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The Last Saab Story

on Jim Motavalli

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This may be the last Saab Story I ever write, given that the company declared bankruptcy December 19—some Christmas present for Saab owners—and is likely to be broken up and the pieces sold to the highest bidder.


Quirky but exciting. Dig that freewheel feature. (Saab photo)

Saab CEO Victor Muller, the scrappy entrepreneur who acquired Saab from General Motors in 2010, would have preferred a more dignified outcome. He certainly fought the good fight trying to keep the company alive. But Saab’s fortunes have been declining since 1986, the firm’s peak year in the U.S. (48,181 sold), and an operating profit was rare indeed. Saab had become so entwined with GM that its vanguard 9-3 and 9-5 models, with many U.S. parts, couldn’t be separated without surgery that would also kill the patient. Several Chinese companies wanted Saab, but no deal was going forward without GM’s approval, and it didn’t come. Muller says he never got an explanation, but GM sells more cars in China than in the U.S., and it simply didn’t want the competition from its own content.


Victor Muller’s last-ditch attempt to keep Saab alive has fallen apart. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Steve Rossi, a former publicity head for Saab who first suggested that leftover 900s be converted into convertibles (a wildly popular move), says that the sale of the company was always problematic because, without the GM-based models, “there was no established portfolio of products. There was no viable business case. The culprit here isn’t GM, but the Swedes who walked away from what was supposed to be a 50-50 deal.”

“In the end, this happened because one big company didn’t want its technology to get transferred into China,” a supplier told me. Ryan Emge, who led the Save Saab movement when GM appeared ready to close the company in 2009, and founded SaabHistory.com, says, “This result was entirely preventable. I’m speechless. Saab made its mark on the automotive landscape with strong values in safety and design. But if GM thinks that its whole business model in China would be upset by such a little player, it should re-evaluate its product line there.”

Saab had created an electric car, the ePower, based on the 9-3 SportCombi (a wagon), and there were plans to field a fleet of 70 of them. That plan is now off the table, but Saab-based electric cars (with batteries from Boston-Power) are quite likely to have a second life.


Saab’s ePower electric car was just gearing up. (Saab photo)

“An extremely sad day,” Saab publicist Michele Tinson told me. And indeed it is. Saab was a quirky company, and it was the quirks (funky aircraft-inspired design, a floor-based ignition key) that people loved. Phil Patton reports in the New York Times that Saab popularized seat heaters (a useful option in frigid Sweden), pioneered the wrap-around windshield and the hatchback body style.

Ray Magliozzi has been under the hood of a lot of Saabs. “I’m sure we’re not alone in saying that Saabs have always been kind of a mystery. I think it started with the 900 series and went downhill from there—no pun intended. When we realized that the engine was in backwards with cylinder #1 closest to the firewall, we knew that even ordinary repairs would be a nightmare. Over the years we learned to appreciate Saab’s great engineering begrudgingly and we were always elated when we actually fixed one correctly.”

The first U.S. Saab model, in 1956, had a three-cylinder, two-stroke engine. Oblivion might have been expected, but instead a cult began. Len Lonnegren, who I knew when he was Saab’s Connecticut-based U.S. publicity chief, told me, “When GM was about to give up and just close down, Saab owners and fans in cities around the world demonstrated their feelings, from Moscow to Detroit. How many other car fans can you imagine doing any such thing?”





Loyal Saab owners rally in 2009 to save the brand from GM liquidation.
(Photo courtesy of Ryan Emge)

So rather than pick over the bones of this scrappy company and speculate about what happens next, let’s check in on some of those loyal owners, who posted extensive comments on Car Talk’s community page, and on Facebook, too. I’m an ex-Saab owner, too, by the way. I have semi-fond memories of a 1972 96, with the German Ford V-4 under the hood. I say semi-fond because the column-based transmission went blooey after about a year, and that was that. But John Parker owned the exact same car and loved it—he remembers, “This weird freewheel function controlled by a foot pedal…. Even when it was 30 years old, the cigarette lighter still worked.”

“Before GM owned Saab I was a fan,” says UncleTurbo, “and owned a couple of great Saab cars. After GM I had a 2000 9-3 as a company car, and it wasn’t a good car anymore.”

