Flybrian

1989 Cadillac Solitaire - V12 2001 Citroen Osee by Pininfarina - V6 1997 Dodge Copperhead - V6 1969 Mercedes-Benz C111-I - 0 (Wankel rotary engine)

Don't have competing numbers on-hand, but the Rendezvous averaged 60-70k for several years. I'm sure RX and MDX numbers are similar and I know the Rendezvous often outsold Acura and came close to the Lexus on several occasions. I know what you're going to say next - how many were retail? That doesn't matter, because the Rendezvous wasn't fleeted in significant numbers until the past year or so and even then, it left its mark on the landscape, lowering Buick's average age and bringing many into the Buick family. It was also one of the first midrange crossovers on the market. Furthermore, it bolstered Buick's sedan-heavy fleet when the market turned to SUVs and provided a great base market for the upcoming Enclave.

And yet look how well it sold. Some argue the 'Vous shouldn't have been built in the first place; reality confirms the opposite. Imagine how well the Enclave will do...

A car so strong, it broke the automobile crush device and finally succumbed to one used to test truck frames - Aurora.

I'd rather have that Blazer. Seriously.

Yeah. Dino 206 GT.

Heh. This thread is ironic yet appropriate on many accounts. I have a plastic promo model of that car. Its also part of the coolest ad of all time.

Yeah, no crap. Wish I could make a bunch of roadtrips like that. You're like the Johnny Appleseed of Monte Carlos.

Well, I must admit, I would like Buick to take me out to dinner. Maybe I should've bashed the Aura I drove today. What a pile of trash (hint hint).

Thanks! You're right. Corrected and glad to do this.

I believe this was the 1951 Cunningham C2R. The engine was a Firepower sourced from Chrysler and also the recent concept car by Chrysler.

Here!!

More Pictures! Aura XE in Berry Red Aura XE in Golden Cashmere Aura XE in Ocean Mist Aura XE in Bronzed Pewter

