Jared sent me this photo of a Saab 99 cabrio and my first thought was “why hasn’t someone done this before?!” A 900 cabrio is just a 2-door with the roof cut off, so why not do it with a 99 as well? Makes sense to me.

And it looks brilliant!

My second thought was why haven’t I seen this website before now??

The picture comes from a site called saab99.net, which seems to be a pretty good resource for hooking up with other 99 owners or finding some links for like-minded websites.

I’ve added it to the sidebar and will definitely be checking it out a bit more thoroughly in the weeks to come.

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Eirik was kind enough to send in a few more old-school ads.

They go a long way to reminding us just how advanced Saabs were, back in the day. Many of the qualities like safety and utility remain but there’s still some work to do…..

Click to enlarge, though you’ll still need to squint a little.

And if I may indulge just a little, how good does that 99 look in the second poster? I know the 900 will likely be regarded as the Saabiest Saab for all time, but the 99 with it’s slightly shorter nose is the one for me.

Bring it back in a retro-modern style with a modern engine and I’d camp out at a showroom to own one.

Maaaaaaagnificent!

It’s a new year, I’ve been on vacation, and I’ve finally gotten through that slug of work that’s stacked up in my e-mail inbox over the holidays and into this week.

For that reason, I apologize that I’ve got little in the way of new Saab news or clever Saab verbiage. But I do have a few interesting photos from Flickr!

One of them is well worth the wait, believe me. But you’ll have to wait until after the break.

First up, we have another Saab recently purchased by our resident Frenchman, Golfhunter. It seems that Jeff can’t keep his checkbook in his pocket whenever vintage Saabs are around. I’ve completely lost count, but it was just over two months ago when I congratulated him on his last purchase. I’m sure that it will look better when he’s through with it, but it already looks pretty good — and those appear to be genuine TRX wheels! Now, if you could only find tires to fit…

Next, a fine example of a Saab 99 Turbo 2-door in original condition. Our brother-in-arms, Thorstensson, found an unbelievably well-preserved 99 and has obviously maintained it well. Take a look at the Incas. I love Incas. They are a unique part of Saab heritage.

Oh, and the photo is excellent.

More after the break…

[Read the rest of this entry →]

For most of us, this is a rhetorical question — naming just about anything “Snow Weasel” would not only be ridiculous, it wouldn’t even be a known option.

But, we aren’t Finnish, we aren’t in 1985 anymore, and we, for the most part, are weasel-free. (I’ve got my doubts about a couple of you.)

In 1985, a Finnish Saab dealer entered a competition sponsored by a Finnish magazine to show how inexpensive it can be to modify a base model car for a more customized driving experience. Scan-Auto started with the Saab 90, a car that was sold only in Northern Europe and was essentially the front portion of the Saab 99 and the rear portion of the classic Saab 900 two-door sedan/saloon. They named the modified Saab 90 “Lumikko”, which means “Snow Weasel”.

I am not making this up. They named the thing “Snow Weasel”.

One the plus side, the modified Saab 90 won the competition, which resulted in a small run of orders — they produced ten of the cars according to the only source that I can find. The resulting modified 90 is quite a looker, as you can see.

The cars were not turbocharged, nor were they particularly well-equipped — this was a competition to explore the possibilities of low-budget motoring. Presumably, they were 2.0l 8-valve, 4-speed cars with standard equipment. The Lumikko added the Aero wheels, body kit, spoiler and the special all-white paint scheme.

Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, let me tell you.

Alrighty then, let’s get down to business here.

In 1977, Saab thought enough of the hatch to feature the size and advantages of the hatchback style in their advertising. Advertising that actually sells cars, not Saab’s aviation heritage.

Click to enlarge.

Great stuff.

In the month of hatch lovin’, here’s a great example of the original, the Saab 99 Wagonback, aka SportCombi. This particular example also fits nicely with our recent discussion of the marquee colors for various Saab models. One of the ‘winners’ in the admittedly unscientific poll of our faithful readers was orange for the 99.

The orange color looks great here, for sure.

The body kit certainly enhances the overall lines of the 99 hatch, and I think the bigger wheels (I’m guessing 16″) really give the 99 a more muscular look.

