, produced in 1990.

This film is a mix of a variety of films such as Saab Suite, Saab Aircraft Suite and other footage.

I find the promotional film kind of funny to watch, but I do appreciate the good footage of the Saab models it includes. Enjoy.

This film can be found permanently in the Saab Film Archive within the “1990″ section.

In the recent donation that I received, one of the promotional videos in a series of 8 clips appropriately titled “The Enthuasiast” features a 1985 900 “Aero” which appears to be the same if not identical to the vehicle that the editor of the Trollhattansaab.net blog has recently acquired.

This 1985 Saab 900 Aero model is showcased on a beach where a bmw owner witnesses a Saab Enthusiast polishing the Saab, asks for a test drive around the beach with the owner, then goes into the dealership the next day to look into trading in the bwm for a Saab.

This film has been added to the film archive in the “1990″ section, but feature older models like the 1985 900 “Aero” as well as the first appearance of the 9000 that came without side-marker lenses as well a wrap-around spoiler.

I like this promotional video because I think that it shows that a Saab Enthusiast can offer quite a bit to the Saab Automobile brand. I think us Saab Enthusiasts can do an even better job for the Saab Automobile than we do today, by using real metrics when it comes to how we promote Saab with regards to actual sales and other important areas. If we are able to start measuring our success in promoting Saab, we would be able to show exactly how we contribute to the growth of Saab Automobile, leading to a win-win for both Saab and their large following of growing enthusiasts worldwide.

Enjoy the video and lets start brainstorming!