The saying, “Form follows function”, or “Form before function”, is often credited to architect Louis Sullivan, who was considered one of the Holy Trinity of American architects, along with Frank Lloyd Wright and Henry Hobson Richardson. Architects would have been one group of professionals buying cars like this 1969 Saab 96. This car is posted here on craigslist in Clinton, Washington, and they’re asking $9,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
1800s French architect, Viollet-le-Duc, considered by many as the father of modern architecture, is credited with saying, “A rationally designed structure may not necessarily be beautiful, but no building can be beautiful that does not have a rationally designed structure.” Sullivan boiled it down to “form follows function”, way before social media dictated that everything be boiled down into sound bites. Lots of engineers, professors, scientists, and similar folks bought Saabs, probably because they liked the technology and functional aspects, but I’d guess a lot of them just liked how they looked.
As an architect and a huge fan of mid-century modern designs, the Saab 96 has been on my wish list for years, along with the Saab 95 (wagon), and the predecessor Saab 94, 93, and even 92, which would be like winning the lottery, and you’d probably have to win the lottery to pay for one if you could even find one for sale. The 96 was made from 1960 through 1980, and this original paint car appears to be in outstanding condition. Just for the record, Hagerty is at $10,400 for a #3 good-condition car.
The dash pad is pretty funky, was that a second-year studio project for a former architecture student owner? I love the seat fabric, even if it wouldn’t have been original. The seller says they could use some help, and sadly, this is the only interior photo. I’d redo them in a similar, bright color to offset the rest of this beige and/or tan car. They have a four-speed manual on the column, a somewhat unusual system for those of us familiar with three-speed column shifters.
I’d prefer a three-cylinder two-stroke engine, but it’s hard to argue with the Ford-sourced 1.7-liter OHV V4 with 64 net horsepower and 78 net lb-ft of torque. It’s sent through that 4-speed manual to the front wheels, and the seller says it has a rebuilt Ashcroft transmission, new transmission mount, new clutch, new brake master cylinder, and rear brakes, along with new shocks and a new carb! Wow, all for over $1,000 under Hagerty’s valuation. How much would you pay for this Saab 96?
Saabs have always been so quirky that they are cool. This would be a great run around car after fixing the interior.
Nice looking car. I used to know someone who drove one years ago. I was way too young at the time to drive a car or appreciate vintage cars.
I had one of these with the 3 cyl oil injected motor good little car great in the snow , brother took it for a ride and ended up in a ditch upside down and it caught on fire end of story and my Saab !
SAABs have always attracted architects. Lancias too. Maybe there are not enough architects in the world to keep a car company afloat.
Great write-up. Cool ride, I believe I have only seen a few of these in person. This is one of those impulse buys, and I don’t think you would regret it.
These bring back so many memories for me. My dad bought a brand new 96 SAAB back in 71′ at Gaston Aundry Motors in Framingham MA. Remember as a kid looking at the back of my dad’s head through those wild black headrests. It had red vinyl seats and a light grey color body. Something very uniquely cool about these cars.
Hey, I remember the Framingham Gaston Aundry as well as the one in Watertown. Watertown Street, just before Watertown Square. We have had a bunch of 96’s. Still have a ’64 snub nose and a ’74 Sonnett. O yeah, a ’04 93 convertible, turbo. We just got rid of the ’66 ice racer last fall. There was nothing left to save, honest. The old Saabs are fun.
Ever a fan of the off-the-plantation cars, the Ring-Ding 2-strokes from SAAB and DKW, the 3=6, struck my fancy. They not only took their own paths through drivetrains- 3-speed column shifts with free-wheeling- but the stylings were also funky-but-not-ugly.
Alas, they were too rich for my budget and dealerships were few and far between. I, instead, bought another somewhat off the beaten path pod
with IFS, IRS, 4-on-the-floor, 4-pot liquid-cooled free-revver in a rear-engine 4-seater. Stuck as though on rails, 40 MPG for 63K miles in 35 months and it never whimpered about the gentle thrashing I gave it. The 600 was my first FIAT and I’m still driving ’em 67 years later.
As an industrial designer, I’ve always looked to get a quart out of- or into- a pint pot.
I like this car alot. I drive one once and not long enough to really appreciate it. I would take this car and the Cortina parked in front of it. (I like this guy’s style!)
