Some nice photos from the Saab 9-4X media launch

On Saab's facebook page there are som very nice pictures from the Saab 9-4X media launch this week. Here's a couple of samples.

Jason Castriota explains the aerodynamics of the Saab PhoeniX

Here's a link to a video of Jason Castriota explaining the aerodynamics of the Saab PhoeniX to the Car Coach.

Click here to get to the video. (The video could not be embedding into the blog.)

The buzz is on in New York - NY International Auto Show Edition - take 2

The media coverage of Saab at the New York International Auto Show seems to be 75 per cent about financial challenges and just 25 per cent about cars. And the only car that interests the media is the PhoeniX. But when the general public get access to the show, it will be all about cars. And Saab got a great stand at the show: New Saab 9-5 SportCombi, new Saab 9-4X, facelifted Saab 9-3 Griffin, the beautiful independence edition Saab 9-3 convertible and of course the star, the Saab PhoeniX.

Here's what the New York Times says about the PhoeniX:

The most buzzed-about concept at the Geneva auto show, where it was unveiled in March.

Automobile magazine had the same pleasure I had a couple of weeks ago: To see the PhoeniX in person and see through distracting elements like butterfly doors and winglets and thereby see the heart of the car. Pictures just don't do this car justice.

Leading the charge of new Saab is the PhoeniX concept that made its debut earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. The PhoeniX is the first car by new head designer Jason Castriotta and is supposed to preview both the look of future Saabs and the platform which will underpin the next 9-3. The concept is also equipped with a hybrid powertrain, with the rear wheels each powered by electric motors. While the PhoeniX looks a bit amorphous in pictures, seeing the car in person reveals the intricacy in the sinewy sheetmetal’s curves and detailing. Equally impressive is the red and black interior with its square steering wheel and pod-like gauges.

Automobile also has some nice photos of the other Saab cars. 

NY1 has also been at the show and they concluded that this year's trend is battery power:

In fact, even cars that aren't all electric, like one concept by Saab, still try to find ways to use battery power for more than just the usual places like the headlights or radio.

"It's mating a gas engine up front with an electric hybrid four-wheel drive system in the rear so you get wheeled power being distributed evenly and when necessary side to side and front to rear to get you out of difficult circumstances but you get a 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption and a 30 percent reduction in emissions," explains Jason Castriota of Saab.

And the reporter has the following to say about the looks of the PhoeniX:

And as you can tell from this one and a dozen of others on the floor, having cars look as cool as possible is still as strong a trend as it was at the very first New York International Auto Show.

The Detroit News has the best picture from the show:

Is Victor dancing???

New York International Auto Show Edition - take 1

The New York International Auto Show starts tomorrow and already now the media is going crazy with Saab new articles.

Autoevolution stopped by the Saab 9-5 SportCombi to take some pictures and jott down some notes:

Built on the platform of its sedan sibling and featuring Aero X-inspired looks here and there, the SportCombi comes with the promise of a very sporty wagon.

The main design elements that make up the new 9-5 SportCombi are the raked forward tailgate (a novelty for a wagon model) and full-width “ice-block” rear light bar.

Inside of the car, the future drivers will be treated with all the goodies that make up modern day cars.

They have a heap load of high resolution pictures in their photo gallery.


Victor Muller tells Automotive news that Saab didn't do a good enough job introducing and promoting the new Saab 9-5 Sedan in the US:

"We could have done a better job" of marketing and introducing the car, Muller said during an interview at the New York auto show.

The car is completely different than the 9-5 that was replaced, he said.

But "we acted like nothing happened."

If so, then let's hope they do a better jobb with the Saab 9-4X and the Saab 9-5 SportCombi. 


Victor Muller talks about Spyker's long-term plans and production strategy for Saab, and the outlook for sales to Bloomberg on video:

Finally, ConsumerReports seems to like the Saab PhoeniX's tail :

I stopped dead in my tracks when I passed through Saab’s display at the New York auto show. It wasn’t the enormous ice sculpture or the new 9-5 wagon. What caught my eye was the tail lights of the Phoenix show car.

 

Saab PhoeniX in the Big Apple

Autoevolution has been at the New York International Auto Show and taken a closer look at the Saab PhoeniX. Here's a snippet of what they write and a couple of photos:

"The PhoeniX establishes a new reference point for the future of Saab product design," said Jason Castriota, Saab Automobile's Executive Design Director. "It symbolizes a renaissance of the innovative spirit and passion that drove Saab to build its first car. We're now taking the visual DNA forward with what we call 'aeromotional' design, adding emotion, power and fluidity. This design aesthetic will shape and differentiate future models in the Saab portfolio." 

