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Saab

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Saab is a line of automobiles manufactured by Saab Automobile AB, and is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the General Motors Corporation. Commencing production in 1947, the company once produced vehicles exclusively in Sweden, but the current Saab Automobile model lineup now includes vehicles produced in the USA and in Germany. Saab is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant Holder appointed by H.M. the King of Sweden [1] (http://www.hovlev.se/faq_e.html). Saab directly competes with European products from Volvo, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Japanese products from Lexus, Acura.

Table of contents
1 Company history
2 Competition history
3 Innovations
4 Trivia
5 Criticism of GM's management of Saab
6 Models

6.1 Historical models
6.2 Current models
6.3 Experimental vehicles and prototypes

7 Saabs in popular culture
8 See also
9 External links
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Company history

Until 1990, the company was owned by SAAB, an initialism for "Svenska Aeroplan Aktie(B)olaget" (The Swedish Aeroplane Company), and was part of a conglomerate which included SAAB Aerospace and the truck manufacturer Scania.

The original Svenska Aeroplan Aktie(B)olaget was established in 1937 with the express purpose of building aircraft for the Swedish Air Force. As World War II was ending, it was apparent that the company's market for military aircraft would decline and after considering other options, SAAB decided to move into the passenger car market, appointing Gunnar Ljungström in charge of design. The company's first car, the Saab 92 was a streamlined steel-bodied 2 door saloon with a two cylinder 2 stroke engine driving the front wheels and with independent suspension all round. The company's aviation roots were evident in the car with the best drag coefficient of any production car in the world (CD= 0.32)at at the time. The car's name was simply the 92nd Saab design project and all previous 91 designs had been aircraft.

Three cylinders replaced two with the introduction of the Saab 93 in 1955, and, until the Saab 95 and 96 in 1966, which used a 60 degree V-4 4 stroke made by Ford, the company was renowned for its 2 stroke motors, which continued until emissions regulations ended production in 1973.

In February 1970, Saab built their 500,000th car.

The company moved to larger cars with the Saab 99 of 1967, which featured an 1709cc inline four cylinder 4 stroke engine designed by Riccardo in the UK, initially shared with the Triumph. Produced by Saab from 1970, the engine grew to 2 litres in 1972 and gained an optional turbocharger in 1977.


In 1978, Saab signed an agreement with Fiat to jointly develop a new car platform which saw the light of day in 1984 with the Saab 9000, which shared its structure with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164.

Although turbocharged cars had given Saab a big boost from the end of the 70's, especially with the introduction of the Saab 900, by the late 80's Saab were producing more cars than they were selling and in 1989 had 40,000 units in stock. The Arlöv plant was closed, but heavy financial losses continued. Talks were opened with Volvo, Fiat, Mazda and Ford and in January 1990 Saab-Scania moved their passenger vehicle operation to a new company Saab Automobile AB.

General Motors Corporation bought 50% of Saab Automobile on 15th March 1990 for USD600 million, with an option to acquire the entire company within a decade. David J Herman became President of the new entity with Stig Göran Larsson as Vice President. Before exercising its option to buy the entire company, GM shared its ownership of Saab Automobile with Investor AB, the main owner of Saab. Losses continued and the Malmö plant was closed in 1991. The 'New Generation' Saab 900 based on the Opel Vectra was launched in 1993 and in 1995, Saab declared a profit for the first time since 1988.

In March 2005, it was announced that GM would move the production of the next-generation Saab 9-3 from Trollhättan to the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany. Current models are the 9-3 and 9-5, both of which are manufactured in Trollhättan, Sweden and the Saab 9-7X SUV, manufactured in Moraine, Ohio. The Saab 9-2X, a rebadged Subaru Impreza and manufactured in Japan, was discontinued after the 2006 model year.

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Competition history

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1974 SAAB 96 V4

Some of the early cars such as the two-strokers, V4s and Saab 99 were quite successful in rally sport, notably the 96 in the 1960's RAC Rally and Monte Carlo Rally, driven by Erik Carlsson.

