Saab History

Since “Uncle Bob” Sinclair, the former President of Saab-Scania of America, has been living and enjoying the great weather out in California over the years, he has participated in a number of events since that time. I think it is important to not only highlight all of the recognizable accomplishments he has involved in, but to also showcase all of the “other” activities that he has been involved during and after his time with Saab.

I want to begin by including a wonderful writeup of his participation in an event in that region, called the “California Mile”, where he drove a 1959 SAAB 93b, which he donated and is on display at Sports Car Service in Wilmington, Delaware. This article was originally posted in the 1996 issue of Saab Soundings magazine (Vol 34 Number 2 — Winter 1996). Enjoy.

The 65 vintage cars parked in front of San Francisco’s elegant Fairmont Hotel awaiting the start of the sixth annual California Mille were drawing an admiring crowd. Amid the collection of “egregiously expensive” machinery, including a few Ferraris and rare Alfa Romeos that were valued at well over a million dollars, was a humble ‘59 Saab 93B and its new owner, Bob Sinclair. Few of the passersby knew the significance of this little robin’s-egg blue Saab to the cordial bearded man who was performing last-minute preparations.

Bob Sinclair, former Saab president (below), and Dick Lague of Petersen Publishing, look forward to driving a 1958 Saab 93B in the 1996 California Mille. The Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, provides an appropriately international backdrop for the start of the event.

In March of 1958, Bob Sinclair started his automotive career as a regional sales manager for the fledgling company, Saab Motors, in the Northeastern U.S. His first company car: a light-blue Saab 93B. Now, almost four decades later, Sinclair has a flash of deja vu every time he opens his garage. A snub-nosed 93B, in the exact shade of blue as the one he drove as a field rep, is a newly acquired treasure in Sinclair’s household. The two-stroke Saab, model year 1959, was imported from Saab’s headquarters museum in May, 1996, and is completely original, right down to the paint, three-cylinder powerplant and interior. The car was driven in Sweden for the first couple years of its life, before retiring to Saab’s historical collection in 1961. “It has normal wear for a two-year-old car,” Sinclair said. “The car is absolutely superb!”

Sinclair was an integral part of Saab’s growth and success in the U.S. market. In 1979, Sinclair was appointed president of Saab-Scania of America, until his retirement in 1991. The Saab National Dealer Advisory Council presented him with one of the first production Saab Sonetts, one of only 258 two-stroke models produced in 1967, as a retirement gift. “As much as I admired the car as an objet d’art, I soon realized that the Sonett really wasn’t the ideal toy for me,” Sinclair said. “It was, shall we say, a bit too ‘quirky’ and demanding for use as a transportation device, and too new for most of the vintage tours being run around the country.”

After receiving helpful technical advice via telephone from Sweden, Lague (left) and Sinclair have the Saab’s two-stroke engine running beautifully.

An ideal solution presented itself - an exchange with the Saab Car Museum in Trollhättan, Sweden. Sinclair explained, “With the blessings of Felix Bosshart of Charles River Saab in Massachusetts, who was chairman of the council at the time of my retirement, I worked out a swap with museum curator Peter Bäckström. Now the museum has a much more desirable car for display, and I have a more practical car for my own particular uses.” The Saab 93B was shipped from Sweden to Sinclair’s home in Santa Barbara, Calif., arriving on May 2, 1996.

What does one do with a mint-condition 36-year-old car? “Drive it,” Sinclair stated emphatically. “It’s a shame to hide classic cars in a private garage. It’s much more satisfying to use the cars as they are meant to be used.”

Sinclair is one of many collectable car owners who share the same attitude. The California Mille 1,300-mile vintage car tour, and other similar events such as Arizona’s Copper State 1000, the Colorado Grand, and New England 1000, each attract 50 to 75 auto enthusiasts with a taste for adventure and motoring in authentic examples of automotive history.

Organized by Martin Swig, owner of Saab San Francisco, a dealership established in 1976, the annual California Mille is more a social and cultural event than a competition. Styled after the historic Mille Miglia endurance race in Italy, today’s events place more emphasis on history, scenery and camaraderie than speeding. “The highest form of this car hobby is to drive these things,” Swig commented. “To be alive, they have to be driven.” Rules are designed to emulate the Mille Miglia and therefore stipulate that entries must have been in production in 1957 or prior. The Saab 93 began production in 1955; Sinclair’s ‘59 model was one of the newest cars in the event.

The Mille started at the Fairmont on Nob Hill, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and headed east on scenic two-lane highways into the Sierra Nevadas. The Saab, with its stock 33-hp, three-cylinder motor, struggled up the mountains and had to be stopped several times because of overheating. Sinclair called Peter Bäckström at the Saab Museum in Sweden the first night. “I had three different thermostats, three different carburetor jets and three heat ranges of spark plugs,” Sinclair explained. “The only problem was, not having driven a 93B since 1961, and never on such steep grades at such high altitudes, I had not the foggiest notion which combination would be right. Peter soon put us straight on that, and after Day One, the car ran beautifully!”