Head over to Autoevolution for a ton of high definition photographs. 

Matthias Seidl: "Our orders are strong"

New York Times has been at the landfall of the Saab PhoeniX in Manhattan. There they took a talk with Chief Designer Jason Castriota and Sales Director Matthias Seidl. The most interesting part as far as I can see, is Seidl's statement on the sales:

At present, Saab’s Trollhattan factory is not producing cars, but Matthias Seidl, Saab’s vice president of global sales and aftersales, who attended the showing of the PhoeniX, said production was expected to resume soon. “We are a start-up company. We have our ups and downs,” he said.

The company hopes to have a solid economic basis shortly, including approvals for government funding and other financing sources. “Our orders are strong,” he said, without revealing a number. He did allow that the order backlog measured at the equivalent of “four to six weeks.”

Head over to NYT if you want to read the whole article. Let's hope will be the first of a long series of positive articles from Saab at the New York Motor Show!

Saab PhoeniX in Stockholm - report from Saab's Spring exhibition pt 2

A little over a week ago I saw the Saab PhoeniX. It was at the Spring Saab exhibition in Stockholm. The moment I entered into the mess hall, my eyes was drawn to the PhoeniX. I walked straight passed the new Saab 9-4X and the 9-5 SportCombi. There was no doubt that the PhoeniX was the star of the show.


When I one month earlier first saw pictures of the Saab PhoeniX, I liked what I saw but I couldn't recognize the simple and clean Scandinavian design that is Saab. You can see a Saab grille, a Sonett rear and a tear drop shaped canopy, but overall the car seemed to have too many lines and shapes. My impression was to change when I saw the car in real life.


So there I was at the Saab exhibition. Staring at the PhoeniX. Walking around the PhoeniX. Taking photos of the PhoeniX. And what I noticed is that when you look beyond the wavy shapes on the bonnet and the air diffusers on both sides of the canopy, the rest of the car really has clean lines.

Let's start at the front.

The Saab grille, which seems like a big and hungry mouth.  

The wavy bonnet has just a tad to much shapes for me.

The head lamps looks like eyes.

Clean cut wheel arches.

The next generation turbine wheels. Looks great and maybe even lighter than ordinary allow wheels?

 

The air ducts behind the front wheel and the air canals under the doors.

 


The body seems like one aerodynamic whole.

The side diffusers which improves the aerodynamics.

On the far rear the body has a small integrated spoiler.

Tail lights, with the good ol' Saab logo on the top.

Minimalist interior that needs some more work. The switches on the lower center console is a bit too minimalist for me.

The spectacular seats that I want in my next Saab, but which I won't get until maybe the Saab thereafter.

After seeing the Saab PhoeniX in Stockholm last weekend, I am 100 percent confident that Jason Castriota and Victor Muller will make the upcoming 9-3 replacement a great car!

Today is a day for rest

Today you shouldn't expect many posts here. I have decided that today is a day for rest. There are plenty of news articles in media from all over the world today about Saab getting the YES from the Swedish Government. If you want to read about what the world says about Saab, you should check out the more serious ones like Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters or AFP.


Most Swedish newspapers seem to have forgotten everything about national pride, except TTELA which has always been levelheaded during all the Saab crisis. So if you want to read some Swedish news, TTELA is recommended.

Before I go out in the sun for a drive, I will leave you with this little video. Unfortunately, youtube told me that my German readers may get a problem viewing the video. I'll see if I can fix it for you later.



 

The business aspect of the Saab IQon system

I have to admit that of all the new technology presented in the PhoeniX concept, the IQon infotainment system is the part that has excited me the least so far. But now I'm starting to think that just maybe IQon's potential is much bigger than I first realized.


Here's what egmCarTech thinks:

Something that will help save Saab: Saab IQon Android-based system will be open to app developers

...

While Ford’s SYNC, GM’s OnStar, Toyota’s Entune and others are going head-to-head, Saab is working on something a little… well, a lot more interesting. The Saab IQon Android-based infotainment system’s application programming interface will be available to developer.

So maybe IQon is one of the biggest news in the PhoeniX concept. I can see that the possibilities with the IQon system seem unlimited. With signals from 500 different sensor in the car, only the imagination can limit the developers. But what I'm having trouble seeing is how the business case is good enough to attract serious and knowledgeable developers.

