1999 Saab 9-5: The Last of the Saab-Scania Merger Cars

This may look like a normal 9-5 at first glance, but there is some neat Saab history to go with it. Looking closely at the badging, I noticed something a bit different, and rather intriguing considering the year of this 9-5. This 9-5 has Saab-Scania badging, a relic from a merger between the Saab automobile division and the Scania truck and bus company that ended back in 1990. 

The Saab-Scania merger was put into effect in 1969. This allowed Saab to use Scania's Finland plant to produce the Saab 99, and keep costs down. It also meant Saab no longer had to import the Triumph slant four engine, and instead could use the Scania plant to start manufacturing their infamous B-Engine series. Being a truck company, Scania had experience with turbocharged engines, so Saab also saw this as an opportunity to experiment with turbocharging their own engines, thus creating the revolutionary Saab 99 Turbo in 1978. 

The Scania merger proved to be very crucial to Saab's history, as without it, Saab probably wouldn't have been able to find the success they did with 99 and 900 in the 1970s and '80s. 

In 1990, the company officially disbanded, after GM purchased their 50% share in Saab. While the merger was no longer in effect, some Saab cars managed to slip out with Saab-Scania badging, like this 9-5. While there's no specific date when Saab stopped putting the Scania badging on their cars, I think 1999 or 2000 were the final years, as GM would purchase Saab fully in 2000. 

Here, you can get a good look at the Saab-Scania badge on the rim.