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Saab Opens Interactive Showroom

6 April 1998

Saab Opens Interactive Showroom on saabusa.com

         Java, RealMedia and IPIX Technologies Create Innovative, On-Line
                    Shopping Environment For New Car Buyers

    NORCROSS, Ga., April 6 -- On April 7, Saab Cars USA, Inc.
opens the doors to its all-new Interactive Showroom.  Modeled after the
architectural design for new Saab retail facilities, the Saab Interactive
Showroom is the first on-line showroom to duplicate a real-life dealership
environment.  Inside the front doors, customers find a comprehensive shopping
experience, from a video showcase of safety, performance and heritage
segments, and a gallery of Saab innovations, to a Java-based "Build Your Own
Saab" function that automatically generates a virtual window sticker with
options and pricing information.
    Like the actual future Saab showroom design, the on-line version offers
distinctive customer environments.  Visitors are greeted at a Saab host
station, where they can get a fast overview of the Showroom's features.  In
the Saab Gallery area, Saab world-first innovations like the Saab Active Head
Restraint system are displayed in museum-type "jewel boxes" -- also a unique
design element of future Saab retail showrooms.
    Near the product area, Saab enthusiasts can choose to watch one of six
informative video segments on the Video Showcase.  Presented on a virtual flat
screen video display, the safety, performance and Saab heritage segments are
shown courtesy of RealMedia streaming technology.  The result is superior
quality streaming video, which can be viewed without lengthy download times.
    The car display is the centerpiece of Saab's Interactive Showroom.  Here
customers can specify the Saab 9-5 or Saab 9-3 variant of their choice with
exterior color and wheel choices.  Once a car is customized, and additional
available options are selected, the Java program can dynamically generate a
virtual window sticker, and the appropriate manufacturer's suggested
retail price (MSRP).  Then, with the click of a button, the shopper has the
choice of sending the car specifications and customer contact information to a
local Saab dealer.  The virtual window sticker can also be printed out for
comparison shopping purposes.
    In addition to exploring these Showroom features, Saab also invites
visitors to step into the driver's seat of a Saab 9-5 and Saab 9-3 - on-line,
of course.  Using technology developed by Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based International
Pictures, Corp., (IPIX), customers can take a 360-degree interior tour of each
Saab, while seeing the virtual showroom outside the windows.  While inside the
car, customers also learn more about the many innovative features found in the
passenger cabin.  Each interior tour includes a number of "hot spots" that a
customer can zoom in on, and each feature -- such as the Weather band button
or Wide Angle Passenger Mirror-includes a brief text overview.
    Saab's Internet development partner is Reston, Virginia-based Proxicom
(http://www.proxicom.com).  In addition to Saab, Proxicom develops Internet-based
business solutions for such leading companies as MCI, Mobil, Cox Interactive
Media, and Merrill Lynch.
    NOTE:  Site Screen Shots Available.

SOURCE  Saab Cars USA, Inc.