SAAB Safety

Swedish Steel in Practice

Cutting the Saab car was one of the most difficult tasks for the rescue teamCutting the Saab car was one of the most difficult tasks for the rescue team

What’s so special about Swedish steel? And Saab’s cars are synonymous with what we popularly call “Swedish steel” to many around the world. A large part of its reputation in the field of car safety in traffic, in addition to of course engineering and design solutions, the company Saab owes to this “Swedish steel”.

Sweden has relatively small but very high-quality iron ore deposits. Also, Sweden does not have too much coal that is needed in the process of making steel. Still, the Swedes were smart enough to decide to use their ore sources and limited coal supply to produce only the highest quality steel. And not only that, they have developed a lot of skill in this process for centuries and brought it almost to perfection. Hence the well-deserved reputation of Swedish steel, which gives Saab cars special toughness and security.

And here’s the real example Andrew Williams passed on to a group of enthusiasts gathered around the Saab GB club. If you’ve ever wondered how solid the Saab is, Andrew conveys the impressions of the Catseye Rescue team that did a training day last week at the Saabtec service in Glossop, and on that occasion, the team cut out one wrecked Saab 9-3 Sportwagon.

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Detail of a cross section of a pillar that reveals the reinforced structure of Swedish steel
Detail of a cross section of a pillar that reveals the reinforced structure of Swedish steel

The rescue team eventually managed to cut the Saab car somewhere, but they were all impressed with the quality of the (Swedish) steel built into the Saab car.

They’ve never had anything like it, usually, on these training days it’s like tearing tissue paper but the 9-3 put up a mighty fight. 4 layers of steel on the n/s B pillar took 2 blades on the saw and it was a few attempts with the jaws on the o/s! – Andrew reported.

The rescue team put in a lot of effort, as did their machines, but Saab was eventually defeated
The rescue team put in a lot of effort, as did their machines, but Saab was eventually defeated

Throughout its history, Saab has always advertised its cars as strong, but you never find out until you find yourself in a difficult situation, or like this at a demonstration exercise.

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Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

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