  • 1950 Saab enters two Saab 92s (chassis numbers 7 and 8) in the Monte Carlo Rally. One car is crewed by Rolf Mellde and K G Svedberg and Greta Molander and Margaretha von Essen compete in the other. Greta Molander comes in 55th overall, 5th in her class and 2nd in the Ladies Class. Rolf Mellde wins the Rikspokalen Rally in November, and Saab becomes the best marque team with Mellde, Svedberg and Greta Molander, who also wins the Ladies Class
  • 1952 Greta Molander and Helga Lundberg win the Ladies Cup in the Monte Carlo Rally.
  • 1953 Rolf Mellde wins the Swedish Rally Championship.
  • 1955 Mellde rolls his Saab 92, but still manages to win the Rikspokalen Rally.
  • 1956 Bob Wehman and Louis Braun win the Great American Mountain Rally. Rolf Mellde comes sixth and another Saab 93 finishes in seventh place.
  • 1959 Two Saab 93s are entered in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The car driven by Sture Nottorp and Gunnar Bengtsson come in 12th overall and second in its class. The same year Erik Carlsson wins the Midnight Sun Rally.
  • 1960 Erik Carlsson wins the RAC Rally and Saab start competing in Formula Junior with the Saab Formula Junior.
  • 1961 Erik Carlsson enters the Monte Carlo Rally in a Saab 95 and finishes fourth, and wins the RAC Rally for the second successive year.
  • 1962 Erik Carlsson and Gunnar Häggbom win the Monte Carlo Rally, and completes a hat-trick of RAC Rally wins.
  • 1963 Erik Carlsson again wins the Monte Carlo Rally, this time with Gunnar Palm as co-driver. They also finish second in the Spa-Sofia-Liège Marathon de la Route.
  • 1968 Finn Simo Lampinen wins the RAC Rally in a Saab 96V4.
  • 1971 Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish and RAC Rallies in a Saab 96V4. Erik Carlsson retires from rallying and become Saab ambassador.
  • 1976 Stig Blomqvist wins the Belgian Boucles de Spa Rally in a Saab 99 EMS.
  • 1977 Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish Rally in a Saab 99 EMS.
  • 1979 Stig Blomqvist wins the Swedish Rally in a Saab 99 Turbo. This is the first time a turbocharged car has won a World Championship Rally event.
  • 1980 Saab withdraws from all competition activities citing reasons of cost, and because it cannot compete with 'prototype' vehicles using its production-based cars. Being a small manufacturer, SAAB could not afford to build special a "Homologation Special" like the Ford RS200 and Lancia Stratos. These Group B competition cars had evolved so they had very little in common with production cars and thus were of no value to production car development. A number of personnel from the competition department branch out and start Trollspeed aimed at producing competition upgrades for Saabs.
  • 2000 Saab returned to competition by sponsoring Swede Team Motor who compete with a Saab 9-3 Aero SportSedan, a Saab 9-3 Coupe and a 1964 two-stroke Saab 96. The return to competition was to attract students to the auto-mechanic educations. The students get to work on the race cars before, during and after races to expand the students' knowledge and quality awareness.
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Innovations