JudeBGood acquired his first Saab, a 1975 Turbo, in 1976. “I had five in a row after that, a ’79, an ’81, an ’84 and a ’98. Each one I liked a little bit less than the previous one, until I was pretty much seriously disappointed [with the last car]. It was such a cool car in the beginning. You’d wave at other Saab drivers in the ‘70s, because we were few and far between.”

SManning has fond memories. “I once dated a guy because he was rebuilding an old Saab. That, and he could cook. But…when I found him stalking me I, well, I still liked his car. So I married a guy whose dad had one that ran.”

Llornkcor has a friend who “fixed leaky fuel injectors on a Saab with Super Glue and duct tape! Well, mostly fixed. At least there wasn’t a puddle of fuel anymore.”

But Saab ownership stories conjure mixed emotions, not simply addressed by an “old ones were good and new ones bad” equation. Dagosa had a 96 like mine, but an even older one with the two-stroke engine (which required mixing the oil with the gas). His car “seized up at 70 mph on the interstate, 30 miles from the nearest exit in northern Maine.”

Brotherratt went through hell with his 1969 99, with big bills for the head gasket, clutch, tranny “and various other letdowns.” For him, the “worst car I ever owned” was definitely a Saab story. “I have NEVER been tempted to spend one cent on another Saab,” he said.

On Car Talk’s Facebook page, Ralph Ellsworth bought a “beautiful” 9000 CSE, which now has more than 250,000 miles on it. “I love my 9-5,” he adds.
Jason Castriota’s cutting-edge designs had promise for Saab’s future.
(Jim Motavalli photo)

Erika Lehmann loved her Saab 900, bought “very used” in 1987 “because James Bond drove one in a then-recent movie.” Of course, the car caught fire, died in awkward places, and cost a fortune to fix. “And yet we remained loyal to it for years,” she said, perhaps questioning her own judgment.

And then there’s Spencer Kinder, who’s happy with his Sportcombi, which reminds him of his first car, a Saab 900. But now he’s worried about getting his car serviced. I’d be worried about that, too, if there was still a Saab in my driveway.

For a quick recap on the drama over the Saab bankruptcy, here’s the story from Cars.com.


Comments

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jerryc41

Wed, 2011-12-21 16:53

Like many other industries, car companies care only about their profit - period. Most businesses are run by bean counters, rather than car lovers, book lovers, music lovers, etc. It will continue to get worse. Profit is the only obective.


JCA

Thu, 2011-12-22 17:41

My girlfriend had a 9-3. It was a flipping NIGHTMARE! It was nice to drive, but once it started breaking it NEVER stopped.(I hear this from owners both old and new) The gas pedal was like a workout when driving.Stiff doesn't even begin to describe it. When she got her new Solara 2 years ago, I thought she was going to kill herself the first week. Tires spinning at every start was fun at first...but got too scary quickly. I remember the 2 strokers and the Sonnett 3. Decent looking...but all in all toilets.


lori

Fri, 2011-12-23 17:49

i've owned a 1995 9000 Aero since 2001, and I LOVE THIS CAR!!! i just put a new heater core in it, and i'm getting the front fenders replaced. i had never owned a car longer than 2 years until i bought this one. (about 10 cars until 2001). this has been a great car for me - very well maintained, a few major repairs (clutch in 2003, exhaust, heater core in 2011) but has truly held up well. it drives GREAT, turbo still strong. it breaks my heart to hear that Saab is apparently gone now. i thought there was some reorganization going on, and Saab would emerge a strong Swede again, but alas, it is not to be. i have no idea where i will go without my Aero.


JCA

Sat, 2011-12-24 17:44

Lori... Try a 2006 + Chevy Malibu as a used option. ;)


Mustangman

Sun, 2011-12-25 11:25

Jerryc41, Of course car companies care about profit. That is the whole point to the creation of consumer goods.. like cars. If the company does not make a profit, like Saab, it will fold, since the bills can not be paid. I am sad to see Saab go because my wife LOVES her 2001 9-5 Aero and I'm concerned about parts availability. Now I need to keep this car running forever!


