There’s been quite a bit of talk in an earlier post today about the colour palette being offered by Saab on the new Saab 9-5.
I featured a screenshot of the palette being offered (in Sweden, at least) based upon some literature I had sent to me yesterday. That palette is as follows:
It does lack a little variety, but bear in mind a few things.
- It’s my understanding that the color palette that GM intended to offer was larger when the car was to be built in Russelsheim. The move to Trollhattan changed that.
- These decisions are based on what customers order as well as perceived trends in the future (see below)
- The literature I received indicated three more colors (Solid Black, Laser Red and Java) for 2011.
So more color will come, but these should do just fin for the rest of this model year.
I thought I’d reproduce a press release from PPG, one of the world’s biggest automotive paint companies. It’s from late 2009, so is still quite current.
From this release, you’ll hopefully get a better understanding of the trends, the timing of decisions, and the complexity of modern paint and by extension, the methods needed to apply it. Like everything else in automotive manufacturing, changing it is not a finger-snap decision.
——
Silver still entrenched as world’s favorite vehicle color, according to PPG data
Company introduces 70 new shades at annual Automotive Color Trend Show
TROY, Mich., Oct. 1, 2009 – For the ninth consecutive year, the silver category, which includes charcoal and gray shades, has ranked as the most popular vehicle color in the world according to data from PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG), the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings.
In North America, silver and charcoal saw a strong increase in popularity from 20 percent in 2008 to 25 percent this year. White was second (18 percent), black was third (16 percent) and red was fourth (12 percent). These four color categories comprise well over two-thirds of all vehicles sold in North America. Just 15 years ago, the most popular color on vehicles in North America was green with 21 percent, while silver had only 8 percent in 1994.
“What helps drive silver’s popularity are all of the innovative effects that really make silver shine … much more than just a simple gray,” said Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, color styling, automotive coatings. “Silver tones work well with today’s tinted metallic textural looks. The diversity of silver, from subtle hue shifts to dimensional metallic flake appearances, works with a variety of vehicle styles.”
In Europe, silver and charcoal (35 percent) were followed by black (22 percent), blue and white (13 percent each), red (9 percent), naturals (5 percent), green (2 percent) and other/niche colors (1 percent).
In the Asia/Pacific region, silver and charcoal (34 percent) were followed by black (21 percent), white (17 percent), blue (9 percent), red (7 percent), naturals (6 percent), other/niche colors (4 percent) and green (2 percent).
“Clearly, the automotive industry is moving toward more color choices,” Harrington said. “Palettes are broadening as the number of models decreases and the industry consolidates. Going forward, automotive manufacturers are going to be relying on color more and more to distinguish their brands.”
At this year’s annual Automotive Color Trend Show held at PPG’s offices here, the coatings company presented its ideas for future vehicle colors. Titled “3D Color” – representing “Design,” “Dimension” and “Differentiator” – the show included a collection of interior and exterior colors developed globally and inspired by fashion, interior design, industrial design, culture, commercial construction and nature. PPG presented automotive designers with 60 new exterior shades and 10 new interior shades for consideration in their designs of the 2012-2013 model years. The new shades were grouped in four themes based on vehicle type: “Dimension” for compact vehicles; “Perspective” for mid-size vehicles; “Surface” for hybrid vehicles; and “Depth” for luxury automobiles.
PPG introduced automotive manufacturers to new colors such as Champagne Silver, a tinted silver with a slight warm copper beige cast; Outer Space Blue, a deep, dark blue with a slight sparkle effect; Haute Couture, a black base coat with a high sparkle blue mid-coat that gives it an appearance inspired by a black designer evening gown with blue sequins; Quantum Rose, an interior color close to a neon red; and Hulk, a color developed in Australia that is bright green, just like its namesake.
In addition to the new exterior and interior colors, PPG added a computer-generated imaging demonstration to the show. This provides automotive designers with the ability to see some of the new colors as they might appear on new model vehicles.
In addition to color trend forecasting, PPG is continuing to develop new paint technologies that offer automotive design options to enhance appearance and help manufacturers differentiate their brands.
One of the paint systems that PPG previewed at the show is a next generation of glass flake coatings. These are paints that include very smooth glass flakes coated with various metal-oxide layers. “Because of the coating’s narrow particle distribution and very smooth surface, this product shows extreme sparkle and brightness,” said Jerry R. Koenigsmark, PPG manager of color design, North America automotive coatings. Koenigsmark said that the company hopes to make these coatings available commercially in the next two to three years.
