Best VUE yet of 2008 Saturn

UPDATED: We don't want to start looking like card carrying members of the Brenda Priddy & Co. fan club, but they have done it again and we feel obliged to pass it on to all of you. Caught wearing only a few bits of tape, here are some shots of a near-production 2008 Saturn VUE, which of course is based on the Opel Antara sold overseas. Sporting the friendly (and conservative) good looks of other Saturns but with a slightly more rugged skidplate-like nose, this newest VUE doesn't stray far from the formula that has made it a worthy competitor in the cute-ute segment. The current VUE, for instance, has sold 65,145 units through August, up 2.7 percent from this time last year.

Priddy & Co. is reporting that the new VUE will be assembled at General Motors' Ramos Arizpe, Mexico plant. According to their sources, the new VUE will be powered by a 2.4-liter inline four as well as an optional pair of V-6s. There may even be two separate Green Line models this time around. One with a Belt Alternator System (BAS) on the 2.4-liter 4, and the second with GM's 3.6-liter V-6 and a hybrid system jointly developed with DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, and BMW. Of note are this prototype's two exhaust cutouts, even though this particular model only has a single exhaust. This could indicate a 3.6-liter Redline model, with around 300 horsepower to round out the lineup.

[Source: Winding Road]