Axon’s Automotive Anorak: Why Saab is one of the greatest companies ever

Danny is an ex-colleague and old Swedish friend that typically contacts me two or three times a year, usually to tell me about a lovely old Saab 92-93 two-stroke that he’s found for sale locally. Or, better still, he’ll talk about a very late 1979-80 run-out edition Saab 96 V4 that was unique to the Scandinavian markets, a car that I am especially fond of, having owned my first Saab V4, a 1971 ‘small bumper’ UK model, when I was 18.

Despite my multiple ownership and huge admiration for many other car marques (especially Citroën, Alfa Romeo, Matra, Lancia, Panhard, Maserati, Alpine-Renault, Bristol and so on), Saab’s have long held a special place in my automotive affections as I have owned and driven more of them than any other car make. 

As well as my 1971 96 V4, I also once owned an iconic jet black 1979 99 Turbo Combi Coupé (with a tail spoiler and those classic ‘Inca’ alloys!), plus a later rapid 900 T16S three-door coupé, before actually working directly for Saab. Once on Saab’s payroll, I had in excess of 100 new Saabs as company cars in the near-15-years that I worked for this pioneering Swedish car and aircraft maker.

All Saab’s have special memories for me, even the second-generation New 900 which relied a little tooheavily on inferior General Motors Vauxhall-Opel parts (though not GM enough as far as the Detroit General was concerned). This model was too compromised by GM’s bean counters to become a true, worthy Saab, although I cannot reiterate strongly enough that the ‘Project 104’ New 900 was not just a more expensive Vauxhall is a party frock, as Messrs. Clarkson & Co. dismissed it. The Swedish engineers made certain of that as the base components offered by GM simply didn’t meet Saab’s very high quality and safety standards, much to Detroit’s huge annoyance.

From introducing its revolutionary first UrSaab passenger car prototype in 1946 (unusually aerodynamic and safe for its time), the Swedish aircraft maker’s aviation experience shone through in this carefully-considered motor car. The UrSaab directly lead to the first production Saab, the 1949 two-stroke 92, the early models all being painted dark green to use up surplus aircraft paint that Saab was stuck with when post-war demand for its fighter planes quickly dried-up.

The front-wheel-drive Saab 92 quickly earnt itself an enviable reputation for strength and superior engineering in Sweden, the car proving to be a giant killer in competition on the tough local unpaved roads. The 92 morphed into the improved 93, the car that launched Saab into the global stage, with the 95 estate (the first car to feature an integrated rear roof spoiler to aid aerodynamics and keep the rear window clean) and 96 clearly evolving from the original UrSaab prototype. A V4 engine was launched for the 96 in the mid-1960s, this cleaner and more powerful German Ford-based engine leading to Saab’s domination of world rallying for some years.

The Saab 99 of 1967 was truly innovative, sealing Saab’s already strong reputation for creating and building tough, reliable and pioneering cars that appealed to the more intellectual new car buyer the world over. The marque soon gained a cult-like status to the lucky few engineers, aviators, architects and academics ‘in the know.’

Sadly there were never quite enough of these bright, intellectual car buyers to make Saab a viable and profitable passenger car maker, the 99’s new four-cylinder engine developed in unison with Triumph (for the Dolomite), with its later prestige 900 of 1978 evolved directly from the 99, and the new range-topping 9000 of 1994 created as part of the ‘Type 4’ collaborative project with Italian partners Fiat (the Croma), Lancia (Thema) and Alfa Romeo (164).

By the late 1980s, although Saab’s sales were hitting record levels (especially in the USA and UK), the Company’s profitability (or lack of) was unsustainable, and so the combined Saab Scania car/truck/aviation sold a large stake of its passenger car business to General Motors in the late 1980s/early 1990s. GM was riding high at the time, and desperate to acquire a prestige European car brand to supplement its own American Cadillac marque. 

GM had been all set to acquire Jaguar to add as the crown of its large car brand portfolio, only to be jilted at the alter by Ford swooping in and whisking Jaguar away. General Motors bought Saab on the rebound (or at least that’s how it always felt to me) but never really understood this very unusual and unique engineering-led brand, trying to starve it to success with a lack of funding and attempting to force its own will (and inferior components) on the marque. That was something Saab’s loyal engineers defied at every conceivable opportunity, ultimately to the detriment and both Saab and its Detroit paymasters.

