distinctly historic overtone. Suddenly, it A legend, reinforced by conspicuous "It's because he wants to expand our seemedto be a hot wind from the bad old successon the rally circuit, was quickly market, and he figures if you've got a car days, blowing hard from the north. Vi- established: Saab, the rally weapon. that makes people want to flash their sions of long ships and guys running Saab, the woods car. Saab, the perfor- headlights you're only going to sell about around with battle axes. Sweden's only mance car for discerning individuals with 10,000to 15,000of them a year." automobile manufacturers locked into a taste for the bizarre. Which is precisely what Saab is mov- traditional fratricide. It's a legend that persists,and it doesn't ing-about 15,000 per annum. Against a To which we say [else. Yah shoor, bring as much joy to Saab marketing as backdrop of steadily mounting costs-not these two whistlers are competing in the you might think. Rather than having their a promising climate for expansion. same general price bracket. And they're car perceived as a peculiar piece of engi- Len Lonnegren, the Saab PR director, certainly comparable in terms of perfor- neering genius that's beyond the ken of sums it up very tidily: "It's becoming a mance-in fact, you're in for some sur- all but the true cognoscenti, the Saab cult car that's just for the people who can prises. But the idea of these two cars brain trust would rather have their prod- afford to buy It again. The old car, the 90 fighting to the death for the entire Swed- uct seen for what it is: a high-quality all- series car, was a cult car for people who ish pie encompassesonly a small percent- seasons European sedan with sporting could barely afford anything." age of what's going on here. And, like the character. Cult car or otherwise, though, this Saab Vikings of old, they're fully capable of But noooooo. Guys go out and buy is very much in the mold of the other 900 closing ranks against some outside foe. Saabs and, by golly, first thing you know series machines we've come to know and The identity of that foe should become they're talking about Eric Carlsson and respect over the years: taut, refined and apparent as this saga progresses. Stig Blomqvist and reading stories about supremely comfortable. The ignition key PressOn Regardlessand the Safari. They is still on the floor and is likely to remain Saab 900 Turbo yust seem to get a little nuts, Sven. there. The front seats still have built-in Bob Sinclair, a former Volvo of Ameri- warmers. The rear seatbacksstill fold for- High Panjandrum ca exec who now heads Saab Scania of of the Cult America, is no stranger to cultism: His T he first Saabmade just about enough taste for Norton motorcycles persists in horsepower-25-with its 2-cylinder, the face of all Japanesesuperbike superi- 2-stroke engine to avoid being mistaken ority. But even he is amazed by the faith for a doorstop-but not much more. of Saab faithful. Which didn't seemto dampen the enthu- "We get stacksof mail, and they all say siasm of Swedish rallyists, who promptly pretty much the same thing," he says. began disfiguring the local woods with "That there's absolutely no other car in race-prepped Saab 92s. The new car the world they can live with. wasn't exactly eyeball-flattening in the "Carl Ally, the president of our adver- acceleration department, but it went tising agency (Ally and Gargano), says around corners pretty well and its stream- nothing makes him madder than when lined shape (a throwback to Saab's air- another Saab owner flashes his headlights craft heritage) seemed to carom off tree at him. He says,'This is an automobile; trunks with exceptional facility. this is not a love affair; this is a car!'