PPG also highlighted its Chaos Sky White mica coatings. These are new shades of white based on synthetic micas coated with titanium dioxide (white pigment).
Additionally, PPG spotlighted its new inorganic infrared-reflective pigments. These coatings have a very high solar reflectivity that helps to keep the vehicle cooler, reduce air conditioning use, and reduce fuel consumption.
On the forefront of innovation in decorative and protective coatings and environmental application concerns since 1924, PPG helps automakers advance coatings technologies and application processes.
No related posts.
{ 86 comments }
SAAB please return back IMOLA RED coulor
With this model those are maybe the most likely colours to be chosen but it feels a bit cheap… I really liked the ice blue that was an aniversary colour. I have a hard time thinking that the paint shop in Trollh
Market research is just one variable that helps in these decisions. The other is the confidence for Saab to be themselves, to be Swedish.
More Swedish (and a dash of Dutch) please.
I’m with Andha on this. The Trollhattan paint shop is already spraying other colours for 9-3s, so why not 9-5s?
The only possible explanation I can think of is supply problems with colour-coded exterior plastics or interior trim? Other than that, it has to be a decision. We can paint that car bright yellow, but not that one.
Nice post Swade.
I hope Saab as an independent automaker can figure out how to get Nissan’s anti-scratch clearcoat technology, especially for darker colors. I’ve heard it does wonders for minimizing swirl marks.
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/INTRODUCTION/DETAILS/SCRATCH/
Where is “Celebration Orange?”
There are for example red NG 9-5′s that is circulating the streets today so I assume there will be more colours available. I prefer the dark blue aero, really nice.
I think there may also be quite nice Oak metallic brown colour which has been visible on some prototypes or motor show cars.
There have been other colors around, but those were pre-production cars, with bodies built and painted in Russelsheim, not in THN. As mentioned, the colour palette was going to be wider from there.
The metallic dark brown is the color called ‘Java’ referred to, above. It does look nice.
Red ?
Red will be available for 2011.
It is less about which colours, it is more about mass production versus individualized manufacture. I strongly advocate the latter, as societies strive for individuality and compter technology offers increasing potential in this direction. Think of automated taylor-made suits at more or less tge same price as pret a porter stuff.
Thyl,
Did you forget the announcement last week that they won’t be building for stock, but only to individual order?
(Definitely for Germany, but we can probably extrapolate to Europe, maybe global)
http://www.saabsunited.com/2010/03/new-model-information-from-saab-germany.html
I’m sorry, but this is just not good enough. I’m not in the market for a 9-5 anyway, but if I were, the lack of any good-looking colours would actually have stopped me from buying one. It’s that important. Looks are of course one of the main factors when choosing a car, and colour is a very big part of that. Surely, with all the billions involved in developing a new car, it would be a shame to lose a large number of customers over something as comparatively simple as providing a broader range of colours. Charge extra for the more unusual choices, by all means, but please provide them!
Personally, I would never ever choose a car that was white, black or any shade of grey. Partly because I find that (lack of) colour boring, but also in part because everybody else’s car has that colour. Saab owners tend to be individualists who want to be a little different than the crowd, so it seems to me that a good selection of not-quite-so-mainstream colours would be more important for Saab than for the average brand.
If the 9-1 (or the new 9-3, if I have decided by then that it isn’t too big for me) comes to market with the same total lack of decent colours, preventing me from buying one, then I will be very annoyed indeed.
I’m sorry, but this is just not good enough. I’m not in the market for a 9-5 anyway, but if I were, the lack of any good-looking colours would actually have stopped me from buying one. It’s that important. Looks are of course one of the main factors when choosing a car, and colour is a very big part of that. Surely, with all the billions involved in developing a new car, it would be a shame to lose a large number of customers over something as comparatively simple as providing a broader range of colours. Charge extra for the more unusual choices, by all means, but please provide them!
Personally, I would never ever choose a car that was white, black or any shade of grey. Partly because I find that (lack of) colour boring, but also in part because everybody else’s car has that colour. Saab owners tend to be individualists who want to be a little different than the crowd, so it seems to me that a good selection of not-quite-so-mainstream colours would be more important for Saab than for the average brand.
