Saab

Saab, the other Swedish car incorporates much of the same safety thinking, durability and solid construction that goes into Volvo.

Saab’s have also made many fun fast cars. They pretty much introduced turbocharged cars and back in the late 1970’s and early 80s and these were awesome, thrilling cars to drive.

Saabs are well built, sturdy and safe cars and always a bit quirky for styling. There are not many problems with these cars and overall reliability is good.

One rather unique mechanical feature found on the older Saabs (the 99 and 900 models) was the way the engine and transmission are joined: the transmission housing forms the engine’s oil pan and the transmission gears are mounted below the engine and driven by a robust drive chain. Replacing the clutch on standard transmission vehicles did not require transmission removal but instead a unique procedure involving locking the pressure plate in a compressed position.

While Saab has been innovative they have also fallen behind in many areas partially due to the company’s small size among auto manufacturers. One example that comes to mind was a 1991 Saab 900 that I owned which only had a 3 speed automatic transmission: this would have been better equipped with a 4 speed like most moderate to higher end cars of the time.

Presently the company is in bad shape: GM sold off Saab in 2010 and they have been struggling financially. The dealership network in Canada has all but collapsed.

While Saab produces a quality, innovative, fun northern European alternative to BMW and Audi, buying one is a risky proposition. While Saabs are expensive to purchase they depreciate precipitously and have made for great used car purchases. Though expect to pay more for repairs than you would for the average car.

A conversation about Saab would not be complete without a note about the uniquely positioned ignition key: this is the only car with the ignition lock on the centre console. It is a safety feature that they introduced after studies found that during collisions knee caps frequently got broken on steering column mounted ignition switches.