74 SEPTEMBER 1981 MOTOR TREND The power-assisted rack-and-pinion wouldn't stay mated to the crank drive achieves these gains without incurring steering doesn't offer quite the feel and splines, and the sunroof leaked during substantial engine retooling costs; the precision of the Saab, but the Volvo does the car wash test. We suspect the silver Bosch K-Jetronic-injected 2.1-liter OHC possess a commendably small curb-to- velour upholstery material isn't going to turbo four is identical to the normally as- curb turning circle-just over 32 feet- weather very well, particularly insofar as pirated version in every respect Save its making it remarkably maneuverable for stains are concerned, but only time will 7.5: I compressionratio (normal is 9.3: I). a car its size. tell on this score. To get proper airflow, the Volvo engi- Oqr test car didn't reflect Volvo's usual But the truly distinguishing feature of neers cleverly mated the air metering unit attention to quality control. An annoying this car is its new turbo motor, which from the V -6 engine's injection system, vibration cropped up in the left rear offers 20 more horsepower than the with tWo fuel jets shut off. Beyond that, it quarter during the test, the sunroof crank standard version: 127at 5,400rpm. Volvo was just a matter of plumbing in the Gar-
ROAD TEST DATA
Saab 900 Turbo ~ ~IFICATD\S ~ SPECIFICATIa\S GENERAL G.""," c~mnce 60 n GENERAL Lo,O" 1925" ~=~--;~-=VeN I ".. "" t I ho toO ~"',:Ma. load *'0'" wi Vehlclotype- _'-eng'" ~'-dOve Wid" 673" ~ro 2-000.coupe ~~~d~i~;;;~:::'3"'" Bo.oP"'O OptiON an loot co. AM!'"C<*8Hv_'te:eO ~~~h:b;;;;;;;;i.: t~7: (mandatooy) ,"co0."'1ed 114M1 CAPACITIES Fuel 158.". ,ype,..".,"". CooIlng_10..,. ENGINE "bacha~od. cost 'an TNnk 149 CU tt Typo !)k)ck. o,,",lnumheOd SUSPENSION ~-, ~~~~;;':"I~;;;~:5q::;. 5man beo- ~,ca,I_b,,"k, '",nk 137cu' _a_. 354,301In Foont " a-.mnum ""'$ mam SUSPENSION ~ .800chK.Je.-)2J,CUrIO,"mm) In (1.985co) Roo. :"::Agoo moo... =.::Panha", md "'"". coo..,.,.. 80.. .'Ooke on"-,",'ba ...,. \ Fuel ",10m ,..--- D".'oco~"1 'OS.cON,...';;'_. nJOcfton. Gantt TC03 STEERING Com "" ,""0 ftRbochooge. Fuel",- bOt 91 ..-Type Rackand ,.n"". ~~::- ST"RING -, Type R- --"--- / v~~c::::::::: ~:.= .:o~t :~::::~oc:.~~.~~;;;:;;~;;;m-;-' RecommendedEm"'o" coMol 91un- ; 3~--- : '.::.a.:.~;:' ..., BRAKES Vo... goo, "'"" T"",ngcl",~c- 3,ff", Foont 110-0.dbco. "O""'- !SA'~ 127at 5AOO""" I DRMTRAlN, -~ BRAKES Tm~m""on Roo. "",,",-'10~ "boo 'O..ue'b.'cSAE~:: ~~1a.;~~"""'" 'oom 103-'" ..nled doc. 3~" WHEELSAND TIRES DRIVETRAIN .~, 11""-d~ '",nom".'o" --mo",,"1 Wheel...13510, 390mmI w/- W!t"LS AND TIRES 'moldo,. .atlo .731 Wheel , 15 " WheellypeAftov DIMENSIONS n~ make and PO.195/60 HR15 Wheelbo.. 1043" II..~ c~~~~ '",ck '" 563/53510. r--_u..'..'.FI.~I~ ~ TEST RESULTS ~ -'-c:::21RESULTS
25 :'
'RAKING BRAKING '-.. 30 4) 50 '" Me"! 11 IT'..' ,- 30 It) 50 60 MPH --2338 3""~.~n; ,.5 59 '00 "ET 25 50 ,. 100 125 FEETo2ESi ;5' ;BI ""~"5 D; 1
MOTOR TREND SEPTEMBER 1981 77
~~,~, vo's stodgy image. The intramural perfor- the unblown edition lies primarily be- four adult passengersinside. Comfort is mance junta is extensive and goes all the neath the hood. There's some restrained high, although we prefer the Saabseats to way up to Dan Web in, Volvo's vice presi- black exterior trim, a little chin spoiler to the Volvo's lumbar-supported numbers
Living proof that Saabs are actually designed, rather than organically grown
H is favorite car is the 1963 Ferrari Okay, then, if weird is a bit strong, thered by Chief Engineer Gunnar 250 GT Lusso, followed closely surely we can say that Saabs are Ljungstrom and independent designer by the original AIfa Sprint Veloce and unique. That Saabs are Saabs and Sixten Sason before Envall had even the 1967Camaro. He acceptsthe crea- nothing else. passedhis boards for the Swedish Roy- tions of Pininfarina-save for those so- "Well, that's fine, as far as it goes," al College of Art. The 92 positively called "heavy" Ferraris penned during saysEnvall. "But we would like people oozedweirdness. Michelotti's residency-chapter and to understandthat Saabsare Saabsbe- But we can't let Envall off the hook verse. He has an unexpectedly wacky cause of what Saab stands for. It's re- entirely, becauseit was the 92 that at- senseof humor and a shrewd way of re- ally difficult to get people to under- tracted him to a career in autodom. gressing into "yah shoors" and um- He took his first job