If the 9-1 (or the new 9-3, if I have decided by then that it isn’t too big for me) comes to market with the same total lack of decent colours, preventing me from buying one, then I will be very annoyed indeed.
I’m sorry, but this is just not good enough. I’m not in the market for a 9-5 anyway, but if I were, the lack of any good-looking colours would actually have stopped me from buying one. It’s that important. Looks are of course one of the main factors when choosing a car, and colour is a very big part of that. Surely, with all the billions involved in developing a new car, it would be a shame to lose a large number of customers over something as comparatively simple as providing a broader range of colours. Charge extra for the more unusual choices, by all means, but please provide them!
Personally, I would never ever choose a car that was white, black or any shade of grey. Partly because I find that (lack of) colour boring, but also in part because everybody else’s car has that colour. Saab owners tend to be individualists who want to be a little different than the crowd, so it seems to me that a good selection of not-quite-so-mainstream colours would be more important for Saab than for the average brand.
If the 9-1 (or the new 9-3, if I have decided by then that it isn’t too big for me) comes to market with the same total lack of decent colours, preventing me from buying one, then I will be very annoyed indeed.
I’m sorry, but this is just not good enough. I’m not in the market for a 9-5 anyway, but if I were, the lack of any good-looking colours would actually have stopped me from buying one. It’s that important. Looks are of course one of the main factors when choosing a car, and colour is a very big part of that. Surely, with all the billions involved in developing a new car, it would be a shame to lose a large number of customers over something as comparatively simple as providing a broader range of colours. Charge extra for the more unusual choices, by all means, but please provide them!
Personally, I would never ever choose a car that was white, black or any shade of grey. Partly because I find that (lack of) colour boring, but also in part because everybody else’s car has that colour. Saab owners tend to be individualists who want to be a little different than the crowd, so it seems to me that a good selection of not-quite-so-mainstream colours would be more important for Saab than for the average brand.
If the 9-1 (or the new 9-3, if I have decided by then that it isn’t too big for me) comes to market with the same total lack of decent colours, preventing me from buying one, then I will be very annoyed indeed.
I’m sorry, but this is just not good enough. I’m not in the market for a 9-5 anyway, but if I were, the lack of any good-looking colours would actually have stopped me from buying one. It’s that important. Looks are of course one of the main factors when choosing a car, and colour is a very big part of that. Surely, with all the billions involved in developing a new car, it would be a shame to lose a large number of customers over something as comparatively simple as providing a broader range of colours. Charge extra for the more unusual choices, by all means, but please provide them!
Personally, I would never ever choose a car that was white, black or any shade of grey. Partly because I find that (lack of) colour boring, but also in part because everybody else’s car has that colour. Saab owners tend to be individualists who want to be a little different than the crowd, so it seems to me that a good selection of not-quite-so-mainstream colours would be more important for Saab than for the average brand.
If the 9-1 (or the new 9-3, if I have decided by then that it isn’t too big for me) comes to market with the same total lack of decent colours, preventing me from buying one, then I will be very annoyed indeed.
As far as the colors go, the offerings are fine for me, as I always buy black or dark grey cars anyway, but it will get a little boring with the limited offerings out there. I do kind of miss the typical Saab navy blue color though.
I could never drive anyting red/yellow or bright colored.
I wonder what it is about the move to Trollh
More colors need to be available. These colors are too similar.
Well, if those are the only possible colours, I will have difficulties in buying a 9.5. I own at the moment a black 9.5 and a jet black 9.3 Conv.
I am changing the 9.5 at the end of this year / beginning 2011, but I wanted a change. Taking into account that grey is not an option for me (in any possible tone) and white neither, which are my options? Repeting jet-black? Fjord-blue (which I do not like at all? As someone said before, the colour of the car is of the outmost importance.
Saab has never been too good in their colour offer, but this palette is completely unacceptable in my modest opinion.
Why so many grey options and only one blue(ish) option?
Why can’t they use the colors of the 9-3?
I mean, th NG 9-5 would look interesting in Inca/lynx Yellow
What color do you want most? Just curious.
I am missing an elegant metallic dark blue and an elegant metallic dark brown. Mercedes, Audi, BMW or Jaguar offer these kind of colours, specially in that market segment of a big sedan. I know that grey colours are now very popular, but there are a lot of people for which said colours are simply not an option. If from 7 colours 4 are grey, one is black, and one is white (i.e. no real variation as a fact for this market segment), do they leave any option for a significative part of the market?