Why will developers use time and money on developing and getting apps approved for IQon? With 100.000 Saab cars sold each year, will there be a big enough market for the developers to get a return? If we compare to apps developed for mobile phones sold in millions each year, I would think that "only" 100.000 new potential customers each year is little. And when Toyota, GM, Ford etc make their infotainment systems with millions of users open, then why will the developers choose IQon?

I have very little knowledge about the development of apps and the apps market, so my worries can be uncalled-for. And so I'm really looking forward to learning more about the business aspect of Saab's IQon system.

German reactions to the PhoeniX concept

The German market is more or less an untapped market for Saab. Only 137 cars sold the first two months of 2011 and only 657 in the whole year of 2010 are proof that Saab can do much better in this huge market. And therefor it's very uplifting to read the German reactions to the PhoeniX concept:


Der Spiegel: "Schwungvoll aus der Asche" ~ Enthusiastically from the ashes

When the cloth was pulled away from the car, the 81st Geneva Motor Show had the next big surprise: the study Saab Phoenix. The 4.42 meters long coupe with the name of the mythical bird that burned and then rose from the ashes, should probably be mainly an indication that Saab is back. And above all, has now started a new flight in high altitude.

German Auto Motor & Sport: "Schweden-Häppchen mit Flügeltüren" ~ Swedish appetizers with wing doors

With the Phoenix Concept at the Auto Show in Geneva, the Swedish car maker Saab gives a peak into the future design and new drive train technology of future models. The unusual design study will mark a new beginning Saab.

Autobild: "Phoenix aus der Asche" ~ Phoenix from the ashes

If this is the future of Saab, then the brand will never die: The Phoenix study is spectacular. In Geneva is the concept car that previews technology and design which will come in future models. 

Seud Deutsche: "Saab meldet sich mit Sportkonzept «Phönix» zurück" ~ With the PhoeniX sport concept, Saab is back.

In an unusual design study, Saab will mark a new beginning: In Geneva, the manufacturer presented "Phoenix", a butterfly- opening coupe with many technical features.

And finally some Austrian news: "Saab will mit PhoeniX aus der Asche fliegen" ~ With the PhoeniX Saab will fly out of the ashes

The traditional Swedish car manufacturer Saab urgently needed a reincarnation after the turmoil and separation from General Motors. With the new owner, Spyker Cars, Saab will again be build on past success and surprised with an innovative concept vehicle - the Saab PhoeniX Concept: The future begins here and now - but the design is inspired by the past from the aircraft.

Let's hope the German car buying population also have read these articles and that their curiosity bring them over to the Saab dealers!

Saab's image improved last week in Geneva

I just came across a nice article at Automotive News about how Saab's image arguable improved at the Geneva Motor Show. The reason was of course the PhoeniX concept. Here' s a few quotes from the article:

Before the Geneva motor show, Saab and its dealers admitted there still was a public perception -- albeit among a shrinking group of believers -- that the automaker had gone out of business more than a year ago as General Motors was rising from the ashes of bankruptcy.

...

But Saab's image greatly improved last week in Geneva, as Victor Muller, Jan Ake Jonsson and Jason Castriota pulled the cover off the PhoeniX, a 2+2 concept with wild, over-the-top styling. Muller is Saab chairman, and Jonsson is CEO. The concept was penned by Castriota, Saab's new design chief.

...the PhoeniX's mission is not about gauging response for a production model. Its purpose is to tell the world that Saab is very much alive.

And it succeeded.

Let's hope the rest of the world agrees! 

The liquid metal paint and thin seats of the Saab PhoeniX

If you have checked out my page dedicated to future Saab car, then you know that in addition to loving my Saab 9-5, I also take an interest in future Saab cars and technology. And so I would like to share with you a few points from an interview the Norwegian newspaper VG did with Jason Castriota at the Geneva Motor Show.

First of all, in the interview Castriota tells us that the fantastic paint used on the PhoeniX concept will be available for the public in six months to a year. I assume that it will be a very expensive paint (the PhoneX needed fourteen layers of paint!), and maybe this will be part of a customer individualization program by Saab? The Spyker sports cars are tangible proof that Victor Muller knows exclusivity and premium feel.

Secondly, in the interview Castriota reveals that Saab is working on developing thinner seats. Seats that not only will be lighter, but also will give better leg room for the rear passengers. Doesn't that sound like a typical Saab "invention" that is both practical and smart? And please, if the seats will look anything like the ones in the PhoeniX, then bring em on!

Click below to read the full interview in English.