EXPANDED FROM 3/14/2022)
In a Hemmings post about a 1971 Saab 96 for sale, Mike McNessor (2014) described the car as “irresistible and timeless as the VW Beetle or the Mini.” He went on to wonder whether Saab might have “had a hit on its hands” if it followed in the footsteps of J Mays’ retro-looking New Beetle.
McNessor’s story has disappeared down the memory hole, perhaps in the wake of a Hemming’s website updating. However, I still think that his question is intriguing because in the United States the 96 was right up there with the original Beetle in offering the most iconic styling of the 1960s.
In addition, the Saab would have arguably been easier to “retro” than the VW because of its front engine, streamlined side styling and somewhat more squared-off rear end.
A retro 96 could have given Saab a needed boost
After General Motors bought a 50-percent stake — and management control — of Saab in 1989, it wisely chose to maintain the brand’s stylistic continuity (Wikipedia, 2022). Unfortunately, GM focused on perpetuating the blocky look of the 900.
Coming out with a retro 96 in the 1990s could have given Saab a badly needed boost because such a car could have had much more road presence than the rather austere 900 descendants. However, one might reasonably wonder whether a retro 96 would have seen its sales fall in a similar fashion to the New Beetle’s once its stylistic newness wore off.
That might have depended on whether Saab designers transcended J Mays’ approach. As discussed here and here, the New Beetle may have been an effective styling exercise, but it paid no attention whatsoever to any of the practical qualities that made the original so unique in the American automobile market of the 1950s and 60s. This is why I would argue that the New Beetle powerfully illustrates the bankruptcy of the retro styling movement.
What if GM had let Saab be Saab once again?
A retro 96 could have transcended the bankruptcy of the retro styling movement if GM had made a serious attempt to rekindle Saab’s emphasis on functional innovation that defied auto industry conventions.
What would a cutting-edge 96 have looked like? For starters, it needed to offer industry-leading aerodynamics. This should have been fairly easy to do if designers came up with a modern rendition of the early Saab’s teardrop design, which was one of the most aerodynamic cars of the early postwar period.
To give you a feel for the possibilities, consider the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The car’s styling hints at how Saab could have deviated from the relatively boxy designs that dominated even more expensive European sports-sedan brands such as BMW.
An exceptionally aerodynamic body could have allowed the retro 96 to achieve great fuel efficiency regardless of what type of drivetrain was installed. However, a small, turbo-charged engine would have fit with Saab’s heritage. In addition, an all-wheel-drive “rally” model would have made possible superior traction.
But why stop there?
I suspect that the above features would not have been enough to carve out a sustainable market niche for a retro 96. The car also needed to push the envelope in other ways. For example, what about offering a toxic-free interior and components that were unusually recyclable — and easily replaceable?
Essentially what I am describing is a 1990s-style “green” car. The market for such an entry might not have been huge, but it would have given Saab a unique niche that could have proven increasingly important to the brand’s survival in the difficult years ahead.
Although the retro 96 would have needed to be sold at a premium price, it would have slotted lower than larger Saabs. That might have violated GM’s hierarchy of brands, where Saab was supposed to be a higher-priced and larger Opel that was distinguished by relatively superficial styling and equipment differences.
I would suggest that this is why Saab did not gain much traction while under GM’s control. Retro styling alone wouldn’t have improved the brand’s prospects — at least for very long.
Here I agree with Saab historian Lance Cole (2012), who has argued that one aspect of the automaker’s fall was that it abandoned the small-car field in its efforts to move upmarket beginning in the late-60s.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on June 10, 2014 and expanded on March 14, 2022 and Aug. 19, 2025.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Cole, Lance; 2012. Saab: The Complete Story. The Crowood Press; Wiltshire, UK.
- Mihalascu, Dan; 2022. “Hyundai Reveals Secrets Behind Ioniq 6’s Top Aerodynamic Efficiency.” Inside EVs. Posted Nov. 10.
- McNessor, Mike; 2014. “Hemmings Find of the Day — 1971 Saab 96.” Hemmings. Posted June 6 (page no longer available).
- Wikipedia, 2022. “Saab Automobile.” Page last modified Feb. 12.
BROCHURES & ADVERTISING:
- autohistorypreservationsociety.org: Saab (1966)
In practice a retro take of the Saab 96 at that time by Saab under GM would have likely been based on the 6th generation Pontiac Le Mans or FWD T-platform, as with other post-GM Saabs similar to how VW used the Golf platform to base the retro styled Beetle.
Honestly, a retro 96 would have had a great welcome from nostalgia car fans and North-Easterners alike, many of whom would have paid a good high dollar for a well-executed design. It may have been a real “win” for GM and Saab. The car should have been marketed as a “lower” production niche product and not allowed to get as numerous as the New Beetle, or the PT Cruiser. A later rally/sports model addition (as you said, Steve) – maybe a turbo – would likely have kept it in the news for close to a decade with good, clever marketing.
l’m waiting for FCA to make a retro Citroen DS – with a V8 “Hemi”! (Kidding, of course. l’ll make my own! Kidding again.).