SamIam

Tue, 2011-12-27 12:33

I mourned for the death of Saab in 1974 when I saw my first Saab 900 - the antithesis of all prior Saabs. Before they sold out and became a YUPPIE car manufacturer, Saab only made people's cars - inexpensive, bulletproof, 36+ mpg (highway in freewheeling), supersafe, and extremely easy to work on. Virtually every Saab owner waived, or flashed their lights to each other in solidarity. They were "Made by trolls in Trollhattan". From 1971 through 1979, my family owned a 1/2 '68 Saab 96-Montecarlo / 1/2 '70 Saab 96. Both original cars had been "totaled" in accidents, and had been joined together flawlessly. We named him Frodo. My Dad and I bonded at a DNA level each Fall when we tuned up this ultra-dependable car. We often went deep woods camping with the following strapped on/in our 1925 pound Frodo: a 15' aluminum dingy, a 17' Folbot kayak, an enormous ice chest (packed), a 12'x12' screen house, a 6-man tent, hundreds of pounds of equipment/food, two adults, a big dog, and me. We lived like kings, and that car was truly indestructible. They don't make 'em like they used to. Now we compete for who can buy the biggest roll-over-prone tank on the road, in the illusion that we are somehow "protecting our family". And now, if children bond with their Fathers at all, it's over cheering for millionaire corporate gladiators, or video games. With the extraordinary resources car manufacturers have today, if someone made a true people's car again, they would have a loyal following indefinitely....


jinglebuddy

Tue, 2011-12-27 16:19

No matter how you look at it, it's GM that killed Saab. Years and years of mismanagement, that's what did it, Saab having to settle with the second rate platforms instead of being able to do their own stuff. I have an idea. Why don't we all who love and miss Saab for Saabness all over the world pitch in a little money, and maybe we can buy the company. Then we'll resurrect the glory, producing new 2-stroke Saab, and compete it in the WRC! Are you with me!


edszhi

Wed, 2011-12-28 15:33

My first SAAB was a used 1962 white 96 (2 stroke 3 cylinders) in 1970. What a great car! It would do anything over just about any rural New Mexico terrain and never gave me any trouble. Well worth the $300. I moved up to a '67 SAAB 96 Monte Carlo (3 cylindar, 3 carb, 2 stroke (oil injection)) for $350 in 1973. Another fantastic reliable car. Ahh the good ol'e days. Ed


Tulsey

Wed, 2011-12-28 16:39

I owned a 99 turbo that was strong, fast and handsome. A quirky 99 ems and a 900 turbo that was an absolute money pit.


Newfie

Wed, 2011-12-28 18:43

I have had several 900 Saabs and have loved all of them dearly. That's not to say they didn't drive me crazy, sometimes. They did----a lot. At one time I had an '88 convertible and because it was always breaking down, I bought a '91 hatchback also, hoping that one of them would work while the other one was being repaired. There's nothing like getting into a Sabb, turning the key and moving on out. I have a Volvo now, and it's nice, but I don't have the same feeling that I did with each and every beloved Saab I owned. I am very sad.


East Coast Al

Wed, 2011-12-28 22:37

SAAB will be missed its styling was always distinctive. I was fortunate to own a 1960 SAAB 99- 3 cylinder/2 cycle/3 speeds on column. I drove that car from Mass. to Mexico to Canada to Des Moines Iowa where I totaled it on a guard rail doing 77mph. Both occupants were uninjured and un seat belted. It was the perfect car for a poor college student. I loved the expression on the attendants faces when I tossed them a qt of oil & said put it in the gas!! The looks were priceless. I could do everything but climb in that car. It kind of ate exhaust parts up on a regular basis; but I think that was more due to the poor quality of steel they used on aftermarket parts back in the 60's. I had to fix it some but I'm hard on cars. It was probably one of the 2 most fun cars to drive that I ever owned. I always regretted that I could never afford (or justify) buing a new one. My first trip cross country I went 1500 miles in 20 hrs One of the best times in my life.


carl4603

Sun, 2012-01-22 13:47

i have a 01 saab 9-3 convertible. love this care have owned it since 06 and the only thing it has ever needed was one headlite replaced and one back seat opera lite replaced. it is a tank and the best car i've ever owned. was going to give it to my daughter when she got her license, but now i'm not so sure.


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