C&G Drives: The 2007 Saturn AURA By Brian Dreggors "Love me, love me, say that you love me." "I already sold two other XEs." -Saturn salesman That coincides with my findings, too. On the evening of the 15th, I spotted a car carrier taking about three Auras to Saturn of Clearwater. Curious, I tailed it and saw that trio of XEs join four other Auras - including an XR - delivered the night before. By this afternoon, five remained. Meanwhile, the Jeep Compass I tested a few weeks ago still sat lonely across the street. An early indication? Perhaps. We'll see whether Aura not this new midsize Saturn will really move. Let's go! The Basics My tester today was a 2007 Techno Gray Saturn Aura XR with standard 18" alloy wheels and the 252hp 3.6l V6 turning a six-speed automatic with TAPshift. A midlevel XR, this one came with heated cloth seats (power driver's), rear audio controls, electronic climate control, your basic power pack, and an MSRP of $24,894. And with 178 miles already on the clock, this was one popular girl...in the good, wholesome way. First Impressions The key differentiator between the XE and XR trims are the XR's dual exhaust tips and halogen foglamps and while the XE trim holds its own, the extra touch of those two fetures make the higher-level Aura stand out. Stretched Epsilon influences are noticable from the rear, but are dilluted by the Aura's own standout styling. Beautiful halogen headlamps reside below the amber turnsignal in a combination that's more elegant than clumsy. Though the entire housing looks a bit bulbous, sheetmetal creases flow unbroken through the cluster. The lower air intake is neither too large nor too small, but just right, leaving the odd foglamp housing 'filler' plastic as the single worst aspect of the Aura's front end. Though its expected these will be opened up on a future Red Line variant, one thinks Saturn designers could've done something a little cleaner, at least on the XR. Somewhere, a Sebring coupe is up on blocks... Aura's profile is the second prettiest angle on the car and rightfully so. Clean yet muscular with fender flares just right for a midsize sedan; no overcompensating bulges here - take notes, Chrysler. Chrome-flashed door side molding is a welcome break from the unadorned look many imports seem to favor nowadays that do nothing but leave a car looking too tall and too flat. Aura's door trim and rocker moldings breaks up the slab-sidedness suffered by its stretched Epsilon sister, the Pontiac G6, and the overall effect is simply a nicer car. Chrome trimming is applied in liberal but tasteful amounts, narrowing the greenhouse for a sleeker look. The only odd piece is the Euro-style turn signal repeater on the front fender, which amazingly looks more out of place than the GM "Mark of Crookedness," incidently applied perfectly on-center on the Saturn. What do the Aura and Roselyn Sanchez share? Great rears. Feast your eyes on those taillamps - the single best design aspect of the Aura. Jeweled and beset in chrome-trimmed bezels, they're nothing short of classy. The lower decklid chrome stip is another welcome change from the done-to-death chrome strip floating above the license plate housing. Speaking of which, the twin bumperettes flanking the rear plate carry the decklid lines down and break up an already light rear bumper. Dual exhaust tips only make the rear look better. This is definitely the best angle of the car, with smooth curves and angled detailing working in concert, not conflict. Welcome Aboard Low-gloss textures and semi-metallic trim shine up the sporty but slightly drab cockpit. My first experience with remote start was this day. Lock the doors, hit the cycle button, and the ignition turns over while you're 20 feet away. This is not just a cold-weather feature, either. On a hot Florida day, getting that a/c cranking is a top priority. Opening the door, I was greeted by a very well-appointed interior with enough soft-touch coverings to satisfy dash fondlers and a little more rugged plastic where contact is more often made. Trimmed in black, the overall look is pleasent but a bit drab, caused more by the nature of the color as opposed to the car's interior design. Metallic trim, however, does admirable work of bringing contrast to the darkness and looks quite sharp, especially on the door panels where the inlaid chrome stripping is very apparent. The tan/beige contrast of the XEs also sampled at the dealership looked more upscale than the sportier black, but Morocco Brown is sure to be a winner based on press pictures alone. GM seems to pride itself on delivering intuitive and ergonomic controls in every car and the Aura carries forth this traditional with simple audio and HVAC controls. Gauges readouts are clear and presented buried in three chrome-bezeled housings. Steering wheel controls are symmetrical and easy to use and the gearshift is well-shaped and substantial enough to grip. There is a surprising amount of storage space in this car and GM's new focus on quality is evident here. Instead of having a cubby box simply drop down, a gentle tap releases the compartment, which glides open and smoothly closes with a light push. Kudos abound for this. Cupholders and miscellaneous objects holders are located under a accordion'd cover that isn't the easiest thing to close. A deep console with top 'shelf' is well-done. Decorative needles point to clear numbers in clean yet upscale gauges. The textured outlay is a bit weird, though. Front seat comfort is fine with plenty of headroom, though this car would definitely benefit from an extra 2-inches of width. The bolsters make the seats a little tight for a stockier person like myself, though all other aspects of seating are rather comfortable. Power controls are responsive and easy to adjust while the tilt/telescope handle - thankfully relocated to the left side of the column - is improved but still not the best operation. Power T&T would be a great step above for this segement. I also sampled the rear seats and found they have a great amount of legroom for a car this size. The rear caveout design of the front seats gave my knees plenty of room and headroom was similarly unrestricted. Cupholders fold out from the rear of the center console and seperate audio controls and a/v jacks are a great added bonus. The Drive If one word were to be used to quantify the Aura's acceleration, it would be 'smooast', as in 'smooth' and 'fast.' Like a good American car, the 3.6l with VVT resonated a gentle yet audible growl from under the hood as the sedan hurtled from a rolling start to nearly 60mph in a very rapid rate. With plenty of power up front and on reserve, passing wasn't even a consideration - it was a given. And unlike other electronic throttle setups, there was no hesitation when the pedal met the metal. As exepected, GM has tamed the oversteer beast with an iron lash and the Aura's front 18-inchers tracked straight and true, even under high-power, high-torque acceleration. A stable of two-hundred and fifty-two horses available 24/7 at all RPMs. True to its hydramatic roots, the 6-speed automatic did not shift as much as it gently wafted you from gear to gear, never hunting in between. Notch it back into 'M' and let your fingers to the shifting. Strangly, when you do this, the normal odometer readout on the small Driver's Information Center disappears. My last experience with TAPshift technology was in a 2004 Grand Prix GTP where the exeperience was muted by realistically having only two - maybe three - gears to play around with in normal driving. Here, however, TAPshift comes into its own. With one up high, one down low, and four in between, there's plenty of room for selectable fun. The paddles were easy to use, though they are a bit too small and their contouring isn't as favorable to downshifting. The setup in the Grand Prix was more tactile in this regard. The suspension was rather smooth and soaked up most bumps with ease. Running over lane reflectors showed good feedback and no harshness and steering was tight and well-controlled. The Aura rode neither too rough nor too soft and seemed very much just right. Fuel economy is rated at 20/28mpg, reasonable for a car this much fun. Pricing Though $28,000 and change may seem pricey for a Saturn, keep in mind you're getting one hell of a car. Also, the old L-Series climaxed at around $26,000. In comparison, there is none. The base MSRP for an XE is $20,595 and for that tag, you get a respectable car with unexpected bonuses, like LED tails, T&T wheel, 17" rims, 4-wheel ABS, traction control, cruise, and an array of airbags. Move up to the XR and keep piling on the goodness with Stabilitrak, 8-speaker stereo, heated seats, electrochromic rearview, the beautiful 252hp/6-spd combo and remote start for $24,595. From there on, $800 gets you leather, $400 gets you a 6-way passenger seat and power pedals, $100 gets you the lovely Morocco Brown. A good deal for under $27k. One asanine pricing faux pas is that leather seats on the XR trim comes with a mandatory sunroof, either a conventional single-pane glass or the fancy panoramic job. This adds - in addition to the $800 for leather - another $800 or $1500, respectively. This makes leather actually cost $1600 or $2300 depending on your roof choice. For me, I like opening up the top, so I'd get one anyway, but the lack of a free-flow leather choice that exists on the XE is sure to be a buzz-kill for potential XR buyers that would rather spend their extra dough on the power pedals and XM radio or simply don't want a roof. I hope this nonsensical retardation is rectified soon. Whatever Else I Forgot In real life, the trunk seems shallow with a high liftover, however volume is plentiful for its size and folding rear seats expand it. The trunk, while a respectable 15 cu.ft., has a rather high, tight, and longitudinally narrow opening that seems to make loading boxed items like a smaller television set more awkward than necessary. Also, its rather shallow. While the air conditioning system works wonders (what GM unit doesn't?), the center air vents need more vertical travel as sometimes you just want to cool your face. While the XE has three 17" wheel options (two of them lookers), the XR is stuck with one 18" alloy wheel set. A wider variety of more visually attractive wheels should be optional on the XR, including at least one chromed set and one five- to seven-spoke set. A gas hood strut is appreciated on a $20.5k car as some manufacturers can't seem to trouble themselves to include it on $25k (300), $30k (Montego), and $35k (G35) cars. The Final Word(s) General Motors, and especially Saturn, have always produced cars that are good values. The difference with the Aura is that they have finally built a car that offers outstanding value in a beautiful package with great looks and fantastic performance. I feel I rave accurately, especially for the XR. When Saturn eliminates the sunroof requirement with the leather upgrade, you will not be able to find a better car for $25,895. I truly believe this is Saturn's coming of age car; if I'm right, what an age it'll be. Dealer Note Thanks to Saturn of Clearwater for allowing me to test drive their latest offering! Now housed in the former location of Lokey Oldsmobile, Saturn of Clearwater's (also owned by the Lokey Group) showroom is casual yet warm and inviting. The sales staff holds up to the Saturn standard of a low-pressure, low-key experience. As an interesting note, Saturn of Clearwater sold the very first Saturn in the country, a blue SL sedan. Links Official Saturn AURA Website 2007 AURA Greenline Info Saturn of Clearwater Pictures! Aura XR in Techno Gray

