PurdueGuy

though this is veering a little off-topic, it would be interesting if Ford imported a limited amount of Euro focuses as a top sport model. Just call it the "Focus Eurosport" or something. It would help bring the image of the regular focus up a bit, and give the people that would be willing to pay for for the euro focus the chance. Limited import = command profit.

Ya know, you can blame defects on "it's a new model" or "it's a new production facility" if the problems come from assembly or minor design flaws. When the vehicle is built out of tin foil, I think it's safe to say it's not the assembly worker's fault, or the floor manager. Might not even be in the range of the local production facility.

repeat after me: stopgap product. Expect far more out of the next gen.

I'd seen pt 1 before, but not 2 & 3. Took them that long to fire those guys... yeah, that instills confidence. IMO, they had one chance to clean things up after the first time around (assuming that the corruption was from the district manager down), and they didn't do it. That puts upper management in question, and further confirms that, like sharmer, I'm going to continue doing my own oil changes.

classy, not quite exciting.

How many hybrids do you think the market would buy? Some would-be loyal Saturn customers are already frustrated at an ever-rising base model price. Going to hybrids, fuel cells, diesels, etc as exclusive product would alienate even more of the current customer base, at which point the brand's existence is purely depending on conquest sales and massive hybrid market growth. The Aura won't die when it comes time for redesign - it will be differentiated substantially from it's Malibu and G6 cousins by becoming what they tried to make people think it was this gen - an Opel Vectra for the US. If you've seen the spy pics, you know this will further move the brand upscale. I've certainly heard worse ideas for the brand than what you're proposing, I'm just not convinced the numbers would add up to make Saturn a successful brand. Maybe in ten years...

Don't forget the Zafira, or whatever the Global Delta MPV7 turns out to be. I'm still getting my head around how that will fit. Not sure if it's good bad or indifferent to the lineup.

woot!

Chevy Volt Major lack of dealerships. For example, Idaho has ONE Saturn dealership. I live in Idaho, and it's four hours away. Nearest Chevy dealer is four minutes away. I agree it's wholly unrealistic, except maybe as a plan to kill of Saturn and greatly hurt the other brands as well. Well, Pontiac would love the Astra. Aura & Outlook = almost zero development dollar extra sales. (well, the Aura took some development dollars, but they were surely all made up for in development savings for the new Malibu.) The Outlook is to the Acadia as GMC is to Chevy - it costs so little for it to exist that it takes very few sales before the cost is justified. The Volt should go to Chevy. I don't think arguing it going to another brand makes a lick of sense unless it's as an additional model. Even then, I think the Volt should stand on it's own as a Chevy for at least a year or two. Work out the bugs, build Chevy's image, let the "early adopters" grab 'em up. Then add on a model or two in the upscale range. I agree that GM would be well served to keep Saturn's image generally "green", but that doesn't mean hybrid & fuel cell only. That can mean efficient smaller cars and diesels as well. The Corsa will help green image, even in a gasoline version. Diesel Corsa, Astra, Aura. Heck yeah. Making the Vue hybrid-only is a great way to ditch a lot of sales. Saturn sells a lot of Vue's (especially considering the lack of dealerships) - to think that you'd keep or make up for even half of those sales going hybrid only is a huge gamble. Keep in mind, Saturn is getting the attention and support it is because of import buyers cross-shopping it much more than other brands. Greatly narrowing the scope of the brand isn't a good idea at all, IMO. FOG, does a plug-in full size SUV even make sense? How many batteries would a Suburban or Tahoe have to have to have an all-electric range of even 20 miles? I know common sense doesn't always line up with market trends and demands, but it just seems silly... I can see a situation like Oldsmoboi is saying, with a hybrid version of each model (except I'm not so sure about models like the Sky). To make an entire brand hybrid-only may be brand suicide. Oh, and +1 on Electra name if Buick gets a Volt variant.

bicycles for everyone!

"not found" I'm interested in this article if you can get us a good link...

Do we know that for sure?

Awesome, tnx.

+1, that would be sweeeeet.

Or Black/body color? Run the trim through paint with the body, have matching interior trim...

You mind if I use your pics on my website, www.saturnseries.com?

I like the front, sides, and interior quite a bit. The back I'm still getting used to - it's not terrible, it's just not wonderful.

GM building the Aura in general seems like it worked out very well for them. A) it gave Saturn a legit midsize car B) it let GM build a sort of "Malibu Beta version", and work more details out before introducing the volume product C) the next gen Aura will be a rebadged Vectra, so the "badge engineering" isn't going to result in lots of US brands having essentially the same car for very long, assuming the next gen Vectra is substantially different from the Malibu/G6. Seems like a product dance that could work out very well for GM.

Was that color-changing paint? It looks mostly purple in your pics, but looked more copper in the GM pics.

The HHR SS pic that vegas posted above makes the paint look way cooler than in the GM photos.

Probably among the best parts of these great reviews is that they not only acknowledge it's a good product, but mentions of Toyota quality problems keep popping up too...

That was kind of the thought going through my mind - more gears doesn't equal more shifts if the transmission controls are intelligent enough. More gears would mean more options of ratios to shift to. At some point, though, the disadvantage of added weight and complexity (and possibly size, but it sounds like GM has that at a negligible point, at least with the 6-speeds) outweighs the advantage of more options. Of course, the added complexity is really only an issue if it adds to cost (purchase or repair cost) or reliability.

This is far better than what GM had to offer in the "Astra Tuner Edition." Pictures: http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/2007/10/catrol-saturn-p.html Video: http://video.cardomain.com/Clip.aspx?key=98E9D39E964D222C

Personally, I don't think we'll see any of this from the factory. Maybe a few dealer options, or GM offered aftermarket parts.