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Milestones
1937 - 1952 | 1953 - 1963 | 1964 - 1969 | 1970 - 1975 | 1976 - 1984 | 1985 - 1991 | 1992 - 1997 | 1998 - 2000 | 2001 - 2003 | 2004 - 2005
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1970 Sonett III (with more contemporary design) launched. Headlight wiper-washers presented (MY 71). February 1970: total production from start in 1949 passes 500,000 mark. | ||
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| 1971 Heated driver's seat and self-repairing 5 mph bumpers (MY 72) plus high level of interior safety features gain Saab first international safety award. Saab 99 gets electronically controlled fuel injection plus Saab's first automatic transmission. | |||
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1971 Stig Blomqvist wins two world championship events: Swedish Rally and the RAC. Blomqvist goes on to win the Swedish Rally six times and the Swedish national Rally championship 7 times for Saab. |
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1972 Saab 99 named Car of the Year 1972 in Sweden Saab Car Division formed and passenger car operations separated from Scania. Headquarters established in Nyköping together with the Swedish sales organization (Saab-ANA) as the base. |
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| 1974 Saab 99 range of 2- and 4-door sedans broadened with the launch of a 3-door hatchback brought to market (pre-viewed August 1973) under the designation "Combi Coupe" - a concept that was to become a hallmark for Saab in the '70s and '80s and influenced the design parameters for the original Saab 9000 and the second generation Saab 900. The five-door version appeared in 1975 as MY 76. Generally considered to be the first true hatchback, with practical fold down rear seat and large hatch opening to bumper level and a 1.5 m3 load area, and widely copied over the years. Assembly of Saab 99 models (CKD) starts at former Mercedes-Benz plant at Mechelen in Belgium. | |||
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| 1975 Rally debut of the Saab 99 - Saab EMS with experimental 220 bhp 16 valve engine wins Boucles de Spa Rally in Belgium with Stig Blomqvist as driver. |
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