And, if they want to introduce a blue colour, why selecting such a strange one for such an elegant car?
I trust the color and trim department to have made wise choices.
It is rather difficult to judge what a car will look like from these tiny pixelated paint chips distorted by scanners and monitor color reproduction.
I can imagine being able to produce a limited range in the beginning is easier and gets faster deliveries than trying to pile up all color coordinations between interior and exterior. The suppliers probably needs to focus on select parts in a limited range of colors.
better kicking of the production with quick deliveries rather than slow deliveries and disappointed customers.
I want to see the NG9-5 in Fusion Blue and Chili Red Metallic from the 9-3. Both of which don’t appear to be options for the future according to this…
What is strange on this colour?
Well, white is the colour of the past – the Apple-days are over. The new white will be……RED!
Cheers!
I do agree with many of you here that say that the color available isn’t enough. But then I connect this with the possibility that Saab wouldn’t exist today if it hadn’t been sold. So yes, we need more colors.. but no.. it’s not the most important thing right “now”. Now they need to get the production up and running and get some cars out.
Even if Saab is sold and “everything is fine”, they need to start to sell cars. And I think they can do that quite well with the new 9-5 with these color options. When I recollect what I remember of the BMW’s, Mercedes’ and so I’ve seen lately.. almost all of them are in a black/dark/grey-variation when it comes to color. So yes, I think Saab can manage for a while with these colors.
And of course will we see more colors in the future, but if I could choose between more color options from start or Saab surviving.. I go for the Saab surviving option. Colors comes in second place then.. for me.
I miss that beatutiful Oak Metallic most.
Is that colour the Fjord blue? I think it is much clearer, but maybe I am wrong.
I think this is the Fjord Blue – looks pretty awesome!
We all understand that Saab is in a tough spot now, so as long as they are planning on bringing more colours I think it’s not a big deal for a short model year. But as a rule of thumb, in the premium market people expect a wider selection available both inside and out.
Besides, unique colours are a fairly easy way to create some uniqueness, true to Saab’s character.
Brett, what market are those colors for? Cranberry red looks like the color they used to call Merlot (9-3 NA 2003+2004) I would have gone for Merlot in a heartbeat but it wasn’t offered on the vert. Way too much grey and silver happening in the 9-5 pallette. If those were my choices I’d go for the blue.
You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black. (and grey, and silver) :p
Fjord Blue is probably the pale bluegreen colour of the 9-5 pictured in this forum thread:
http://www.saabsunited.com/forum/showthread.php?121-Not-mine
Fjord Blue is probably the pale bluegreen colour of the 9-5 pictured in this forum thread:
http://www.saabsunited.com/forum/showthread.php?121-Not-mine
Fjord Blue is probably the pale bluegreen colour of the 9-5 pictured in this forum thread:
http://www.saabsunited.com/forum/showthread.php?121-Not-mine
Fjord Blue is probably the pale bluegreen colour of the 9-5 pictured in this forum thread:
http://www.saabsunited.com/forum/showthread.php?121-Not-mine
Fjord Blue is probably the pale bluegreen colour of the 9-5 pictured in this forum thread:
http://www.saabsunited.com/forum/showthread.php?121-Not-mine
Looking at the Saab.co.uk configurator, and the choices for 9-3, I suspect that’s Fusion Blue.
What’s _really_ wierd about the “restricted because of the move” choice is that of those colours, only (Arctic White, Jet Black, Glacier Silver, Carbon Grey) are 9-3 colours – so there’s three new ones, all of which are close to pre-existing colours…
My head hurts.
That looks more like it…
Either that, sor someone really messed up the online color chip representations.
That’s what I thought it is the Fjord blue. I do not find it quite exciting for a premium car…
That color chart is from this:
http://www.saabsunited.com/2009/05/from-gms-own-mouth—the-2010-saab-9-5.html
Thanks Brett. Has anyone in the US noted that Saab pretty much doesn’t have a website yet? When you try to build a car you are still getting 2009 colors, pricing and options.
While I understand the reasoning for the color choices, but I’m frustrated by the lack of colors, not just from Saab, but other auto manufacturer as well. I mean, how many shades of gray/silver do we need? By this, they are covering the basics, white, black, silver, gray and blue. How about green and gold?
