Making it official: Saturn Astra confirmed by GM
At a GM function Autoblog attended Wednesday night, Mark LaNeve, in his remarks to the assembled media, mentioned the Astra by name when responding to a question about Saturn. That was the first time we'd heard anyone from GM refer to the forthcoming Ion replacement by its Opel moniker in a Saturn context, and given LaNeve's stature, we took notice. We caught up with him later on and asked if "Saturn Astra" was indeed the official name, and he responded that it was being "heavily considered."
Well, he certainly wasn't kidding, as Thursday brought the official announcement that the new hatch will retain the Astra branding. When you consider that the name was kept for both the Holden and Vauxhall versions, this isn't really a big surprise. With the Ion being the the stylistic horror show that it was (this writer maintains that the Dodge Caliber looks like a Lamborghini Miura by comparison), saddling its replacement with the old name would have been the marketing equivalent of draping an albatross around its neck right out of the gate.
More commentary, plus GM's official announcement after the jump. Read on!
[Source: GM]
So -- crisis averted, and the US gets its first look at the Saturn Astra at the Chicago Auto Show, where both 3- and 5-door versions will be on hand. In Europe, Astra is also available as a wagon, a notchback sedan, a C+C, and an extraordinarily spiffy glass-roofed Panoramic model.
We asked LaNeve if GM would consider the introduction of additional bodystyles to supplement the hatch. His response was yes, over time. "Over time" is intentionally vague, of course. GM is obviously going to wait and see what kind of marketplace traction it gets with Astra before it commits resources to expanding the model's North American lineup. Still, color us enthused. Astra is, after all, a fully-developed product and well-known commodity in other markets. If it's a success, it shouldn't be that difficult to introduce existing variants here. We'll gleefully speculate on which ones at a later date. Right now, we're content to know that both hatchbacks are headed our way for the model's launch. We thought we'd wind up with the sedan, which would have been such the "old GM" thing to do.
We don't miss the old GM. Nor will we miss one of its poster children, the Saturn Ion, to whom we say, "Good riddance." Close that door behind you, okay?
PRESS RELEASE:
Saturn Astra To Join Lineup In Late 2007
New small car to complete turnover of vehicle lineup in less than two years
DETROIT - Saturn confirmed today that it will add the Astra compact car to its lineup late in 2007, marking an important stage in its product revitalization plan. When the 2008 Astra joins the Sky, Aura, Outlook and all-new Vue, no Saturn will have been in the market more than 20 months, giving the brand one of the freshest product lineups in the industry.
"The Astra is a great fit for Saturn, with its European style and driving dynamics," said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn general manager. "It also signals our efforts to get new vehicles to market quickly and reinvent the entire Saturn product lineup with unprecedented speed."
The Saturn Astra will be nearly identical to the 2007.5 Opel Astra, unveiled this week at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy. It will be sold in the United States and Canada in three-door and five-door configurations.
The Astra is part of the larger collaboration between Saturn and Opel. By sharing resources from throughout GM's global network of design and engineering centers, the two brands can develop strong, broad product lineups that will attract buyers to the brands both in North America and Europe. Early examples of this collaboration include the Saturn Sky and upcoming Opel GT, as well as the Opel Antara and 2008 Saturn Vue.
"The Astra enables Saturn to occupy a unique position in the marketplace and to strategically broaden its appeal with consumers who usually have import brands on their shopping lists," said Lajdziak. "Saturn's partnership with Opel is a natural way to expand our lineup with relevant products that will attract new buyers into our showrooms."
More information will be available when Saturn unveils the 2008 Astra at the Chicago Auto Show in February 2007.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
WOW 8:08AM (12/08/2006)
Wow. I can't believe it.
GOOD FOR GENERAL MOTORS¡ Saturn rules¡
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Rich 8:24AM (12/08/2006)
http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/adv_tech/100_news/astra_011005.html
Bring this one over!
Wonder if they're going to be built in Spring Hill......
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Sid 8:25AM (12/08/2006)
YESSSSSSS!!! I kept drooling at the Vauxhall Astra VXR 3-dr when I read Top Gear. Now we have it!!! Can you say 'Saturn Astra Red Line 3-Dr'?
