Sadly, this has to be done, so please excuse any interruptions to our service today. Most of the Lucire site will be fine, but the ‘Insider’ blog (and the pages that link it) may be a little funny for about an hour today (from 2 to 3 a.m. GMT).

After assistant fashion editor Bronwyn Williams, intern Alice Palmer and I attended the trends’ presentations at Massey University yesterday (which were, incidentally, impressive), it was interesting to see this Dutch label, W-41, embracing another emerging trend: that of combining technology with fashion. At least one group of students touched on this, and seeing it in the market-place the same day was certainly interesting.
   The themes have been around for a while: for example, on the right of this page is a QR bar code, which provides information to those cellphones that have a QR reader. Others have been finding ways to incorporate microprocessors into clothes, in a fairly obvious fashion. And my friend, author Stefan Engeseth (who has just launched his book, The Fall of PR and the Rise of Advertising), wrote years ago about two cellphones that could physically link together in a jigsaw fashion to encourage people to meet.
   W-41, meanwhile, has blended its own code, readable via a free downloadable application, with a range of T-shirts. Embedded in the code is the wearer’s favourite URL, whether it be their website or their favourite YouTube clip. It seems like a good idea, namely because it does not really change the way we wear clothes or use technology. Snapping a photograph on a cellphone is a normal activity in 2009—I say it has even replaced the notepad—and those who wear W-41 codes invite it.
   In addition, the W-41 code is more attractive than the traditional bar code, which has, in popular culture, gained a negative image when shown on the body. There is an idea that the traditional bar code is dehumanizing, making a person into a good—or even a number, with Nazist shades. By creating a circular emblem for the code, W-41 is less menacing.
   It could be a great social tool, and there is huge potential for marketing. In either case, I foresee some clever applications.

Volvo has been involved in motor racing since 1928. With a Volvo review coming up in Lucire, we thought it would be interesting to delve back into the Swedish car maker’s history. While people know Volvo for safety, it has been very successful in competition over the last 80-plus years.

Maria Sharapova, as part of her role as Sony Ericsson brand ambassador, unveiled London College of Fashion student designs in the window of design store Liberty in London. The designs were part of a collaboration between Sony Ericsson and the School of Fashion Design and Technology at London College of Fashion, exploring the link between technology and fashion. Eighty students competed for a chance to have their work displayed at Liberty and to meet Sharapova.
   Sharapova comments on her return to tennis in one of the below videos, and there are general views of the event at Liberty.

[Cross-posted] I never expected this a few years ago, but a few weeks ago, it was becoming more likely: Koenigsegg will buy Saab, says The New York Times.
   GM and Koenigsegg say there is now a memorandum of understanding, contingent on loans from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government.
   I am confident. Christian von Koenigsegg strikes me, in the conversation I had with him some years ago, as someone who is not afraid to answer questions directly. He is accessible, and he loves cars.
   People also had doubts about how Jaguar and Land Rover would fit with Tata, which made subcompact cars and heavy trucks in India. Yet, Tata has shown a readiness to push forward new models that Ford never had the guts to do. We need to look at the management style and the national culture.
   I think we might see information on a bunch of products inside Saab that the company was never permitted to do under GM ownership, either because they were too risky or that the funds were going to other brands. Saab fell into a GM-division funk like Saturn did. But new ideas have been bubbling under there, and while $600 million is nowhere near what it will cost to get some of them out—given that the funds have to cover everything from salaries to plant upgrades—the Swedish people are not short on ingenuity.
   Sweden has shown us that a little country can have leadership or near-leadership positions in so many things, from cellphones to defence technology to music. Once upon a time, the Swedish state even owned Absolut Vodka.
   I know the economies of scale are not looking that good for Saab: it sold fewer cars in more territories last year than MG Rover in its final year (2004–5) before that fell into administration. However, could make the same argument about economies with many Swedish products before they took the rest of the world by storm.
   And Christian has been thinking of a lot more than supercars. What the world seems to have ignored is that he showed a solar electric sports’ saloon at Genève this year, designed by our mutual friend Joachim Nordwall.
   Could it be released with the Koenigsegg brand? Probably not. As a Saab? Most definitely: it is a natural fit for the brand.
   GM, Honda and Toyota may have dabbled in solar energy but Koenigsegg may well outflank them all.
   Most of us will agree that the GM ownership of Saab has not been that successful and the division has been starved of new product for years. GM’s great contributions have been a few Opel Vectra platforms, rejigging a Subaru Impreza for the US market and put Saab badges on it, and reworking a deleted Oldsmobile SUV.
   When I was growing up, Saab was known for the Combi Coupé (a fastback, liftback coupé—not particularly common in the 1970s) and the early Turbos, then a great UK campaign connecting the car maker to the aircraft manufacturer. Stefan Engeseth says the company could have done quite well with a retro-modern version of the ur-Saab, the original postwar model with aircraft technologies incorporated. I am not so sure about now, but I agree that during the years of the New Beetle and the last Ford Thunderbird, a limited-edition ur-Saab could have been chic.
   Logic tells us that things are not sorted with the new ownership. The numbers do not add up, the new products are going to be expensive to get out, and how many of those forward-thinkers that Saab was once known for are still in the firm?
   But logic also told us that it was impossible for Sweden to be putting out a supercar that would take the world’s imagination. Christian has done that. Conventional thinking also says that a solar–electric car is too left-field. I beg to differ.
   Saab quality with Koenigsegg innovation sounds like a pretty potent mix to me.
   With hindsight, I wish I had made a few more calls then just so I could say I spoke to the boss of Saab, and show off that I do know a bit about automotive marketing strategy. I say with a lean R&D model, Christian can take the risks with innovative, world-beating Saabs that make a decent leap ahead of the rest of the industry.