with Sason De- lauts when the questions bore into ter- sign, in Stockholm, in 1956, cleaning ritory be regards as proprietary. up the studios, doing odd jobs and So, if you were playing "What's My learning everything he could. Envall Line?" how would you add up tbis col- graduatedfrom college in 1965 and set umn of attributes? Wrong, Miss Kil- up heavier housekeeping at Sason. In galleD.This gentleman is BjomEnv~lI, 1967,he left to join Opel, in Germany, and since 1969 he's been head of the where he toiled with GM design chief Saab design center, the only man ever Chuck Jordan, and in 1969 Saab sum- to hold the title. The father of the moned him to set up its first in-house Kombi. The shepherd of the current design facilities. He was allotted a turbocars. staff of one. If the very existence of a Saab de- "They finally saw that they had to sign center strikes you as a surprise-if have their own design department," he you are among the vast majority of car recalls. "Since then, we've built it up; lovers who think of Saabs as efficient at least, we've got a brand-new design weirdness that has nothing to do with building and studios." style-then you are among those who The cast of characters at the center daily test Envall's patience. It's a test now numbers 14,including a couple of he passeswith high marks. Americans (one of them, Mark Ash- "People have a way of thinking 'that croft, is a recent graduate of the Art everything that's different is somehow Center College of Design). It's a truly weird," he says, with just enough international group, with more than Svenskasingsong so you don't forget enough talent to sustain the wonders who you're talking to. "But, it is so of- of Saabness. ten a question of environment. If, for But talent isn't the problem. As usu- example, you were to see a Citroen in al, it's cash. Saab is a solidly profitable New York, it would stand out. No car company, but not a company in a question. It would seem weird. But if position to finance extensive model you saw it in Paris you wouldn't give changesevery three or four years. En- it a secondglance. vall sums up the importance of cost "We have a Buick just now, study- engineering at Saab with a recollec- ing the power steering system, and stand about Saabsif they haven't actu- tion about the genesis of the current we've beendriving it a lot in Denmark. ally been in the car." 900 series cars: "We found a way to Let me tell you, in Denmark, that The problem of Saab's perceived use the same doors as the 90 series. Buick is a very weird car. weirdness isn't something that Envall "It's one of the considerations we "Maybe it's like looking at a wom- created; it came with the territory. face always; you have to think in long an. You might meet a woman and ini- Founded as an aircraft firm in 1937 terms. You look at a car like the 900- tially call her weird. But then after two (Svenska Aeroplan AB, hence SAAR), it's planned to go 10 or 15 years. So or three days or so you may discover the company didn't begin producing you haveto figure out howthe hell you other attractive qualities and suddenly automobiles until December, 1949. get people to keep buying it. If you get she is not so weird after all." That first Saab, the 92, was co-fa- continued on page 78
76 SEPTEMBER 1981 MOTOR TREND ward to offer cavernous cargo space. good marks in this journal, and the ation with greatness.But can it withstand There are twin remote-control mirrors, a accompanying wheels are certainly the onslaught from Goteborg? That, of sunroof, power window lifts and a new cosmetically acceptable, we miss the course, is the question. Sony XR- 70 AM/FM stereo cassette wheels that went with the previously player, all standard items in an excep- standard Pirelli P6 radials. Lonnegren Volvo GL T Turbo tionally well-equipped car. calls them the "Star War Wheels," and The Sony stereo is a new item in this they're just the sort of equipment that Goteborg Blows A way year's inventory of Saab goodies, and an helps to maintain cult camaraderie. Do the Stodgies exceptionally good one. Just how good you suppose Carl Ally had anything to do T he name Volvo traditionally conjures was made plain to us one night near the with their departure? up plenty of favorable images, but end of our communion with the 3-door The Saab's lion-hearted 2-liter OHC fun isn't one of them. This condition isn't Turbo when some night-stalking mouth- ~urbomotor has had some