There’s a guy here at the Frankfurt show by the name of Olaf B. He’s a professional photographer, which is how he managed his press pass for today, but he’s also a Saab nut and a regular here at Saabs United.
About 10 minutes after the 2010 Saab 9-5 was revealed, Olaf came up to me and said “I can see why you tell people to wait until they see the car in the metal. It’s so much better.”
And so it is.
Hopefully you may have all had a chance to view the reveal on video. If not, I’m sure they’ll get it up soon. Hopefully you’ve also had a chance to view the press materials that I linked to earlier.
These are great, but they’re more photos and this is one time when I can tell you that photos just do NOT do a car justice. i don’t have a designer’s vocabulary, so I’ll just tell it as I see it. The lines, angles and curves on this car are in all the right places. When they say it has some of the old Saab language in it, they aren’t kidding.
The rear deck has an instant reminder of a 2-door Saab 99. Approach the front from a certain angle and the windscreen really does curve away from you like Saabs of old.
This isn’t all about recreating a past, though. This is a brand new vehicle and I can tell you with one sitting not more than 10 feet away from me – this car, for this enthusiast, is a thing of beauty.
How does it compare to some of the thoughts and feelings we’ve had?
Well, it’s definitely big, but not overwhelmingly so. Sit in it and there is buckets of room but on the outside there is absolutely nothing that looks out of proportion. It’s going to look stellar on the road.
Then there’s some of the detailed touches. There are two different sets of wheels that will be available depending in specification. The Aero wheels are the ‘mild-turbines’ that we’ve already seen. The others are a two-tone wheel, showing here in a Vector model. They’re probably my favourites so far.
The door handles are another nice touch, finished in a two-tone scheme combining the paint color of the car and a titanium metallic finish. It looks very classy, much like the two-tone mirrors that are finished the same way.
Saab are showing two interiors here. One in black and the other in a Sand sort of color. The leather it good to the touch and the dash panel finish really does look as good as I’d hoped. The switchgear is all soft-feel plastic and metal finish, and the initial impression is that it feels really cohesive and well put together.
Some of the larger sections of plastic do look a little ‘garden variety’ but that’s possibly due to the rest of the details looking so good.
I really can’t say it enough. This is a vehicle that begs to be seen.
If you are within reasonable driving distance to Frankfurt in the next few days then you’ve GOT to come and see it. You will not be disappointed.
I just really feel so pleased and so happy for the company. They have worked so hard and most of it against rather incredible odds. Getting a chance to meet some of these people again and talk with them, you reealise how much this means to them as a company event. Much like someone who is ill, they’ve had to tick off various achievements in their road to getting well again. Those achievements are too numerous to mention here but you know them.
Today was a massive tick on Saab’s incredible list of achievements in 2009. The fact they’re here, presenting a new car at a massive worldwide motor show is an achievement of the highest order.
And I’m pleased to say that from what I’ve seen, the car lives up to the billing.
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Here’s a few photos. Click to enlarge.
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I’m still gathering interview time with various people and will have a lot to cover in future writings.
I’m off for another look.
This is a rather special Saab Pride entry as it’s from one of my fellow Saab bloggers – one of the guys I’ll have another opportunity to meet tomorrow, as a matter of fact.