Sinclair’s 1958 Saab 93B is powered by a 750cc three-cylinder, two-stroke engine, rated at 33hp, with a three-speed manual transmission with steering column-mounted shifter. Front-hinged doors were not available until the following model year.

Sinclair’s co-driver/navigator was Dick Lague, senior publisher at Petersen Publishing’s Motorcycle Group of magazines, including Motorcyclist, Dirt Rider and Sport Rider. Both men share a common interest in motorcycles and Saab cars; Lague learned to drive in a 93B in Providence, RI, and took his driver’s test in it. Sinclair, who owns several vintage motorcyles, first met Lague in 1974 at a motorcycling event hosted by Cycle World magazine.

From the Mille’s starting announce-ment, “Gentlemen, try to start your engines,” to each of three overnight stopovers, the atmosphere was light-hearted, even jovial. The route skirted Lake Tahoe, wound through the forests of Northern California to Eureka and came back south along the coast and through Napa Valley. Other entrants included superb examples of Maserati, Aston Martin, Cord, Jaguar, Bugatti and a host of others. Each was a historic gem of its era, and each received admiring glances from fans along the way, and only a handful failed to reach the finish after 1,300 miles.

“We might have to push this little car up the mountain, but it sure goes like hell down the other side!” - Sinclair

After driving 1,300 miles through Northern California, Sinclair and his Saab catch their breaths overlooking the Pacific Ocean

“Along the way, the Saab’s pop-pop-pop exhaust note from the two-stroke engine made people look twice,” Sinclair commented, “and then look again when I dumped a can of oil in the gas tank at each fill-up.”

At the Victory Banquet in Corte Madera, just north of San Francisco, Sinclair was awarded a trophy as the “Driver Who Had the Most Fun on California Highway 88,” which was the first mountainous section encountered prior to Lake Tahoe. Several drivers commented to Sinclair: “Bob, are you aware that your inside rear wheel was inches off the pavement on hard downhill bends?”

“Of course I knew that,” he replied. “It’s part of the fun of driving a 93 ‘vigorously’ through the mountains. We might have to push this little car up the mountain, but it sure goes like hell down the other side!”

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

I have recently received another kind donation to Saab History which will go to the Saab Film Project campaign as noted in the recent update on the bar-graph on the left-hand column.

This Saab enthusiast also wanted to share with us a photograph of his and his friend’s SAAB 93 taken back in 1971.

An extended thank you goes to this individual who clearly sees value in this website as well as the Saab Film Project. It’s the donations like yours that help this site continue.

Today, Jay Leno, a native of Boston, Massachusetts introduces the public to his 1958 SAAB 93b that was the first SAAB introduced to the United States in Boston, Massachusetts in 1956. Jay Leno acquired his SAAB 93b from Tom Donney just a few years ago who has also been very supportive of Saab History recently with his time and resources. A true SAAB enthusiast with a passion for the two-stroke.

In this video, you can now enjoy a nice video tour directly on his website www.jaylenosgarage.com or below, that in great detail, describes the mechanics and design of the car while also giving us a real-world test drive of him driving the car with footage from inside and out.

Also, don’t forget to take a look at the more than twenty photographs of this vintage SAAB 93b available on Jay Leno’s online photo album as well.

*It is interesting to see that Leno’s SAAB 93b has a nice Vintage Saab Club of North America grille badge proudly attached.

I think that you will thoroughly enjoy the video as well as the photographs, so please pass it onto your friends!

Source: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/

Photo Credit: Saab History

The Saab Factory in Trollhättan, Sweden began production in December of December of 1949 of the SAAB 92. At that time, the factory still exhibited it’s aircraft heritage with an air traffic control tower and wind sock elements that were built back in 1937 when they were manufacturing airplanes. From 1947 until 1949, SAAB built automobiles such as the 92001 prototype (URSAAB) and the SAAB 92 in Linköping, Sweden.

At the time of completion of the SAAB factory in 1949, the space available for automobile production covered approximately 190,000 square feet (17,700 sq. meters). This space consisted of the press, body and assembly, engine & transmission construction, upholstery and paint shops and lastly final assembly and adjustment areas. The SAABs built per day at the time were three to four which resulted in 1,246 SAAB 92 cars built in the first year, model year 1950.

In the 10 years of airplane production and 57 years of automobile production that have taken place at the SAAB factory in Trollhättan, the classic Saab 900 that began production in 1979 and ended in 1993 and 1994 with the convertible still remains the leader in units producted with nearly 1 million (908, 810)

Today, the Saab Automobile factory has increased dramatically over the years to include a number of enhancements, additions and expansions to the press, body assembly and most recently the paint shop in 2000. The inventory system the factory uses today is referred to as “Just In Time” or JIT where all materials and supplies are made available only for what is being produced at the present time, therefore there will be no overstock or wasted materials.

