Saab

Saab is a Swedish car maker that is owned by Dutch automaker Spyker Cars NV. Saab actually stands for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, which is why the acronym Saab is used when referring to the automaker. The company is known for its engineering quality as well as the advances that they are making in green car technology. Probably the most notable aspect about the Saab company is that their cars often contain turbochargers and are of the highest safety standards. For these reasons, Saab is considered the premier car for the King of Sweden.

The company first began in 1937, however, the company was not in the business of making automobiles. The purpose of the company was to provide airplanes for the Swedish Air Force during the war. However, as the war was coming to an end, they realized that they were going to have to expand their interests in order to stay afloat in the economy. So in 1944 they launched what they called Project 92, which was their first venture into creating a passenger automobile. Their work paid off and the first car was created, the Saab 92001. When the car was finally released to the public in 1949, the name of the car was shortened to Saab 92. Which interestingly, every Saab that is manufactured keeps with the 9 in the name. The car that was first introduced to the world was a huge hit and their root in the aviation market is to be gifted for this appeal. However, the appeal was only in Sweden, it wasn't until 1960 the company saw their cars expanding beyond Sweden.

From the 1960s to the late 1980s Saab partnered up with the likes of many automakers such as Fiat in order to develop and export their cars to other areas. In 1989, a monumental partnership took place when General Motors purchased a large share of the company. Because of the money that GM invested, for the first time in many years, Saab actually had a profit for the year with the sale of the new 900 series. However, Saab did not benefit that much for years after the partnership, many of the cars that Saab introduced to the United States during this time were failures.

Because of the failing of the Saab brand and the fact that GM was having financial troubles themselves, the company announced that they were going to review the automaker during 2009. Many other automakers came forward and offered to purchase the company, including BMW, Hyundai and many others. However, GM seemed to show no interest. Then, the company announced in 2010 that Spyker motors would be taking over Saab.

As of right now Saab is back to the drawing board, however, they are set to release new cars starting in 2011. This brief time period is due to the new owners and more designs and engineering taking place to make sure that the brand stays loyal to their mission. For more information regarding the Saab automakers visit MTB21.com, here you will find information about the automaker as well as other great car makers out there.