Aura XR

Not sure how related that 2.0 Turbo is to the one in the Sky/Solstice or if it is a European spec motor like the 1.8. If it is European, how hard would it be to put it in a Delta G5 that has a NA Ecotec motor?

I would recommend adding an Astra Redline to the Saturn Lineup as well. One of the Astra's sales failure is the availability of only one motor, the 1.8 European Ecotec. The Astra's of Europe/Australia like the OPC have the turbo 2.0 Ecotecs over close to 260 HP; that needs to be here.

What about the Cosworth Vega Twin Cam 4? That was truly an engine before its time. Also, can probably add the 3.5L 60degree V6 VVT

I see a lot of another Delta platform-mate in there. It looks a lot like an Ion 4 door on the side. That's not a good thing (though it is working for the Nissan Sentra)

Not 100% true.....I paid way below sticker on my 1994 SL2, but that was because the dealer had a surplus of them and the 95's were coming out with the 2nd generation interior.

It's too fast for her, she does 80 MPH in 55 all the time.Her civic is the next to be replaced and we can look at anything, as long as it has the Honda H on it. I even suggested looking at an Acura and she said no (I don't think she fully understood that it is a Honda even though I explained it to her).

Ha, my "voice of reason" also wanted me to buy the XE. Actually, she wanted me to buy a Honda because she will only own Honduhs. Unfort, the XE we almost bought was totally stripped, like in not even the $100.00 mats. It's the only time I seen a car with the base price on the website as the final cost on the invoice. Thankfully, I shut her down 2 days later and ordered the XR instead and have not regretted it one bit. Matter of fact, Sunday (9/9) will be one year since we took delivery of the XR

Sad, this article made me think about Saturn and how GM actually might have killed off another division without us knowing. As a 5 times Saturn owner, I do believe that Saturn is quickly becoming the new Oldsmobile. Saturn: A Different Kind of Car Company, Indeed September 5, 2007, 12:25 pm | By Jerry Garrett | Link to Original Article @ New York Times At least Oldsmobile got a decent funeral. Saturn got nothing. A lot of people don’t realize General Motors killed a second division, Saturn, recently. That’s because there was never an obit. Why? For some reason, G.M. wants people to think that Saturn is still alive. But G.M. has not only killed it, it has dismembered the body and dumped pieces at undisclosed locations, and replaced it with an impostor. Saturn, the automobile manufacturer, R.I.P. Saturn design? Dead. Saturn engineering? Just as dead. The old Spring Hill, Tenn., plant, where Saturns were once made, lives on, albeit with a transplanted heart (Chevrolet pun intended). But Spring Hill now just churns out generic G.M. stuff, like any other G.M. plant. Saturn employees really don’t exist anymore, despite what it may say on a few business cards. Everybody sporting a Saturn logo these days merely sells “G.M. cars.” Sure, Saturn-badged cars are still sold. But Saturn, the company, is now reduced to being the United States marketing arm for Opel. Opel is a brand of G.M. car sold principally in Europe. How did G.M. so stealthily pull off doing away with the old Saturn, and replacing it with the new pseudo-Saturn? I don’t know exactly, but it was almost the perfect crime. It would be interesting to unravel this murder mystery and identify the culprits. (Seems like G.M. could just as easily revive Oldsmobile by slapping Olds badges on, say, G.M.’s cool Holden vehicles from Australia!) My colleague Lawrence Ulrich noted in his review of current Saturn-badged models that Opels are nice cars. Maybe Saturn is better off dead. But the point is, I think the old Saturn deserved at least a memorial service. Proud Olds employees gave their old brand an almost Irish-quality wake, despite G.M.’s disdain. I know a guy (I won’t use his name, because he still works at G.M. and is not allowed to talk about such things with the press) who was one of Saturn’s first 99 employees (known, believe it or not, as “the 99″), back when the “different kind of company” first started ramping up in the early 1980s to build “a different kind of car.” Everybody moved to Spring Hill to the new Saturn headquarters, where the vehicles would be designed, engineered and assembled. It was a heady time for those early pioneers, as they set out against long odds, to “reinvent the automobile,” as G.M. had charged them to do. Saturn was always a big money-loser for G.M. (G.M. won’t say how much the loss was), but customers were loyal, and resale values of Saturns were generally stellar, even if their reliability records weren’t. “The sad part of this,” this fellow recently told me, “is that the Saturn system did, in my opinion, work although it had problems. It could have been a benefit to G.M. by helping it do things differently, but instead of building it up, G.M. killed it.” Somewhere, true Saturn-lovers fly their flags at half-staff

