Page 1
Karl Ludvigsen
answers your questions
about SAAB cars
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KARL ERIC LUDVIGSEN—
was born in Michigan—not Sweden—three
years before the SAAB company was founded.
He first read about a SAAB car, the 92, in Brit-
ain’s Motor in 1950 and was fascinated by its
clean shape and shrewd engineering. Karl
visited SAAB in 1960 and again in 1969, bring-
ing back vivid memories of hairy rides over
rally roads, courtesy of Carl-Magnus Skogh,
Rolf Mellde and Eric Carlsson. As a free-lance
writer for auto magazines in the U.S. and as
a correspondent for publications in a dozen
countries abroad, Karl writes more than sev-
enty articles a year about the subject that in-
terests him most: automobiles.
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Why should I read this
book about SAABs?
This is a book of answers to questions, so let's
start it with another question: Can any num-
ber of words and pictures take the place of a
test drive in a SAAB? The answer to this one
is easy: No. More than most other cars, a SAAB
deserves and rewards your detailed personal
inspection. Only behind the wheel can you be-
gin to appreciate how good a SAAB car is.
Unless you're taking your dealer for a ride,
though, a test drive is too short to allow you to
get to know these cars well. This book is de-
signed to give you a head start. If you read it
before you try a SAAB you'll know what to
look for. If you read it after you've bought a
SAAB you'll find out why the car is so consis-
tently satisfying. And if you're reading it be-
tween planes in Atlanta I hope it will pleas-
antly pass the time.
I've tried to anticipate some of the questions
you may ask about SAABs. Check them against
the list at the right, then go directly to the sec-
tion of your choice. You'll find an answer, in-
cluding some fascinating facts about SAAB of
Sweden, one of the world's most unusual
automakers. If you have some other questions
I haven't covered, ask your dealer, then try
one of his SAABs. They're the cars that have
all the answers.
Karl Ludvigsen
answers your questions
about SAAB cars
Why is a SAAB so small? (2)
Can we be comfortable in a SAAB? (4)
Why doesn't the new SAAB look ugly
like other foreign cars? (8)
Will my family be safe in a SAAB? (10)
Doesn't a small car like the SAAB
feel “funny” on the road? (13)
Isn't the SAAB too expensive to be
an “economy car’? (15)
Willa SAAB make me regret I bought
an imported car? (18)
How cana little country like Sweden
build such a good car? (21)
Aren't there other SAABs
besides the 99? (24)
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iS)
Why is a SAAB so small?
One of the factory men I talked to put it well,
if formally: “The SAAB is the only true com-
pact car” Another put it more personally:
“SAAB is like a woman's shoe. It looks small
but it holds a lot!’ That says it, though I don't
agree that the new 99 looks small. Its fine style
gives it a character and presence most smaller
cars lack.
The men of SAAB took a remarkably long-
range view of the 99's design. When they bring
out a new model, it has to last for a few years.
The 99 may still be with us ten years from now.
Considering this, they measured and shaped
it to suit the dense traffic, crowded streets and
cramped parking of the Europe of ten years
from now—which is to say, the America of
today. Driving a SAAB is like adding an extra
lane to every road.
SAAB engineers are too smart to build a
narrow, top-heavy car. They gave the 99 a
super-wide track, about 55 inches, wider than
every other small car and lots of big cars too.
In fact, the track and wheelbase are very close
to those of cars like the Ferrari 330/GTC, Biz-
zarrini GT America, De Tomaso Mangusta
and Lotus Elan +2. That's good company,
where handling and stability are concerned.
Riding this wide track are big wheels, 15-
inch ones that roll high over bumps and dips.
Some builders try to save interior space by
making the wheels small. SAAB just moved
them outward, but kept the body slim, In
fact, that was their basic approach to the de-
sign of the 99's new one-piece body-frame
structure. “We started out thin, and added
metal where we needed it. That was part of
ouroverall effort to keep the size small to make
a light car, which still was roomy.’
Wider than the 96, the 99 is naturally also
heavier. But much of its added weight in-
cludes extra comfort features and sound
deadening. SAAB could afford this because
it made more of the body do more work,
welding additional outside panels into the
main “fuselage.” The 99's body has about the
same stiffness as that of the 96, which was
already famous as one of the world's strong-
est cars.
The 99 is small where it should be small.
Consistent with good looks, the front end was
made relatively low and narrow, “no longer
than that required to obtain convenient loca-
tions for headlights and air intakes,’ one fac-
tory man said. There are safety reasons for this.
It considers the safety of the pedestrian, who's
less likely to be scooped up by a SAAB. It con-
siders selfish safety too, since a rounded, tap-
ered nose is less likely to lock horns with
another car.
A wind tunnel also told SAAB's designers
to round off the corners of the 99’s nose. It
forces a path more easily through the air that
way. There's an additional practical benefit,
one you appreciate every day you drive. It re-
Page 5
duces the car's actual turning circle, the one
that counts, measured wall to wall.
