The 2007 Saturn Aura

[MrRogers]

Hello, I though I'd stop by and show you the new Aura!

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/attachmen...42&d=1144437458

[Flybrian]

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

And thank you. Its a very good-looking car.

[CSpec]

248 HP? That's 20 less than the Camry.

On another note, the Sky Redline looks really cool.

[Variance]

I'm getting a registration/log-in screen.

[CSpec]

Here it is rehosted:

CONCEPT

PRODUCTION

[Guest Josh]

The thing that pisses me off most is it lost the side "aggressiveness" that I loved about the concept so much.

[Northstar]

The Aura looks good, though not as good as it did. I assume the 248HP must be from the 3.6 because I don't think the 3.5 could make that.

[Variance]

It does look less "mean" than the concept but it still looks pretty good. I hope if they do a Redline version they give it the concept front end.

The Sky Redline looks hot, too.

[jbartley]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

the changed the sides too much! i liked the extended molding at the bottom of the door!

And i don't like that "extra" bumper piece above the fog lights.

it'll still sell as long as they

SHOW US a fine INTERIOR!

[jbartley]

wow, i really dig the sky redline front end!

NOTE: there is still hope for the AURA, i'm sure the redline will get a "more mean/agressive" front, we all were hoping for.

Edited April 7, 2006 by jbartley

[illustcat]

I can' t tell does it still have the hood scopes?

[Chazman]

http://www.autodeadline.com/detail?source=...645849&mime=JPG

Anyone that's abit more tech savvy than me want put the above picture next to the production picture?

I'm very disappointed.

[Guest Josh]

I agree, Charlie. Extremly let down.

[CadillacCTS]

I'm thinking that the Aura Concept is what the Aura Redline will look like. Bolder, more aggressive front end and pronounced wheel flares.

I can't believe they would change the front end from the concept. The car doesn't look half as good.

Edited April 7, 2006 by CadillacCTS

[Guest Josh]

The little gap between the "bar" in front and the hood is missing which does not look good, also the extra plastic surrounding the fogs looks boring too.

I sincerely hope it's the angle and lighting in the ad that is what is turning me off.

[jbartley]

248 HP? That's 20 less than the Camry.

On another note, the Sky Redline looks really cool.

Base model camrys only have 168 hp, V6 models have 268.

if aura's base model is 248, that's pretty good.

[jbartley]

The little gap between the "bar" in front and the hood is missing which does not look good, also the extra plastic surrounding the fogs looks boring too.

I sincerely hope it's the angle and lighting in the ad that is what is turning me off.

$10 says they did that b/c they didn't want it to look like the honda civic

[Cadillacfan]

Hmm...I'm getting a strong VW vibe from seeing the production Aura.

That's not really a good thing.

And for some reason, the new wider chrome strip on the grill reminds me of the new Camry. Also.. not a good thing.

Kind of looks like very other vehicle on the road now.

Damn it GM! I thought the production was going to keep 90% of the style that the concept had.

Seeing that picture.. it looks more like a cool 81%

I'll still wait to see the full product before I make a final decision.

Edited April 7, 2006 by Cadillacfan

[jbartley]

rear end! that's what we need to see, how the bumper, exhaust, and lights have played out!

[bdubsee]

That does not look like the same car. I am a bit um, well, underwhelmed. It's just the little details - you know the little things that GM has been getting killed for in the press.

[Guest Josh]

The rear does not see the center exhaust, I know that much 100%.

[Cortazzo]

It looks pretty good to me, the only thing that is really different from the concept is the lower intake area, i couldn't distinguish much else from the photo. Now, I hope to God that 248 means a current gen 3.6 and not a 3.9. The 3.9 with DoD and 270+ hp i could accept happily, but not at 248hp without DoD. I don't think the Aura is a world beater, but it's a very attractive car, and it should be a solid and reliable seller for saturn. A nice accord alternative.

[jbartley]

The rear does not see the center exhaust, I know that much 100%.

no that was a little tacky, but i want dual exhaust.

and it GM watered the rear down, it might look "g6 meee toooooooooooo"-ish

Edited April 8, 2006 by jbartley

[4gm]

Did anyone here really think GM would keep the lower front fascia and side moldings for the production model? I know I didn't. Maybe GM will use them for an Aura Redline version. Who knows. I think the lower front is fine. This is supposed to be a mainstream car afterall. The front end from the concept version would be too out there for most customers. Anyway, it looks like the actual sheetmetal is the same and that's the most important thing. And yes, the skinnier chrome bar on the grill is better than this bigger one.

I hope GM did some redesigning to the interior. After looking at pictures of it for many months, it really seems subpar compared to the competition. GM could do better.

[turbo200]

how many complaints can we get going for the wider chrome bar before it gets replaced for the concept's thinner bar? seriously, that is really fugging up the front end. It looks like the camry, I agree, but only because of the grille piece, and that is a sad sad thing. I hope the lighting is making the side look less agressive, and the end product will still look strong and racier, like the concept. I thought the ground effects and more aggressive fascias would go----but they're so beautiful and necessary they shouldn't go! I am beginning to be underwhelmed with this car---it seems GM may have robbed it of its character. I will wait for more pictures to make a full decision.

[jbartley]

hey one good comment. it looks like they really didn't tone down the fenders!

[turbo200]

okay, f it, even with the lighting like this I can tell I am not going to like the lower intake and the whole bumper----it has crossed the line of blandnessno return unless it gets replaced with the concept version's.

