The TRAGIC Fall of Saab | A Classic Car Documentary

Hi all, I loved Saabs. And it's a great history story and warning for other auto companies. What are you thoughts on Saab?

My dad started working at a SAAB dealership in the early 1970's as a mechanic. One day a factory service rep came by on a usual dealership visit and mentioned to my dad that there was a position open for a service rep for the Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont territory. He applied for it and got the position. SAAB sent him to the factory service school in Trollhättan, Sweden for about 4 months.
He worked for the company for about 15 years out of New Haven, Connecticut. He got a new company car every 6 to 8 months or so. On a winter break from high school, he let me be his chauffeur for one of the weeks he was on the road. Got to drive a brand new model 99. Very impressive ! Fast, smooth, comfortable and very quiet inside. Handled like a dream.
He got me my first car, a graduation present, which of course was a SAAB, a well used 1967 model 95 with the V4 engine. I had that car for about 8 years and drove the hell out of it like teenagers have a tendency to do. It was an amazing car and held up well, considering what I put it through. I miss both the car and my dad, good memories.

SAAB was killed by GM. Even after GM had withdrawn, offers were made for SAAB by third parties, all of which GM blocked and scuttled. They really didn't want SAAB to exist. Criminal. How could Swedes ever let this happen?

Tragic story ! I'm a SAAB man through and through. I started with a 1963 Bullnose 2 stroke 96 - then a 1968 V4 96. That led to my first SAAB 900. Then a SAAB 99, and then 3 more 900s, including a 900 LPT. My final Saab was a 1991 SAAB 900i, 3 door. I had that car for 18 years. Very sad day when I sold it, but I really didn't need a car any more. I loved all my SAABs and always will - they have a character all of their own. R.I.P. SAAB 😞

I've had 4 of them : 900, 9000, 9-3, 9-5, and one more for spare parts. I never felt as safe on the road, with any other car, as I did in my my SAAB. Solid as a rock on the highway and well-protected in city driving. Never had a major repair with any of them. It felt good to drive ... ergonomically correct in every detail. ... and I loved all the 'quirky' features.

What happened to Saab is truly a sad story. People don't love the brand for nothing.

As a teenager back in the late1980s, I was sitting at red light late one night in my 79’ Z28 Camaro, when an older gentleman pulled up along side me in a black Saab 900 T. We briefly made eye contact as the lights began to change, and due to the fact that the roads were entirely devoid of any other traffic, I got the distinct impression that this distinguished, slightly gray haired man had a “contest of speed” on his mind...which suited me just fine, of course. Although I’d often seen these odd looking cars around, I didn’t know too much about them in the way of performance.
Now I had done a few mods to my car including a carb, intake, cam, headers, and true dual exhaust, sans catalysts. With a 3:73 final, this Camaro was far from stock, and regularly humbled any stock Mustang GT of any year of that decade.
The light changed, and we both flat out dumped it. I immediately put a car length on him out of the intersection. The one thing I vividly remember about this strange car though, was the incredible sound of that turbo charger spooling up as he seemingly almost instantly erased that deficit. We were running pretty much dead even. Every time he would shift I’d gain a few feet, then the whining scream of that turbo charger would be right there in my window. It was pretty awesome, actually.
Although it was a long straight, and there wasn’t any other traffic around, there definitely WAS the possibility of the random cop sitting up the road in the dark. So we both shut it down before crossing over into triple digits. I remember glancing over and seeing this man grinning like a Cheshire Cat, and he winked and nodded before going on his way as I hit my turn lane to head home.
Unfortunately, I never got the pleasure of driving one of those Saab 900 Ts, but from there on out, I always held a healthy respect for them in the way of their performance capabilities. Was his car modded as well? Possibly, but of course, I’ll never know. Regardless, I still hold that car fondly in my memory as one of the few 80s “business man sleepers.”
Great video, btw! And thanks for the flash back. 👍

A 72 Saab 99LE I bought with my own money was my first car at 16. I've driven 8 Saabs over the years. In my driveway is a hotrodded and fast 01 Viggen convertible I'm listing on Cars and Bids this week. Of all the Saab-related media I've consumed over the last 45 years, your video is the best piece of automotive journalism of all of it. I now know "What Happened". Anyone who's watched a single season of Shark Tank knows selling away that much equity can only end in tears.