I had a 1969, in red. We bought it at the local Chevy dealer in Littleton, NH in early 1971, had to RTFM to find out how to get it in reverse. The heater-to-engine size ratio was a fortunate design for White mountains residents. We found out later: the PO, a chicken farmer, lived on a dirt/gravel road and threw up enough crud to damage the undercoating. We soon had fist-size holes in the tops of the front fenders but replacements were still available.
The other challenge that this seller has already addressed: tranny bearings that became high friction components. The Saab dealer in New Canaan CT had a vintage tech who rebuilt it in those good ol’ days. I loved the freewheeling and it was a great upgrade from the typical economy Beetle or similar. If I were not already planning a different direction for my next purchase this would be a likely target:
My parents bought this exact car so I’d have a safe commuter car to drive to college for four years. It came from Rod’s Auto-Electric in Gardner, Massachusetts. I drove from Western Mass to Fitchburg State in every kind of bad weather imaginable, including “breaking trail” into the FSC parking lot when my classes started earlier than the snow plow people did! With the exception of a troublesome water-heated choke thermostat (which we converted to a hand choke) our 96 was excellent in every way. It was our family car when I wasn’t at school, and for our purposes it checked all the boxes. We subsequently had several more (structural rust), and our 96’s were the last cars my folks drove regularly for many years until they stopped driving entirely. They would go places that you’d only go with a Jeep, we’re unstoppable in snow, we’re easy to repair when needed (infrequently!), and got really good fuel mileage. If we hadn’t been here in the rust belt, I’m fairly certain we’d have a 96 in our garage today!
I think that may be a Lotus Cortina. This seller is carved from the same block of insanity that I am. I have had (one only) Lotus Cortina and about 5 or 6 push-rod versions. Also had (5,6 or 7) SAAB 92/93/96 models – mostly the 2 stroke ones.
In 1973 when I moved to Concord, NH one of my co-workers had a Saab in the same color. I’m not sure what I thought of her car back then. My faded memory brings up two possibilities. I wondered how she was able to afford a foreign car while working at a mental health center; or else I thought the car was too funky looking for my taste. We had a co-worker who was from Norway and he approved of our co-worker’s Saab because in Norway they bought things based on how long they would last. So over there, he said, they bought Volvos and Saabs. Pay more at first, but save more in the end.
As I recall, the base Volkswagen was $1895 when we bought our 96 in 1969 for a little over $2100 (with an extra charge for Pirelli Cinturato radial tires). The difference in price was offset by the SAAB’s not needing a new engine at seventy or eighty thousand miles as some VW’s did! I think the stripper Ford Maverick was $1995 at the time, as well. Now, manufacturers rarely even mention price for comparison shopping purposes; for many of us, the price of any new vehicle is so high as to be out of reach.
William Walsh, I understand the insanity issue when it comes to vehicles. Mine always seems to come in the form of Vws, Audis and MGs. Although right now I’m buried up to my armpits in Ford Rangers. ( go figure) I flip Rangers to pay for my racecar habit.
FLW designed Usonian homes for the regular people (those without deep pockets) who wanted to enjoy his eclectic architecture . . . Saab’s appeal to these same budding architects and iconoclasts . . . who cares what others think when your roof is leaking in a rainstorm. RIP FLW . . . gone but not forgotten. BTW – Falling Water is an architectural masterpiece though it is plagued with the leaky roof issues.
Speaking of fading memory, I just realized my above story from Concord, NH days is not correct. The accurate version of the memory popped up just now.
My co-worker actually had a BMW. It was one of my clients who had the old Saab and I did admire the styling of that car. She then traded it in for one of those new, small Datsun coupes. I thought that was really risky since Japan was known for making cheap toys, not cars. So i figured she had bought a piece of junk.
Funny that the guy has a Cortina in front of his Saab , A Cortina was what I replaced my crispy Saab with , that also was a good car 40k in less than a year trouble free and good on gas !
I spent a lot of time in the Meredith/Center Harbor area in N H (at the North end of Lake Winnepesauke). At the time, my girl friend – also a SAAB nut – pointed out to me that most of the SAABs in the area came from a tiny dealership (Whipple SAAB) in Whittier, NH
Looks identical to my car in college. You can imagine how I felt, when everyone else had Camaros and Mustangs, but it sure was fun. When the Chicago winters hit, I went right through with my snow tires on the front, while they spun their tires in their driveways, even better, that car has a heater good enough to heat half your house