Part of the problem that the market research/study regarding car colors is they probably do not consider that customers buy what is available. Dealers tend to order cars with “safe and neutral” colors — the basics white, black, silver and gray. Since customers buy what dealers have, and are typically unwilling to wait to special order a car with the color they want, of course the those “standard” colors are the most popular colors. If one looks at MINI’s sales model, where many cars they sell are custom ordered, there is a lot more variety of colors that people tended to order for their cars than the “standard” white, black, silver and gray. As a result I see a lot more variety of colors of MINIs on the road than from other car manufacturers.
Since the 9-5 is a larger car, I would suggest Saab to offer more darker colors — burgundy, dark blue and dark green, perhaps. Bright colors like bright red simply do not look good on a large car.
Disagree. Fjord blue looks much more like the 9-5 in the Belgian parking garage from Me and Kroum’s comments, and it’s pretty striking. I’d say the one from the thread you linked are Carbon Grey, which just goes to show how many tones neutral colors pick up depending on their surroundings.
IS Saab going to use PPG paint, because I thought they used Sikkens from Holland?
Post a response
Maybe you’re right, Jeff. This old SU post of the 9-5 photoshopped into various colours seems to suggest that, anyway. (And the three bottom pictures in that post are the best three colours I could possibly imagine for the 9-5! Except maybe that the red could have been just a little bit darker. But I would have a very hard time choosing between them…)
But if that’s what Fjord Blue looks like, then the palette in Swade’s original post above has no connection to reality.
Maybe you’re right, Jeff. This old SU post of the 9-5 photoshopped into various colours seems to suggest that, anyway. (And the three bottom pictures in that post are the best three colours I could possibly imagine for the 9-5! Except maybe that the red could have been just a little bit darker. But I would have a very hard time choosing between them…)
But if that’s what Fjord Blue looks like, then the palette in Swade’s original post above has no connection to reality.
Maybe you’re right, Jeff. This old SU post of the 9-5 photoshopped into various colours seems to suggest that, anyway. (And the three bottom pictures in that post are the best three colours I could possibly imagine for the 9-5! Except maybe that the red could have been just a little bit darker. But I would have a very hard time choosing between them…)
But if that’s what Fjord Blue looks like, then the palette in Swade’s original post above has no connection to reality.
Maybe you’re right, Jeff. This old SU post of the 9-5 photoshopped into various colours seems to suggest that, anyway. (And the three bottom pictures in that post are the best three colours I could possibly imagine for the 9-5! Except maybe that the red could have been just a little bit darker. But I would have a very hard time choosing between them…)
But if that’s what Fjord Blue looks like, then the palette in Swade’s original post above has no connection to reality.
Maybe you’re right, Jeff. This old SU post of the 9-5 photoshopped into various colours seems to suggest that, anyway. (And the three bottom pictures in that post are the best three colours I could possibly imagine for the 9-5! Except maybe that the red could have been just a little bit darker. But I would have a very hard time choosing between them…)
But if that’s what Fjord Blue looks like, then the palette in Swade’s original post above has no connection to reality.
Sorry if I my commend was kind of unfinished.
Some of the belgian SU readers has said that that is Fjord Blue. So I wanted to show Rafael, that the blue option wasn’t that bad.
As Jeff already said the pictures Borjesson points at show one of the grey shades and not a blue color.
The colours have to be seen live!!
And yes I’m be missing the OAK metallic, and the metallic green, and a plain black, but I will care in 2014
I for one don’t mind a limited paint scheme. Just as long as the colors are consistant in making the cars look rich and premium. Remember that beautiful White/Pearl paint that was on that 9-4x concept model. Now just from looking at that paint job, you could tell it made the car look expensive.(not cheap) When I was a the Cleveland autoshow, both Caddy and Buick were showing the SRX and the Buick Regal GT in this color. I just hope that Saab can use it for there cars as well!
In Sweden Saab has for quite some time been sold on custom order. So are usually Volvo, VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes and other european brands, and these cars usually come in silver/grey, black, white or similar colours. And if you were a speculant on say an Audi A6, you only got 15 colours to choose between unless you want to pay 22,000 SEK for an exclusive paint. Of these 15 colours, three are black, one is white, six are grey/silver/beige and three are blue.
So add a green, red and a few more shades of blue and the colour options are more or less complete.
