Autoblog

It is tough to keep up a winning streak, as Saturn may soon realize. After boasting a 12.6-percent increase in retail sales, and average transaction prices up by $7,000 compared to the previous year, GM expects their Saturn division to continue their growth for the next five years.

It most likely won't be that easy. Last year, Saturn presented an entirely new model line responsible for the fresh faces pouring into showrooms. This year, things are a bit different. The Saturn Outlook, the slowest selling of GM's three Lambda CUVs, heads into its second year having to compete with now a fourth Lamda-platform crossover, the Chevrolet Traverse. The Saturn Aura, perennially living in the shadow of the Chevy Malibu, carries over with just minor changes for 2008. Even the all-new Saturn Astra, fresh from Europe where it is sold as an Opel, may fight for domestic sales if American buyers don't warm to its Euro-designed interior.

There is hope. As Saturn is GM's "green" outlet, there are a couple of innovative vehicles on the horizon. We can expect to see a Two Mode hybrid Vue by the end of this year which should be followed by a plug-in Vue by 2010.

[Source: Automotive News]

click image above for high-res gallery

While the name Traverse is not set in stone, the arrival of a Lambda-based CUV for Chevy is. Joining the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave will be this model caught for the first time on the Las Vegas strip, of all places. Condenamed the GMT 561, the Traverse is on a fast track to production and will likely be built at GM's Springhill, Tennessee plant starting in August of 2008, which means it should be labeled as a 2009 model. Chances are we'll see its first public debut at either the Detroit Auto Show in January or Chicago show in February.

While it's hard to tell based on the spy shots, the front end will likely carry styling cues over from the new Chevy Malibu, which is fine with us. The only real question is whether or not the Traverse will grow Lambda sales, or merely cannibalize them from its siblings. We expect it would be the value leader among the group, slotting below the Outlook in price and equipment. Does the Traverse make for one too many full-size CUVs in GM's stable? Perhaps, but at least the "new GM" is badge engineering vehicles that are good to begin with, spreading the wealth around its brands rather than saddling them with poorly made copies of below average vehicles.

[Photos: Brenda Priddy & Co.]

It's no secret that import models seem to do well in comparison tests performed by Consumer Reports. While some accuse CR of being biased against American metal, we've spent enough time with the Consumer Reports crew to know that they strive for objectivity in their tests. They actually purchase test vehicles straight from the dealer rather than using manufacturer supplied media vehicles, and their results over the past decade of testing just supports what we've all felt in our gut: General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group have not been performing up to their potential.

In the current August issue of CR that goes on sale tomorrow, however, a domestic model, the Saturn Outlook, dominated a field of four other midsize CUVs including the Hyundai Veracruz, Mazda CX-9, Chrysler Pacifica and Ford Edge. Its performance earned it a Very Good rating and a place behind the top-rated Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Honda Pilot in the midsize SUV category and a second place spot behind the much more expensive Mercedes-Benz GL450 in the large SUV category. CR decided the Outlook could be considered in both categories because it's car-based and technically a CUV like most of its midsize competitors, but is so roomy and seats up to eight like many large SUVs.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

The Autoblog team has hit the summer season with a fury, with more news than you can shake a stick at. We saw plenty of car shows last week, and we got behind the wheel of some of the Chrysler group's hottest new products and concepts, too. We also got to drop the top of the hot new Solstice GXP and get some drive time with the Saturn Outlook.

The last week was packed with information, and four minutes will give you an update on anything you might have missed by clicking on the video above. We've also added links below to some of the more significant galleries from the last seven days. This week we have some incredible music from Brian Buckit with "Rocket Science". Enjoy!

Click on the photo for a high res gallery of the Saturn Outlook

By coincidence it turned out Alex and I were both scheduled to spend some time with a new Saturn Outlook at about the same time. Alex is working on a full review, so I'll try and give a more succinct take for a change. The Outlook is the diametrical opposite of the original Saturn S-Series weighing in at 5,000 lbs in all-wheel drive form. The new full-size crossover shares it's full-sized Lambda platform with with the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.

Each one has it's own unique look and the Saturn has particularly attractive proportions. In photos it looks much smaller than it is, having the style of mid-sized station wagon. If the Outlook body was scaled down to fit on the mid-sized Aura platform it would make an excellent complement to the sedan. It's only when you walk up to the Outlook and it's siblings that you begin to realize that it's within an inch or two of the Tahoe/Yukon in all major dimensions.