A “small” Rolls-Royce, the Ghost, will join the über-luxury Phantom model later this year. Rolls-Royce Motors says the new model, which takes its name from the Silver Ghost of the early twentieth century, will have exceptional ride and handling. ‘The car’s state-of-the-art chassis uses a four-corner air suspension system and multi-link aluminium front and rear axles,’ says the company.

Plug-in hybrids are getting a lot of news lately, and Volvo is the latest to make an announcement. Teaming up with Swedish energy company Vattenfall, the car maker plans a 2012 plug-in hybrid. Vattenfall itself plans to generate the electricity sustainably.
   The companies say that the plug-in hybrids would cost €3 per 100 km for families, and fuel consumption would drop to 2 l/100 km (118 mpg). The battery takes around five hours to charge, and it is also charged when the brakes are applied.

On April 28, Kræftens Bekæmpelse (the Danish Cancer Society) launched a campaign against skin cancer, opened by Crown Princess Mary. Danish designers have created a fashion range high in UV protection made with sustainable materials. The clothes have been tested for ultraviolet radiation with the UV-801 test at the Institute of Technology, Denmark. The video shows the collection and views from the campaign launch.

Travelling the world for three years and having already showed in Torino, Kyoto, Hong Kong and Melbourne, this international touring exhibition entitled The Dimension of the Plane—Communication Design in Germany is set to deliver some of Germany’s most current, innovative and leading-edge design. The exhibition, curated by the Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council) in Frankfurt, is an overview of design works representing the state-of-the-art of communicative achievements at the start of the 21st century. Over 150 pieces of work by 41 eminent German design agencies will be up for viewing with five different themes dividing the exhibition, including: corporate design, digital media, graphic design, typography, and wayfinding and signage.
   To catch this wave of impressive German design, head along to the foyer of Victoria University’s School of Design in Wellington, New Zealand between April 2 and 23, situated at 139 Vivian Street.

As promised, we have video from the commercial launch of the Tata Nano, featuring chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, and various team members at Tata Motors. While many people spoke, we have singled out both Mr Tata and Mr Rajiv Dube, President of Passenger Cars at Tata Motors, who dealt with the topic of safety.
   The Tata Nano, which goes on sale at Rs. 1 lakh—roughly US$2,000—features a two-cylinder aluminium MPFI 624 cm³ petrol engine mated to a four-speed gearbox and will be available in three variants. Earlier reports indicate that fuel economy is at the 62 mpg (Imperial) level. The cars will be on display at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships through India and other authorized outlets from April 1.