The coolest thing about Dave’s 2005 Saturn ION? It looked this black before it caught on fire. He doesn’t want to say what exactly what carbqued the ION, but he does mention that he had "pushed its limits performance-wise." I imagine that means the nitrous bottle in the trunk had something to do with the fire. Fortunately, Dave is over the loss of the ION, and has moved on to a Lexus SC300. Live and learn, right?

Saturn is a company that is in the process of reinventing itself. Started on the premise of a clean sheet of paper and making the process of buying a new car hassle-free, Saturn has evolved a long way from its origins as a new kind of car company and nowhere is this more evident than with the introduction of the made-in-Belgium Astra three and five-door hatchback models.

GM is a global car maker and one of the most important component parts is its European Opel subsidiary. When the plastic-clad Ion was introduced in 2003 it was launched at a time when Americans were preoccupied with trucks and SUVs. While sales were initially respectable, the market was looking elsewhere, especially in a category populated by exceptionally competitive entry-level cars from Asia.

To find a solution GM looked to Europe and saw that the Opel Astra could be a suitable, if not more expensive replacement for the Ion. Unlike the last trans-Atlantic Opel/Saturn effort, the mid-sized LS sedans and wagons, GM resisted the urge to Americanize the Astra and because of this, the Saturn Astra is almost a carbon copy of its German counterpart. The result is a C-segment car that has far more in common with a Volkswagen Rabbit than a Chevy Cobalt. It’s a handsome design that bristles with German sensibilities. Continue reading…

Continue reading "2008 Saturn XR 5-door Hatchback" »

There are certain cars that, on paper, seem like they should be very exciting. The 2008 Saturn Sky Redline is one of those cars. Sexy two-seat configuration, swoopy styling, top down motoring, and best of all 260 turbocharged horses lurking under the hood. But for most of my week with the car I was decidedly underwhelmed. Maybe it was because the car I had came with a five-speed automatic. In the end it took a very special set of circumstances to turn it all around for me. More…

It’s no secret, especially here on CarDomain, that I have an extremely soft spot for the Pontiac Fiero. I have made some detailed comparisons between the Fiero and the normally aspirated Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky twins. I just don’t feel that there’s been twenty years of progress from the last Fiero to the current Solstice and Sky. Some of my observations have been empirical, based solely on the numbers, while other are subjective, due in part I believe to familiarity to the five Fieros I’ve owned over the years.

Initial impressions on the Sky Redline centered around two things, the awkward top mechanism, and the car’s almost total lack of luggage space–especially with the top down–which combine to make the Sky (and the Solstice) basically a second or third car. As other small, inexpensive 2-seaters like the Miata have solved this packaging problem, I’m having a hard time accepting that GM couldn’t have come up with a better solution. And I know that I’m not alone in this observation.

And then there’s the interior. There’s no way to get around it–it’s tight, and I’m only five foot eight, 190 slightly overweight pounds due to too many fast food breakfasts on the road. I simply couldn’t get situated properly, feeling that I was up too high, which caused the windshield header bar to often obstruct my view of overhead traffic signals. This is an almost fatal flaw when it comes to selecting a car.

And my initial impressions driving the car–albeit I was stuck in notorious Southern California traffic–weren’t positive at all. First, the car was delivered with the top down, and, as it simply wasn’t practical to use my Bluetooth hands-free phone adaptor, I attempted to put the top up. It’s a manual top and it’s not easy to operate. And if the handle isn’t folded just right, it’s impossible to latch the top to the header panel. It took a few minutes to figure it all out.

And driving the car, it felt disconnected, heavy, and not at all engaging. Again, my immediate point of reference wasn’t one of its direct competitors but rather my own 1988 base Fiero 4-cylinder coupe, where I feel very much at home. To make sure that I wasn’t alone in this observation, I had a good friend–another car guy who gets to drive a lot of different cars every month–take it out for a spin. Without any prompting from me, his feelings mirrored mine almost point for point.

It took a very special drive to turn it all around for me. I am an automotive photographer and this involves many sunrise photo shoots, which means a lot of early morning wake up calls–in this case 3:30 AM as I had to drive 90 minutes from home to a site just outside of Barstow, California to meet the owner of a car I was shooting for one of the magazines I contribute to.