Awesome news for hot-hatch fans.
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Tristan McCann 8:44AM (12/08/2006)
The "Astra" name is also held over for the "Chevy Astra" that I saw in Mexico. They also get the Optra, Corsa, and the Vectra as Chevy.
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Jonathan Hicks 4:33PM (12/08/2006)
The U.S. Astra will only offer 3 door and five door hatchbacks? Why?!! Why not also offer a sedan version as well?
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Opel_FaN#1 7:36AM (10/10/2008)
Cuz the sedan version appeared here in europe only a few months ago, allthough the Astra H has been here since 2004... its too "new" to be exported yet I guess.. maybe you also get the sedan, with a 4-5 year delay :PPPPP Anyway: OPEL RULZ!!
David 8:44AM (12/08/2006)
More info
GM Unwraps the New Saturn Astra, the Company's Small Car of the Future
DETROIT (AP) -- A new Saturn small car that will arrive in showrooms late next year is an example of how General Motors Corp. can pool its global resources to roll out high-quality new products at a faster pace, company officials said.
On Thursday night, GM gave reporters a sneak peak at the Saturn Astra, which is nearly identical to the 2007 Opel Astra unveiled earlier this week in Italy. Further details on the sleek-looking Saturn, which will share underpinnings with the next-generation Chevrolet and Pontiac compacts, will not be released until the Chicago Auto Show in February, GM said.
The three- and five-door Astras, which will replace the aging Saturn Ion, were designed by GM engineers in Russelsheim, Germany, and will be built in Antwerp, Belgium, GM said.
"The Astra is a great fit for Saturn, with its European style and driving dynamics," Jill Lajdziak, Saturn general manager, said in a statement. "It also signals our efforts to get new vehicles to market quickly and reinvent the entire Saturn product lineup with unprecedented speed," she said.
With the new car, Saturn will have refreshed its whole product line in less than two years, GM said.
Pete Hastings, an auto industry corporate bonds analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. in Memphis, Tenn., said building the Astra for sale globally will save GM valuable capital dollars.
"I think the cars coming out of the GM Design Center, they've got their act together. They've got the right idea in going forward with the global platform for the cost savings and taking the best from around the world and putting them into these offerings," he said.
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OpEL_FaN#1 7:28AM (10/10/2008)
It kind of funny, that they at Opel started to export the Astra H into the US almost !!5!! years after it has shown up in Europe.. We in Europe are waiting for the next generation, so you guys get the old one? :PP All in all its a great car (and not even a small one, its a medium size car), and with the 2.0l turbo ecotec it can even run really well (2.0L GTC, or 2.0 Turbo OPC) OPEL 4 LIFE!
Vega 8:58AM (12/08/2006)
While it surely is a great addition to their model lineup, I'm not sure building a car in Europe and selling it in the US is such a good idea given current USD/EUR rates. Just ask DCX how the Crossfire is doing...
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Greg A. 9:02AM (12/08/2006)
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/08/the-next-saturn-ion-is-an-opel/
According to that Autoblog article, the Ion is built at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. (Production is to end this month.) Out of curiosity, which model will be built there with the capacity that was used to build the Ion?
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Greg A. 9:20AM (12/08/2006)
#6 "I'm not sure building a car in Europe and selling it in the US is such a good idea given current USD/EUR rates."
Perhaps we'll get only fully loaded Astras and GM will market the model as a "premium" vehicle in its size segment. Besides the Audi A3, I can't think of any premium compact hatches on the U.S. market right now. Acura had the RSX but just pulled the plug on it. Would a premium Saturn Astra fare better?
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Craigefa 9:33AM (12/08/2006)
Finally, an American car that makes me re-think my allegiance to Honda. I want one with the panoramic roof now!