It is also worth mentioning that all vehicles produced in the Saab Automobile factory in Trollhättan, Sweden are all built on specific demand from Saab Automobile dealerships worldwide.

The Saab Automobile cars that are produced at the factory today include the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, Saab 9-3 SportCombi, Saab 9-5 Sedan and the Saab 9-5 SportCombi.

At the recent Saab Festival celebrating 60 years of an automobile manufacturer (3 years in Linköping, and 57 in Trollhättan), I had along with many, the opportunity to tour the factory. Factory tours are available year-round with advanced notice. While there are no opportunities for photos nor videos to be taken during the tours, I have been able to provide you some of the most recent footage of the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan being manufactured in the factory from the first model year, 2003.

Sources:

* Saab Automobile AB
* Sjogren, Gunnar A. The SAAB Way, the first 35 years of Saab cars, 1949-1984 Nyköping, Sweden Österbergs Tryckeri AB, 1984.

I have just received some information from Dick Karl, one of “The Karl Brothers” that became a SAAB dealership on November 19th, 1957 in New Canaan, Connecticut. This dealership ran right up until 1965 as my SAAB dealership brochure shows, however it may have been in the SAAB business even longer. Notice the SAAB aircraft sign in the lower window with all of the beautiful SAAB 93 “bullnose” models displayed out front.

I am extremely pleased to have received this information today and look forward to any other information that Dick Karl can provide Saabhistory for the record and our learning about the SAAB landscape in that era.

Update: Dick Karl has provided a wonderful historical writeup for our enjoyment and here it is in his own words:

1st at Karl Buick, Inc.,145 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT. . and later at SAAB of New Canaan, Inc.,43 Vitti St. New Canaan, CT Karl Brothers, Inc. was started in 1914 by Brothers John M., Stephen
E., and Joseph A. Karl. and was in the Buick business. After WW II John’s 3 sons, John B., Dick and Larry came into the Buick business. In 1957 we began thinking of adding a small car to the Buick line.

Lighthouse Motors, Inc in Brewster NY (20 miles to the north) signed on with SAAB in February of 1957 and ran adds in our local paper for this small car whose engine had only 7 moving parts. Soon there were sightings of this cute little car running about New Canaan so we called Merwin Dickens, our friend at Lighthouse Motors about SAABs. This led to a meeting with J. Bruce MacWilliams the Sales Manager of

SAAB Motors, Inc. whose office was in Manhattan. Karl Buick signed with SAAB and became official dealers on Nov. 19th, 1957. When Karl Buick went out of business at the end of 1970 Dick Karl and Anthony Mazzola ( the Karl Buick’s SAAB service specialist) were able to renew the SAAB franchise as SAAB of New Canaan, Inc.

SAAB of New Canaan, Inc. had ten good years with SAAB until our leased premises became unavailable for renewal. We closed in December of 1981.

I want to thank you for your interest.
Richard J. Karl

A special thank you for this vintage photography.

What: SAAB dealership

Who: Karl Brothers, Inc.

Where: 145 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT, USA

When: February 1957 - December 1981

As a follow-up to the previous posting that featured an advertisement from SAAB Cape Cod, I have provided some incredible photography that brings this SAAB & Kurt Vonnegut affiliation mystery, closer to fact than fiction.

In an effort to uncover more information about the SAAB dealership known as SAAB Cape Cod, an individual in the West Barnstable area of Cape Cod, Massacchusetts has recently provided some wonderful present day photographs for us to enjoy.

I also understand that some vintage photography will be coming our way shortly, so please check back often.

Thank you Mark for your investigative photo journalism.

What: SAAB Cape Cod

Who: Kurt Vonnegut, Sales Manager

When: 1957 - 1961

Where: Route 6A- Main Street- in West Barnstable, Massachusetts (USA) near the intersection with Parker Street (and Plum Street).

Photo Credit: Mark

Photo Credit: Mark

Photo Credit: Mark

Photo Credit: Mark

Image Credit: Google Earth

As a follow-up to the story on Kurt Vonnegut’s passing this past week, I have been able to find some more information about the location of this dealership. There are now two pieces of information that confirm the location and the year the dealership was in existance (1958) by a recent comment by Mark Bourbeau. Here is an excerpt from his comments.

My father, an artist and friend of Vonnegut’s at the time, worked with him in the Saab Dealership. It was a shoestring operation, and only lasted a short time, but was located in what I think was the old West Barnstable fire station on Route 6A, which is still there

It also appears from the letterhead that is illustrated in Vonnegut’s “A Man Without A Face” novel, that SAAB Cape Cod was located on Route 6A, W. Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Now all we need are some original vintage photographs and in the meantime, a photograph showing this location at this fire station.