Back in the early 1960s, Saab touted its background in building aircraft just as enthusiastically as it did under GM's leadership in the 21st century -- it was a bit more believeable back then only 15 years after WWII.
These are English-language commercials for the 95 hatch/wagon and the 96 sedan (with a 42-hp engine!), and they're beautifully remastered. The Scandinavian actors look as tidy and wholesome as they would today. Interestingly, it's OK put the kiddies in the trunk of these cars, whereas today they'd all be restrained in deluxe Britax car seats.
2 more videos after the jump.
bodyblue says:
12:09 PM, 09/24/09
Old commercials are a hoot.....Kind of a neat looking car too. I like '60s Volvos too.
rsholland says:
02:00 PM, 09/24/09
What you may not be aware of is these old Saabs had 2-stroke engines. Yep, you had to mix oil and gas, just like a motocross racer (and a chain saw).
I used to love the old 850 (as in an 850cc engine) Monte Carlo versions, which had a Nardi-like wooden steering wheel. That was the sporty model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJQzrWprQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXVRdSbKDT8
rsholland says:
02:09 PM, 09/24/09
Here's couple of videos of the old 850 Monte Carlo I mentioned above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQlpRKLsds4
Love the engine sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWWR63mLYmw
carlwd40 says:
06:26 PM, 09/24/09
Thanks for sharing this, Erin. My father had three 96s back in the day: a base model, a Monte Carlo sport, and a later one with the mighty 1.5L Ford V4 engine.
cwc1 says:
07:07 PM, 09/24/09
Watching those commercials is like a fun step back in time.
Front wheel drive = superb road holding? I don't think so.
td1105 says:
07:16 AM, 09/25/09
Fun thing to notice, Sweden drove on the left until the late sixties (1967), which is one thing you can see well in the videos, especially the last one with the diagram of the Saab with its FWD promotional material.
Dad owned a 1957 93B, too bad I wasn't around to see it when he had it. Too much rust and the unitbody made for one difficult restoration.