If you check with the SAAB configurator (9-3 SS) then this closely resembles Saphire blue metallic.
Fjord blue, in the configurator, looks more like glacier water in nature, beeing pale with some greenish component.
So, I’m afraid, we will not see this strong blue in the near future.
For me, colours are quite important, but I guess SAAB should concentrate on getting an XWD Diesel option for the 9-3x rather than introducing multiple colour options to please all minorities (to which I belong:). I’m not sure people will buy a 9-3x that is not “x”, really. At least in Germany and for businessmen, Diesel is mandatory because it is cheaper and the motor units are said to be more durable.
Working at the manufacturing engineering paint department at Saab I can assure that the palette is only design and market desires. The paint shop, it selves, has very few limitations. To introduce a new color there is some limitations. Because of testing and resources for that there are a max of 4 new colors every new model year limit. We work with all big suppliers of paint such as PPG, Dupnt and BASF. Sikkens is mainly for repair work in after market.
Interesting subject for me.
Where do you find “fjord blue” in the 9-3SS configurator?
That blue 9-5 is quite the looker! When we went to the Saab dealer last year to look at the 9-3, the lack of colours was something we all noted – they all seemed to be a light metallic. My favourite car colours are black, nautic blue metallic, dark green metallic, dark red metallic. Hopefully they will be offered down the line. It is funny the way colours have gone, but I don’t think it’s specific to Saab. My sister’s old S40 is a dark red/maroon metallic and it is stunning – I saw a 1999 Saab 9-5 in that colour a few weeks ago and it was one of the nicest I had ever seen.
Stefan,
Thank you very much for clarifying this, and thank you for posting here. It is very appreciated and rare to get an inside glimpse on how these things work. I am an engineer in Medical Device manufacturing, and I understand how we operate, but not necessarily how things are different in the Automotive world.
I can understand that testing is needed before a new color is launched to see how it holds up over time. You wouldn’t want to launch a new color to find that it peels/rusts/scratches off/etc. after a couple of years. Some sort of accelerated aging under simulated use conditions would need to take place, and from personal experience I know that kind of stuff can be very time consuming.
What I don’t understand is if what you say is true, that marketing requests decide what colors are available at launch, why existing colors (used on the old 9-5 and existing 9-3) can’t be directly applied to the new 9-5 to offer a wider array of colors. Do the paints have to undergo the above mentioned accelrated aging/validation process on each model they are used?
If you are able to (and permitted to) I am very curious and would appreciate your input on this.
Thank you,
Matt
Inspirational movie taken yesterday night….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvunbzwSxw
The NG Saab 9-5 First information papers!
Inspirational movie taken yesterday night….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvunbzwSxw
The NG Saab 9-5 First information papers!
Inspirational movie taken yesterday night….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvunbzwSxw
The NG Saab 9-5 First information papers!
Inspirational movie taken yesterday night….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvunbzwSxw
The NG Saab 9-5 First information papers!
Inspirational movie taken yesterday night….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvunbzwSxw
The NG Saab 9-5 First information papers!
The cold white, gray, silver and black pallette is great! Any other “jolly” colors on cars is just tacky.
The cold white, gray, silver and black pallette is great! Any other “jolly” colors on cars is just tacky.
The cold white, gray, silver and black pallette is great! Any other “jolly” colors on cars is just tacky.
The cold white, gray, silver and black pallette is great! Any other “jolly” colors on cars is just tacky.
The cold white, gray, silver and black pallette is great! Any other “jolly” colors on cars is just tacky.
I do not know how marketing departments think, I would also like to know.
We are not so fond, from production, to have colors of low volume.
The marketing department would certainly like to have all colors from 9-3 and 9-5 offered to customers. But the chosen are certainly those that attract the most customers.
About the technology issues, you can be confident, I speak the truth.
There is nothing that is secret, either.
I think I know why the colour palette looks so weird, and people think Fjord blue is glacier silver.
If the “original” colour palette is the printout from J
Interesting.
So what it sounds like to me (reading a few things into what you are saying and guessing some too from my past in manufacturing, that may not necessarily be true) is the following:
Manufacturers of anyting (not just cars) prefer to have larger production runs, as this keeps costs and complexity down.
Since the new 9-5 may have lower volumes in the first year, the descision might have been made to limit the colors to 7 so that the (total predicted 2010 volume) / (7 colors) number is not too small.