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Thor 9:48AM (12/08/2006)
The Only Euro makers that have succeeded in the USA are the luxury makers, and not because thewir cars are not overpriced and unreliable, both MBs and BMWs, BTW, but because the domestics SURRENDERED their leadership in luxury cars (both Caddilac and esp. Lincoln, that used to be no. 1 and no. 2 by a HUGE margin in Sales, and now they are way behind), and the japanese have NOT produced serious rivals to DRIVER"S cars such as BMWs and Porsches and even MBS. They are far more reliable, but they drive like Buicks (Lexuses) or look like excrement (Infinitis), or both.
Opel makes decent cars, but not up to Hondas or TOyotas. I know from my own experience, and we have briught them over here before, the infgamous GM J cars were rebadged Opel Asconas, mine even had the euro engine and 5-speed, all made overseas, but was called a "pontiac".
A friend in Europe was given a more upscale OPEL, the VECTRA, as a company car. With a luxury interior, BUT the fit and finish was LAUGHABLE! The glove compartment was flush on one side and had two full inches of gap on the other! Ludicrous.
If LUtz and GM think that with such lame-ass half-hearted imports they will crush the MADE IN AMERICA BY AMERICAN WORKERS ACCORDS AND CAMRYS AND CIVICS AND COROLLAS,
they are delusional.
And attention high schoolers posting here, calling me names will not change the aboive TRUE FACTS ONE IOTA
(but if you insist, go ahwad, make my day. LOL!!!)
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Dave 11:07AM (12/08/2006)
HORROR SHOW! how dare you. I know that the ION sedan is a monstrosity, but please don't think that for one second the ION QC RedLine is a Horror show. Probably one of the best small sports cars I've seen in a while.
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zeroSignal 9:48AM (12/08/2006)
Craigefa, this car is as much American as is feta cheese.
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Perry 9:50AM (12/08/2006)
Gentlemen...I have never owned or lusted over a GM product (well the Corvette maybe..)but if ASTRA arrives here in Canada (and the US) things will change!
I go to Greece twice a year and I rent cars from Hertz Hellas (they feature Opels). On more than a few occasions the Opel ASTRA 5 door was my choice.
I can attest that a family of 4 with about 3 and a half pieces of luggage in the back is very comfortable in this "little" car. The interior is at par with all the other compacts available in Europe (perhaps second to the VW products in quality but very good nonetheless). I would definitely consider owning this 5-door after my Mazda6 lease expires provided GM does not mess things up...just stick the Saturn logo on it and leave the rest the way it is!
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High Schooler Emeritus 9:59AM (12/08/2006)
Hey THor,
Everything you say is 100% correct, BUT Saturn will still greatly improve by adopting the Astra in its lineup.
Remember the Astra will replace the accursed, ugly-as-sin, godforsaken piece of crap Saturn ION, an exercise in excrement production of the highest order!
Saturn is making a huge effort to go away from the utter losers it used to make (I know, I have driven them, even the so-called "sporty" versions of its onetime sedans and coupes... make the most undesirable noise, like 10 cacophonous coffeemakers) and join the 20th century... and maybe after a few decades they can join the 21st.
But you are right, do not expect this to be a serious challenge to the Civic or Corolla (it is not Camry or Accord size, but much smaller)
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Gooch 10:06AM (12/08/2006)
Wow, Thor, what current Infiniti looks like excrement? Certainly not the G35, coupe or sedan. Neither does the M or Q. And are you saying the Lexus IS series drives like a Buick? That must be some Buick you're comparing it to.
In all my reading and research on cars, I have never heard the the GM J-car was based on a Euro machine. Where did you dig that up from? Your "facts" without verification are nothing more than opinion.
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The other Bob 10:18AM (12/08/2006)
I think Thor was once named Paul.
He or She is here to:
A) Get a rise out of people
B) Get a paycheck from Toyota or Honda's PR department
C) Get out his freakish anti-social feelings on those of us who drive GM cars because he couldn't score in his Daddy's Pontiac.
OR
D) Get out her freakish anti-social feelings on those of us who drive GM cars because she scored in her Daddy's Pontiac and had a bad experience.
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Greg A. 10:23AM (12/08/2006)
Perry (#12): You have a family of four and you would consider replacing your Mazda6 (which is a midsize car) with an Astra (which is a compact car)?
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