Detroit Auto Show: Saturn Aura Concept
The press release may say the Aura (not loving the name) is a concept to show "how" Saturn would build a medium sized sports sedan. But this Pontiac G6 sibling will probably hit dealerships in a year's time. And I don't see why not. Besides the grill/symbol placement the car is a looker. I love the dual center rear exhaust and the interior looks very nice. The release also says it will come with a 3.6-liter 250 horsepower engine with a six speed automatic transmission with manual shifting. Now why doesn't the G6 have that?! Click through for lots more pictures.
The Aura is Epsilon, meaning built from the same platform as the Opel Vectra, Saab 9-3, Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6.
Hints of the G6 can be seen in the taillight area.
Saturn will borrow heavily from Opels design book. The Aura face is very much like that used on the smaller Opel
Astra.
The wheels are 19-inchers and bound to leave when the street version is introduced. Remember this is still a
concept and will be dumbed down for human consumption (hopefully not too much).
Dont bet on the trapezoidal center exhaust to stay with the pedestrian version, while the LED taillights and chrome
bar look to make it.
This Saturn is powered by one of GMs high-feature V-6s, the 3.6, that can be found in cars like the Cadillac CTS
and Buick LaCrosse. The engine makes 250 hp meaning that this is ready for the street. Power is brought to the road via
a new six-speed auto with manual shifting abilities. This transmission should be ready for this cars 2007 bow.
Is the green-glow going to be a Saturn signature? It definately adds to flair to the interior which is accentuated
with rustica leather seats and trim. Can GM make the street version of the interior just as attractive?
Thanks for making Autoblog.com you home for all things 2005 Auto Shows. Enjoy the rest of the pics and
comment-away!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
egg 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Funny how a small, red, ugly logo can ruin the looks of an otherwise decently attractive looking car.
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Opel Astra? 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
This looks an awful lot like a rebadged Opel Astra. Which is awesome.
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wongoz 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
No, not a rebadged Astra, more like a rebadged Vectra... This car is WAY too big to be an Astra. The rear end looks a bit big, but the interior definitely looks sweet, a remarkable improvement over anything that's not Saab or Cadillac from the GM stable... I'd be interested to know what the 6-speed shifter looks like.
Saturn should also consider bringing the Astra over, especially the 3-door GTC coupe with the panoramic roof. Sweet car!
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Fenster 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
This is a great looking car, inside and out, especially when compared to previous Saturns. I hope for Saturn's sake that the production model ends up looking like this concept. If it ends up looking radically different (i.e. like the production version of the Zephyr vs. the concept previewed last year), then Saturn will have missed a great opportunity.
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Geoff 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Now this looks like the car the G6 should have been. Except for the wheels. They're ugly but easily replaced.
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Alan Bedenko 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
With the exception of the taillights, which look too much like the G6's, I love this car. I hope the cool yellow-greenish illumination on the dash is kept. It's totally Vectra. Totally Euro. A great job.
Here's a question, though - I don't see a parking brake handle. If this is to have a manual tranny, I consider a brake handle to be de rigeur. (Think steep slope).
I'd love to see this offered essentially as seen here. Perfect. Good job, GM. Good job, Saturn.
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Geoff 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Alan- do you think the parking brake is hidden as in the Saab 9-3? It also looks like the information display at the top of the center stack was borrowed from the 9-3.
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Brian 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
This has got to be the best looking Saturn so far. Yeah, should have been the G6 looks. I have never liked Pontiac's style, especially the gauges being butt-ugly orange/red like your vomited in your car. This one has snot-green all over, still better than vomit. What's wrong with those wheels? Looks better than that five spoke boring thing Chevy is slapping all over their cars and trucks.
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Autovida - Everything Automobiles 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Wow! Okay, I'm holding my breath now. I know its just a concept and there is still opportunity for GM to dumb down this car before it makes the showroom.
But still, if GM would make cars like this (even if they made all of their Saturns look like rebadged Opels) they would regain marketshare quickly. Why can't the heads of GM see that????
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rob rudorf 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
that is a beautiful car. i want one almost as much as an Alfa. i am already first in the queue for the convertible locally.
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xkred27 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
OK. This is where Saturn should have been way back when it started: A relatively inexpensive, high quality GM product. While Saturn is doing some platform sharing, if it produces a car like this, they may creep out of the hole they put themselves in.
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Geoff 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Brian - I just don't like shiny chrome wheels. They just look less classy, in my opinion. I also prefer narrower spokes, but again, that's just a personal preference.
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Zlivruquok 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Tactically, it's a nice car. And so is the Ski.
Strategically, it's going to create the same kind of division duplication that GM tried to exorcise by eliminating Oldsmobile. Old days: Buick and Olds, competing with each other in the same target market. Tomorrow: Same thing, but Saturn vs. Pontiac.
And where are the featurss that made the Saturn division unique? No plastic body panels? Holy alienating your core supporters...
Has GM learned nothing in the last 30 years?
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David Thomas 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
maybe they are plastic? i better re-read the press release.
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Roy Roger 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Saturn retailers are rated as one of the best for their service. All they need is some good looking cars and it might be a real winner for GM.
What some of you say about Opel and re-batching might not be the best solution? Opel has big problems in Europe and lost lots of market share in the last few years. Mostly because of quality problems though.
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mike chen 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
niiice, this is definitely a car that GM should be pushing to the front of production. i hope this doesn't get ripped up by the bean counters.
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Seth L 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Apart from a few details that concept looks ready for primetime.
The only thing I don't like is the Chevy grill. The Big McLargeHuge headlights work for me here though.
I think this beats the 9-3 for best-looking epsilon platform car in my book.
Oh and GM's not kidding with the Saturn=New Olds. Aura is an "or" away from Aurora.
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Josiah 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The car is impressive, I agree. Both the exterior styling and interior look wonderful. However, those shiny 18" or 19" wheels on there will probably NOT make it into the production model. Seeing one of these on the lot with dull standard wheels (which happens to every production model) will have a large effect on how this car appeals to potential buyers. Saturn will need to save money somewhere, and the cool wheels are usually the first to be downgraded when going from a model to a real production car. It's sad that you can'/t buy anew car these days with different wheel options, a small think like nice looking wheels goes a long way to making a car really stand out. I know a look at a base 300c with those plastic hubcaps gave me a completely different perception than the loaded one with chrome. I hope someday car manufacturers start to see the light and realize that shaving an extra 2-300 dollars off the price does not help them sell the car. Most people buy the mid level model cars and those should include impressive wheels, as that impresses not only young buyers but older ones as well (my parents 56 and 52 chose their Subaru forester with the 17 alloy wheels and very willingly paid the extra)
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David Thomas 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Josiah,
Actually GM is one of the first car companies (outside of the high-end imports) to offer a variety of rims for their trucks. maybe they'll extned this to the cars as well. They can NOT put plastic wheels onto another saturn though.
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Seth L 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I'm not sure wheels are that big a concern; especially since aftermarket wheel swapping has become a fairly common thing, even for the average consumer.
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