Looks like Saab are getting cool up in the north of Sweden once again. The Ice Hotel is where Saab traditionally run their Ice Experience events.
This release is cold off the press:
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The Swedish premium car brand, Saab, has created a truly all-encompassing brand experience that will open its doors to the public on the 11th February 2008.
Housed within the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, the Saab Move Your Mind room will allow the public to experience Saab – the brand, its spirit, tonality and core values through innovative design installations made wholly from ice.
Designed and created by Simon Padian, chief designer for Saab and Tjåsa Gusfors – a leading designer at the ICEHOTEL, specializing in ice and snow sculpture, the installation has been inspired by Saab’s core brand pillars – progressive design, responsible performance and sporty driver focus. By drawing inspiration from these core brand values and from the award-winning Saab Aero X concept car, the installation showcases Saab’s heritage in design innovation and independent thinking.
Simon Padian: ”The Move Your Mind room is designed to be a journey, a flow, a pulse which aims to disrupt and challenge the visitors perceptions of what is normal or expected. The installation is designed to create an audiovisual experience that defies the visitor’s senses. We hope that the public will find it thought-provoking and leave feeling more engaged with the Saab brand.”
Visitors will be encouraged to walk through an ice suite featuring key Saab brand messages and showcasing Saab’s design heritage. Highlights include an ice sculpted Saab Aero X and impressive light and sound sequences.
WOW, How I wish I was there to see that.
wow!!! the aero x looks good even in ice what the %@$! is wrong with gm? it has a major hit on its hands and it just simply refuse to exercise a golden opportunity,so sad.
language! – SW
New wallpaper!
hi saabaholic
I might be the only one on this internet that will say this but can you please not use the f word. It is not needed, I personly hate hearing it and reading it. If I’m out of order please say and I will go away.
Good point Robin M, there really is no need to use the f word here.
well,robin didn’t mean to offend u,i mean assuming were all adults here i didn’t think i had to monitor my speech,but i do apolozige for the “raw” language,but its just sometimes when i think about where the saab brand is going i get all emotional thats all.
No, you are not out of order, Robin M. I agree. There are lots of other words to use when expressing a strong feeling. So please, try keep the comments the same standard that Swade has on his postings.
omg!!! u guys r really upset about this wow this is really telling its a shame that as adults we can’t express ourselves openly without being painted as bad people.
No problem if we were chatting face-to-face and you could judge whether we are likely to appreciate that venacular, but you simply don’t know who is reading this, and I for one would hope a number of young (not yet adult) aspiring Saab owners would be checking in now and again.
Not saying we don’t all sometimes lapse, nor wishing to be patronising saabaholic, we all just need to be sensitive to the range of fans of Swade’s efforts and as ctm says Swade’s own high standards.
Other than that, agree with your sentiments!
I did not say you were a bad person, I just asked to mind the f’s. My 7 year old daughter likes to view the pages when I’m looking at the site. I’m sorry I spoke, it’s not my site and it’s not my place to ask.
While indeed disagreing on the used strong language, let us agree on the fact that GM should do someting with the Aero-X concept. Not just new alloys or a new front design for the existing line-up.
Invite this so-called ‘car-guy’ Bob Lutz, put him next to both Carlsson and Eklund, and let him be chauffeured around in an xwd on a frozen lake, eventually give him the steering wheel and let him drive himself – if he dares and finally ask him when Aero-X will be in production, along with 9X and 9-1.
If he refuses to answer and give us a more or less correct and decent timeline, put him togheter with the complete GM-top in the ice-hotel for the rest of the winter…
That will move his mind.
A comments-policy likewise the blogger-policy at the Fastlane might be helpfull in order to make comments in a decent way.
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/about.html
A strong recommondation always to use the Preview-button also might help.
Great picts and beautifull setting.
I saw a documentary on the ice-hotel last month or so at the television. Entertaining and brilliant.
It took no more than 3 posts before it went GM-bashing…
I’m not fan of GM and most it has done for/against Saab, but I don’t think everything wrong in the world is GM’s fault… Just my 2 eurocents…
I’m not just GM-bashing, if you feel i’m to hard for the friendly Mr. Lutz. The Aero-X was just the concept car of the year, everyone agrees on that, not just the Saab-nuts around here. And meanwhile there seems so little being done with that possible ‘halo-effect’. Those picts at the ice-hotel are great, and we must be thankfull in the first place that the Aero-X was a concept reality in Geneva and surely some people at GM had a decision on that, but seeing the icy Aero-X melting away coming spring is so sad. Get it on the road GM !
look people,like i said to robin m i’m sorry if he or she got offended for the “strong” language i used,ok i understand robin’s point and i totally respect his or her opinion,but all of u r just nit-picking so what,if i said “f–k” or any variation of that word its no big deal whatsoever,not the end of world,i just thought that since we share a common interest i could be as expressive as i want to be but i see thats not case.
(The f-word won’t bring us the Aero-X, I’m afraid. This Padian-guy will have to invite the Lutz-guy at the ice hotel and lock him up if neccesary. Freezing cold scandinavian design, sharp as a knife and mindblowing for the average GM-manager … )
Is there anyone of you out there, who visited the ice-hotel before in previous years ? The light effects look astonishing, acoording to those picts.