You were too kind on how GM destroyed the SAAB brand.

I still work on SAABs everyday.
A lot of them are still great cars. The old turbos are quick.

The 9000 was not an outgrowth of the 600, though Lancia was involved in the 9000. It based on a platform (Type 4) shared with Fiat (Croma), Lancia (Thema), and Alfa Romeo (164). Each company used the same basic structural shell but used their own engines, interiors, and exterior designs.

The 2-stroke engine required a small amount of oil to be mixed with the gasoline, like many chainsaws. Jay Leno said there were so many SAABs sold in New England that gas stations offered premixed gas+oil.

I believe that Saab would have survived if they had concentrated on making cars that were especially designed for sub-artic conditions. The market may be small but there is much less competition than in the ordinary mid-size saloon sector.

GM did kill SAAB, GM is now killing GM!

As a owner on many really old 2 cycle and V4 era SAABs, the misinformation of this segment is rampant. It's hard to know where to start.

First off: Saab didn't introduce freewheels in 1960, they were present from their 92 models onwards, they just didn't have a hole in the firewall and a little pull handle in the passenger compartment to enable and disable the lock up on the freewheel. You had to open the hood to enable the freewheel lock up. So do you even know why they had freewheels? It has something to do with the type of engine they had

The original 92 wasn't made from a "single sheet of metal and cut apart" (Do some research on this subject ..) Sixten Saxon their genius sheet metal designer made these first prototype by hand hammering the body shapes and SAAB had bought US sourced steel sheet in large pieces for their run-up to production and had to cut them into efficiently cut chunks for the rather complex stamping dies they had spend many months getting prepared for their production run of the 92 The early 92 used less pieces because the 92 had no trunk lid and a fairly simple body plan.

The 1960 SAAB 96 was really not a whole lot different than the 93 that proceeded it in body design except for some refinements in their stamping, a beefier engine with 100 cc's more displacement and changing from Suicide doors to standard pivots below the A pillars.

Did you know that SAAB aircraft production was booming during the 1950's? Look up a list of their aircraft and their production dates They had designed from scratch many ground breaking jets that were as innovative as they were beautiful. The SAAB 94 sports car was never sold in any commercial numbers I don't think more than 5 were made.

The most glaring claim about the 1968 SAAB 99 being equipped with a number of different 2 and 4 stroke engines is just ludicrous. They were test running their drivetrain prototype called the Toad, a 6" sheet metal spacer welded in place into a cut down the middle of a 96. The 99 had one basic I-4 cylinder engine design that was evolved out of a Triumph slant 4 used in the TR7, carried over to the 900. It did have a freewheel in the first models. In my opinion the Taunus V4 was not a great engine. Too heavy and got poor gas mileage.

Find the book "40 years of SAAB Automobiles" My 1962 96 had a receipt from Kurt Vonnegut's SAAB dealership in the glove box.

A 1980 Saab 900i was my first car. Best winter car I have ever had, and excellant for long distance driving. Only down side was that repairs where pricey but otherwise I wouldn´t mind having that car again!

I owned and enjoyed a 1998 SAAB 900T 2 door with a 5-speed manual. Still one of the best cars I ever owned, and I got my license in 1978. Very fun to drive, some unique quirkiness which I liked, and I ran it up to 170,000 without a lot of repairs. Held up against New York snow, salt and potential rust. My brother even bought a 9-3 convertible which he enjoyed. I would have bought another, but, well you know.
Great video. Thanks

It's amazing how many companies Government Motors has destroyed. Most recently Holden.

SAAB was the first automotive company to have turbochargers on all their cars. They were quirky, admittedly but solid, well made and reliable. Many SAAB owners were incredibly loyal to the brand often owning a succession of SAABs.

The Saab was an extremely innovative automobile. Swedish neighbors of mine had a 1964 Saab 96. It had lap, and shoulder belts. I believe that they added boron to the steel bodies to stiffen them up, I believe that Volvo did the same, about that time, ensuring a safer vehicle, especially in a rollover accident, as well. As a kid I rode in it several times in the front passenger seat. I loved the way that my friends' dad drove that car. It handled extremely well, and drove like it was a sports car. The sound, and the smell of the car was unique as well. When I think of the GM partnership, I think that a quote from the Simpson's is apropos: "What do you expect from a heartless multinational corporation".