update atten- helped much by the official line from breathers smashed a window and the tion as well, enough to merit a new series headquarters, which insists that Volvos dashboard to extract the stereo gear. designation: the H Engine. It's 25 pounds are responsible cars of high quality. It's Suspension on this Super Swede con- lighter, but more important, it's been like sensible shoes; they may make your tinues to be a strong suit: independent up tweaked for better low-end response, feet comfortable, but they don't make front, with a beam axle at the rear, con- thanks in part to a redesigned integral them glad. tributing to superb highway manners and wa-stegate in the Garrett TCO3 turbo- With its marketing strategyhammering exceptional agility for a car this size. The charger. Tweaked, but not cured. away monotonously at safety and reli- turbo Saabs are riding on Michelin TRX The transaxle is Saab's excellent new ability, the Volvo has contrived to be- radials this year, a change that, perforce, 5-speed,which in our opinion is the only come the automotive equivalent of Crest includes Michelin TRX wheels. While way to fly with one of these cars, even toothpaste, or plain yogurt. Good for the TRX Michelins have always earned though turbocars seemto do exceptional- you, but not much fun. ly well with automatics. All the internal All of which makes the Volvo GLT ratios in the gearbox have gone a trifle Turbo an especially pleasureful experi- taller, which, predictably, has two effects: ence in the art of the ambush. Startled Z- improved fuel economy and diminished car drivers gape as you whoosh away acceleration. from the light, then, jaws clenched, find There's hardly a trace of torque wind- out it's for real when you do it again Qn up in the drive unit, which is due in part the next green. Guys in 528s can't believe to the upgraded power-assistedrack-and- what they're seeing-you can tell by pinion steering. The latter does a fine job watching them in your mirrors-and even of damping out torque steer, eliminating Saab Turbo pilots are mildly astonished. the steering effort that would otherwise A quick Volvo? Not possible! be present with a 58/42 static front Au contraire. Not only is it possible, weight bias-all this while still delivering but it~s here, thanks to the efforts Qf a very good road feel. small band of enthusiast dissidents within In short, here's a road car that contin- the Volvo corporate structure who are ues its engaging-and distinctive-flirt- dedicated to dusting the cobwebs off V 01- rett TB03 turbocharger-which, like the with its safety car-inspired frontal area, a much more secureand businesslike way Saab's TC03, also features an integral was reflected in the car's highway mile- of going around comers. Both cars under- wastegate-and changing the lowest cog age, which was actually lower than the steer, the Volvo somewhat less than the in the 4-speed electric overdrive gearbox. figure achieved on the Motor Trend Saab. But the Volvo is softer-not to the This last may seem a small thing, but 73-mile test loop. point of wallow and pitch, but neverthe- it's the key to the success of the car. less not so tautly drawn as its opponent. Changing 1st gear from 3.71:1 down to a A distressing phenomenon of the Vol- stump-pulling 4.03: 1 gets the engine into vo drivetrain is its long two-piece drive- useful boost range-useful boost coming shaft. This turns in rubber bushings, to on with a gratifying surge just under damp vibrations, and there's enough flex 3,000 rpm-in a big hurry. Which is why in the system to allow substantial drive- the G L T Turbo is able to play Q ship line lash when you're using that low 1st against such opponents as the Datsun ZX, gear to the max. BMWs ofvirtqally any description, Toyo- Conclusions: In the narrow sense of ta Supras and-you knew we were coming the Blowout, the Volvo takes the check- to this-even Saab Turbos. ers. It's clearly the quicker of the two out of the blocks ~nd through the quarter- The Tale of the TapeY mile, although beyond that the Saab be- ou've probably sneaked a look at the gins to reel it in. data panels already, so it comes as In the Volvo tradition, the new GLT less of a surprise to learn that the Volvo Turbo provides all-day comfort on the consistently and repeatedly dusts the open road, and both turbocars are won- Saaboff the line. And we're talking half~ derfully flexible in light-to-moderate second differences