Comments on: Why the Saab 900 rocks – part 2 – ergonomics

By: mtl

mtl — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:43:28 +0000

MarkoA touched on an important aspect of the power controls: one should be able to use them without looking. I’ve never sat inside or driven a classic 900, but am the lucky new owner of a ’96 GM900 SE. Its centrally-located power controls include windows, sunroof, door locks, and dome lights. Each control (or for the windows, set of controls) has a different tactile quality and different mode of operation. Windows are push/pull latches, door locks and dome light are rocker switches (oriented in opposite directions), and sunroof control is a slider switch.

Once you learn the different feel and operation for these controls, operating them while driving is much safer because your eyes can stay on the road. I’ve never been in another car with this design concept so well executed.

By: cam

cam — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:58:17 +0000

i totally agree when i lived at home in ireland seeing a 900 was a rare and pleasant surprise as they never sold in large numbers when new and most of them where only base models so the site of a turbo was extremely rare. But since moving to oz, 900 spotting is a hell of a lot better. Most days i see 4-5 old 900′s and almost everyday i meet a beautifully keep 900 T16, which really makes my day everytime i see it the only downside is how few saab’s i see from the GM years and more surprising how few 9-3SS and ever more so is dame edna 9-5, of the latter ive only seen 1 in 4 months of living here. With out dragging this off line, what has changed since the 900 that has changed people minds from buying saab’s in oz. O and steven i still have a turbo on my driveway, but it has a F6 badge on it . Love the new site layout.

By: mark_belfast

mark_belfast — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:18:08 +0000

Ajith, you’re right, the cool air to face was always an important feature of the 900 and lost on the more recent models, albeit the centre vents on the 9-3 are several degree cooler than the temp from the side vents, so maybe that’s better than arctic wind on the face?

Loved the ‘swooshing’ sounds as you moved the air direction control around – you could hear the series of valves/vents opening and closing in the vaccum system – always impressed people although today I suppose it would seem crude!

the 900 also had the simple 3dial set-up, which is what latest 903s have reverted to – I have no problem with this, although I do like my 2006 9-3 buttons as well (although the SID drives me nmad and is an unnecessary distraction).

By: Ajith Wijeratne

Ajith Wijeratne — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:56:01 +0000

Another point about the C900 interior is that you could set the controls so that you could direct cold air to driver’s face through vents in the dash while the cabin is being heated. This keeps the driver alert. This feature was not available in later saabs. In fact functionality is slowly reducing. My 2002 9-5 has weather band radio (accessible via button in the dash) whereas my wife’s 2006 9-5 Aero does not provide access to WB radio. In many occasions I found having easy access to WB radio very useful.

By: Markac

Markac — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:06 +0000

I loved the interior on my ’84 3 door turbo SE. The leather seats were great and the seat heaters too. About the only thing I’d fix is the rather crude seat height adjustment. It was similar to a 99 and left quite a lot to be desired.

I hope Saab use the C900 as a template for a new ‘retro’ 9-3. It’s space utilization, it’s ergonomics, it’s character and it’s individuality are second to none. If it could be brought into the 21st century in much the same way the Mini has, it will be a winner. But it has to come in 3 and 5 door hatches as well as a sedan. Saab was wrong in making the 9-3SS range without a hatch and I guess to a lesser extent, it was wrong in making the NG900 and the OG9-3 without a sedan. It all comes down to giving the customer the choice and not letting that choice be made for him/her by some bean counter.

I think by now we’ve learnt that the sedan hasn’t sold any better than the hatch? But if customers had been given a choice, how many more cars would’ve been sold?

By: MarkoA

MarkoA — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:22:33 +0000

Thank you Swade! You get it right there. C900 is the Saab. It is an experience to drive. Come and try it on a tough winter weather and you´ll appreciate it even more. Cabin heater was way ahead other of that era. Maybe I should consider driving C900 next winter time. Even thinking about it brings me good memories. There´s so many features inside C900 cabin that I really like. Of course, by todays standards it´s very basic. But actually there´s everything you need and nothing more. Everything on a right place and easy to use. All the controls and buttons are sturdy and have good feel. Swithes between seats are excellent. Even from rear seat you have access to open front window/roof if needed. Possible on any other passenger car? Don´t think so.

I´ve been using door-window switches now over two years and I still don´t like it. I have to bend my arm to reach them, and usyally I´ll have to take a look what I´m doing. Pure GM – S**t.

Straight from a Saab ad: Form Follows Function.

That is forgotten today. Unfortunately.

By: 1985 Gripen

1985 Gripen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:13:02 +0000

I hope some of the current GM Europe designers read this post and take heed.

I think it deserves to be pointed-out that not only were the climate control dials operable by a gloved hand, they were designed to be operated by a mittened hand. Mittens are warmer than gloves and I’m sure many a Swedish Saab owner appreciated not having to remove his mittens in a freezing car interior to turn on the heater. All the buttons were big and chunky for the same reason. You could push the buttons with mittened hands. None of these tiny little buttons.

Another feature I love about the dash is the ECON zone on the tachometer. It is a little green zone that lets you know the best RPM range to shift gears in to conserve fuel. This feature was implemented in the era of the oil crises and would be a nice feature to bring-back today, IMHO.

Also note the dash was matte black to reduce reflectivity. None of this shiny chrome bezel crap like they have in today’s Saabs. I can’t tell you how annoying it is in my Chevy Impala that there is a chrome surround on the gear selector along with shiny faux wood that reflects bright sunlight right into my eyes when the sun is in a certain position. I have to use my hand to block the glare until the car has turned into a different direction. Note the 900′s sun visors have black on the backside and light color on the fore. That’s thinking.

By: MarkS

MarkS — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:13:22 +0000

Thanks for posting this article Swade! The 900 is a masterpiece of design and ergonomics and should be the benchmark for future Saab designs. I love my 2001 9-3 very much, but I would trade it in a nanosecond if the C900 was still available! I miss the experience of driving that car very much…..

By: Andy Rupert

Andy Rupert — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:50:33 +0000

My first test drive of one was an ’88 900 8v. My first impression of the interior was the steering wheel. The position was different — a bit closer to the dashboard than other cars. And that became an endearing quality for me. I also appreciated the thickness of the steering wheel.

By: J

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:42:53 +0000

Great writing, Swade. You pretty much sold me a 900 there.