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Michael Mauer on future Saab models......... (long-ish) Posted by Paul [Email]  (#792) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Paul) on Tue, 8 May 2001 17:44:20
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taken from the global Saab site.
April 27, 2001
Designer visions and imagination will visualize the future Saab brand.
In the next couple of years, the Saab brand of the future will be visualized in a series of concept cars, and the company's design department is determined to make them really strong. Michael Mauer, the new head of Saab design, and his department are profoundly involved in the development of these concepts.
"I see lots of opportunities, a strong image, a strong heritage, a reputation for safety and performance and, what's more, unique design within Saab of today," he says. "Saab cars have always been perceived as unique and I believe that we should move on in that direction," he says. "That's why we're going to design strong image carriers beside the basic programme. You'll soon see creative models that underscore the Saab values and bring forward the characteristics of the brand."
Michael Mauer is of the opinion that anyone can design a concept car without a message. "Coming up with a nice shell is rather easy. All it takes is some styling and design cues, and that's what almost every manufacturer in the industry is doing today. The tough point, however, is to realise concepts that really bring forward the essence of a specific brand. From that perspective Saab has a great opportunity."
Saab to build even more on design
Michael Mauer regards Saab as a design oriented company, and he believes that the key to future success is to build even more on design. "Saab cars are fun to drive, they're safe and the product quality is good. But the area where an automotive brand really can differentiate itself is emotion and design, and we are moving in that direction. This will be highly apparent with the concept cars to come."
"When developing the second generation of the Saab 900 in the early 1990s, we ran 19 different types of crash test. Nine of these were stipulated by legal requirements. In the work on today's Saab 9-5, we ran more than 60 different crash tests. During the same period, the number of legally required crash tests had risen by 3 to a total of 12."
Creativity is now one of highest ranked interests within Saab. The company's designers are encouraged to use all of their visionary and imaginative skills, along with the skills of the engineers and the marketing people, to come up with brand focused concepts.
"The Saab brand is our point of departure and therefore we need to use flexible architecture solutions that allow us to realise creative ideas about future products from Saab. The architecture for the Saab 9-5 successor will be designed in the city of Göteborg, Sweden, and that offers a superb opportunity for us to implement our ideas in future Saab cars."
Smooth design process leads to less exciting results
"Creative processes are not necessarily smooth ones. On the contrary, my opinion is that smooth design processes often lead to less exciting results. The process of working and re-working a concept is crucial. Engineers and designers often have different opinions about what's right and wrong, good and bad."
NOW DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A GUY WHO WANTS SAAB TO BE SAAB, OR WHAT?!
WAY TO GO MICHAEL!!!
, Tue, 8 May 2001 17:44:20 <-- Viewing This Message
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