Goodbye, Saab

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Spyker Cars Finalizes Purchase of Saab Automobile from GM

2010-02-23

General Motors and Spyker Cars NV today announced that they have finalized the deal for Spyker to purchase Saab Automobile AB.

Going forward, Saab and Spyker will operate under the Spyker (AMS:SPYKR) umbrella, and Spyker will assume responsibility for Saab operations. The previously announced wind down of Saab operations has ended.

GM statement regarding Saab inquiries

2009-12-20

Following Friday's announcement that GM will begin the orderly wind down of Saab, GM has received inquiries from several parties. We will evaluate each inquiry. We will not comment further until these evaluations have been completed.

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The Weekend Drive has had a soft spot for the Swedish Automaker. Vince Bodiford reviewed the 60th Anniversary models in this video, and we had a print review of the 2005 9-2X, of which Vince said, "A 'real' Saab driving experience at a real bargain. Very cute car". A 2003 9-3 who's first impression was...It’s lines and stance beckoned to me. “Let’s hit the road - get out of here - let's drive.”

Contributing editor Ben Miller reviewed the 2000 9-3 Viggen, "If you're thinking that Saab's image is way too stodgy, you should get behind the wheel of a 9-3 Viggen." and Vince's 9-5 Sedan impression, "an experience much like flying a jet too close to the ground." Vince also had this this to say of the 2000 9-5 wagon, "Free of gimmicks and gadgets, there is a place and purpose for everything." My two Saab driving impressions were equally enthusiastic and never once did we use Snaab.

Vince, overall winner of the 1994 One Lap of America with The Weekend Drive's Price Cobb, drove a Saab 9-3 Viggen in the 2000 One Lap of America with The Weekend Drive's contributing writer, Dave Young. Driving over 4,200 miles they finished a respectable 8th in class, their adventures complete with pictures can be found here.

Thanks to GM Media for the following:


Saab Sale Cannot Be Concluded
Brand to be Wound Down
2009-12-18

Detroit. General Motors announced today that the intended sale of Saab Automobile AB would not be concluded. After the withdrawal of Koenigsegg Group AB last month, GM had been in discussions with Spyker Cars about its interest in acquiring Saab. During the due diligence, certain issues arose that both parties believe could not be resolved. As a result, GM will start an orderly wind-down of Saab operations.
Read More


3,400 impacted employees and worldwide 1,100 dealers.
GM Press Conference Call

Saab's Philosophy:


Over sixty years ago, we started a company on a simple philosophy. That driving a car shouldn't feel like an act of necessity, but feel like you're flying through the clouds. That your car should be so intelligent, so intuitive, you couldn't imagine its features any other way.

That cars should combine the simplicity of beautiful design and an affinity for nature.

And all these years later, that's still who we are. The little Swedish car company that used to build jets. After all, isn't making the road disappear and the sky open up before you what driving should be all about?

Saab History and Background - Born From Jets

Some companies make cars. Others make history.

One of the comments we hear most is how Saabs seem to be built around the driver, almost as if they were more the cockpit of a plane than the cabin of a car.

People who make this claim are more right than they could possibly know. Because the fact is, before Saab AB made cars, they made jets.

And the very first Saab car was designed and hand built by 16 aircraft engineers. Only one of which had a driver's license. Amusing as it sounds, this anecdote sums up all that makes Saab different: Clean, aerodynamic lines, efficiency and functionality, and innovations beyond what people would expect from a car.

Over the years, our designers' contributions to the automotive industry have been as significant as turbocharged technology and side-impact protection systems, and as sublime as disappearing cup holders.

It's easy to get caught up in Saab's history. It's even easier to get excited about its future. We invite you to explore both here.

Saab Heritage

From: 2007: Saab 60th Anniversary
Celebrating Sixty Years of Independent Thinking

It was back pain suffered by a senior Saab executive that prompted the development of the heated driver’s seat, an innovation from Saab in 1971. The pain was particularly bad on cold, frosty mornings and a colleague devised a means of heating the driver’s seat to minimize the
discomfort. As the result was so effective, and also so popular, the solution was put into production.

