Michael Mauer to head GM Europe Advanced Design

May 30, 2003 - Michael Mauer has only been with SAAB since May 2000. But his impact has been great, not only as the toughest guy on the block, but as an excellent designer and administrator of designers – so great that he suddenly has got another and much wider responsibility: he will also head Advanced Design for General Motors Europe.

Mauer (40) was born in Fulda, more known for tyre manufacturing than downhill ski terrain, but Mauer has the highest degree German ski instructors can get, and looks upon Triathlon as your normal Sunday walk. But this macho youth chose design. Four years at Pforzheim University before he went to Mercedes-Benz in 1986 – a place he knew well after having had his internship there earlier.

His responsibilities as Daimler Benz increased, he was in charge of the studio creating the A-Klasse, the SLK was his, he worked on the Maybach and ultimately headed the Japanese studio, came back and took over design for Smart.

Everyone assumed that was just a station on the way to the top - which is was, but not at Mercedes. He started there May 1, 1999. On March 21 the next year, we learned that he was to take over SAAB Design where Einar Hareide had just finished the current 9-3 before he started his own design company in Moss, Norway.

Those in the know (certain influential magazines) could tell us that he was only “parked” at SAAB just as Murat Gunak had been at Peugeot. And during the Christmas holidays 2000-2001 the same magazines wrote that Mauer was to take over as design boss at DaimlerChrysler-dominated Mitsubishi. This created some fuss at Trollhättan, for Mauer was away diving in some far away place, unreachable, but also totally ignorant of these fantasies.

Mauer obviously got another job then Hareide left. When he came to SAAB there were some 15 people in the design department, housed in a narrow part of one of the old buildings at the factory. It was not long before Mauer talked about 80 employees, soon growing to 100 plus 40 free lancers to draw on when need arose. He started the process that led to a new, advanced design studio at Pixbo, just outside Gothenburg, and he managed to churn out two concept cars inside half a year in close collaboration with Bertone. Before that SAABs last concept was EV-1 from Los Angeles exhibition 1985. Mauer also lifted SAAB’s design status to the same prominence as GM's Opel, Holden and Brazil studios.

His old pal (from the Yokohama studio) Anthony Lo was put in charge of SAAB Advanced design, but Michael Mauer was of course responsible for everything that happened there, and in Trollhättan. Therefore Mauer is the one who will head a completely new field inside GM's European Design: Advanced Design. Henry Haga talked about such an office when he was in charge at Opel in the 70’s (he went back to head GM's California Adavanced Studio), but it has remained only an idea, until Martin Smith has created this post now.

When Mauer came to SAAB he reported to Peter Augustsson, CEO of SAAB, but also to Wayne Cherry, GMs vice president, Design. From May 1 Mauer has become Executive Director, General Motors Europe Design Director. He will still report to Augustsson, but his main line of communication is now to Hans Demant, Vice President, GME, Engineering, and Martin Smith, head of Opel and Vauxhall design and one of the candidates for Wayne Cherry’s job when he retires this September.

For those of us who are interested in circles within circles: when Martin Smith worked at Audi and was head of design for the Avus concept, Anthony Lo was among those who worked on the interior.

It is very probable that the SAAB work will be less intense now, and that much more of the work being done at Trollhättan and in the Pixbo studio will be corporate design. Even if this move is presented as an enlargement of SAAB design’s responsibility and scope, it all follows naturally in the recent downgrading of local SAAB autonomy. First engineering was moved to Opel, then big slices of sales and marketing was moved to Germany. It would have been strange if SAAB was allowed to retain their own, huge and exclusive, design department.

	Michael Mauer to head GM Europe Advanced Design by Jon Winding-Sørensen
	Michael Mauer with the Saab Concept-X and the 1947 Saab 92 prototype	May 30, 2003 - Michael Mauer has only been with SAAB since May 2000. But his impact has been great, not only as the toughest guy on the block, but as an excellent designer and administrator of designers – so great that he suddenly has got another and much wider responsibility: he will also head Advanced Design for General Motors Europe. Mauer (40) was born in Fulda, more known for tyre manufacturing than downhill ski terrain, but Mauer has the highest degree German ski instructors can get, and looks upon Triathlon as your normal Sunday walk. But this macho youth chose design. Four years at Pforzheim University before he went to Mercedes-Benz in 1986 – a place he knew well after having had his internship there earlier. His responsibilities as Daimler Benz increased, he was in charge of the studio creating the A-Klasse, the SLK was his, he worked on the Maybach and ultimately headed the Japanese studio, came back and took over design for Smart. Everyone assumed that was just a station on the way to the top - which is was, but not at Mercedes. He started there May 1, 1999. On March 21 the next year, we learned that he was to take over SAAB Design where Einar Hareide had just finished the current 9-3 before he started his own design company in Moss, Norway. Those in the know (certain influential magazines) could tell us that he was only “parked” at SAAB just as Murat Gunak had been at Peugeot. And during the Christmas holidays 2000-2001 the same magazines wrote that Mauer was to take over as design boss at DaimlerChrysler-dominated Mitsubishi. This created some fuss at Trollhättan, for Mauer was away diving in some far away place, unreachable, but also totally ignorant of these fantasies. Mauer obviously got another job then Hareide left. When he came to SAAB there were some 15 people in the design department, housed in a narrow part of one of the old buildings at the factory. It was not long before Mauer talked about 80 employees, soon growing to 100 plus 40 free lancers to draw on when need arose. He started the process that led to a new, advanced design studio at Pixbo, just outside Gothenburg, and he managed to churn out two concept cars inside half a year in close collaboration with Bertone. Before that SAABs last concept was EV-1 from Los Angeles exhibition 1985. Mauer also lifted SAAB’s design status to the same prominence as GM's Opel, Holden and Brazil studios. His old pal (from the Yokohama studio) Anthony Lo was put in charge of SAAB Advanced design, but Michael Mauer was of course responsible for everything that happened there, and in Trollhättan. Therefore Mauer is the one who will head a completely new field inside GM's European Design: Advanced Design. Henry Haga talked about such an office when he was in charge at Opel in the 70’s (he went back to head GM's California Adavanced Studio), but it has remained only an idea, until Martin Smith has created this post now. When Mauer came to SAAB he reported to Peter Augustsson, CEO of SAAB, but also to Wayne Cherry, GMs vice president, Design. From May 1 Mauer has become Executive Director, General Motors Europe Design Director. He will still report to Augustsson, but his main line of communication is now to Hans Demant, Vice President, GME, Engineering, and Martin Smith, head of Opel and Vauxhall design and one of the candidates for Wayne Cherry’s job when he retires this September. For those of us who are interested in circles within circles: when Martin Smith worked at Audi and was head of design for the Avus concept, Anthony Lo was among those who worked on the interior. It is very probable that the SAAB work will be less intense now, and that much more of the work being done at Trollhättan and in the Pixbo studio will be corporate design. Even if this move is presented as an enlargement of SAAB design’s responsibility and scope, it all follows naturally in the recent downgrading of local SAAB autonomy. First engineering was moved to Opel, then big slices of sales and marketing was moved to Germany. It would have been strange if SAAB was allowed to retain their own, huge and exclusive, design department.	.