Saab History

The Introduction Of The Saab 99 Turbo – 1978

Posted on 19. Aug, 2008 by Ryan.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the first Saab 99 Turbo in 1978, so I believe it is necessary to provide us with as much information about this important milestone for the Saab Automobile brand.

I will begin by providing you summaries from the original press kit here at Saab History that includes content such as photographs, press summaries and drawings of how a Saab Turbo works and what the inspiration was behind it.

Saab Introduces the Power of the Future. The Turbo.

The Saab Turbo is an engineering masterpiece. Saab has taken the turbo power that dominates the big trucks – Le Mans and Indianapolis — and harnessed it to work at speeds you drive at everyday.

The Saab Turbo breakthrough is its ability to deliver 34% more torque at low 3500 rpm’s. More torque at low rpm’s means more power at your command in daily situations. When you have to pass, feel that surge of power shoot you ahead. Feel the take-off thrust of turbo power move you on to a highway. That’s power!

Yet, the Saab Turbo isn’t merely cold, engineering innovations. Its performance as definite psychic compensations. Here’s ow a few of the car experts have responded to driving one.

“Saab now has fetched up a model that’ll get second gear rubber and double the double-nickel any day of the week…Saab’s Turbo installation offers more pleasure per dollar than any other on the market” – Pat Bedard, Car & Driver

“One heroic blast down the highway is enough to convert anybody” – David E. Davis Jr., Car & Driver

“Saab Turbo… a genuine Fourth-of-July driving experience, full of sudden pleasure and high spirit..” – Steve Thompson, Car & Driver

“The Saab Turbo is exhiliarating to drive..it’s so much fun, the price is irrelevant…” – Road & Track

[...]

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Saab History Receives Three 1971 Saab 99 TV Ads

Posted on 28. Jul, 2008 by Ryan.

Saab History Receives Three 1971 SAAB Motors, Inc. Saab 99 Television advertisements

I have just received a number of vintage Saab films over the weekend from the former New England Saab Association secretary including three extremely rare 1971 SAAB 99 television advertisements titled “Now You Need Us”. These last films of the contract were done by the advertising agency, J.M. Mathes & Co. who worked with SAAB Motors, Inc. from November 1967 – 1971 as part of the “SAAB, The Well-Build Swede” campaign.

I am extremely happy to finally have some Saab USA television ads that will compliment the 1970′s section of the Saab Film Archive.

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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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The Clean Air Saab – Worcester Polytechnic Institute 1970

Posted on 04. Apr, 2008 by Ryan.

Photo Credit: Saab-Scania of America, Inc.

In 1970, SAAB-SCANIA of America, Inc. partnered with Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts to create the “Clean Air Saab”.

This Saab was a normally aspirated Saab 99 that was built in order to compete in a national Clean Air Car Race across the United States from August 24th through the 30th of 1970.

I managed to see this entire press kit by Saab-Scania of America, Inc. from my visit to the GM Heritage Center in Detroit, Michigan back in January, but I did not have time to get all of the details, but hopefully in time I may.

If you have heard of this Saab 99, the race and know more about it, please don’t hesitate to contact Saab History and let us know more about it! It is great to see that Saab used to work directly with Universities in the United States and not just Saab in Sweden doing this.

Here is a map of the route of the national Clean Air Race:

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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 & The Vail Police Department – 1975

Posted on 13. Aug, 2007 by Ryan.

Here is the original clipping from the Santa Barbara, California News Press showcasing the police department of Vail, Colorado’s enthusiasm for their engagement with the SAAB 99 back in early 1975.

This article came from within the 1975 SAAB publication “The Printed Word”.

March 28th, 1975

VAIL, Colorado – The next time President Ford visits his favorite Colorado Ski resoort, he will be escorted to his chalet by Vail’s finest, driving their Swedish-built orange Saab 99 police cruisers.

The Vail Police car fleet of three cars has been in service for more than ten months.

The Vail police spokesman said of the changeover to Saab: “The Saab is plenty fast, no problem catching the average V-8 equipped car. Our American-made cruiser averaged 6.8 to 7.2 miles per gallon while our Saab patrol cars (even with all the idling time) average 21.8 to 25.1 miles per gallon.

“Even in 30 below temperatures, the car starts immediately, and is very comfortable – the electrically heated driver’s seat is one of the greatest innovations ever. Our Saabs are very stable in high speed pursuits in excess of 100 miles per hour. The brakes are far above average – after six months of patrol (24 hours a day, 300-400 miles per day) the brakes showed approximately 40 percent wear. Normally we would replace brakes in about three or four months on the average patrol vehicle”.

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SAAB-SCANIA of America Ad – 1972

Posted on 24. Jun, 2007 by Ryan.

In 1972, SAAB-SCANIA of America, Inc.headquartered at 60 Marsh Hill Road in Orange, Connecticut, placed the following advertisement in Motor Trend. This early advertisement focuses on many aspects of the ongoing issues in the world of automobiles.Many of these issues are still true today, and may be one of the first advertisements by SAAB to focus on their technological advances that set themselves apart from other manufacturers in terms of energy efficiency and environmental awareness in terms of emissions standards.

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Saab Factory – Trollhättan, Sweden

Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by Ryan.

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.

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