Read more of my impressions of the Outlook after the jump

We've finally poked our respective heads out of our interweb caves and unleashed episode 67 of the Autoblog podcast upon the world. We've been pretty nutty lately with our new, improved site design and our groundbreaking car giveaway, so please forgive our delay at getting back to this. Our first delightful round of witty repartee centers around the excellent spy shots from the last couple weeks, and more specifically Jaguar's new Starship Enterprise looking shift selector. Expanding on the abundance of uberteched European cars, we carp for a while on the proliferation of new and ill-conceived user interface paradigms. Coming back to native shores, we touch on the new CTS-V, which will eschew the need for bumper nuts by a conspicuously bulged hood hiding a supercharged V8 capable of roasting the competition. Speaking of big power, we touch on the rumored NSX mule running around the Nurburgring in S2000 drag, and then concede that we really have no idea. Again, we come back to the US after a quick jaunt to the Continent, and discuss the upcoming Chevy version of GM's Lambda CUV. We're split on whether that's a good idea or not, but we all agree that the Utes themselves are a great product from the General. What the heck, let's go back across the Atlantic to close it out with insane VAG concepts at the Worthersee gathering in Austria, which saw the unveiling of a mid engine twin turbo GTI, the Audi TT Clubsport design study, and the Pirelli Edition GTI that is a real production car. We decided to only consume about 37 minutes of your time, as we'll be back soon. Enjoy the show!

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Sometimes news is just too good to keep to yourself. Just ask GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. With his company supposedly claiming 13 spots on Edmund's Consumers' Most Wanted list, Lutz just had to brag a bit on the corporate blog before the winners were made public.

And he should brag. Most other car of the year awards are chosen by us automotive writers who usually prefer horsepower over hip room. As the name implies, Edmund's CMW awards are chosen by the car-buying public. And despite not voting with their wallets, the car-buying public who visits Edmund's really like their GMs.

The GMC Acadia got Most Significant vehicle of the year, beating out Honda's Fit, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Ford Edge and the Toyota Tundra.

Click through to see Edmund's press release as well as the other category winners.

[Source: Edmunds, GM FastLane Blog]

Saturn has gone from "A different kind of car company" to a much better car company faster than anybody has the right to expect, and all the new products being introduced are starting to result in improved sales numbers. Within one year, the Sky, Aura, and Outlook were introduced, and the Aura provided the cherry on top when it won the 2007 North American car of the year award at the Detroit Auto Show. Once the new hot to trot Astra replaces the asthetically-challenged Ion, the Sky will be the oldest product in Saturn's lineup.

The resulting numbers for Saturn have been very impressive indeed, with a 20-percent bump in 1st quarter 2007 sales versus Q1 2006, and now people that previously didn't give Saturn a thought are buying into GM's newest lineup. In a recent interview with The Car Connection, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak pointed out that Sky owners have an average family income of over $100,000, while the typical Aura customer is pulling in $79,000 per annum. Those numbers are in stark contrast to the overall lineup, which stands at $63,000 per year. Lajdziak is looking for more success in the second quarter, and with the vastly better-looking than the original Vue coming out very shortly, the news is only getting better for Saturn.

Saturn still has a long way to go in winning over customers, as Aura and Outlook sales haven't exactly been setting the world on fire. After driving the Aura, we'd guess that the biggest obsticle for the COTY is a lack of customer awareness, and additional marketing dollars should help a lot. We've long thought that the Opelization of the Saturn lineup was a great idea, and now it looks like it's actually panning out for GM.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Yesterday the website Inside Line reported that sources deep within General Motors revealed that the storied "Nomad" name would be revived for the upcoming Chevy version of the automaker's full-size Lambda-based CUV. According to their sources, the new ute will debut as a 2009 model to replace the abhorrent Chevy Uplander.

Not so, says Josh Oliver from The GM Source. His sources, also deep within General Motors, claim that reviving the "Nomad" name, which most recently was used on a Kappa-based concept in 2004 (shown above), has never even "appeared on the radar screen" during discussions of how to christen the new crossover. Oliver's sources also claim the CUV will appear in 2009 as a 2010 model.

Who to believe? We don't really care, because it's just a name. We're more concerned that GM's spreading the Lamda platform too thin across four brands. While the Buick Enclave manages to differentiate itself well from therest of the pack, the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia already appear too close for our comfort. Hopefully the Chevy version doesn't come off as an Acadia with a Malibu grille.

[Source: TheGMSource]

The KickingTires blog at Cars.com is reporting GM has recalled its new 2007 Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia full-size CUVs for potentially faulty airbag sensors. The problem is reportedly software related, meaning it can be fixed with a trip to the dealer and a quick patch, but every single unit sold since they went on sale in December is affected by the recall. Letters went out yesterday to owners of the Saturn Outlook and will be sent on February 28th for GMC Acadia owners.

This is not a recall mandated by the NHTSA, but rather one initiated by GM itself after the problem was discovered internally. The potentialy faulty sensor in question controls the front airbags' deployment. While this potentially faulty sensor in the Outlook and Acadia could cause injury, GM apparently caught it quickly and the fix should be cheap, easy and fast for them to apply to every vehicle affected by the recall.

[Source: KickingTires.com]