Except that it's so easy to handle, you don't
realize the 99 is small outside when you're
inside. It has the generous greenhouse glass
of a big car, with the difference that there's
not a lot of sheet metal to look across. And
there's interior room to spare. It really is the
full five-seater it was planned to be.
lhe buckets up front are designed for two,
so three have to be accommodated across the
back. The 99 has the hip room and shoulder
room, plus a full five feet across at elbow
level, where you need it most. But in most
cars, even if they're wide enough, the guy in
the middle suffers. He's sitting on thin pad-
ding over a differential with his feet on a
drive shaft tunnel. With front-wheel drive,
the 99 gives him full cushioning and a flat
floor.
Those are just a few of the tricks the engi-
neers used to make you forget you're driving
a small car—except for the convenience
when you're sitting ina SAAB
Driving a SAAB is like adding an
extra lane to every road.”
Page 6
Grilles and scoops on many cars are there for
looks alone. On a SAAB they're engineered
to keep fresh air flowing.
Can we be comfortable in a SAAB?
SAAB engineers had only one new car to
worry about. They aren't making twenty-
seven different versions of supercars, muscle-
cars, ponycars, compacts, full-sized cars,
personal cars and prestige cars. They concen-
trated all their attention on one new model,
making the 99 the best car they could.
It shows in the amazing way the seats of the
99 can be adapted to your shape and driving
style. You don’t have to pay extra for a six-
way power seat. The front bucket seats of the
99 have built-in adjustments that surpass
anything other cars can offer. If you can't
get comfortable in a 99, it may not be the
car's fault!
Seats on most cars slide back and forth.
SAAB 99 has a range of 6.3 inches. Down in
front of the seat there's another lever to change
the height and angle of the seat. You can raise
the front by % inch, the back | inch—each
time changing the seat angle—or raise both
at the same time. Drivers of any shape and
size are guaranteed a fine view forward over
the steering wheel.
Some cars have seats with adjustable back
angles. Few are as sophisticated as the 99.
There are two adjustment ranges. One is for
normal driving, with angles from 12 degrees
—almost upright—to 40 degrees, if you want
to feel like a Grand Prix driver.
For resting on the road, you move a safety
catch that lets the back swing down to 45 to
68 degrees from the vertical. Does it fold all
the way down to make a bed? Not quite,
especially with the headrests. The Swedes feel
there is a correct time and place for every-
thing.
If you do enjoy camping out, the 99 has
another feature you'll like. It's a simple trick,
one I think all cars should offer: a rear seat
back that folds down flat to make a straight-
through carrying space, almost six feet long,
from the rear bumper to the front seat back.
The normal SAAB 99 trunk has over 12 cubic
feet of capacity, arranged in a sensible shape
so it can be used. That's more than most U.S.
sporty cars. With the seat folded down, there
isn’t much you'd have to leave at home.
Why don’t more cars have this semi-station-
wagon feature? I found out on a recent trip to
Detroit: It costs money. It's not just the cost of
the hinges and latches of the rear seat, which
have to be extra-strong so any luggage in the
trunk will be kept there in a crash. In most
cars the panel behind the rear seat is used as
a major part of the body structure. Leaving
it out means that metal has to be added else-
where to take the load, in ways that add to the
cost. That's the more expensive route SAAB
chose to ensure your comfort in a 99.
The 99 is like a piece of fine Swedish furni-
ture: styled for looks and for comfort too. Its
roof line looks fine, without being a fastback
or tunnelback. Headroom is 39 inches in front
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and 38 in the back. That's an inch more in
each seat than a Rolls-Royce! And there's no
central drive shaft tunnel as there is in a Rolls.
If you like the feeling of driving an armored
car, peering out through narrow slits, avoid
the 99. It’s low-waisted with deep windows
and narrow pillars, giving a light, airy and
pleasant feeling with 25 square feet of glass.
You can't be comfortable if you're cold.
Some cars built in sunny climates aren't too
strong in the heating department. Not so
SAAB of Sweden, where it’s cold even when
that midnight sun is shining. Heating system
tests are routinely carried out in frigid Lap-
land. At its Trollhattan factory, SAAB has a
cold-test room, as do most other makers. But
this one is equipped with light-load rollers
for the front wheels so the car can be “driven”
away from a cold start to see how long it takes
the heater to begin doing its job.
Developed to high efficiency, the cooling
system contains only a little more than two
gallons of water. This reduces the amount of
anti-freeze needed, and helps the system warm
up quickly, The same benefit is provided by
the radiator fan, which is driven by an elec-
tric motor and isn't switched on until the
temperature gets high enough to require it.
