AutoBeat | blog Auto news, reviews, concepts, auto shows, first drive

Expected to be First Commercially Available, OEM-produced Plug-in Hybrid 2008-01-14, DETROIT - Saturn announced today at the North American International Auto Show that production may begin as soon as 2010 on a plug-in hybrid electric version of the Saturn Vue Green Line, expected to be the first regular production plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Depending on a consumer's drive cycle, the Vue plug-in hybrid will be the most fuel-efficient vehicle offered by a major automaker. Saturn Vue Green Line Plug-in Hybrid This Vue Green Line will use a modified version of GM's two-mode hybrid system and plug-in technology, a lithium-ion battery pack, highly efficient electronics and powerful electric motors to achieve significant increases in fuel economy. When the lithium-ion batteries are fully charged, the Vue plug-in hybrid will potentially double the fuel efficiency of any current SUV. After electric-only propulsion depletes the lithium-ion energy storage system to a specified l...

The four-cylinder Vue and Aura Green Line s have been on sale for months, offering drivers a practical, low-cost green option. An even greener choice (in terms of MSRP) will be the Vue Green Line 2 Mode . It arrives in dealerships later this year, and showcases GM's first front-wheel-drive application of their two-mode hybrid technology that was co-developed with BMW and the old DaimlerChrysler. The 2009 Green Line 2 Mode is built on an excellent foundation. You likely know the Vue is an unrepentant clone of the Antara sold in Europe through GM's Opel division. Our miles spent in the Vue/Antara have been singularly pleasing, and based on our experience in GM's full-size SUVs with the two-mode technology, we have high expectation for the more sophisticated Vue 2 Mode. While we can't comment on how the new Vue hybrid drives, we can tell you what GM told us leading up to the little ute's Detroit auto show introduction. The powertrain combines GM's corporate 3.6-...

Saturn announced that the new 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid’s MSRP will start at $22,695 (including destination charge), making it the lowest-priced hybrid on the market for 2007. In addition to its value-focused price, the Internal Revenue Service has certified that Saturn Aura Green Line buyers will qualify for a tax credit of $1,300. “The Saturn Aura Green Line is a great value among the hybrids in the mid-size car segment,” said Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak. “With a starting sticker price over $2,000 less than any mid-sized hybrid sedan and a $1,300 tax credit, it makes true hybrid fuel savings available to more people than ever before.” The Saturn Aura Green Line’s EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway represents up to a 30 percent improvement in EPA combined fuel economy compared to the non-hybrid Aura XE model (depending on driving conditions). The Saturn Aura is assembled at the General Motors Fairfax Plant in Kansas City , Kan. , ...

Previews No excuses for Saturn’s largest and most expensive offering ever. In case you haven’t been paying attention to GM’s once-neglected brand that for the past few years has been forced to rely on superior customer service to motivate sales, Saturn is back, this time with a full product revitalization plan, including five new-for-2007 models (Sky, Sky Red Line, Aura, Vue Green Line, and Outlook) and two more coming for ’08 (Vue and Astra). Among the new-for-’07s is Saturn’s largest and most expensive vehicle ever, the Outlook: a three-row, seven- or eight-passenger people-hauler that will replace the forgettable Relay minivan in the lineup. Cheapest in the Family Underpinning the Outlook is an all-new, front-drive unibody architecture, dubbed Lambda, shared with the GMC Acadia, the upcoming and upscale Buick Enclave, and an as-yet-unnamed Chevy version. The four-wheel-independent suspens...

- 2008 Saturn Astra Market Launch in North America in Fall 2007 - Production of Three and Five-Door Models at GM Plant in Antwerp, Belgium 2008 Saturn Astra XR 3-door Premiere of the new 2008 Saturn Astra in the USA: the General Motors (NYSE: GM) brand presents the compact sedan for the first time to the North American public at the Chicago Auto Show (February 9 - 18, 2007). Available on the US and Canadian markets from the fourth quarter of 2007 as a three or five-door model with a 1.8-liter, 140 hp ECOTEC engine, the 2008 Saturn Astra is produced alongside its Opel counterparts at the GM plant in Antwerp, Belgium. "In Europe, the Saturn Astra's combination of style, performance, safety technology and fuel efficiency have made it a hit with owners and auto critics alike," said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn General Manager. "Now, Saturn is bringing the newly restyled Astra to North America and marrying it with our celebrated customer experience. The 2008 Saturn Astra rounds ...

CHICAGO — Saturn has expanded its 2008 Vue lineup with a performance-oriented Red Line model and a fuel-saving Green Line hybrid model. The automaker said the Vue Red Line will hit showrooms in the third quarter of 2007, while the Vue Green Line will arrive in the fourth quarter. The Vue Red Line is powered by a DOHC 3.6-liter V6 that delivers 250 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 243 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. It features a larger and lower front air opening, projector-beam foglamps, spoiler, a lowered suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels. The Vue Green Line gets an electric motor mated to a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and a four-speed automatic transmission. Saturn said fuel economy numbers for the Green Line will be announced later. GM said it is still "committed to producing a plug-in version of the Vue Green Line ," although no date has been set for the introduction of such a version. source: inside...

Saturn’s latest re-badged Opel replaces the Ion, keeps its European name. To complete Saturn’s product overhaul, the company will add the compact, sleek-looking Astra (above) in late 2007 as a 2008 model, replacing the unloved and unlovely Ion (below right) that was introduced for 2003. Making its official debut at the Chicago auto show, the Astra is the latest in Saturn’s product synergy between European Opel and U.S. Saturn products, and this one doesn’t even get a different name for North America. It will be nearly identical to the 2007.5 Opel Astra (below left) and sold in the U.S. and Canada in both three-door and five-door configurations. Five-door models come in two trims, XE and XR, while the three-door comes only in up-level XR trim. 16-inch wheels are standard (17s optional) on five-doors, while 17s are standard on three-doors with an 18-inch option. Welcome safety gear includes standard anti-lock brakes and...

Saturn’s small sporty utility ditches the Honda engine for something from the corporate candy bin. It was a dirty little secret that Saturn tried to hide, but the press just couldn’t let it go. The last generation Saturn Vue Red Line’s 250 hp came courtesy of a Honda V-6. Nothing quite like using your competitor as a supplier, eh? For 2008, Saturn is rectifying that predicament by using the same DOHC 3.6-liter V-6 as is found in the Chevrolet Equinox Sport and Pontiac Torrent GXP as well as optional in lesser Vues. The Vue Red Line still makes 250 hp, but now it’s 250 hp with a clean conscience, and that should be good for a few tenths to sixty. The V-6 routes its power through a six-speed automatic with a manumatic function to either the front or all four wheels. Of course, this largest canvas for the Red Line styling team must be exploited. The Vue’s tall doors and rising beltl...

By: Rex Roy The Auto Channel Remember when Saturn offered buyers a different kind car because it was a different kind of car company? While a brilliant advertising campaign, it used to be true. Saturns had their own chassis, polymer body panels, engines, manufacturing plants, dealerships … the works. If you haven't been paying attention (and millions haven't) Saturn is now just another division of General Motors. This may not be a bad thing. The old L-Series were forgettable, Ions were lamentable, and their Relay minivans don't even warrant a pejorative adjective. Saturn's soon-to-be current line up looks much better. The Aura sedan is terrific. The Sky is an o-so-fine roadster. And the new Outlook crossover is available just as people are awakening to the stupidity of using big SUVs for minivan tasks. The recently announced 2008 Astra completes the picture, adding a dash of European flair to the division that GM neglected like an ugly stepchild for so many years. A...