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Well... since the entire idea of the Saturn brand was for America to show the world they can make a better small car than the Japanese, and given that they've used Honda engines in the past, and now some European platforms (i.e. Aura, Sky), I'd say it's a pretty flippin big deal myself. Despite being built in Mexico which doesn't help that mission either...
Well, at least the Aura and Sky were engineered by GM of Europe, which is a little different from importing a Daewoo and calling it a Chevy Aveo. But that really isn't a big deal either; once they slap the GM brand on the car, it is their reputation that is on the line, not the original manufacturer's.
True story: Back in 1991, my mom, who had never owned a foreign car in her life, told my dad to go buy an Infiniti Q45, even though she had never even seen one. He dutifully did so. She swore it was by far the greatest car she'd ever driven and wondered why other car companies she'd been so loyal to in the past weren't trying to build anything like this.
Not long after that, a news story came on about a trade war between the U.S. and Japan. (Remember when we were all fretting about Japan dumping cheap goods in the U.S. instead of China? Ah, those were the days.) My mom said she never understood why anyone would buy a Japanese car. My dad and I just stared at each other, each knowing that the other was thinking, "uhm, how do we tell her?"
Well, at least the Aura and Sky were engineered by GM of Europe
To be more precise the Vue, Aura and Astra are rebadged Opel models from Germany, whereas the Opel GT is a rebadged Sky Saturn.
For certain manufacturers/ models it is quite difficult to base the purchase decision on "nationalistic" facts. However it is the very invidual requirement that counts when it comes to a car purchase... and if it is one of the requirements that it has to be a US built car - fine for me (as it should be for everyone). Just consider some extensive research then.
To be more precise the Vue, Aura and Astra are rebadged Opel models from Germany, whereas the Opel GT is a rebadged Sky Saturn.
For certain manufacturers/ models it is quite difficult to base the purchase decision on "nationalistic" facts. However it is the very invidual requirement that counts when it comes to a car purchase... and if it is one of the requirements that it has to be a US built car - fine for me (as it should be for everyone). Just consider some extensive research then.
The original concept for the "sky" was from Vauxhall was it not?
The original concept for the "sky" was from Vauxhall was it not?
The Sky has been presented as a concept on the NAIAS with a Vauxhall badge. But with the exception of some Holden and Lotus derivatives, Vauxhall cars are nothing else than modified Opel.
The story I heard was that Opel urged GM to get a successor for its famous GT... they agreed, but in the end the car was engineered and built in the US.
The original concept for the "sky" was from Vauxhall was it not?
You're probably thinking of the Vauxhall VX220. The Sky (the whole Kappa platform really) may have been inspired by it, but it is a completely new and different platform that was developed in the U.S. The VX220 was actually based on the Lotus Elise chassis.
Saturn really went down the crapper in quality. When they were all built in the original Saturn plant in Spring Hill, TN, they were a quality car...plus GM didn't have its hands in the day-to-day operation of Saturn. Once GM completely took over and started farming out Saturn production to existing GM plants, that's when Saturn became junk.
And now for a company that was started to be an American-made economy car to compete with the Japanese, now to have some models not even built in America....well its safe to say that Saturn has jumped the shark.
I used to sell cars when the first Saturns started showing up on the used car lots en masse. The claim that the original Saturns were "quality cars" before GM fully absorbed the company doesn't match up with my observations. Questionable though GM's quality was from the late 90s through recently, IMO they brought the quality standards of Saturn up considerably. The company made it through its first few years on the basis of marketing alone. If GM hadn't taken over day-to-day operations, I doubt Saturn would still be around today.
BTW, my brother is the general manager of a Saturn dealership. He shares basically the same view.
I see some of you hate american cars and would take anything foreign any day over american.
Is there a specific make/model/year you hate? or do you just hate all american cars regardless of who made it and when?
I can agree some of today's foreign cars hold up better than american, but I believe there was once a time 36 years ago when an american car was built to last and foreign car manufacturers were not built very well at all.
I don't like the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban.
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