Saab and Evergrande Auto - balancing act between analog and digital
How was your week For me it was a balancing act, the way I currently practice it every day. Here is a look at analog cars and the tradition of the Saab brand. In China, eyes on the future. Future, that's what Evergrande Auto stands for in this case. In the medium term, Trollhättan could become the European production location and what impressed me is the first commercial that went online this week.
Evergrande Auto - digital future
Hengchi 1 is getting closer and closer, and Evergrande Auto has to be respected. Assistance systems such as a holographic assistant are on board and the new car brand does not have to hide behind what is currently on the market. On the contrary. The most modern e-car cockpit in the world, with a 9-screen display and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors of the last generation, will be found in Hengchi 1. The established competition suddenly looks very old.
In fact, staying power is starting to pay off. As an indicator, Evergrande Auto also seems interesting as an employer. If the rumors are true, the co-founder of a well-known electric car start-up will move to Hengchi Schmiede. A summary of the events will appear here in the next few days.
Saab - analog tradition
Last week we have Eva searched. A young designer who worked on the Saab 9-5 and was the subject of a TV report. Unfortunately, only her first name was mentioned on the show, everything else remained in the dark. Ingrid Karlsson, who worked with Eva in the design department at Saab, helped me with the search. Ingrid designed the colors and was responsible for the interior materials.
Eva Hanner is now called Eva Hanner Larson and was or is a manager in the design department at Volvo Cars. It left its mark on the XC60, some concept cars and the current XC90. The glass gear knob from Orrefors that can be found in the 90s models could be traced back to their inspiration.
She has her say in a film from 2008 about the cooperation with Orrefors. And once again you notice the overlap between the two Swedish brands. Volvo and Saab are working on the same idea at the same time.
Glass as an innovative material in the cockpit. A topic for the Saab 9-5 NG and the 9-4x, at Göta Älv. And for the 90s and 60s in Gothenburg. Volvo implemented the idea in parts, Saab unfortunately did not get around to it. Once again, it is left to the imagination how Saab would have introduced the topic of iced glass into the series. I think we could have been enthusiastic about the result.
The topics of the new week on the blog:
The pandemic is changing everyday life. A look at the Saab workshops and their situation. There is a need for action.
- The Saab workshops need our visit. Now.
The medium-term continuation of this project depends on the success of the subscription model. Does it have a chance? The interim report - ambivalent.
- Glass half full or half empty? This is how the blog subscription works!
The blog week ends this week on Thursday and the blog will also have no new posts on Sunday. Technical work in the background requires a short break.
Cold, colder, ice block design ...
I think it's cool on the outside. But I'm not so sure about the interior. There's been an article on the topic here before, if that's right in my head?
I think it was a 9-4X concept? Or maybe a Volvo XC?
In any case, it was an SUV that looked very, very classy and at the same time incredibly cool. It reminded me of Italian yacht design. A car that is sure to feel really good in the Mediterranean midsummer ...
The idea of getting into a car like this, frozen and / or with wet clothes, gave me a shiver in my body ...
I like Scandinavian design when it is sober and functional, when it is sensibly reduced to the essentials. But I wouldn't associate that with cold, let alone equate it.
On the contrary, it is fascinating that, if it is successful and not too Mediterranean, it combines formal objectivity with material warmth so virtuously that it works regardless of the weather. Not too bulky in summer and not too cold in winter.
An ice block inside, for me personally, is Italy and. Miami, is palm and coconut. It's not necessarily Scandinavian ...
Awesome, glass in the cockpit.
A great idea that would significantly strengthen the Scandinavian style. (I don't know if Volvo actually implemented this)
Thank you Tom, that you could solve the "secret" about Eva. Maybe from now on Eva will read the SAAB blog with ... 😉
Oh no, not the topic again: surfing, slipstream always likes to drive, but take responsibility (through €), no thanks. I thought we were a good step further ...
OK. i wait and hope to more TURBO subscriptions!
A day without a SAAB blog is certainly possible ... but a lot of reading fun, infotainment and good comments would be missing.
WE readers / users have it “in their hands” whether we like all of Tom € WERT's research.
I really hope for more subscription numbers ...
Good week and stay healthy!
I'm also very curious about the current subscription numbers !? In the interest of all (real) SAAB fans, I would of course be happy about high “memberships” - or is it again as is so often the case in life - as soon as a price is “called” for a cause, the supposed interest as of “ Ghost hand ”!?!?
I hope Tom you can teach me and possibly other skeptics better!
Keep going on my AERO project - this way I can combine the beautiful with the useful - screwing until the doctor comes - and awakening a Swedish (world) "cultural heritage" to new life….
SAAB greetings from Thuringia
Hopefully the subscription is going so well that our blog will stay with us! Without? - Inconceivably!
The subject of glass in the cockpit is interesting? How would Saab have solved that?
@ Freising86 Saab had solved that pretty cool, in the 9-4x Concept you showed a center console and other inlays in the dashboard in iced Saab optics. With the 9-5 NG this should come in series.