New York Auto Show: Deja Vue? Saturn's crossover concept hits us baby, one more time
Despite its fortuitous name, the Saturn PreVue unveiled yesterday had us humming a certain bubblegum pop tune by blonde we'd just as soon forget. And no wonder... we've literally seen this exact same concept before, albeit rocking Opel badges. As far as we can tell, even the official press photos are identical, with the PreVue but a Photoshop airbrush away from being the Opel Antara GTC concept vehicle Autoblog saw in Frankfurt last year.
International doppelganger intrigue aside, the PreVue is a very attractive concept, with a particularly strong stance, aggressive nose, and nicely wrought details like the rearview mirror stanchion and beautifully integrated "Sorry folks, this is a showcar" side-exit exhausts. Another likely concept-only detail is the lack of b-pillar, which affords the PreVue a particularly airy and racy-looking greenhouse, but a production version would be tough to engineer in light of side-impact standards.
Will the concept live up to its name, and presage the next Vue? If the naming logic holds as expected, the reality will unfortunately be altogether more ordinary in execution.
(On-hand photos and a couple of press images after the jump)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Puff Chippy 10:20AM (4/13/2006)
Very sweet! Kinda like the Lexus LX only cool. After seeing all the cool cars at the show it's too bad I'm poor and can only afford one.
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RossL 10:21AM (4/13/2006)
To my mind, saying it's just a rebadged Opel is a *good* thing. Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that the most interesting thing about this vehicle will be how GM manages, in a hundred different ways, to water it down for the production version. By then, it will just look like another Lexus or Mazda CX-7 wannabe.
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allen 10:50AM (4/13/2006)
Saturn car is the hottest thing coming ou of GM
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doug 11:01AM (4/13/2006)
Come back to reality. Here's a spy shot of the new Vue from Edmunds:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=109584#2
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Dave Lawson 11:06AM (4/13/2006)
Looks like a Caliber-killer, to me. The execution will, of course, determine the "execution".
There had better be a manual transmission available on this thing....with a real engine, not the sucky 140hp on my Vue. Also, better managed weight shift for FWD traction on snow/wet. If that happens, I'd think about it seriously.
Don't get too wrapped up in the Euro-ness of Opel, though. Over there, that's the local equivalent of our Chevy or Ford. BMW, Audi and Mercedes are still the mainstream premium brands.
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David 11:10AM (4/13/2006)
The gauges are very Aero-X. Hopefully we'll see a production version soon.
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Corey W. 11:20AM (4/13/2006)
GM, like DCX, needs to stick their neck out on this one... Concepts are cool, but if you don't incorporate the same "WOW" effect in the production model, it just a waste.
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Neal Reilly 1:02PM (4/16/2006)
This isn't a comment but a question. Will the production models of the Saturn Aura and PreVue have the traditional Saturn polimer side-panels?
thank you
Neal
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Adrian 4:55PM (4/17/2006)
If you check out Saturn's website you can watch the NY auto show footage from Saturn. Lutz describe's the future of Saturn, if I may paraphrase, the outlet for Optel designs. It will be interesting to see if the bland 2008 Saturn, seen in the spy shots, prove to be only a temporary stop gap while this sweet concept is rushed into production (hopefully faster than the Pontiac Solstice).
www.saturn.com
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