Who Knows About The Car Saab

Who is Saab?

Saab is a Swedish industry corporation active in defense and aeronautic products. They were founded in 1937 and SAAB stands for Swenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Incorporated). After WW2 they started to make cars. In 2000 they sold their car business entirely to GM. In 2012 Saab Automobiles was shut down.

Are Saabs good cars?

It's funny, there's such a stigma regarding Saabs being unreliable, impossible to find parts for, some mechanics make comments of “Oh, you drive a Saab, I feel sorry for you” etc.Truth be told, I'm on my 2nd Saab. My first was a 2004 9–3 sedan. Bought with 150,000 km and was rock solid until it was rear ended 6 years later on the highway at 282,000 km. The only maintenance done was wear and tear items and oil changes (brakes, tires, stabalizer links, spark plugs and battery and control arms due to pressed in ball joints).I now own a 2005 Saab 9–5 Aero. Bought with 204,000 km and now has 279,000 km in 1 year 8 months of ownership. Maintenance has been oil changes, brakes, ball joints and vacuum lines replacement.Mechanically there are some Saab unique aspects but things like brakes, engine mounts, subframe, suspension, they aren't any different from other independent multi-link suspension vehicles.When it comes to ignition, turbo, air fuel management, spark timing etc, yes Saabs are a whole other world. Still simple enough for you to wrench at home.Saabs are very advanced and are not cars that you can ignore issues on. Each system relies on other systems to function correctly. Just like how ingredients go together to have a fantastic meal that you can enjoy.For example, on a 2005 Saab 9–5 (or any T-7 engine management Saab) the spark plugs are used as knock sensors, and Ionization sensors to determine the fuel grade being used and the ignition cassette module that sits on top of the plugs is used as a camshaft sensor. The cars don't actually have a camshaft sensor. On start up, (since the car has no idea what the camshaft position is) the ignition cassette module fires a burst of current across all spark plugs at once until fuel burn is detected. Then it knows which cylinder fired so it knows which one will be next.At shut down, the ignition cassette fires 40,000 volts AC of current to clean the plugs of any unburnt fuel.Of all the cars I've owned, (Chrysler, Jeep, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, GM) the 2 Saabs have been by far THE best cars I've owned.As for parts, they are still being made. It's a seperate saab parts company that overlooks that. ORIO is the company and they're currently offering lifetime warranty on all parts.2004 9–3 Sport Sedan2005 9–5 AeroDirect Ignition Cassette taken apartT-7 (Trionic 7) Engine bay. Ignition Cassette sits at center of manifold/head.

Would you buy a Saab?

Not a jet fighter, but a Saab automobile? Yes and yes.For various reasons, chief among which are having a kid, a dog and a need to drive between two homes that are three hours apart every week, I needed to buy a station wagon the last time I was shopping for a car. The Saab Aero Wagons I could locate within my budget were too old and/or had been driven in excess of 150,000 miles, and although I can’t blame anyone for actually driving their Saab, I’d been through the ordeal of revitalizing a badly-used Saab before and I didn’t feel ready for it - I would have limited time to take it to the shop, and there is only one (1) Saab in the town where our second home is (pop. 74K), so I’d have no reliable mechanic to take it to.So I had to settle for my second VW Passat wagon. Although this one (1.4 TSI) isn’t a heap of worm-infested dog shit like my first one (1.6 FSI) was, you can feel that the engine is only good for about 500 RPM before it needs to shift up, and since there are 7 gears, the 1st and 7th of which are completely unnecessary, the car spends more time shifting gears than actually accelerating. And because it’s much newer than any Saab Aero Wagon within my budget, I’m only going to have to replace the engine belt assembly, the water pump, and possibly front drivetrain in the near future.My answer, unsurprisingly, shifted from Saab-praising to VW-bashing, so I’ll end it here, with the one caveat that I’ve been making in each of my Saab-related answers: once you own a Saab, you can never settle for less. And anything else is less.

What's the best car that Saab makes?

The proper question would be "What's the best car that Saab MADE?". Unfortunately, Saab went bankrupt. Several times. Why - it's a completely different matter so I'll allow myself not to go into more detail here.As for their best car - I'd hesitate between 99 and 900 (the latter was actually a developement of the further). Both were great, highly original cars, including iconic Turbo versions (they weren't the first turbocharged gasoline cars but it's Saab who actually made it popular), built with priorities being ergonomics, comfort and safety. The Saab 900 is one of classic cars you can use as a daily driver without too much of a sacrifice. They have a sort of a cult following which makes finding parts and serviving easier - Saab-enthusiast communities are known to be very helpful to their members.