Finally, the front air dam gives us a clue to the modifications under the hood — it appears that this turbocharged car has an intercooler for additional boost.

Click on the pics to enlarge.

Well, it seems that TS’s favorite Frenchman, Golfhunter, has found and rescued a vintage Saab from certain destruction. Yes, Jeff has posted pictures of his new (to him) 1979 99 Turbo two-door. Check those Incas!!

I’m unsure about what awaits, but I’m sure that this car is in great hands with Golf.

Jeff, we want details, and we want them NOW!!

It is with no small amount of shame that I have to admit being a Saab blogger for over two and half years and never writing a review on one of the most useful and readable Saab books that an enthusiast could ever add to their collection.

That book, of course, is Lance Cole’s Saab 99 and 900 – The Complete Story.

I actually thought that I had written about it, and was poised to write a note here about the fact that it’s gone into a reprint this year. When I searched for what would have been my original review, I was stunned to find that I hadn’t actually done one.

And then I figured it out – do you know why I haven’t done one?

It’s because Lance lurks here

He does. And it’s a little scarier to review a book that you admire by a person you admire, have swapped emails with and regard as a friend, when you know there’s a chance they’ll be looking. So I put it off. And somewhere along the line my subconscious mind managed to convince the rest of me that it had been done.

So, to make up for lost time and my own tragic oversight….

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First published back in 2001, this book should be regarded as the quintessential reference for 99 and 900 owners, and all other Saab enthusiasts interested in that period of the company’s history.

Packed with facts, anecdotes and rare photography, this book traces the origins of Saab’s major models of the late 60s, 70s and 80s.

It’s appropriate that these two landmark models in Saab’s history have been covered together. The Saab 900 is regarded by a majority of Saab enthusiasts as the Saabiest Saab, but without the 99, there wouldn’t have been a 900.

The documentation covering the history of the Saab 99 is comprehensive, and was particularly pleasing for me as a former owner of several 99s. Chapters on the 99 cover the car right back to its conceptual days back in the early 1960s and include several of Sixten Sason’s initial sketches. It’s interesting to look through these and see that the rear of the car was largely settled well before the front end design.

The book also gives a good insight into the personalities involved. The great thing about a car company like Saab is that it’s small enough to feel like you get to know these personalities. Many of them are still alive today and should you get to Sweden for a Saab Festival in the future, there’s a chance you could meet some of them. I was fortunate enough to do just that earlier this year and my chance meeting with Bjorn Envall is something I’ll never forget. That brief meeting was enhanced by knowing a little more about what he did through the stories recorded in books like this.

There’s only one chapter specifically on the Saab 900 as a model, but it’s far and away the longest chapter of the book. Those of you who have read Lance’s comments here know that he’s a big advocate of vehicle safety and naturally, the book provides great coverage of Saab’s safety development for both the 99 and it’s evolution in the 900.

There’s also a record of all the styling changes made to the 900 throughout the years and attention is paid to a number of special editions produced by Saab throughout the 900’s life. The buyer’s guide is a very handy resource as well, with tips on engine condition, the turbo, gearbox, suspension, tyres, brakes, electrics, steering, bodywork, accident damage and interior – all with the assistance of the technical director of the Saab Owners Club UK.

The book is 160 pages from front to back and is divided into 10 chapters. In terms of content, it’s slightly more weighted toward the 99 but has plenty of 900 detail in there as well.

The chapters are as follows:

1 – Saab before the 99
2 – Project Gudmund
3 – Saab 99 – Styling Standpoint
4 – Strength and Safety
5 – The 99 Unveiled
6 – Turbo Years
7 – Reincarnation – The 900
8 – Competition Cars
9 – Buying a classic Saab
10 – Finale

There’s also several appendices covering production figures, plant output, drawing, details and a summarised buyer’s guide.

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I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It’s very, very readable and comes with great, rare pictures from the vehicles’ development and building phases.

If you count the 99-900-9000 as Saab’s “middle period” then this is a fantastic record covering two-thirds of that chapter in Saab’s history.

As mentioned earlier, Saab 99 and 900 – The Complete Story, is now in a second printing and should be readily available.

Elkparts have the book listed in their catalog and I imagine have good stocks, though the book is also available elsewhere as well.