PurdueGuy

+1, the new hood, grill, and lower facia help.

I guess that might be ok... maybe. If they don't differentiate the heck out of them, though, it will be a sad, sad day.

interesting... in kind of a cool way, I guess...

Golf is FWD, correct? An entry-level Golf-sized Porshe would be cool... but not if it's FWD.

can we get a side-by-side of new vs old so we can tell what's different other than the lame side vent?

I read that a while back - good book. IIRC, the NiMH batter took the EV1s range from 80 to 120 miles. I wonder what the lithium ion battery would do...

Would be interesting to learn kw/h costs from some of these more advanced setups, as well as environmental impact studies. Could be a good technology to include in a diverse future infrastructure.

I agree, except for the "drop the gas engines" part. Tahoe/'burban need a diesel option, but don't need to be exclusively diesel IMO.

Wha? Subaru RWD? RWD=/=AWD Are they breaking away from being all AWD? I guess if gas continues to go crazy they may want to...

That would probably be easier (and more likely) if it were actually a GM vehicle...

panic is a bad state of mind for decision making.

exactly what I was thinking. You can pretty much always get what you want, you just can't always get it from the dealer...

The "do not hump" one made me chuckle, even though I know what it really means. Still sounds funny.

I do that at drive-thrus when they aren't ready right away. Sitting idling while someone takes their time to make my taco just seems silly.

I'm guessing new? Looking at 4 or 6 cyl? XE/XR? Or still deciding? I haven't hand a chance to drive one of the new ones yet (closest dealer is 2hr away), but they look nice.

I'm not brokenhearted about the Hummer thing, but I liked the H4 concept & looked forward to seeing it happen. Not that they've indicated that it won't, but they're certainly not going to be investing as much in a brand if they're looking to sell...

We already pretty much now the plans for the Corsa - it won't come to the US until the next gen. Saturn is fully expected to get it, not that that can't change, or that a restyled version couldn't go to another division. Wow... I... I agree with you. Yikes! lol The problem isn't that Pontiac is getting a small, fuel-efficient car - the problem is that it has pretty much no differentiation from the Chevy version, and it becomes the 80's all over again. With a little performance enhancement, the Pontiac would be better differentiated, and at least be a little closer to what Pontiac should be, and I would be ok with it (even if not likely to buy one).

Ah, I learn something every day. I knew the body wasn't the same, the lower fascia being shared isn't too big of a surprise, I guess.

Please, don't let it be the only engine option. Give Chevy an SS, Saturn a Red Line, and Pontiac a GXP. (And make sure they all deserve the name!) 140 can be a reasonable amount of power, especially if they've smartened up & are putting these next gen products on a diet, but even if the powerband is good, 140hp isn't going to get people really, really excited. (see Astra)

Actually, Saturn's revitalization was a bargain. Lessee... Aura - platform already existed, most components already existed, styling based closely on Vectra (still had to design new panels since they're not shared, but they didn't have to pay out as much as styling from scratch), plus the development costs would have occurred for GM in developing the new Malibu anyway, so the costs are spread. Astra - barely changed from Euro version, minimal investment for meeting US safety specs & shoehorning in a cupholder Vue - A little more changed from Euro version (interior mainly), but still pretty minimal. Outlook - A few panels developed to differentiate from Acadia, no big Saturn-specific investment. Sure, it still took some bucks, and other divisions were jealous, but in the big picture it was a bargain basement makeover. Now the question is whether it helps ensure Saturn's survival because it's now part of a global brand and continues to have low development costs, or if it means they can kill of Saturn more easily, because it's not like Saturn has any unique product or production capacity they'll need to fill the void from losing in the US market...

I fully agree. A diverse power base, but with a much larger % of power coming from nuclear, is a very good thing for this country. Add in a nuclear fuel recycling program, and it gets even better.

Largely agree. IIRC, Saturn's top-selling year is still... '94? Just 3 body styles with 2 engine options in one car design, and they can't seem to do any better. The only things I can think of that Saturn had then & doesn't have now are: a) lower prices b) a very different culture (compared to other companies & divisions at the time, compared to others still today, and compared to itself today) c) it was newer (it being new probably helped spur interest) It also may have been helped by the SC1 & SW1&2, which were new for '93, and may have still be new enough to help sales in '94. I don't have the figures to be sure that '94 is still the top year, but that has been my impression.

Yes... in the short-term. What is the #1 problem of most of the GM brands though? IMAGE! This may help dealers notch up a few more sales, but it completely works in the wrong direction for the brand's #1 problem. Truly great business moves focus on LONG TERM gains, often at the expense of short-term ones.

dumb, dumb, dumb.

Pretty silly to put it off. Gas prices are going UP, putting it off means you will likely pay more for it once you do fill up...