  • 1958: The GT 750 is the first car fitted with headrests as standard.
  • 1962: Saab becomes the first volume maker to offer diagonally-split dual brake circuits.
  • 1970: Saab introduces a 'world-first' - headlamp wipers and washers.
  • 1971: Heated front seats are introduced, the first time in the world they are fitted as standard.
  • 1971: Saab develops the impact-absorbing, self-repairing bumper.
  • 1972: Saab introduces the concept of side-impact protection bars.
  • 1978: Saab introduces another 'world-first,' the passenger compartment air filter.
  • 1980: Saab introduces Automatic Performance Control (APC), and an anti-knock sensor that allowed higher fuel economy and the use of lower grade fuel without engine damage.
  • 1983: Saab introduces the 16-valve turbocharged engine and asbestos-free brake pads.
  • 1985: Saab pioneers direct ignition, eliminating the distributor and spark plug wires.
  • 1986: The Saab 9000 became the first front-wheel drive car to offer ABS.
  • 1990: Saab introduces a 'light-pressure' turbo.
  • 1991: Saab is the first manufacturer to offer CFC-free air-conditioning.
  • 1992: Saab unveils the 'Trionic' ignition, equipped with a 32-bit micro-processor.
  • 1993: Saab introduces the 'Sensonic clutch' and the 'Black Panel', later to be called the 'Night Panel'.
  • 1993: Saab develops the 'Safeseat' rear passenger protection system.
  • 1995: Saab presents an asymmetrically turbocharged V6 at the Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany.
  • 1996: Saab introduces active head restraints, which help minimize the risk of whiplash.
  • 1997: Saab fits ventilated front seats and an air conditioned glovebox to their new 9-5, both world-firsts in a passenger car.
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Trivia

  • Saab cars are subjected to the moose test (aka elk test).
  • The first Saab, Saab 92, was hand-hammered into shape by using a support that consisted of an oak stump placed on top of a pile of horse-dung. Using the horse-dung support, the craftsman could get the correct response.
  • A common feature of Saab car types is the use of the number 9 in the model numbers. Current models are the 9-3 and 9-5, both which are manufactured in Trollhättan, Sweden, and 9-7X, which is manufactured by General Motors. The exception to this naming rule is the Saab 600, which was a rebadged Lancia Delta.
  • All modern Saabs (except the 9000 and 9-2X) have a floor-mounted ignition. Saab believes this is a safer position in case of an accident. The driver's knee often jerks upward in a collision; the compact and dense ignition module on the steering column of many other cars has shattered many kneecaps. Second, the floor-mounted position yields more space, allowing modern Saabs to have a metal bar that rotates over and up into the ignition when the key is turned to the "Lock" position. This makes Saabs very challenging to hotwire. Last of all, the ignition is located on the floor because, in the airplanes that inspired Saab automobiles, the throttle controls were all located on the floor. Originally Saabs also had the key located on the right side of the steering column, but when they changed from a column shifter to a floor shifter, the ignition key followed along, except in the Sonett III and 9000.
  • In 1986 the Saab Long Run took place. Three standard Saab 9000 Turbos set 2 world records and 21 international records at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, USA. 100,000 km (62,137 miles) were covered with an average speed of 213.299 km/h (132.537 mph) and 50,000 miles (80,467 km) with an average speed of 213.686 km/h (132.778 mph).
  • In 1987, Saab created a TV advertisement called "Saab suite" (subtitled Ballet in 3 acts for 8 SAAB 9000 Turbos). In the film, stunt drivers show incredible driving with stock cars, such as one-wheeled burnouts, bumper-to-bumper driving through a slalom, cars slaloming from opposite directions on the same course, two-wheel driving, sliding in full speed, and jumping over passing cars—all on a closed airport runway with classical music playing in the background. Click Here to view the video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3225099782534022273&q=saab).
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Saab Performance Team at Linköping, in 1997 (Saab 91 Safirs in background)
  • To commemorate its 40th anniversary, Saab formed a Performance Team in 1987, which laid on exhibitions of automobile acrobatics and formation driving. Initially this was done with Saab 9000s, as above, then later models, such as the Saab 900 (NG) were used. All of the team's members have previously competed in rallies, but what's unusual is that all 5 Performance Team members hold regular jobs at Saab: there are two engineers, a quality controller, a technician and the head of Saab's photo studio. The picture shows these vehicles on display at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Saab Aircraft Company, at Linköping, in 1997.
  • Dating back to 1937, Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) created airplanes, introducing their first car, the Saab 92001, in 1947. Currently, Saab AB is separate from Saab Automobile (which is owned by General Motors), and is probably best known for its Saab 37 Viggen (the Viggen badge would be shared by a 9-3). This has led to the current ad campaign, "Born From Jets," evoking the days when Saab produced both aircraft and automobiles.
  • In early December 2006, a Wisconsin traveling salesman donated his 1989 Saab 900 SPG (Special Performance Group) to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum after amassing 1,001,385 miles on the original factory engine. This mileage was verified by Saab. [2] (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=538098)
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Criticism of GM's management of Saab