10 more min!

Give me another 20 and you'll see for yourself.

This is both a false and ignorant statement, namely because the gulf between injury and death has been widened to the point where ambulatory injuries far, far outnumber deaths and 'maiming' is nearly nonexistant, except in the most violent and awkward of crashes. People die by sheer force of impact instead of having steering columns shot through their lungs or tendons severed by steel dashboards. Also, I'd argue most of the automobile deaths today are almost voluntarily initiated. In other words, today you can choose not to wear a seatbelt and be catapulted through your windshield whereas in the past, you were almost compelled to suffer violent maiming in a serious accident. Also in this category are single-car drunk driving fatalities and intentional reckless driving. Federally mandating 3-point seat belts isn't "stripping away the fun;" it ensures you and I will be around longer to enjoy those pleasures of life.

Please let it not be. The Chinese LaCrosse is a mishmash of horrible styling cues.

Ever try to clean white leather? Better yet, ever seen a car with a white leather interior after about three years? Looks great in the showroom, but a royal bitch to take care of. I'd rather have straight black. And, Christ Almighty, stop bringing drivetrains into every thread... And the Curved Dash's safety equipment is its top speed.

Beautiful and ornate, but uncomfortable and unergonomic.

Review and pics will be posted tonight!

One thing I do appreciate is how the trailers used alternate takes of funny scenes instead of using the exact same ones in the movie. Good show! Also, noticed lots of GM cars - Monte Carlo stockers, Ricky's mom has an SRX apparently...

Kudos to Sajeev for being a good sport in light of this ribbing and criticism of your reviews. I'd like to get the Lienarts on here, but I think we'd make Paul cry.

I never liked CSpec.

Don't you mean...MMMUUHHAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHA!!!!!!!