INCREDIBLY cool.
Being one of the cool swedes it it nice to hear that the whole world appreciate our scandinavian designs. I agree with the previous comments, it is one really cool design. For You who has the opportunity just to see Stockholm there is an Absolut Ice-Bar in the same styling as the Ice Hotel. Well worth a visit. I took som US Air Force & US Navy people there they liked it for sure.
This weekend ice and snow was moved by the WRC drivers at The Swedish Rally. Here are some pictures I took http://aycu40.webshots.com/image/43479/2004760548645426007_rs.jpg
http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/43808/2004360284138122229_rs.jpg
http://aycu12.webshots.com/image/42051/2003801542043969732_rs.jpg
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/42517/2000206151671359940_rs.jpg
Wow, that’s talent. I would love to see that in person.
My wife Kerry and I were at the ice hotel two years ago and it is totally fab. The art work from all these artists is something to see. There are a few more picks on our flickr page if you want to take a look. But when you are there at Flickr do a search for many other pictures from other visitors. Everywhere you look artists had been at work with the ice. You are able to do a bit of ice sculptering yourself during your visit.
Per Eklund drove the 00 Safety car a Peugeot. At one speed check on a special stage he reached 135 Km/h the WRC racears like the winner Latvala reached 170 km/h.
Per managed to wreck som parts of the “standard” safety car see pictures with Eklund in front (dressed in red overall) the car had to be “serviced” at the short service at Sunne. The competitors had a 15 minute service stop.
Per showed that he still like the forest not only the Rally-Cross tracks or Pikes Peak races.
http://aycu19.webshots.com/image/41698/2006389001224037064_rs.jpg
http://aycu03.webshots.com/image/43882/2006359367120208115_rs.jpg
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/42446/2006339560839395757_rs.jpg
that would be nice if they could do something similar in the states. show just how different and innovative the brand can really be.
I can’t believe anyone would actually think Saab would produce the Aero X. It would be crazy expensive to make, and no one would pay enough for a Saab, even one this cool, for GM to recoup expenses. Come on. The aircraft canopy alone makes it a moot point. With it, GM pays oodles and oodles of cash to build it that they will never get back because no one will pay that much for the car. Without it, the car doesn’t really work, design-wise.
saabaholic – More than one person complained when I said God damn more than once, and I stopped, even though this site doesn’t have any religious undertones at all. Swade is trying to keep the site G rated, because, believe it or not, we aren’t all adults here, as Robin M pointed out. I don’t really think cursing is a big deal either, but that’s what the webmaster wants and I think it’s a small concession to make to participate on such a cool site.
SAAB and WRC
Ford, Subaru, Citroen, Mitsubishi all share the fact that they are in the WRC Rally series.
Where is GM?
The next SAAB 9-1 would be a perfect car to build a WRC racer on. World class XWD and roadholding. SAAB should get back in the dirt.
GM might consider making SAAB into the sporty brand of the palette of GM brands and its niches. SAAB is not only aimed towards “educated, design oriented people”.
Saab stands for so much more:
- Performance
- Winner circle
- “The small underdog” who can do great things!
Rick W, Bob L and all You guys up there. We were quite a few who drove a SAAB to the Swedish Rally dreamt about seeing someone like Per Eklund driving a SAAB instead of a Peugeut. It is 30 years since SAAB had a factory rally team.
Just imagine what happenings SAAB could arrange at the ICe Hotel with a WRC Rally Team!
I disagree that the AeroX would not be desirable without the aircraft canopy … if you look at the profile, you can easily use the existing door pannels in a more traditional manner – but it would require the addition of an A-pillar that would break up the unbroken windscreen.
Visually, however, the lines could remain the same and the overall effect would still be dramatic.
If you really want to let someone aspire to something in a “halo” concept, make the aircraft canopy an option. (Albeit a very expensive option!)
Doing some quick research on the net, and it appears that the dimensions and weight of the AeroX are extremely similar to that of the Corvette and the Caddy XLR … so theoretically there isn’t really a reason it couldn’t be built … it’s not like there isn’t an existing GM platform for something like this. (Just for comparison, it is about 5 inches longer than a vette, 3 inches wider and 5 inches or so taller.)
Wouldn’t it be nice …
Why not “rightsizing” the platform too? Yes I´m thinking Solstice, Opel GT and Saturn Sky. It´s there, and I believe many would enjoy it. The Saab would for sertain be the most handsome of the bunch.
Somewhere on these pages are the Teknikens Varlds CGI´s of an Aero X on basis of the mentioned cars. This all would never happen though if not the XWD can be fitted to that platform. Saabs are FWD or XWD, nor RWD.
Is there a techie here to tell us if it´s possible to make it XWD on that basis? Then the cost would be acceptable
Huge 4992×3328 versions of images can be downloaded from GM Media here.
Click on Photos page, then
click on jpg, or
click on image, then click on Download JPG.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, The Aero-X could do for Saab what the TT did for Audi.
They have the platforms to build from, heck, they could probably even use an XWD version of the new Epsilon platform, or even the new Delta.
It would be awesome if GM would do it. Heck, I may even write another email to Bob Lutz, see what he says