Founded in 1937, Saab began as a division of Swedish Airplane Limited. And when the war clouds over Europe thickened, Saab was ordered to build fighter planes for the Swedish Air Force. After the war, the company made the quick transition to passenger cars. With their vast experience in aircraft design, Saab was able to create innovative designs right out of the gate. Their very first model, the Saab 92001, was completed in 1947. It was said to have the lowest drag coefficient of any passenger vehicle on the market. Saab started selling cars to the public in 1949. They moved a respectable 20,000 units of the Saab 92 in the first five years. A decade later, the company produced their first international hit. The Saab 96 sold 550,000 units in Europe. It was also the first used Saab saloon car to succeed in the secondhand market. The company achieved even greater success with the release of the Saab 99. This single model came to define the company as a maker of cars that were well ahead of the curve. At the time, they were already known as the first company to include safety belts as standard. But the Saab 99 introduced several design innovations, including the first wraparound windscreen, side-impact door beams, and self-repairing bumpers. It was arguably the safest car in the world at the time. However, since then, Saab has become little more than a niche player. With a miniscule market share and a dwindling budget, they have released few new models in the past twenty years. Their total production in 2010 was a mere 90,000 vehicles.
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