from the roadtrip I had in an alero, I thought it was the (very) entry level vehicle.

I wonder if it’s the fact that it’s a hatchback. Hatches certainly have their partisans, but it’s long been said that hatches don’t sell that well here. I’d be interested in sales figures for current and recently-discontinued hatchback models (ie, Focus.)

What Saturn has really lacked (for over a decade now) is a breakthrough product. That’s a hard thing to do when the mothership is busy stepping all over itself trying to release three to five different versions of the same type of vehicle. Vue, Outlook, Sky, are all just homologations of what GM already offers through B-P-G and Chevy divisions. That’s just not a winnable formula when your competition has more money and more resources to invest in a unique product.

As for the Astra, if the Euro was at an exchange closer to 2001 – 2003 levels, the Astra would be a great consideration. It is a unique offering that offers probably the most Euro influenced vehicle in GM’s line-up except for the higher priced Saab. I suspect we would have also probably been given a nicer interior and perhaps even a turbo. With the Euro at $1.60 right now, GM can not make any money with this model and do those things. However I do think GM should be complemented for having the wherewithal to recognize Saturn’s current situation and do something about it.

Now if only they would sell it to some entity that would be willing to offer a unique and competitive product, now that would be an achievement.

Of course, the problem is that Saturn was a bad idea to begin with. It shows how desperate GM was to have some presence in the compact segment that they were trying such a kitchen sink approach with the J-body cars for every marque, rebadged Japanese cars at a new subbrand of Chevy, and a whole new division just for compacts.

This is odd, because a “Renault Versa” doesn’t exist anywhere. The Versa isn’t badged as a Renault anywhere.
Sure, it’s on a platform shared with Renault (and Dacia!), but so is the Altima.
It has been available as the Nissan Tiida in Asia for some time now, and has just been launched in Europe.

The small sedans just don’t make as much sense to me. A current Civic (or old Accord) is just about as small as I can imagine going with a non-hatchback design.

I wonder what would have happened if GM had shut down Saturn instead of Oldsmobile and then simply continued with the reinvention of Oldsmobile. Maybe they could’ve ditched the Oldsmobile name for something a little less fuddy-duddy. I can’t imagine that it would’ve gone worse than trying to turn Saturn into Olds 2.0.

That would have been a smart move. Heck, apparently there were plans at one point to make Saturn a Oldsmobile sub-brand (like Scion to Toyota). Even that would have been a better idea than creating a brand to only sell Corolla-clones, then shut down another brand, then try to turn the Corolla-clone brand into the first brand-and then quit selling Corolla-clones! (The Astra costs too much and is not available in a sedan, so it’s not really a Corolla-clone.)

In any case, the Astra is a decent hatch worth your consideration if your are looking for a fun small car.

Don’t care what the accel times are as I seldom need a 10-second 60 mph race, especially at $3.50 a gallon.

Actually, the new price won’t matter much either as I will likely buy a used example of either.

FWIW I don’t think that it matters how good or bad the cars are, I think the biggest challenge will be to get the average American to give GM, Ford or Chrysler a chance.

They absolutely don’t have a chance in the world of selling me a SUV, pickup, Caddy or Corvette ever. They do have a slight chance of selling me a compact.

The complete lack of an ad campaign for the Astra might have something to do with the poor response, plus the whole way-too-high-a-price-for-a-compact-Saturn thing. Plus, it’s not even fast. Consumer Reports tested it against five other compact hatchbacks in their current issue, and it had the slowest 0-60 of the group (over 11 seconds).

So, basically, it’s a slow, overpriced car with no ad campaign and a devalued nameplate. I’m surprised they manage to sell a thousand units a month.

Your misconceptions are about Japan is 30 years out of date.

Drives like a pig.

I applaud this from a society that has done little beyond successful emulation of American and European designs (cars, electronics, etc) for 4 or 5 decades. Which is odd, since domestically Japan has a great deal of very unique style. But they still export “copies”

I did NOT realize Versa is an adopted Renault, and really do not care. What is important are features, packaging, price-value, drivability, and overall fuel efficiency. The Versa could serve as a family car, but the Astra is a bit too tight on room for American families, therefore, game, set, match in terms of those two vehicles.

“Anonymous” branding and look alike is not worrisome to me; look at how the Japanese and Koreans have copied American styling in years past. Now, however, their idiom has changed enough to create uniqueness, but that uniqueness is not necessarily cool or effective design except to rabid brand loyalists. IMHO, the Japanese are now over-reaching on design to preserve uniqueness.

- “I’m looking forwards to the Homecoming in Spring Hill Antwerp.”
- “Didn’t Consumer Reports just this month rate this car below most of its competition?”