Through the accomplished 9-3 and 9-5 ranges, Saab’s long, acclaimed heritage of making important, innovative and distinctive passenger cars saw the Swedish marque ultimately having badge-engineered GM horrors forced upon it in the key North American market. Cars like the laughable 9-7X, a GMT360 platform-based 4x4 SUV, shared with the Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada, and so on, to give Saab an instant, low-cost ‘premium’ entrant into this growing market sector.

To continue GM’s increasingly desperate attempts to expand (force) the Saab name plate into other market segments, the American Saab dealers also had the dubious ‘pleasure’ of selling the new 9-2X, a Saab-ised Subaru Impreza estate (no bad thing within its self) with a Saab face and grille, more refined (softer) chassis set-up, and so on. Aimed at tackling contemporary entry models from premium European rivals Audi (A3), BMW (3 Series Compact) and so on, the Saab 9-2X failed to convince anyone of its Japanese roots and was quickly and quietly withdrawn from the market with GM’s tail firmly between its legs. As an aside, the Saab 9-2X is now becoming something of an oddball collectors’ car in the US.

The New 9-3 followed, a saloon, estate and ever-popular convertible (the best seller in the premium drop-top sector) to broaden Saab’s appeal and wrestle clients away from the more predicable German brands, assisted by some phenomenal concepts cars (9-X, 9-X, Aero X) to help showcase Saab’s bright future and new design language. It was all in vein, however, as GM struggled to keep its own house in order, depriving Saab of investment, whilst also closing down its once-loved domestic makes, including Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn.

The new, second-generation Saab 9-5 was a promising model with great potential, but it was not the model Saab needed at the time to reverse its financial fortunes – a smaller Audi A3 rival, frustratingly waiting in the wings, but never launched, would have generated more sales and introduced the brand to a new, younger audience that would have then grown with Saab. In a classic British Leyland-style ‘launch too early before the product is fully developed’ the New 9-5 suffered a few careless teething troubles, unfairly denting its initial reputation.

The New 9-5 was too little, too late, and not enough to save Saab within the GM portfolio when the once largest vehicle producer in the world was filling for bankruptcy. GM put Saab in the market, with various suiters sniffing around before Dutch entrepreneur Victor Muller (the man that briefly revived the Spyker, sports car marque) bought Saab’s passenger car business. (The aviation arm was separate, and is still thriving today.)

Although a wealthy and successful man in his own right, inevitably Muller’s pockets were not deep enough to turn Saab around and launch the new models it needed. GM also did the dirty and claimed the rights to Saab’s many innovations and patents, leaving the new Dutch owner with little to work with. Muller sought other investors (primarily Chinese) to save Saab from insolvency, the Company filing for bankruptcy just before Christmas 2011.

Saab then went through utter turmoil and uncertainty, something that was terribly painful to witness. Finally, in the summer of 2012, a new Chinese suiter was found: National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which built its first new Saab (the existing 9-3 sport saloon) in the old Trollhattan plant. After too long a delay and much dithering, NEVS lost its license to manufacture automobiles under the Saab name in the summer of 2014 (which the namesake Saab aerospace company still owns), and now produces electric cars based on the Saab 9-3 but under its own new car designation ‘NEVS’, now based out of China rather than Sweden.

So, what of the ‘Go on…’ email that Danny sent me last week? Well, it transpires that the very last Saab built in Trollhattan – a brand-new, unregistered 220bhp 9-3 Aero, one of just 420 built under NEVS’s ownership with just 40 miles on the clock – is about to be sold via a Swedish on-line auction site, Bilweb. 

This very special piece of motoring history is estimated to fetch between 350,000-450,000 SEK, or roughly £28,200 to £36,250 at current exchange rates. That makes it a bit of a bargain, though sadly one that I personally will not ‘Go on’ and buy as I don’t have the space to store such a special museum piece. Oh, and I don’t have the money either, tempting though this last chance Saab saloon is. I am confident that it will find a good home though as there are still plenty of devoted Saab enthusiasts out there.