What makes Saabs different from other cars?

One of these things is exactly like the otherYou have to recall that Saab originally stood for Svenska Aeroplan AB, founded in 1937. They were an aircraft company, that became an auto manufacturer in 1940 as they sought to diversify, with the iconic Saab 92 being the first model.Unfortunately, there was a war going on, so the 92 didn't debut until 1949. It was a very forward-looking design, with a two-cylinder two-stroke engine making gobs of power for the displacement, and front wheel drive providing good traction and more interior room for the size.It was also built just like an airplane. Same construction techniques. Same non-nonsense cockpit. Fully about function over form. That's part of the charm of Saab.This continued with the greatly under-loved Saab Sonetts, starting with the 94, then the 97which was just an amazing car.They also got a huge, huge lift from Erik "On The Roof" Carlsson who drove Saabs to numerous rallye championships. Often after flipping the car back onto it's wheels.Try that with other cars.Anyway, that's what makes them special: they're airplanes, with wheels.Or were, until GM bought them. Sigh.

What car should a lifelong Saab owner buy next when my current Saab comes to its earthly end?

I'm struggling with this as well.When I worked at AutoTRADER I drove a lot of cars. But compared to both my 2004 9–3 SS linear (the small skinny kid that could easily bench twice their weight) and my 2005 9–5 Aero (the punk you know there's something up with, you're not sure what it is but you know you don't want a piece of them out on the street), every car I drove lacked something that both Saabs have. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what it was, then it hit me. Character/soul.No idea how Saab baked it into the cars, but even starting the car in the morning, it starts up with character. The sound when you stomp the go pedal, soul. The feedback through the steering wheel, character, the seats, oh man! Best seats in the industry (talking about the 2005 9–5) character. Merging onto the highway at full tilt then at the snap of a finger just cruising. It's a multi-personality experience, a combination of soul and character.Yes there were faster cars that I drove, quieter cars, more luxurious cars, sportier cars but compared to my 2 Saabs, all these newer cars had no personality, no soul, no character.My 9–5 Aero has vented seats, heated front and back seats, factory touch screen with Nav (2011 updated maps) so realistically, there isn't much that the newer cars can offer that I'm lacking right now, but the Saabs offer something that the newer cars lack. Character, Soul, Personality through and through.What would I buy outside of another Saab? No idea, Volvo seems to be the default but comparing the price, my 2005 9–5 Aero cost me a whopping $4000 CAD just under 2 years ago. My 2004 9–3 SS was $6500 CAD 7 years ago.It's hard to justify any of these new cars when Saab was so far ahead of the game that they already offered what's now become standard on a new car.To get close to what I'm used to, I'd be looking at the $50,000 CAD and higher price bracket. Do I get THAT much more car for the dollar? Absolutely not. That's what makes this question impossibly difficult to answer.Maybe I'd get a Volvo, or a VW R line, or a KIA Stinger (former chief Audi designer and former chief BMW M engineer project). But at the end of the day, I'll still have my Saab.

Who makes and manufactures Saab cars?

Until recently, the licence to manufacture Saab cars was held by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a holding company owned by a Hong Kong/China-based energy company. No cars are currently being manufactured due to NEVS being in dire financial straits, and, subsequently, Saab AB (the parent company who make fighter jets, trucks, etc) reclaimed the rights to the brand name.From 2000 - 2011, Saab was a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors (they had owned a 50% stake since 1989, but took the option to acquire the other 50% in 2000). The cars were still mostly manufactured in the Saab plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, but some were manufactured in Finland and elsewhere. In the US, several Saab-badged variants of other manufacturers' vehicles were sold - the Saab 9-2x (Subaru Impreza) and the Saab 9-7X (Chevy Trailblazer). Once Spyker picked the brand up, they also released the Saab 9–4X SUV, based on the same underpinnings as the Cadillac SRX. They only made around 800 of these before production was ended.So, right now, somebody really needs to make Saab AB a really good offer to use the name. How about Geely? They’ve already injected a ton of cash into Volvo, why not resurrect another storied Swedish name?