[illustcat]

actually to me it looks pretty close. I mean just little tweeks here in there.

[z28luvr01]

I don't think that picture is enough to determine the extent of the "toning down" of the design. As far as I can tell, the side sculpting (which made the Aura concept so fantastic) is pretty close, if a little skewerd by the lighting in the photo. The beltline/greenhouse look to be the same. The wheel flares look the same, if 1/2" smaller. The wheel well gap looks the same (though the wheel size is smaller). The rocker panel sculpting is hidden by the shadows.

[turbo200]

it's not that it isn't good looking....just not as good looking as the concept even though some detail difference were expected....they dumbed it down probably too much.

[turbo200]

come on people comment on the ugly chrome bar, it's too damn thick now! the concept was thinner, there was a gap there that made it look much more attractive, a tiny detail that makes a whole lot of difference. an easily fixable trait that unfortunately makes it resemble the Camry of all cars!

[Northstar]

I agree they made the chrome bar take up too much space.

I'll wait until we get lots of pics to see, but it looks like they may have toned it down too much.

[nzr]

From that picture, it looks like a huge letdown.

[Variance]

come on people comment on the ugly chrome bar, it's too damn thick now!

Chrome? It looks more like body-color to me.

[MrRogers]

The beefier chrome bar was the first thing I noticed when I saw the image, which is not to my liking. In addition, I am concerned about the softer, watered down front fascia. It kind of takes away from the personality the concept had.

And why doesn't the Aura have projection headlights like the Sky, Outlook, and next generation Vue? Perhaps we will be getting the automatic leveling projectors like on the various Opels as an option?

[FAPTurbo]

Well, isn't it supposed to appeal to Camry, Altima/Maxima and Accord buyers? Something tells me that GM watered down the design to appeal to those buyers who seem to have more conservative "tastes..."

No doubt that this will shape up to be a great car, but honestly, if they kept it more in line with the concept, it'd be an awesome car.

But I'll reserve my opinion until I actually see the vehicle.

[Flybrian]

High-res pics of front, rear, and interior are coming in a matter of days. Stay tuned! We'll have it for you when the embargo is lifted!

[frogger]

Oh no :-(. I guess I had high hopes it wouldn't lose the aggressive stance of the concept, now it looks like a Vectra.

[CadillacCTS]

Maybe GM will add a "sport" model, other than the redline, and bring back the concept front end.

[thedriver]

yes, but will the new pictures make us happier? or will they confirm the "dulling down"?

can you give us a hint?

[Camino LS6]

The pic definitely sucks, but the more I look at it the more it looks like a big letdown. Not as bad as the G6, but not good. The fascia and grille bar are really bad.

[4gm]

Hmmm, upon further inspection, it looks like there's a now a line that runs along the top of the fender from the tip of the headlamp to the a-pillar that wasn't there before.

[Achelous]

The only think I'm a bit let down by is the hp. I was hoping for more like 265-270.

[I hope GMRULES again]

How can some of you start dumping on the car after seeing one crappy pic of the car. Its looks pretty good to me so far. I knew the production version wouldn't be a carbon copy of the concept.

[pow]

It's decent enough... I approve.

[Flybrian]

Chat with us in chat if you feel like chatting...

[mi79]

Ok, I've got to comment on this, I've been lurking around here for years and never felt so compelled to speak up.

The whole "zeta glimpse" last night was enough of a bummer, simply being a cg generic looking aussie-mobile was a let down (was kind of hoping for a nice big photo showing some chassis), but this stinks.

I know for a fact I've never actually been excited about any new fwd vehicle (I'm a rwd/bof suv person), but the Aura concept, and hopes that it wouldn't change much made it seem like something really special.....

As others said, we're still talking about Saturn's best sedan yet, probably GM's best midsize sedan, but what a disappointment to see the car so toned down. I can't help but see some ion sedan in the front now that it lost some curve/edge, even though it shares nothing with that car... And the knock-out looking tab right above the fog light looks goofy too, will the fogs in the red line be so big they need to reserve space for them?? The grille/fog light setup looks good on the concept, but obviously that’s a no go. I think the front does look a bit tighter than the concept, but not as exciting, kind of bland.

As for the engine, the car has a techy look inside and out, so I thought a high tech engine fit really well (3.6), but most shoppers probably won’t care if it’s pushrod or dohc….too bad. If GM’s going to use pushrod v6’s, the older performance brands should have ‘em, like Pontiac. Let the newest brand have the high feature engines at least available.

Anyhow, just a few thoughts, still looks good. But I don’t see GM's/Saturn's exciting renaissance hinging on this vehicle as it looked to for a while (IMHO).

[Casket Demon]

As the Great George Taki would say "Oh my!"

[ToniCipriani]

The little gap between the "bar" in front and the hood is missing which does not look good, also the extra plastic surrounding the fogs looks boring too.

I sincerely hope it's the angle and lighting in the ad that is what is turning me off.

My guess the cover above the fogs are preparation for the Redline.

And in case you guys haven't noticed, the concept Aura's frontend is a straight dub of the current Vectra:

Notice the shape of the lower grilles.

I'd say it's fine.

[Guest Josh]

My guess the cover above the fogs are preparation for the Redline.

And in case you guys haven't noticed, the concept Aura's frontend is a straight dub of the current Vectra:

Notice the shape of the lower grilles.

I'd say it's fine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's the Aura concept you're referencing.