Saab has always been an innovator. Safety has always taken priority for Saab where form follows function and, it could be said, Saab has been so busy working on safety that the marketing people at ovloV have successfully convinced the world that ovloVs are the safer car.

The concern is that Saab may have lost it's emphasis on innovation and priority on safety since GM took it's 100% share of Saab back in the year 2000.

Just prior to The General's complete takeover, Saab launched the Saab 9-5 in 1997 together with it's innovative Saab Active Head Restraint system, or SAHR.

SAHR is a mechanical device that is beautifully simple. In the event of a rear-end crash, the resultant force of the driver's (or front seat passenger's) body being pushed into the seat will cause the SAHR to operate with the head restraint being push forwards andslightly upwards in order to cushion the back of the head as the body recoils after the impact. It's one of those things that is easier to see in a diagram than it is to try and explain in words. This is how CarPages put's it:

Saab's pioneering SAHR has been developed to reduce relative movement between the head and lower back. The restraint is mounted at the top of a frame, inside the seat-back, which is designed to pivot at its mid point. In a rear-end impact, the occupant's lower back is forced rearwards by inertia against the bottom portion of the seat-back. A mechanical linkage in the frame then forces the upper half, carrying the head restraint, upwards and forwards to catch the occupant's head and help minimise the amount of whiplash movement. After activation, the SAHR immediately returns to its passive position, ready for further deployment.

In any case, British automotive testers Thatcham have announced that SAHR has been awarded top marks for preventing neck injuries. Announcing the results, Thatcham Crash Research Manager Matthew Avery said:

"Saab has been a benchmark for designing seats to help prevent whiplash injury. Real world data from insurance claims shows that the Saab 9-3 with active head restraints has produced a 42 per cent reduction in whiplash injuries, compared to the previous model which did not have them."

"The 'best practice' approach from Saab was a fundamental part of the International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group's test procedure and it encourages all manufacturers to fit similar systems."

So there you have it. Saab was still innovating safety as GM took control. Shortly after the introduction of SAHR, ovloV announced it's WHIPS whiplash protection system. They probably marketed it better, too.