After a stop at Jack in the Box for a #24 Cibatta Breakfast (large upgrade so I would get a sufficient dose of caffeine) I headed north through Riverside enjoying the fact that there was virtually no one else on I-15. The Sky and me started to come together as the caffeine kicked in as I started the climb up through the Cajon Pass. It was then that I popped in a favorite surf music compilation disc, Surf Fiction, that I picked up at, in all places, a gas station outside of Munich, and fast forwarded to track 28, a Ventures’ medley with an updated re-recording of Hawaii 5-O.

Into the tunes and not really paying attention, I continued my climb and started to take advantage of all 260 horses under the hood. It was then that I felt the Sky was in its element as it pulled strongly in the upper rev ranges as I climbed over the summit and down into Apple Valley through Victorville on my way to my pre-sunrise rendezvous with my subject. As I was running a bit late, I will admit that I was traveling faster than I probably should have, but the sun waits for no photographer.

As I approached Barstow I knew it was going to be tight as I could see some faint rays of light reflecting off of the top of the front fenders. It was then that the seductiveness of the Sky’s shape hit me. I was unfair to compare it to my beloved Fieros; rather it should be compared to ballsy, classic British two-seaters. A big Austin Healey six immediately came to mind, its combination of brutal beauty and brawn was a much better counterpoint than the lithe Fiero.

I met my subject with just a few minutes to spare, and afterwards we had breakfast reviewing the images before heading back to LA to return the Sky. As I had a little bit of time, and to avoid rush hour freeway traffic, I flipped the top into the trunk and took back roads, including parts of Route 66 on the drive into the LA basin. I tried a few more CDs and each helped to enhance the drive as I cranked up the volume and got into a certain rhythm.

By the time I was on the 405 approaching Torrance, my opinion of the car had turned 180 degrees. All its flaws were still there, yet they melted into insignificance as I pulled into my destination. At that point I just wished I’d have more time in the Sky Redline, not wanting to hand over the keys. In the end, that speaks volumes about the car. Ultimately it comes down to the right car, wind in the hair, a great road, and the proper tunes; together it’s an intoxicating combination.

February was a rough month for the auto industry. Only four manufacturers managed to improve their daily average sales rate when compared to February 2007. Honda, Mazda and Mercedes-Benz all saw minuscule gains, while MINI went freakin’ ballistic, with a 38 % increase over last year. Everyone else saw a decline. Saturn took the biggest dump with a 36 % decrease. Ouch. See all the stats at Autoblog.

Spy photographers have once again spotted a prototype for Saturn Aura/Opel Insignia. The vehicle spotted gives us a good glimpse of what’s to come for Saturn’s largest sedan and, for the first time, reveals what the production interior will look like. The prototype appears to draw lightly from Opel’s GTC concept, but it’s definitely evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. Obviously the head and tail lamps are fake on this prototype, but we can imagine what will be in their place without too much difficulty (GM has also released a teaser image showing the Insignia’s taillight).

The upcoming Aura/Insignia is based on GM’s fresh Epsilon 2 platform. We’re expecting similar powertrains to the current model – a couple of V6s and a hybrid – as well as front wheel drive. All-wheel drive is a rumored possibility. The prototype’s gauge cluster is highlighted by four chrome-ringed dials — two large and two small — with clean looking faces. Chrome also accents the center-mounted gear shifter, giving the interior an up-scale feel. For the first time, spy shots reveal what the center stack will look like on the road-going model. Although the quality doesn’t look quite up to production floor standards, the overall design can be inferred. Atop the center stack looks like a space that could house an LCD screen.
The Insignia will be released in late ’08 as an ’09 model in Europe, with U.S. sales of an Aura likely following a year later. More photos at Left Lane News.

Oh it’s a showstopper alright—if you want everyone to stop what they’re doing and go home. The confused safari/taxi/checkered-flag/jungle theme is what’ll set this custom beast apart from the other pimped-out Azteks in your hood. The purpose of the light bar on the roof is a little unclear, though maybe it ties into the law-enforcement motif suggested by the gun-wielding monkey with the sheriff’s badge. The auction text boasts "A PAINT JOB BY THREE!! ARTISTS WITH MONKEYS!!!!!" The notion that multiple artists and monkeys were working on this schizophrenic nightmare certainly does explain a few things, but we at CarDomain are honestly pretty stumped about why this custom job was ever allowed to exist in the first place. Any ideas?

Kudos to Sean’s brother Paul for sending this our way.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

This crazy Castrol V-8 mid-engined Saturn prototype is in the PASMAG booth this year. I think they somehow managed to outdo last year’s car. Here’s a quick walk-around video.