The heater's thermostatically-controlled
output is piped from one end of the 99's in-
terior to the other, wherever it's needed, by a
system of ducts. Rear window defrosting, more
Page 8
6
heat for the back seat, defrosting for the side
windows—they're all available by operating
simple controls on the dash and console. This
little warm-air furnace in each 99 is powerful
enough to let you drive in shirtsleeves in tem
peratures of 40°F. below zero
d
acuate
Vents in the rear quarters, shaped and s
with wind tunnel tests, constantly
the interior to let fresh air in. Cool air can be
drawn through the heater ducting and is also
delivered through two dash outlets, adjust
able for volume and direction.
A powerful two-speed blower pumps air into
the 99, either winter or summer. But SAAB
engineers know that the two seasons pose dif-
ferent requirements. In the summer, you want
as much air as you can get. SAAB expects you
to use the blower for cool air, especially at
low speeds. In the winter, though, the air
should move more slowly through the core of
the heater so it will pick up more heat, deliv
ering more to the interior
Whatdo most car makers do, faced with this
design conflict? They compromise. But not
SAAB. On the heater motor, under the hood,
there are two different connections, easily
selected. The “winter” one is right for maxi-
mum heat transfer. In the “summer” position
the blower delivers one third more air, to keep
you cooler. A small thing—typical of the
attention to detail that makes a 99 so satisfy-
ing to own
Page 9
Leave the brake on? Forget to push in the choke?
Low on brake fluid or oil pressure?
Warning lights on the 99 keep you safe
before you start driving
Page 10
Why doesn't the new SAAB look ugly like other foreign cars?
The 99 might not have been so nice looking.
SAAB, as you may know, also makes airplanes,
some of the best in their class in the world.
That means they're completely clued in to the
vital importance of good aerodynamics for
best performance. They found out with their
first car design, the 92, how a reduction in air
drag can boost both economy and acceleration
at highway passing speeds. The new car had
to be low in drag too.
Luckily, SAAB didn't let the aerodynami-
cists shape the car. Experts in air flow have
designed some of the world's ugliest auto-
mobiles. Instead the styling of the 99 was
assigned to an experienced stylist. After he
was finished, the doors were opened and the
air flow experts were let in.
Sixten Sason was a well-known man in
Sweden thanks to his imaginative sketches in
periodicals of a handsome and exciting world
of the future. When aircraft-builder SAAB
started thinking about building a car after
the last war, Sason was called in. He created
a smooth teardrop shape that satisfied the
drag-conscious engineers and served as the
basis for all SAABs through the 96.
The engineers at Trollhattan credit Sason,
himself an engineer as well as an artist, with
many design inspirations during the genesis
of the 99. Work on the new car began early in
the Sixties. As early as 1962 the engineers
grafted deep wheel houses onto a stock SAAB
to try out the effects of the radically wider
track. But something a little prettier than
that was clearly needed.
Sason first made a series of sketches to
explore some possible directions. Then, to
expose them to SAAB management, he had
five tenth-scale plaster models made, painted
and trimmed just like a full-size car. Two of
them tried out an asymmetric style, with the
air inlet offset to one side. Another had an
Alfa-like aspect. One was quite close to the
final design, except that it had single round
headlamps instead of dual units or the rec-
tangular ones used in Europe.
With agreement on that shape, the next
stage was the refinement of a full-size clay
model of the 99-to-be. From it molds were
taken to allow a fiberglass styling model to be
made, one that could be fitted inside and out
like the actual car. Management passed ap-
proval on the 99's final style in April, 1964.
At this point the styling was complete, but
not the shaping of the 99. Now the aerody-
namicists had their chance. They could
change the outline if they needed to, with the
approval of the stylists. To get the right infor-
mation, they first had to make a model of the
proposed car. Done to one-fifth scale, the
model was fully detailed, with all radiator
ducting and interior venting. It had to be, or
it would have been worthless. Each of the sev-
eral models made cost $10,000!
They were taken to the wind tunnel of the
Technical University of Stockholm for a long
series of tests. Many detail changes in the
shapes were made to reduce the drag and make
the car stable—for both are important, and
frequently conflict with each other. The wind-
shield was more deeply curved, the front end
was rounded more, and the front corners were
pulled in slightly.
SAAB had hoped to give the new car a drag
coefficient as low as that of the 96. They
didn’t quite make it, which is no disgrace,
since the 96 is one of the slipperiest sedans in
the world with a coefficient of 0.35, which
means it has only 35% as much drag as a flat
plate of the same area. Most sedans are in the
range of 0.40 to 0.50, as are many sports cars
too. At 0.37, the new 99 has nothing to be
ashamed of.
Stability, extremely important in a small
car, turned out well too. Tests were run at
wind angles of up to 40 degrees to find out
whether they'd affect the 99. There was little
or no disturbance, accounting for the car's
immunity to the effects of side winds. Other
changes in the tunnel included the placement
of the interior air outlet vents, and the re-
vision of the sides of the car to keep road dirt
from building up on the window glass.
It may surprise you to learn that not all
manufacturers shape a new model with such
loving care. Some make so many different