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, Sat, 11 Jan 2003 12:53:09
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"Design Crisis at SAAB"
SAAB can't get its design direction straight.
One of the cool things about European car makers is that they tend to get a design theme and carry it throughout the product line. Every Audi from the 80s has the same design theme as can be said about the 90s, and 00s. Clearly BMW had this (until Bangle started screwing things up). Mercedes and Volvo are clearly like this also. Having a theme does not mean you cannot change themes, it just means you have identifiable styling cues carried throughout the product line.
SAAB had this until the 9000. All early SAABs looked like they were from the same company. As with any design, there are pardigm shifts in the themes. The 99 was such a shift. The 99 said, "this is what a SAAB looks like now." The 900 carried on the design themes of the 99. It seemed SAAB had defined its new look. There was no doubt, the 900 screamed "I'm a SAAB!"
Then came the 9000. Little to no connection to the themes. Was it defining a new set of themes? Perhaps, but the GM900 didn't really carried those themes that strongly. It seems that there was not really a good design direction through most of the 1990s. Frankly I would say this is were SAAB attempted to become the "generic car company". It is as if they tried to design cars that were so generic no one would know what they were.
Then came the 9-5. It says "hey, I'm a SAAB." I park our 2003 9-5 wagon next to my 1990 SPG and you can see the themes. You can tell these cars are made by the same company. Some of the consistent themes:
- hood creases do not extent to edges of the panel.
- low hood line
- hood seam location
- general hood style, curves and such.
- top of hood extends past A pillar
- body crease with small shoulder that runs just under the side windows and elegantly tapers into the C pillar
- C pillar front angle
- tail light and front corner light styles
- flatter spot with crease on the front bumper just below the headlights.
There are more, but I'm sure I'm boring you.
Then comes the new 9-3SS. This thing is the epidomy of "me too" sedan. I look at this and it says "I want to be a Lexus". This thing is clearly the brother of the IS300. If it is establishing new themes, they are bad. There is no identity here other than "hey I'm some kind of decent car that you can't name the manufacturer. I could be Japanese, I could be European, you'll never guess what I am!". Take off the grill, and more people would think it was Japanese than European!
I would probably go so far as to call this a design crisis at SAAB.
Dave D
90 SPG
03 9-5
posted by 64.105.16...
, Sat, 11 Jan 2003 12:53:09
, Sat, 11 Jan 2003 16:39:43, Sun, 12 Jan 2003 14:36:52
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