Great Cars: SAAB

one of the world's most innovative cars was created over 50 years ago by aviation engineers to serve the growing demand for automobiles in Sweden saab has always been different a company that's carved out its own path from day one it's a journey that converted many skeptics into believers and that continues to create memorable automobiles [Music] [Applause] [Music] today Saab is one of the world's most recognized brands it's sporty stylish and luxurious cars have become modern classics subs created a distinctive lineup of convertibles Cooper's sedans wagons and an SUV all evidenced a certain Scandinavian lack of ostentation but they're lively cars that look at home wherever they're driven the story of Sodom begins as the world prepares for war the European war seemed inevitable in the mid 1930s Adolf Hitler was actively rearming Germany Benito Mussolini had militarized Italy it was time to prepare for the worst though Sweden worked to enforce a policy of political neutrality during world war two Prime Minister / Albin Hansson made sure the country was prepared to defend its borders however this was precarious balancing act between the German Reich which had surrounded the country and the Allies [Music] Hansen knew of Sweden had to build its own weapons to give it the strength to package neutrality Volvo was called upon to manufacture tanks and trucks then the Swedish government created Spencer aeroplane boxy obilic yet a B or Saab in May 1937 to build military aircraft its first planes were based on the German yonkers sahabat built these planes under license while he developed original designers the Saab 17 was the first plane to be designed and built by Tsar it took its maiden flight in May of 1940 versatile it is configured as a dive bomber bomber and reconnaissance aircraft it remained in use into the 1950s Saab engineers learned quickly and by 1942 they were ready to unveil an Allsteel attack bomber the Saab 18th an improved version the B 18 was the world's fastest twin-engine bomber with a top speed of 350 4 miles per hour saw variation kept improving by 1945 they developed a lethal single-seat attack fighter armed with cannon and machine guns this pusher propeller plane-- with the engine in the back proved to be the ideal airframe to use for Saabs first jet the 21a became the 21b jet fighter in 1947 Saab's aviation business was soaring but its managers realized that after the war it would have to diversify one product made the most sense automobiles to study what kind of car swedes would want after the war saba put together the team of about 15 of its aircraft engineers [Music] sixteen SAS on a technical illustrator was charged with drawing the shape of the car and of Gounod Linstrom and led the team work began in April of 1946 on the first running prototype the Saab 9200 one a car emerged that was different from anything else on the road SAS ins aircraft inspired styling was unmistakable the futuristic first prototype was ready to roll in the summer of 1946 its aerodynamic body had a very low coefficient of drag the welded all steel body was pressed as one unit from the front windshield to the rear bumper the sleek unusual car was also front-wheel drive and had a two-stroke engine this feature which required oil to be mixed with gasoline would eventually be a drag on growth for now however the country eagerly waited for the first Saab to roll off the line after busting a hole in the factory roof so they could install the tall body stamping press production of the Saab 92 began in December of 1949 people flocked to see the new cars when they hit the showrooms the company estimated that he could sell fifteen to thirty five thousand cars but he could only build about twelve hundred that first year since the company had secured a good deal on some surplus moss-green paint from the military all of the first cars were green sarbat began selling cars in Sweden and exporting to neighboring Scandinavian countries this brought in foreign currency needed to buy imported materials and equipment [Music] it's two-stroke engine was lighter simpler and less expensive to manufacture two-stroke engines also have the potential to pack about twice the power into the same space because there are twice as many power strokes per revolution of the Pistons the combination of lightweight and twice the power gives two-stroke engines a great power-to-weight ratio compared to many four-stroke engine designs this gave Saab engineers an idea about how to build the cars reputation success on the rally circuit would get attention and spur sales just a few weeks after production began two cars enter the Monte Carlo Rally they finished but didn't win but they kept at it by the end of the year the team won the toughest rally in Sweden Saab was on the map by 1955 Sasson had prepared an updated version of his winning car the nine three he'd restyled the front end and the engineers had beefed up the three cylinder engine stock it delivered 38 brake horsepower but rally versions tuned it to deliver 65 drivers like Erik Carlsson began to campaign the cars after winning the Finnish Rally he said you can't drive a car harder than this [Music] not everyone wanted to race but people were attracted to Serbs because they were sporty and fun it was an affordable car that opened up new worlds to growing Swedish families they loved the spunky two-stroke engine that could turn a weekend in the country into a rally in 1956 saba created a sensation at the Saco Motor Show with the unveiling of their first sports car the