Saab, a company for the future

Here is a special treat for you all on a troublesome day like this: A short film about the Saab company anno 1960. The first part of the film covers the aeroplane production. The second part which starts at the 9 minutes mark, is about the car production. And it is a fascinating 8 minutes about Saab anno 1960.

In the embedded film from 1960, we first get a peak inside the engine and transmissions factory in Gothenburg, where they had a capacity of about 30,000 engines and transmissions back in 1959. Each day 100 engines were shipped on one big truck to Trollhättan.

The Trollhättan factory was brand new in 1959. It is located a few miles north of Gothenburg. In Trollhättan they produced about 100 cars each day, or about 30,000 cars each year. But with expansion the production was planned to increase to 60,000 vehicles. This was a production that was important to Sweden as it made Sweden less dependent on import, and it also meant increased export.

Saab was one of few manufacturers which actually built the car bodies themselves. The bodies were made out of extra thick steel for increased safety for the passengers. And believe it or not, the car actually got rust proofing and and was treated with anticorrosive agent!

In Trollhättan in 1960 Saab built the practical seven seater estate Saab 95, the elegant five seater Saab 96 and the exclusive sport model Saab Grand Turismo with higher output and special equipment as standard.

At the end of the film we get to see how they test drive the cars they built. That's what I would call practical quality control!

And yes, it is a man laying on the bonnet of the 96 going through that puddle of water. He is looking through a Plexiglas into the engine compartment to ensure that water doesn't enter!

The movie ends with the following statement: "Saab, a company for the future."  Hear, hear!


Now I want a two stroke Saab 96!!!