Category: Saab [1]

Saab has created a real-life sized replica of the Aero-X Coupe Concept made entirely from ice. The icy concept is housed within the famous ICEHOTEL in Sweden.

The ICEHOTEL is situated in the village Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. The heart and backbone is the River Torne flowing freely through the unspoilt wilderness. Covered with a meter thick ice layer winter time the river is the source of all blocks used to build the unique hotel. The ICEHOTEL, which has more than 80 rooms and suites, only exists between December and April and it is rebuilt from scratch every year.

The Aero-X has been designed and created by Simon Padian, chief designer for Saab with the help of Tjåsa Gusfors – a leading designer specializing in ice and snow sculpture. The car is located in a special room dubbed “Move Your Mind”

Visitors will be encouraged to walk through an ice suite featuring key Saab brand messages and showcasing Saab’s design heritage. Highlights include an ice sculpted Saab Aero X and impressive light and sound sequences.

The Swedish car maker Saab doesn’t expect any sales growth for this year according to an interview given by its CEO to Auto,Motor und Sport.

Last year the car maker sold 125,000 cars compared to 133,000 over the same period in 2006. “We expect roughly the same scale for 2008,” Jan-Ake Jonsson told the German magazine. “It is our target to sell 150,000 to 200,000 units per year. But in order to reach such annual sales we need the new models,” he said.

Saab had said earlier it could reach break-even with annual sales of 180,000 units. Unfortunately the milestone won’t be reached until 2010.

Saab designer Anthony Lo has revealed that Saab will unveil its first compact model,the 9-1, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Set to compete on the premium compact segment, the 9-1 will share its underpinnings with the Vauxhall Astra. Although they share powertrains and suspension layout, the small Saab will have a unique exterior and interior styling. The exterior will likely take its design cues from the Aero X Concept. It is unknown if Saab will offer a three door and/or a five door variants.

Under the bonnet, the information remains scarce at this stage although some observers believe the 9-1 will feature small turbocharged engines such as a 1.4-litre petrol unit.

The future 9-1 is critical to the company’s ambition of increasing its global sales. Indeed, the car will reinforce and aged lineup which is struggling to survive among an increasing competition from premium car makers but also from generalists.

With an ageing line-up and no new models coming before 2009, Saab can not pretend to win the most famous awards. While some got the ‘Car of the Year’ title, Saab via its GM Europe’s Advanced Design division director, Anthony Lo, got the “Asian Designer of the Year“ prize at the 2007 ELLE Magazine Style Awards. He was honored for his work on the Saab Aero X concept car unveiled a the 2006 Geneva Motor Show.

Born in Hong Kong 43 yeaars ago, Anthony Lo studied design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and later graduated with a Master’s degree in Transportation Design from the Royal College of Art in London. He moved to Saab in 2000 as head of Advanced Design and worked under Michael Mauer, then head of design at Saab. In charge of the Advanced Design, he oversaw the latest GM concept cars in europe such as the 9X, 9-3X, 9-3 Sport Hatch and Aero X concept cars as well as the 2007 Opel GTC Concept and Opel Flextreme.

After much equivocation, Saab is currently working on new compact model due to be launched in the next decade.

This time, the Swedish carmaker will not make another attempt at building a Saabaru 9-2. The designers will focus on giving the compact model a striking design which will take inspiration from the Aero-X concept car.

This is a very good news for Saab. However the premium compact market is a tough market where German competitors meet a big success. The Audi A3 leads the market with 229,394 cars sold last year. BMW sold 151,918 cars over the same period. Unfortunately for Saab, the market will be more mature in the next decade. BMW recently unveiled the 1 Series coupé and will soon reveal a convertible variant. Several Audi A3 convertible have been spotted in the world. Even Mercedes plans to reshuffle its A Class and B Class in order to fight with Audi and BMW. If Saab wants to succeed, it will have to launch, not only a car, but also with a range.

After a career of 7 years, Saab’s executive sedan gets a new front end, inspired by the 9X concept car. Under the bonnet the all-turbo line-up includes a new 150 bhp 1.9 TiD diesel (designed by Fiat and soon available in the new Cadillac BLS), a  BioPower engine that can run on a high-blend mixture of bioethanol fuel and petrol (E85), and increased power for the top-of-the-range 260 bhp Aero 2.3 model. In the mean time, the suspension has also been improved. All this should help this characterful but ageing car to keep up with such opponents as the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes E-Class or Audi A6, which is vital for this car maker whose production might very well be transferred to Germany for lack of profitability.
The facelifted 9-5 will be launched at the oncoming Frankfurt Motorshow, on September 12, where further specifications will be revealed.