Faced with the limitation of 7 colors based on the above, marketing would probably have chosen the colors they thought would sell best. (maybe based on a focus group or just a market analysis of current trends in car colors)
This would also explain why there are more color options on the 9-3, as the overal production volume is higher, so more colors can be introduced without shrinking the individual color volume too much.
Stefan, any word on the availability of the BioPower engine? My dealer says there’s no BioPower.
Wow, food fight!
I prefer laser red and my wife likes ice blue. My wife hates snow silver and also black interiors.
So, go with colors Saab owners prefer. Time for a SaabsUnited survey?
Who care what colors everyone else likes? Go with what sells to Saab buyers!
Just a thought.
The restricted colour availability for model year 10 is due to mergiging the intended “Russelheim colour programme” with the “9-3/old 9-5 Trollh
Sorry, I was wrong. I confused Fjord blue with Glacier silver just because it looked all too similar to one of the pictures presented here. I guess we’ll have to wait for the real cars to roll out.
The longer I think about it, the more I like these pale shades, though. Somehow this feels very Scandinavian to me, as very often up north nature shows itself in pale colours. And in addition, isn’t avoidance of stark contrasts the preferred way to seek compromises in Scandinavia?
According the dealer where we ordered our NG9-5 the test car shown in Belgium is Fjord Blue.
My father ordered one with parchment interior.
I ordered one in carbon grey with parchment interior.
The weird thing is that Oak metalic is available as color in Belgium (see last page of price list).
http://www.saab.be/download/18.422449f41259d1ff0ce7ffe1852/BE_PriceNew95_FR%28www%29+new_version.pdf
Interesting indeed. Info in this post is for the Swedish market.
Why would the offer it in Belgium but not in Sweden?
Strange.
Because the only restriction on the colours is marketing choice…
OTOH, that Belgian pricelist is dated 13 Jan. Maybe there is indeed some last-minute problem with supply of the colour-coded plastics for Oak.
PhilK, Swade
another of belgian SU had ordered his 9-5 in OAK metallic, as it was shown available in this preliminary brochure, but has been forced to change the color (he has now also choosen Fjord Blue) because OAK metallic won’t be available till MY 2011.
I HAVE ORDERE A SAAB 9-5 AERO 220 BHP in OAK COLOUR, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE’VE GOT THE MESSAGE THAT THE OAK COLOUR WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AS FROM PRODUCTION 2011, SO WE HAD TO CHANGE THE COULOUR
@peeceepeh, and all the other Fjord Blue disbeliver,
with PhilK we have the second belgian SU reader saying that the test car at the Brussels Auto-Show was painted in Fjord Blue.
Stefan: i can understand that testing is needed for a new colour. Though i thought that the behaviour of the substances used is pretty well known. Do you happen to know how Audi (and BMW) handle their individual colour options? Is there something like a non-liability agreement to be signed by customers? Also, if the paint shop is flexible, do you know why it was decided not to offer at least all colours previously tested by Saab as an option for generating additional revenue?
I wish you could order a car that has been prepped and primered, but not finished. Then the dealer could build a paint shop or have a contract with one where you could paint the car as you wished.
I’ve alway liked the BMW art cars (see them at http://www.bmwdrives.com/bmw-artcars.php) Given Saab’s individualistic streak, I’d like to see what some Saab owners could do with their cars.
SJ4
This would be difficult to do right.
Oftentinmes to change the color of a car you have to have access to parts of the car that are covered when it is assembled.
Completely changing the color of a car – the right way – can cost $10k to $20k as you have to disassemble it to the point where all the door frames and insides of trunks and hoods, etc. etc. can get painted to the same color, or its going to look very odd when you open doors, hoods, etc.
I would imagine this would pose a similar problem for a primered car, unless they found some sort of neutral color to paint the insides of door frames etc. at the factory (maybe matching the interior color) leaving only the uncovered and portions visible from the exteriro to be painted.
Interesting idea at least…
Or if you had a special paint system in which customers could special order their car in any color they wanted by specifying the RGB color codes. The paint shop could be modular and especially mix the paint prior to each car automatically, by just punching in the RBG codes.
THAT would be cool. (it would make touch-up paint a huge pain though!)
Rather than RGB, there’s a system of standard paint colour codes – RAL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAL_%28color_space_system%29
Comments on this entry are closed.