Saab Sonett super it is an open-topped to seat competition sports car it's glass fiber body sat on a light alloy frame that had been developed and produced to meet new competition rules power came from a three cylinder two-stroke engine tuned to produce 57 brake horsepower at 5,000 Reeves per minute it was planned to go into production but only six cars were ever made [Music] more practical cars received the production go ahead sobs first station wagon the 9/5 was introduced in 1959 six in sass on crafted a sleek vehicle the surprising amount of interior room it featured a fold-down rear wood facing third seat that turned it into a seven-seater more new models were in the pipeline in 1960 saab revealed the 9:6 it was a little larger and rounder the 9:6 had flow-through ventilation and a more powerful engine the 96 was the company's most successful model and was built throughout the 1960s production grew from 30,000 to 50,000 young strim pushed his engineers to find a replacement for the four-stroke engine the two-stroke had serious limitations they went to work designing testing and building a new power unit [Music] customers were impressed with the overall engineering and build quality of the cars they were rugged and sturdy cars that were built to lust but experience showed that the two-stroke didn't last as long as four-stroke engines it became clear that the lack of a dedicated lubrication system meant that the parts of the two-stroke of wore a lot faster the oil made the engine smoky once they were worn they belch huge clouds of oily smoke unburned oil also dripped out of the tailpipe the young strim knew the disadvantages with the two-stroke engines couldn't be overcome the company continued to capitalize on the two-stroke engines one strength its power-to-weight ratio while the engineers worked on a replacement it kept entering cars in rallies it was a period of outstanding success for Saab in rallying it brought international renown to the company and turned a driver Erika Colson into a company hero [Music] his first-ever three straight overall wins in the British Royal Automobile Club rally in 1960 61 and 62 were capped by back-to-back wins at Monte Carlo in 1962 and 63 he was a formidable competitor who kept Saab in the headlines Carson's racing exploits looked so easy and received so much attention in Sweden that it was difficult for young strong to convince the board to give the go-ahead to produce the four-stroke engine whose development finally after much persuasion the board agreed the two-stroke engine was on the way out in 1966 an elated young strim introduced a revised Saab 95 and 96 with a V four-cylinder four-stroke engine from Ford the new power plant was an immediate success but the two-stroke wasn't dead just yet that same year when the sonnet was reborn it came with sobs Monte Carlo a three cylinder two-stroke engine it was hoped that this two-seat sports car would appeal to American buyers but in the market where European rally success had little impact the two-stroke engine had to go in 1968 the v4 was added and sales started to pick up [Music] that same year tragedy struck at Saab 16 Sasson died just as a new era was beginning for the company the 2-stroke was history and Saab was about to launch its most successful model to date Sweden and the rest of Western Europe was becoming increasingly prosperous it was time to build a car for the changing times Saab was ready to serve this more affluent market with a 99 this is a completely new car the 95 and 96 were still being made but the 99 was the wave of the future though it was a totally different car it was unmistakably asad styling importantly only changed the new car came loaded with innovations it had a larger engine the company's first automatic transmission headlamp washers and deeply padded seats with built-in headrests to reduce whiplash injuries the 99s initially came with an engine designed by triumph of britain this was eventually replaced by a Swedish four-cylinder attention as planned this car took Saab to another level it was continually improved to show off its more powerful car subs were once again entering into rally competition they tried something new turbo charging in 1979 Stig Blomqvist won the Swedish Rally in a turbocharged Saab 99 the first time that a turbocharged car had won a World Championship Rally Saabs turbo had become a cult favorite launched in the 1977 Frankfurt Auto Show it received enormous media attention Saab wasn't the only company to introduce new technology into the rally circuit it was soon outstripped by wealthier opponents and withdrew from racing [Music] it concentrated efforts on improving design and manufacturing processes it installed new computer systems and factories full of robots the result of this investment was the saab 900 it was an instant classic it would be built from 1979 to 1993 it was enormous ly popular hundreds of thousands were sold around the world the 900s popularity stemmed from its feature Laden offerings it came with independent suspension coil springs and four-wheel disc brakes it had self repairing bumpers heated seats headlight cleaners an anti-lock braking system a revolutionary ventilation air filter that was loved by people with allergies and of course an optional turbo engine the Cabriolet was an instant hit but it was introduced in 1986 more than 27,000 were sold in the first year all in all the 900 delivered it was built to appeal to the near luxury buyer but Saab was aiming higher it searched for a new look that would capture a buyer more