It didn't work for Subaru, hence the new front-end on the Tribeca...I guess Chevrolet is going to make the same mistake.

I would love to see AR brought back to our shores. I wonder if they will bring over the car that's on the GM's Epsilon platform, along with the High Feature GM V6. This way it can compete with the 9-3, G6, Malibu, and Aura

The Astra is one hot looking hatch. My only concern is that the only engine offered is a 1.8L version of the European Ecotec rated at 140 HP/124 ftlb. With 0-60 times expected in the mid 9's is not very good. They need to bring the OTC over as the Astra Redline. For the Aura, I can't wait for the NG. I agree that the coupe is too niche and probably won't do as well. As for a station wagon, this is the first I heard that Saturn wasn't bringing over the Estate from Europe. Too bad because I thought it might have done well for people who want that carrying space but don't want an SUV. Still keeping my fingers crossed for a DI version of the 3.6 mated to a 6 speed manual for a Redline version of the Aura.

I really wish GM would make up their mind on the Aura. First they were revamping Saturn and putting it through a paradigm shift by changing its original purpose of being an import fighter now to a division that competes with the near-luxury European competition. Unfortunately, the tiny plastic import-fighter stigma is still sticking around. Only thing that still concerns me was that I believe Oldsmobile resided in this niche before it was phased out. As for a four-cylinder in the Aura, I am very disappointed in that move. Sure, the Aura wasn't selling much, but GM expected that. The addition of the 4 cylinder only goes against the original plans for the car. Plus, my XR weighs in around 3600 pounds. Maybe with a 4 cylinder, it will come in around 3350-3400 pounds; that's still a lot of weight to pull around with a 175 HP Ecotec that will need premium fuel (as I understand all 2.4 Eco's require premium). What I would do if I ran Saturn (no offense Jill L) is drop the 4 cylinder XE and the GL, give the XE-6 the six speed auto. IIRC, I believe the Saab comes with a 5-speed auto and if so, plant that as the base transmission and leave the 6 optional. The car would also need some type of bluetooth integration and navi as an option. Save the hybrid for the Vue, heck even Honda dropped the hybrid for the Accords so you really don't need one for a mid-size car (How many Camry hybrids are sold anyways?).

Like my fellow Aura owner said, it is a special edition package that offers many of the benefits of the XR for the XE owners. Instead of developing new 18" wheels just for the XE, they used those from the G6. It doesn't really look right if you ask me, but they're probably easier to clean than mine.

I understand that the panoramic roof is gone from the option list for the Aura already (MY 2007) so it is gone on all Epsilon based cars. Too bad, seemed cool, but I was wondering how well it would seal glass pane - to - glass pane. I would have loved to get it but to the the Pano, one had to get leather as well and it was cost-prohibitive.

So now Chevrolet is coming out with the Malibu Classic based on the SWB Epsilon. Are they pulling an Oldsmobile when you can get the old G-body RWD Cutlass Supreme Classic for a few years along side the FWD W-body Cutlass Supreme (we're talking 1988 - 1990 for those of you too young to remember). Just bring forth the redesigned Malibu already and forget this Classic stuff. And wow, just realized that it doesn't come with Onstar anymore