1973 Saab Sonnet III

It's from Saab, so it's gonna be weird. Designed to compete in America with MG and Triumph, the Sonnet sold less than 2,000 copies per year in the 1970s, and I think this is the only one I've ever seen. Too bad it's not running; restoring it will be no small task.

So what you've got is a fiberglass body over a Saab front-wheel drive chassis, powered by a Ford 1.7 liter V4. Apparently it was a pretty fast car. Observations:
* I believe this car came with a monstrous front bumper to meet the new 1973 US safety standards, but the owner of this one has tossed it.
* Note that the "hood" on this car is just a small panel. The earlier, much rarer Sonnet II had a hinge that allowed the whole front clip of the car to open. But if you want to do any major maintenance on this Sonnet III you will just have to, ah, take the whole front end of the car apart.

 

 

 

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1965 Saab 96

Seems like a good time to write my first ever post on Saab, as Saab was in the news recently (although not in a good way).

Made for two decades, the Saab 96 is a curious vehicle with a two-stroke engine, front-wheel drive, column-shifting transmission and a 'freewheel' overrunning clutch, allowing the engine when coasting to reduce its speed to idling, thus requiring only the small lubrication available from the closed, coasting, throttle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So where did the company go? In 1989, (from The Guardian), General Motors, "panic-bought Saab... ­after losing out in bids to acquire Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar." GM had actually bought 50% of the company at that time, and purchased the remaining 50% in 2000. That year, Saab sold a record 133,000 cars worldwide. Following GM's bankruptcy, it sold Saab to Swedish sports car maker Spyker. That tiny company's attempt to keep Saab going was a failure from day one; and because GM wouldn't allow Spyker to include the GM technology in Saab cars as part of any sale of the company, Saab filed for bankruptcy. 

Saab's assets were then purchased by a Chinese company who announced the brand name National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). That company's plan was to restart production of the Saab 9-3, first as a gasoline powered car, then switching to electric. Long story short, after producing a handful of electric cars, the NEVS project is over and the company is trying to sell its Saab assets. While in theory the Saab brand could rise from the ashes yet again, it seems unlikely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The logo above represents that Saabs are the cars "born from jets". The car company was started in excess factory space by Saab Aviation.

 

 

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