| A famous motto of the Saab corporation “Born from jets” mirrors somehow the history of making the first Saab automobile. It was made by sixteen aircraft engineers and therefore was founded on the aircraft design. The meaning of a slogan is that the quality and reliability of Saab vehicles may be equaled with the quality and safety of aircrafts. These days Saab automobiles production is carried out by General Motors, but Saab aircraft division is still governed by the Swedish Saab company. So let us take an excursus into the history of Saab corporation.The make Saab appeared in 1937 with the production of aircrafts for the Swedish Air Force. From then on it has been specializing in construction of military aircrafts, including fighter aircrafts for NATO. Thanks to their high quality Saab jets were recognized all over the world.Since 1949 Saab experts have been involved in the projection of well-engineered cars. The distinctive feature of Saab cars consists in the special aerodynamic design that helps in fuel economy. This distinguishing feature is observed in every Saab model. Reliability is one of basic priorities of Saab vehicles. The engineers of this corporation use all the latest technological achievements to make their cars safe and contemporary. Such innovations include: self-repairing bumpers, self-cleaning headlamps, turbo-charged engines, air filters and so on and so forth.In 1980s owing to the growth of global economy and the spread of multinational corporations the Saab company was confronted with difficulties in keeping its position in the competition struggle. This resulted in the separation of the Saab car division and its selling to several investors. The major investor has become General Motors company (GM) that possesses 50 per cents of the shares.The range of Saab models has lately been supplemented with the first SUV. Other models are regularly updated in accordance with the market demands. But still, there are arguments about increasing impact of GM. Discussions are led on account of the ability of Saab to maintain its uniqueness and to compete with such celebrated European makes as Mercedes, Volvo and BMW.Despite all these facts the amateurs of Saab vehicles hope that its aeroplane heritage will help them to design unique and reliable automobiles. |
