Saturn Aura, A Must See Vehicle

Anthony Fontanelle
June 22, 2007

General Motors, in the past, has developed Saturn vehicles with no output from its other subsidiaries or division. The result of this is the low sale for the Saturn brand. In the past, the only good thing about Saturn is that it has the best customer relationship. With its hassle-free sales, what you see on the sticker is what you will pay for. Recently General Motors decided to revitalize Saturn's lineup.

To do this, the Detroit, Michigan based car manufacturer turned to its subsidiary based in Europe - Opel. The collaboration between Saturn and Opel has led to the development and production of the new Saturn Aura - a must see vehicle for prospective car buyers.

One of the strong selling points of the Saturn Aura is its reasonable price. According to General Motors, the Aura will be sold starting with a price of $19,985. The most that one should shell out for the new Aura is $23,945. For that sum, one would be treated to a long list of features that complements the European exterior styling of the new Aura.

While the Aura has what it takes to take on the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, the sale of the Saturn is not as high as General Motors would want it. The reason for this is the previous ad campaign used by General Motors which failed to attract the attention of many American car buyers. To change that scenario, General Motors has announced that they will be offering Camry and Accord units in Saturn dealerships to be test driven by car buyers along with the Saturn Aura.

The brand is capitalizing on the fact that the Aura beat both the Camry and the Accord for the North American Car of the Year Award. Earlier this year, the Aura was given that distinction at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Another strong selling point for the Saturn Aura is its projected residual value after three years of 51 percent. That figure is almost the same with the Camry. This means that the value of the Aura is almost the same as that of the Camry. This shows that General Motors is finally closing the gap between them and Asian car manufacturers in terms of the quality of the cars that they produce.

The Aura is available in the XE and XR trim levels as well as the hybrid version called the Aura Green Line. General Motors announced that a wagon version of the Aura will be introduced in 2009 as a 2010 model year vehicle. The said wagon version will use the G Epsilon platform and is being developed by Opel.

The Saturn Aura is based on the Opel Vectra. The European styling of the Vectra is very much apparent in the Aura. From its front fascia to the Saturn fenders, the body panels and the rear bumper, the Aura sports European styling which earned it the praise of being “the best Saturn yet.”

As far as performance is concerned, the engine of the XE trim line is a 3.5-liter V6 engine with a power output of 224 hp. This is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. For the top-of-the-line XR model, the powerplant choice is a slightly larger 3.6-liter V6. This engine can produce as much as 252 horsepower. It is coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Source:  Amazines.com