How did saab get started?

Question

How and when did Saab get started and when did GM buy them?

Answer 1

Until 1990 the company was owned by SAAB, an acronym for "Svenska Aeroplan Aktie(B)olaget" (The Swedish Aeroplane Company), which also included SAAB Aerospace and truck manufacturer Scania. The original Svenska Aeroplan Aktie(B)olaget was started in 1937 with the express purpose of building aircraft for the Swedish air force. After World War II the company's main market for military aircraft declined and after considering other options SAAB decided to move into the passenger car market with Gunnar Ljungström in charge of design. The first car, the Saab 92 was a streamlined steel bodied saloon with a 2 stroke engine driving the front wheels and independent suspension all round. Showing their aviation background the car had, at 0.32, the best drag coefficient of any production car in the world at the time. The 92 name was used as it was the 92nd Saab design, the previous 91 had been aircraft.

Four stroke engines were introduced with the Saab 95 and 96 in 1966 which used a V-4 unit bought in from Ford followed by the Saab 99 of 1967 with a Triumph based engine. This gained an optional turbocharger in 1977. In February 1970, Saab built their 500,000th car. An agreement was reached with Fiat in 1978 to develop a new car platform which became the 1984 Saab 9000 and shared its structure with the Fiat Croma and Alfa Romeo 164.

By the late 1980s Saab were producing more cars than they were selling and in 1989 had 40,000 units in stock. The Arlöv plant was closed but heavy financial losses continued. Talks were opened with Fiat, Mazda and Ford and in January 1990 Saab-Scania moved their passenger vehicle operation to a new company Saab Automobile AB.

General Motors bought half of Saab Automobile on 15th March,1990 for USD600 million with an option to acquire the entire company within a decade. David J Herman became president with Stig Göran Larsson as vice president. Before exercising the option to buy the entire company, GM shared its ownership of Saab Automobile with Investor AB, the main owner of Saab.

Losses continued and the Malmö plant was closed in 1991. A new Saab 900 was launched in 1993 based on the Opel Vectra and in 1995 Saab declared a profit for the first time since 1988.

In March 2005, it was announced that GM would move the production of the next-generation Saab 9-3 from Trollhättan to their Opel plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany. Current models are the 9-3 and 9-5, both of which are manufactured in Trollhättan, Sweden and the Saab 9-7X SUV, manufactured in Moraine, Ohio. The Saab 9-2X, a rebadged Subaru Impreza and manufactured in Japan, was discontinued after the 2006 model year.


Innovations
1958: The GT 750 is the first car fitted with headrests as standard.
1962: Saab becomes the first volume maker to offer diagonally-split dual brake circuits.
1970: Saab introduces a 'world-first' - headlamp wipers and washers.
1971: Heated front seats are introduced, the first time in the world they are fitted as standard.
1971: Saab develops the impact-absorbing, self-repairing bumper.
1972: Saab introduces the concept of side-impact protection bars.
1977: Saab is the first manufacturer to put a turbocharger in a mass production car.
1978: Saab introduces another 'world-first,' the passenger compartment air filter.
1980: Saab introduces Automatic Performance Control (APC), an an anti-knock sensor that allowed higher fuel economy and the use of lower grade fuel without engine damage.
1983: Saab introduces the 16-valve turbocharged engine and asbestos-free brake pads.
1985: Saab pioneers direct ignition, eliminating the distributor and spark plug wires.
1986: The Saab 9000 became the first front-wheel drive car to offer ABS.
1990: Saab introduces a 'light-pressure' turbo.
1991: Saab is the first manufacturer to offer CFC-free air-conditioning.
1992: Saab unveils the 'Trionic' ignition, equipped with a 32-bit micro-processor.
1993: Saab introduces the 'Sensonic clutch' and the 'Black Panel', later to be called the 'Night Panel'.
1993: Saab develops the 'Safeseat' rear passenger protection system.
1995: Saab presents an asymmetrically turbocharged V6 at the Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany.
1996: Saab introduces active head restraints, which help minimize the risk of whiplash.
1997: Saab fits ventilated front seats and an air conditioned glovebox to their new 9-5, both world-firsts in a passenger car.

Answer 2

Companies controlled by Axel Wenner-Gren, head of Swedish conglomerate Electrolux, created Svenska Aeroplan AB (Saab) in 1937 because of the Swedish government's need for a military aircraft producer. The government wanted Saab to work with an aircraft manufacturer controlled by Marcus Wallenberg, but intercompany feuding slowed progress. Wallenberg joined the Saab board in 1939 when the government arranged for Saab to buy his enterprise. The first Saab-designed plane took flight in 1940.

Swedish neutrality in WWII lessened the need for weaponry, and as the war's end approached, Saab began planning small-car production. It introduced a prototype, the Saab 92, in 1946 and began production in 1949 of two-cylinder, 25-horsepower cars -- originally available only in green. The basic styling of Saab autos did not change until a 1967 redesign. At that time the cars became popular in Sweden but failed to catch on in the US.

Saab benefited from massive Swedish rearmament in the 1960s, building satellites, missiles, and computers. In 1969 Saab merged with Swedish truck maker Scania-Vabis to form Saab-Scania. Saab-Scania then bought arms makers Malmo Flygindustri and Nordarmatur. However, the mid-1970s' recession and a lessened need for missiles took their toll on the company's auto, computer, and aerospace segments. Saab-Scania's future got brighter with its introduction of the upscale Saab 900 in 1979. Sales grew rapidly as the car quickly won a loyal following, especially in the US, where Saab customers were among the best-educated and most-affluent car buyers.

In the 1980s Saab-Scania introduced a popular line of trucks and began developing commuter aircraft. The company launched the Saab 9000 car series and its first convertible in 1986. But when the 9000 didn't sell as well as expected, and the 900 needed to be updated, the company sought a partner.

GM, seeking a prestigious European nameplate, bought 50% of Saab Automobile, Saab-Scania's passenger car business, in 1990. Restructuring and redesign costs led to losses of more than $800 million that year. Swedish property developer Sven Olof Johansson bought a 22% interest in Saab-Scania in 1990, but Peter Wallenberg's Investor AB bought back the stock in 1991 to take the company private.

The redesigned Saab 900 debuted in 1994, with the company offering a six-cylinder version for the first time, and the joint venture posted its first profit. The next year Saab-Scania was split into separate companies to better focus on each group: Saab Automobile and Saab AB (civil and military aerospace business).

In 1996 GM and Investor AB agreed to ante up another $262 million each to bring new models on line. That year GM veteran Robert Hendry took over as CEO and trimmed Saab's workforce -- a move that raised eyebrows in a country where jobs practically come with a lifetime guarantee.

Saab released its new 9-5 series in 1997 and the 9-3 the following year. The company announced that the two models would replace the 9000 and 900 models, respectively. Saab unveiled a 9-5 wagon in Europe in 1998 and in the US the next year. Also in 1998 Saab hired Peter Augustsson, a former Volvo enginner and executive, as second in command to Hendry. (Augustsson became CEO in 2000.)

GM bought from Investor AB the 50% of Saab it didn't already own in 2000. In 2001 Saab announced plans to give its worldwide dealer locations a facelift in hopes of increasing sales.

Answer 3

they were born for jets