Olle Hagman is Ph.D. in social anthropology at the University of Gothenburg and Engineer from Chalmers. Few have looked so deeply into the relationship between the car, man and society. On carwinism.com he describes how the car has evolved from a practical machine to an organism that help keep our dreams alive.
 
In the debate concerning Koenigsegg’s financial ability to develop SAAB, the dream perspective has been lost on the way. For, in my opinion, it does hold great value that the manufacturer of the world's fastest car, designed by a Swedish entrepreneur who since childhood has dreamed of making cars, over night has managed to turn around the perception of SAAB. From being a supplier of American nightmares to Swedish dreams.
 
When it became possible to get around, without having to use your own (or the horse’s) muscle power, the car was freedom embodied. In the over hundred years leading up to the first T-Ford leaving the assembly line, the inspiration for how a car should look came from horse-drawn carriages and locomotives. However, as the car evolved, the machine-like ideals faded, and the car started its metamorphosis towards becoming an organism. The design has come to involve rounder and more closed shapes. Although this long-term development is clear, it has not always followed a straight line. The machine-ideal has always made its comeback in times of technological optimism. Car design have also always taken elements from other technical products and by so doing, surfed on their success.
 
With more affordable an airline tickets, anyone can now travel the world, meaning that the true freedom of the car measured in range has dwindled. In the matter of hours you can be in New York or Paris, while the corresponding time in the car will get you a much shorter distance.
 
Having said that, it may seem a bit contradictory that the car as a symbol of freedom is greater today than ever. The explanation is that, as with almost all technologies, you are always buying the dream-potential. (This may explain why older people who never actually use their car still have it parked outside the house.)
 
At the end of the 1800’s the car would look like a machine with moving parts and the details clearly visible. Today, all the approximately 1500 parts that make up a modern car, is more of a closed unit. Something more organic.
 
It is often claimed that the car has gone from being a toy for the rich to a rational and trivial tool for every man. There is great reason to remain skeptical to this. David Gartman is one of the world's top researchers in how the car has evolved in relation to society. He argues that the car has become more and more symbolic. He divides the evolution of car into three distinct eras: class distinction, mass identity and subcultural difference.
 
During the era of class distinction, the car was one of the most apparent markers for class. This era was in itself quite long and its end point was marked by the flying machine inspired creations with panoramic windows and fins, many of them signed by GM's Harley Earl. During the early post-war period, every economic curve pointed upwards. Everyone could be rich and class as we hade known it, be dissolved. Confidence in technology was high, not least within rocket propulsion and nuclear possibilities. This sense in western society of everything being possible was reflected in the cars. Probably this may be one explanation as to why cars from this era still hold such a nostalgic attraction today. If there is only something that definitely was better before, it sure was the future.
 
The technology-optimism continued in the 60’s, which was the decade that marked the start of the mass identity era. Now there were other types of machinery design that cars referenced, as household appliances and transistor devices. The wave of solidarity and the pursuit of common objectives resulted in that your car of choice had a lot less to do with class and more to do with highlighting your values. The key word used in the car commercials of the 50’s and 60’s was comfort. And the car was a family matter – literally. It is no coincidence that car commercials at that time depicted happy nuclear families and a dog. Not exactly the serpentine road focus of today, although driving pleasure started to become a sales argument at this time.
 

"Caravanes et camping" (caravans and camping), Geneva poster from 1969. Togetherness and family are in focus.
 
If the 60’s were about breaking conventions, the society of the 70’s was progressive but calculating and rational at the same time. The belief in the rational human being was great and graphs and tables made their entrance into car advertising. Car design followed the same trend. Cars would start looking a bit more dull and boring in order to strengthen the buyer in her belief of making a sound and rational choice. At the same time, the individualization of society began taking off. It was reflected, for example, in an increasingly frequent use of driving pleasure in advertising. It was now the driver's – remember not the family’s – own personal and individual pleasure that was stressed. The common objective of the masses of shooting for a higher standard of living was abandoned. However, in the 70’s it was a type of controlled individualization where one could choose from a number of given paths. It was not okay to stand out in anyway.
 
The individualism of the 80’s was quite different from that of the previous decade. Now, the willingness to pay top dollar to stand out suddenly became very high. One should shout out one’s identity and how successful you were as an individual. It was at this time that Swedish union leader Stig Malm gave Porsche 911 the label stock exchange-scooter.
 
 
DKW Meister Klasse 1952 and Audi 5000 Turbo on advertising poster from 1980 (click on image to enlarge). From rounded features for the masses to the lean power for the individual.
 
Today, our personal identity and the means to express it is all about subcultural difference. Meaning that our consumption of a certain product is not a very exact predictor of who we are. It is possible for example to be millionaire and drive a small compact car, as well as it is possible to have a lower income and own an expensive car. Still, the car is very much an expression of our dreams and symbol for who we want to be or look like. And it is really the potential of the car we buy, not how many of its features we actually use. Not too many go driving their SUV in the bush, but that you can. And with today's high-powered cars we could all go crazy driving. Luckily, most just dream it and leave it to the professionals.
 
To sum up, the car has been on a journey from a machine, to a dream machine, and an organism. In a society characterized by a never before seen variation between different lifestyles, the availability of different types of cars becomes the equivalent of the natural variation of the flora and fauna. The car as symbol of freedom today corresponds more organically to the various individual lifestyles and values that society holds. In that respect, the prospects of SAABs to continue being those symbols of freedom, is brighter now that the brand has freed itself from the headaches of Detroit and instead of being associated with mass production is associated with something narrow and exclusive. And importantly, a Swedish saga of success.