| A well-known motto of the Saab company “Born from jets” mirrors somehow the history of the first Saab car. It was manufactured by 16 airplane engineers and so was based on the design of an aeroplane. The meaning of a slogan is that the quality and safety of Saab automobiles may be equaled with the quality and safety of airplanes. Nowadays Saab vehicles production is a prerogative of GM corporation, but Saab airplane sub-unit is still controlled by the Swedish Saab corporation. So let us take an excursion into the history of Saab company.
The make Saab made its appearance in 1937 with the manufacture of aeroplanes for the Swedish Air Force. From that moment on it has concentrated on construction of military aircrafts, including fighter aeroplanes for NATO. Thanks to their high reliability Saab aircrafts were recognized all over the world.
Since 1949 Saab experts have been involved in the manufacture of well-engineered cars. The peculiarity of Saab cars consists in the special aerodynamic design that in of great help in fuel economy. This peculiar feature is observed in every Saab model. Safety is one of principal priorities of Saab cars. The specialists of this company use the latest technological achievements to make their cars safe and modern. Among such innovations there are: self-repairing bumpers, self-cleaning headlamps, turbo charged engines, air filters and so forth.
In 1980s due to the growth of global economy and the spread of multinational corporations the Saab corporation faced with difficulties in maintaining its positions on the marketplace. This led to the separation of the Saab automobile division and its selling to a number of investors. The major investor has become General Motors corporation (GM) that has 50 per cents of the business.
The range of Saab models has lately been supplemented with the first sport utility vehicle. All the models are regularly updated in conformity with the requirements of the market. But still, there are arguments about increasing impact of General Motors. Numerous discussions are led on account of the ability of Saab to keep its uniqueness and to compete with such celebrated European brands as BMW, Volvo and Mercedes.
In spite of all these facts the amateurs of Saab cars hope that its airplane heritage will help them to design unique and reliable automobiles. |