In 1990 GM purchased half of Saab (and bought the other half ten years later) in what is now seen as an impulse buy. Saab loyalists have long criticised GM's badge engineering of Saab products. This criticism reached a fever-pitch with the introduction of the Subaru Impreza-derived 9-2X (derisively called the "Saabaru" by American critics) and the GMT360 platform (Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, et al.)-derived 9-7X SUV. Until massive incentives created impressive demand, the 9-2X sold very poorly, with Saab barely managing to sell a few thousand of them. Even those weren't enough to save the 9-2X, as it was discontinued after the 2006 model year. There was very little in the way of marketing for either the 9-2X or 9-7X. Also, true Saab fans preferred the front wheel drive and good fuel economy that the brand was known for.

The Saab brand overall has not been a money-maker for GM, with total losses from 1990-2005 supposedly exceeding US$2 billionTemplate:Fact, showing black digits only two of these years. The said losses are all the more daunting because Saab, in 2005, posted record unit sales in Europe, its core market. These losses led GM's most vocal investor, Kirk Kerkorian, to renew his call for GM to cut its losses and dump the Swedish brand. However, there were no suitors interested in acquiring the brand, and the attempted sell-off never took place. In late March 2006, it was reported that Mr. Kerkorian revised his position and now is "of neutral opinion" towards the Saab brand (he had also voiced criticism of GM's Hummer brand).

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Models

Template:Saab automobiles

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Historical models

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1975 Saab 96
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1978 Saab 99
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1992 Classic Saab 900 convertible
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1990 Saab 9000 CDi
  • Saab Historical Aircraft models listed
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Current models

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1997 Saab 9-5 V6 at Linköping, Sweden, on the occasion of SAAB's Diamond Jubilee
  • Saab current Aircraft models listed
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Experimental vehicles and prototypes

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Saab 92001 Ursaab
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Saab 9X Concept Vehicle
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Saabs in popular culture

Popular songs inspired by Saabs:

Album artwork featuring Saabs:

  • On the cover of his album Music for the People, Mark Wahlberg poses with a Saab c900 Airflow ConvertibleTemplate:Fact
  • Slint's cover photo for their debut album Tweez features the front view of an early 1980s Saab 900
  • German band Bolk's Let Your Heart Decide album cover art is a drawing of a Saab 96[3] (http://www.bolkmusic.de/music_content.htm#Let)

Music videos featuring Saabs:

Films with footage of Saabs (see also IMCDB (http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles_make-Saab.html)):

Television series with footage of Saabs:

  • Tru Calling - Tru drives a red 1987 Saab 900.
  • Seinfeld - Jerry Seinfeld drives a black 1992 Saab 900SE convertible in the American sitcom, which made prominent appearances in numerous episodes.
  • Brothers & Sisters - A silver 9-3 convertible is parked in front of the family home. You see it in transition scenes.
  • Life on Mars - You quite often see a 95 and a 96 parked up and driving about the set.

Novels mentioning Saabs:

Other:

  • A Hewlett-Packard CPU-support chip features a Saab 900 Turbo 16 Cabriolet.[7] (http://www.microscopy.fsu.edu/creatures/pages/saab.html)[8] (http://www.pjgh.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/saab/specials/pages/wtf_silicon_edition.html)
  • The Australian band 78 Saab derived its name from the Saab marque.
  • The video game The Getaway for Playstation 2 features a Saab 9-X concept car.
  • British indie rock band Feeder's single "Tumble and Fall" featured lead singer Grant Nicholas crashing a Saab in the promotional video as one of many unfortunate incidents he experiences.
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See also

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External links

Template:Commonscat

Template:Saab Automobile Template:General Motors brands

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