A 1:10 scale model of an early Saab 92 prototype was tested in an aircraft wind tunnel in 1946. Such testing was very unusual for a production car manufacturer of the time but very much second nature for an aircraft maker. The final prototype’s 0.32 co-efficient of drag was
exceptionally low for a production car of time and would still be competitive today.

Rather like the first T-model Ford, you could have an early Saab 92 in any color you liked – as long as it was bottle green. The paint was readily available in surplus army supplies left over from the war. Saab did not offer a color choice until 1952.

Saab engine guru Dr Per Gillbrand – often described as the father of the production turbo – has a very simple explanation for his commitment to turbocharging. “All engines have an oil pump, a fuel pump and a water pump”, he said. “So why not an air pump, which is all a turbo really is? I
think it's odd that all engines don’t have one!”

In 1966, to keep the arrival of the upcoming Saab 99 secret, endurance testing of prototypes was carried out inside an old aircraft hangar. Nonstop runs were conducted as the prototypes circled round and round for several days at a time to test driveshaft durability.

When the cameras roll and the action begins, it is the Saab Convertible that often gets the part. Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets), Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Richard Gere (Final Analysis), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld TV show) and Reese
Witherspoon (Sweet Home Alabama) have all appeared in a Saab Convertible on screen.

There are several good reasons why the ignition in Saab cars is traditionally placed between the front seats. Good ergonomics, inherited from the cockpit design of Saab aircraft, dictated an easy-to-use location adjacent to the handbrake and gearshift lever. This position also reduces
the risk of knee injury in a crash impact. And it is no coincidence that the central console is where most controls can be found in aircraft.

In 1985, long before green energy became an agenda item, Saab’s first concept car, EV-1, featured solar roof cells to power a ventilation fan to keep the interior cool when parked in hot temperatures. It also included integrated, self-repairing bumpers and an instrument ‘Night Panel’ facility, both features to appear on later production cars.

The brand name ‘Saab’ is an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, Swedish Aircraft Company Limited, founded in 1937. A stylized aircraft wing, a feature of early Saab car badges, can still be seen in the grille design of today’s cars as homage to Saab’s unique
aircraft heritage.

The ‘92’ model designation was chosen for Saab’s first car as the number was next in sequence for what had until then been civil aircraft projects. The Saab 91 was a two-seater training aircraft and the Saab 90 a 24-seat passenger plane.

Sixten Sason, the designer of the early Saabs from the original 92 to the highly innovative 99, was a leading exponent of the emerging discipline of industrial design. Working as a freelance, he also designed the first Hasselblad camera, Husqvarna motorcycles and Electrolux domestic
products.

The steel body panels of the first Saab prototype (92.001), built in 1946, were pummeled into shape by panel-beaters working on wooden benches standing in horse droppings. Apparently, this cushioned surface gave them just the right responses and feel for their work. An earlier
full-scale wooden mock-up was covered in shiny, black shoe polish instead of paint.

In 1957, a press advertising photograph illustrating the versatile ‘beddable’ attributes of the Saab 93 caused controversy in Sweden. It showed a young couple settling down for the night on flat-folding seats inside the car – but the woman was clearly not wearing a wedding ring.
This caused public objections and a ring was hastily drawn in on the woman’s finger.

In 1986 and again in 1996, a fleet of Saabs stormed the high speed Talladega Speedway in United States, setting a string of speed and endurance records for standard production cars. In 1986, the lead 9000 turbo covered 100,000 kms (62,140 miles), stopping only for servicing,
fuel, tyre and driver changes, at an average speed of 213 kph (132 mph). Ten years later, the fastest 900 turbo covered 40,000 kms (24,800 miles), achieving an average speed of over 226 kph (140 mph).

A Saab car is designed to help you survive hitting a wild moose. Saab’s simulated moose crash test, developed in the mid-80s, involves the car striking a 350 kg (770 lbs) dummy moose head-on at 70 kph (43 mph). Hitting one of these large animals is a relatively common occurrence on rural roads in Sweden and the introduction of this demanding test is typical of Saab’s real-life safety approach.

Did you know...2007 Saab 60th Anniversary



Goodbye, Sob :(