in the quarter-mile, freeway traffic, sorting the herd effi- which is considerably more than a mere ciently and subliminally (if any Saab can academic distinction. By conte~porary be said to be subliminal). standards, this Volvo is classifiable as But when it gets to the twisties, the quick, which is a very heartening chang~ Saab definitely begins to assertitself. The in the Goteborg status quo. 5-speed does a nice job of keeping the The key, again, is that low 1st gear, turbo on useful boost levels at any speed which gets the turbine wheels twirling over 20 mph, and the car simply gets faster earlier. In fact, awaiting th~ onset around comers faster than the Volvo. of boost is the one truly irritating flaw in So what we have here is a split deci- VolvoGlT Turbo the Saab's otherwise distinguished sport- sion. If your driving is going to involve a ing credentials. Unless you're prepared to EPA City 18 Drivingrange lot of urban work, or heavy traffic, the use lots of rpm, clutch and wheelspin, EPA Highway 28 (steady-state Volvo getsthe job done with far less frus- you're not going to be in the ballpark for MT Test Loop 30 55 mph x fuel tration. And for about $1,000 less. stoplight warfare. So the Volvo takes this Steady-state55 mph..28.3 capacity) ...447 miles If you're going to be doing a lot of long aspect of the contest !tands-down, al- hauls, or a lot of hurry-up work on back though the Saab's greater horsepower roads (do you suppose there are aquavit quickly asserts itse~f in highway roll-ons moonshiners in Sweden?), or any com- from about 50 mph or so. EPA City 19 Drivingrange bination of the two that doesn't involve Equipped with disc brakes all around, EPAHighway 30 (steady-state much stop-and-go, the Saab's your car. both cars are very good at stopping with- MT Test Loop 34 55 mph x fuel But we told you at the top that we out excessive dramji and with no discern- Steady-state55 mph 36 capacity) 598 miles didn't believe this to be a true intra- ible fade; there is little to pick between Swede confrontation. As far as the strate- ~hemhere. gic planners for both sides (Bjorn and In the always-critical realm of fuel When it comes to handling, Volvo still Sven and Knut and Arne and Nils and economy, the Volvo's body shape is cost- has a ways to go to match the Saab. Stig and all the others) are concerned, ly, although both cars exceed their EPA There's nothing really magic about front- turbo Saab and turbo Volvo only serve projections and represent good examples wheel drive compared to conventional as a nice basis for comparison against the of the efficiency of turbomotors. The layouts, but the Saab's suspension pro- real target. And that distinction belongs Volvo's rather boxy 14-year-old design, vides greater roll stiffness and, as a result, to BMW. ~
bear them. Which has a powerful ring Saabs are. There are still people who TheWhis tier's Father of limited expansion potential to the think that Saab is a 2-stroke." continued from page 76 guys in Saab marketing. We couldn't let Envall go without it right at the beginning, if it's clean, "The question for us is how do we asking for a quickie contrast of the you should be able to accomplish this get to the next step," says Envall. Volvo and the Saab. His ~sponsewas without sticking a lot of pieces on the "How do we get to the mainstream, as slippery as a fresh batch of lutefisk. car later on. But the planning is very beyond the enthusiast? "Volvo is looking perhaps more to- important. "I would say we are hitting BMW ward the Mercedes type of buyer. We "I think this is definitely becoming very hard right now, especially in their are trying to be sportier, like BMW. JDoreimportant to the bigger manufac. international markets. And we think But as far as that goes,both Mercedes turers, too. You look at GM; they we do it becausewe have the right con- and BMW representa different type of made a big investment in the J.cars. It cept-the right combination of image character than Saab and Volvo. has to be a long-term investment." and performance. "So it's all a matter of trying to get But Saab is neverthelessfaced with "We are trying to adjust our image people to understand why our car is the problem of increasing costs and a bit, becausewe find a lot of people looking like that. And we don't have the willingness of the Saab faithful to still don't really understand what the answersto everything." -T.S.
78 SEPTEMBER 1981 MOTOR TREND