This Bodes Well for Saab

A U T O M O T I V E   N E W S — Saab's new design director, Jason Castriota, answered critics concerned about his experience and ability to "get" the Saab brand. Instead of sitting in his Turinese ivory tower, or glass-and-steel enclosed office more likely, and being "above it all" as SO many automobile design directors would do, Castriota wrote a long letter to the club that voiced its concerns. If I had ever become a car designer, and perhaps been elevated to chief designer at some point, I'd like to think this is exactly the same thing I would do. In fact, I know it is. Without even seeing any of his future designs, I have no doubt that this designer "gets" the brand and gets what is at stake here, nothing less than the Saab brand itself. Saab won't be around in five years if he doesn't get it right.

For the Autoblog article I first read about this matter in, click here.

For the letter from the Saab United club to Mr. Castriota, click here.

For Mr. Castriota's reply to the Saab United, click here.

I really think this exchange is fantastic. Castriota's letter is clear, concise, very well written, and gives us an insight into his personal thoughts, his design ideas, and the company's mission statement. It's great that we live in this age of instant communication and widespread transparency. In decades past, private letters would have been sent, perhaps copies would have been sent to the club members, but more than likely none of us in the general public would know that in addition to his massive design skills, just how considerate and well-versed in his new brand Castriota is. That is the sign of a good person in addition to a great designer. I think the Saab brand is in good hands! "True, Bold Saab," indeed. It will be really interesting watching how he builds this storied brand.

Art of the Chop, Part II

Vintage Saab Sonett III in production form, below, and my proper notchback coupe version, above.

C H O P — The vintage burgundy Saab Sonett III above is one of my very simple chops, shown with the original press photo for comparison. In this rendering, I've left everything in the photo pretty much the same, with the exception of the car. I liked the background, and the '70s fashions on the couple, so I left them. You'll notice besides the roof, I've shortened the front overhang, pushing the front wheels forward about six inches in relation to the windshield. I've changed some of the trim slightly as well. The original is a fastback with a glass hatchback. I've made mine into a proper coupe, with a notchback roofline and a short trunklid, a bodystyle I prefer usually to hatches.

The second chop posted here, below, based on the new BMW 5 series GT hatchback, takes the chop a few steps further. I've made the chunky (fugly?) BMW into a svelte Buick sport sedan. Once again, I've kept the background the same, but have changed the car totally, including the lines, the color, the marque. I began publishing this blog with the Riviera chop, here, but now you can see the base photo I started with, Some of my chops go much further by changing the background etc, and I'll continue to post "The Art of the Chop" in future entries, but I think you can see the amount of Photoshop work that goes into these creations.

The BMW 5 GT, below, was changed into a mythical top-of-the-line Buick Riviera, above, in this chop. Click all images to enlarge

Saab's Future May Look to the Past

The once and future Saab 9-3 five door?

C H O P S — With Saab's sale to Spyker just about complete (and in the news so often), future plans have been bandied about in the press. Most reports suggest that besides the ready-to-roll 9-5 and 9-4, Spyker will replace the 9-3 at its earliest convenience. The clean-sheet design might include 3 and 5 door versions, historically the most significant of all 99/900/9-3 models. The chop above shows the current 9-3 as it would look as a 5 door. Isn't it a natural? Long after I chopped this 5 door, I almost deleted it from my Photobucket chop gallery, mistaking it for a misfiled original photo! Click all photos to enlarge.

Another rumor mentions the on-again off-again subcompact 9-1, with lines evocative of the original highly aerodynamic 92 models. Though only offered as a teardrop-shaped coupe, the original 2 stroke chopped into quite a striking roadster (above), especially with it's polished, cast aluminum windshield surround/A pillar, more than fifty years before Rolls-Royce would offer one! : )  

C O L O R I Z A T I O N — One of the original 92 coupes showing off it's front suicide doors. This was originally a black-and-white press photo. When I found it online, it struck me as such a surreal Scandinavian setting I had to save it. I boldly colorized it, lending it an even more Die Valkyrie-Meets-Sunset Strip look. The car itself wasn't chopped at all. For a 60+ year old design, I'd drive one today. I bet some people would find it futuristic still. The aero body is said to have had a coefficient of drag of just .30, very good for the '80s, let alone the late '40s. (stat according to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_92)