In Europe, there’s an aftermarket specialist who, thanks to a kit, transform the Citroen Jumper, a sibling of the Ram Promaster into a modern incarnation of the old Citroen Type H-van. https://www.motor1.com/news/141196/body-kit-citroen-jumper-type-h/
The following is an image of a RetroSaab by Carl Fredrik Holtermann.
https://www.saabplanet.com/the-retrosaab/
Realistically if it is not based on the T-Car or GM4200/GM4300 platforms if late-1990s at General Motors, then I could see the RetroSaab being underpinned by either the Chevrolet Aveo (T200/T250) or Delta platforms from early-2000s.
I disagree, though I am not old enough to feel a lot of nostalgia for the styling of the older SAAB. (I did enjoy watching Jerry Seinfeld and Fred Armisen drive around Portland in an old pea green SAAB.). do think GM should have kept the 3 door 900/9-3 longer. Certainly GM sales & marketing led to the 4 door or wagon 9-3. They should have let SAAB be SAAB… I don’t like the 9-3 that shares the GM dash (maybe 2007?). In 2004 I bought a CTS-v but I was cross shopping a 9-3. In 1989 I bought a BMW 3 series convertible but I was cross shopping the 900 convertible (I didn’t like the big power top or the longer throw shifter compared to the Bimmer.). We joke that if we had bought the SAAB, we would still have it. When our son turned 16, we helped him pick out a 9-3 convertible; his is a 2006 Aero. Pop up rollbars, vestigial 4 wheel steering, lots of tech hidden in that car. It’s getting a little more expensive to keep running, but it’s still so much fun to drive. I would say the best GM feature is its ice cold air conditioning. I still think that last 9-5 is a pretty car with its hidden A pillars.
I read somewhere that GM could not figure out how the SAABS were heavier & more expensive to build than the GM platform mates. The SAAB engineers kept adding back features.
Those cars were expensive, though. I think the sticker for the 2006 convertible was in the high 40s. You could make different car choices for that much coin, ones with more prestige.
I am thinking of the scene in the movie Lost in America. The Albert Brooks character, an architect, drives a SAAB but he is on the phone with a Mercedes Benz salesman, complete about getting MB-Tex, not leather. Jerry Seinfeld’s character drove SAABs and had some memorable mechanics. SAAB had a niche, but I think continual engineering improvement with gradual styling evolution is the DNA of the brand, not retro styling.
Make that “complaining about getting MB Tex…”
Perhaps “retro” isn’t quite the right word for a car that adopted a highly aerodynamic shape. It just so happens that the original Saab could have been a useful inspiration, much as it was for the Ioniq 6.
I would think that a retro 96 would have needed to operate at a number of levels. It would have helped to cultivate nostalgic feelings from postwar oldsters who had fond memories of the early Saabs, but that cohort presumably wouldn’t have been large enough to make such a car viable. At least as important, if not more so, would have been a design that was so distinctive that it made Saab stand out from the crowd.
More broadly, I would argue that small-scale brands needed to maintain an exceptional level of styling continuity akin to what Porsche has done. Saab unfortunately threw away entirely the DNA of the 92/96 when it came out with the 99 and its successors. A retro model would have fixed that mistake, albeit belatedly.
In addition, the car would have needed to have practical advantages not offered by other premium-priced smaller cars, such as an all-wheel-drive option and environmentally sustainable materials. The latter might not have appealed to the typical gearheads, but it was unlikely that Saab could have survived if it confined itself to that market. Add no-sticker dicker and GM could have had a premium-priced step-up car for Saturn owners.
Former longtime SAAB owner here, I’ve always had an idea of the retro 95 station wagon based on the Toyota Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe, would have been great choice for SAAB instead of the Subaru rebrand nine two x
The Saabaru? Let’s all forget about the Trollblazer 9-7.
Did any SAABs ever have all wheel drive?
Interesting idea about GM missing an opportunity for SAAB to be a step up brand from Saturn. When I was shopping for the 900 convertible, SAABs that weren’t at legacy dealerships were sold at Cadillac dealers.
The first generation Nissan Leaf had an interior made of recycled and recyclable materials… it was not a premium quality interior by a long shot, especially the dash and the door skins, though the seats were nice enough and it did have a Bose audio system.
Large enough cohort… Steve, you might have the sales numbers in comparison to Volvo, but I can’t imagine SAAB outselling Volvo in any particular year. It is about as niche as a niche manufacturer can be. Yet it still has a loyal following and it’s not uncommon to see them on the road in So Cal. If there was a larger cohort and if GM hadn’t diluted brand identity and raised prices to an uncompetitive level compared to Audi/BMW/Mercedes, would there still be room in the marketplace for SAAB? Could it have been like a Swedish Subaru if it had been able to stay more true to its roots?