interested in style the Saab eb1 experimental prototype developed in 1985 was a testbed for an advanced sports coupe a the car was built with new materials like a carbon fiber reinforced plastics that Saab engineers wanted to try the interior ventilation system used solar cells in the roof to keep the car cool when it was parked in sunlight its 285 brake horsepower 16-valve turbo charged engine gave it impressive performance but this was just a concept Saab needed real-world cars it hired the legendary Italian firm of Giorgetto Giugiaro to design its first entry into the larger car market the 9000 with the 9000 Saab engineers attempted to deliver a high standard of performance handling comfort safety and style its third generation turbocharged engine gave it a top speed of 135 miles per hour and zero to 60 in 7.8 seconds this was a large car that moved in 1988 sahabat produced its first four-door car the 9000 CD this was a car designed for growing families and the executive class these innovative new products were increasingly expensive to design build and market the late 1980s launched an era of consolidations sarbat management realized the company needed help to survive it wasn't alone Ford had beaten out GM to by sobs Swedish counterpart Volvo GM turned its attention to solve the giant American corporation wanted to add a European luxury car maker to its lineup Saab accepted its offer and the two companies announced a joint venture in March of 1990 Saab hoped that General Motors would give it the financial engineering purchasing and marketing resources necessary for growth but some feared GM would crush Saabs uniqueness [Music] in 1994 the automotive world anxiously awaited the first joint effort the revamped 900 this was the first time than existing Saab model was replaced with a completely new version in the same market segment the evolutionary design received a positive reaction from the public who still remembered the thrill of driving the original 900 and also from those who missed it in 1994 a revamped 900 Cabriolet was shown at the Detroit Auto Show like the rest of the 900 range it is offered with a new 2-liter turbo engine the 900 also boasted the first v6 engine ever available in Asad [Music] sobs designers have been working on ideas for a new larger model since the early 1990s unfortunately this project have been repeatedly delayed and eventually scrapped it was resurrected in February 1993 seven designers were assembled to begin fresh on project 640 each would produce a scale model from which the new car would be chosen in less than three years the car went from drawing to manufacturing saab isms reintroduced for t95 include the clamshell bonnet and the return of the floor-mounted ignition and reverse gear lock that was absent from its predecessor the Saab 9000 the new 95 retained existing Saab design cues and features such as its attention to safety the curved C pillar and the overall economics of the vehicle especially in respect to the driver Saab set out to exceed its already high safety standards and make it its safest car yet in 1998 the introduction of the 95 sedan was followed by the first Saab wagon in over 30 years the GM investment was helping Saab to expand its lineup while new products were rolling out sobs performance wasn't quite what GM had wanted in 2000 GM moved to purchase control of the whole company the following year sobs first concept car since 1985 was shown to the world of the Frankfurt Motor Show it combined aspects of roadsters wagons and pickups bawling one car while it's vision of the future was attention-getting the company's real-world performance will be judged by actual drivable products it wasn't a long wait in 2003 Saab announced a car that was aimed at BMW Mercedes and Audi the 9-3 sports sedan it promised a premium car that was sporty and fun to drive that would appeal to a younger buyer typically 35 to 45 years old the sedan was seen as a core product that could serve as the platform for other variations it was designed to convey a sense of movement even when he was standing still it was proof that GM wasn't standing still this car was created with the biggest investment program in new models in Sovs history General Motors spent over 450 million dollars in new facilities and machinery that transformed the old Saab plant into what was essentially a new factory this large investment began to pay off when the new nine three became sarbs best selling model Bias said they liked its sporty styling and fun to drive performance and handling of course sunlight the 300 watt am/fm CD infotainment center with its 13 speakers it came with Bluetooth capable phones with voice recognition text messaging and GPS navigation but there was something missing a cabriolet Sava filled the gap in the range when he brought out it's open top nine three available in steel gray or a vivid lime yellow this was a car in touch with his past clearly a descendant of the 900 turbo unfair of the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show Saab is a company that nurtures its heritage it has a history of providing driving excitement with unique vehicles created with timeless Scandinavian design whether driven in competition or for weekend escapes Saabs aviation genetic code has created cars that look like they want to saw [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: King Rose Archives

Views: 165,018

Keywords: Swedish cars, rally, 2 cycle engines, SAAB

Id: JOAcXD3FZaY

Length: 25min 7sec (1507 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 25 2017