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For many years, automotive experts have tried to make sure that the air drawn into the automobile's engine was thoroughly filtered through the engine air filter. Until now, no one did anything about filtering the air the passengers within the car had to breathe.
For 1979, however, the new Saab 900 features a specially constructed air filter designed expressly to filter the air that comes into the car's passenger compartment.
The filter, mounted under the hood of the 900 and easily replaced when dirty, has been tested by the Ear, Nose & Throat Department of the University of Linkoping in Sweden, and has been determined to be very effective in keeping the passenger compartment air free of dust, pollen and bacteria.
All air entering the interior through the heating and ventilation system passes through a filter, containing an efficient strand-filter element which purifies the air, not only of sooty particles and other solid impurities, but also of pollen and a large percentage of airborne bacteria. To allergy sufferers, the new air filter will be an essential driving safety and comfort feature at certain times of the year.
Saab's initiative in equipping its 900 series cars with the special air filter has been of considerable interest to medical experts. Practical tests, conducted by Professor Gunnar Aschan at the University of Linkoping, have shown that the new filter is very effective.
With an airstream of 1,000 liters per minute, all pollen in the air were caught in the filter and this despite the fact that the forced air contained considerably more pollen than is normally found in nature. Pollen used in the tests were of the 2/100th to 4/lOOths of a millimeter size. When the filter was removed and the same test was repeated large amounts of pollen passed through the carts ventilation system. By microphotography of comparable surfaces, with and without filtering, it has been documented that the Saab 900 filter is able to absorb 100 percent of the pollen.
Tests have also shown that the filter effectively blocks dust and other pollutants that may enter the passenger compartment. This also lessens the risk for misting of the car's windows, caused by exterior humidity, before the car is thoroughly heated up, and can also diminish the possibility of oil film on the inside of the windows.
The filter cartridge in the Saab 900 is easily removed for replacement. It is estimated that during normal driving the filter package should be exchanged after about 15,000 miles of driving in order to retain its effect.
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