Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...002/1528/video


Will Price Rule?
Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid arena

By RICHARD TRUETT | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Updated: 02/26/07, 8:31 am et

In taking on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry hybrids, the gasoline-
electric Saturn Aura Green Line will offer a dramatically lower price
and roughly the same high fuel economy rating. But is that enough to
make it a success?

The Aura Green Line is a so-called mild hybrid. Unlike the Camry and
Accord hybrids, the Aura's powertrain isn't capable of driving the car
on electric power alone. And that might matter to environmentally
conscious buyers who want to drive at least part of the time on
electric power only.

Mild hybrids, such as General Motors' pickups and the first generation
of the Honda Civic, have not sold well.

Aura has a belt-alternator-starter hybrid system that provides a light
boost during acceleration, captures energy during braking and restarts
the engine after the vehicle comes to a stop.

Light weight, less filling

But a mild hybrid's advantage is less weight and mechanical complexity
and a much lower price. The hybrid Aura costs just $1,700 more than
the gasoline model, making it the least expensive mid-sized hybrid
sedan.

The Aura goes on sale in early May with a sticker price of $22,695 and
an EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg city and 35 on the highway. The
fuel economy figures are the same as the Honda Accord Hybrid, which
has a base price of $31,685. The Camry Hybrid has a base price of
$26,820 and an EPA rating of 40 city/38 highway. All prices include
shipping.

Scott Stapf, director of the Hybrid Owners of America, a Washington
lobbying group, thinks the Aura may do well even though it doesn't
have the technical sophistication of the Camry or Accord. "You still
do have an environmentally sensitive group of consumers who are
worried about emissions and global warming, and just about any hybrid
will cut it," he says.

And then, Stapf says, the Aura could attract buyers looking for a low
sticker price as well as less pain at the pump.

But he says the majority of hybrid buyers generally want more than
just high fuel economy. They want to be on the cutting edge of
technology. The Aura Green Line isn't.

The least expensive

Andre Kazewych, product manager for the Aura Green Line, says Saturn
will pitch the car to potential buyers as the least expensive hybrid
on the market.

"We're not looking at it in terms of tech sophistication but as an
economical way to deliver better fuel efficiency," Kazewych says.

"It's going to offer a lot of people a hybrid option who don't have
one. It should be a strong product in the marketplace," says Kevin
Riddell, an analyst at J.D. Power and Associates in Troy, Mich. He
says the Aura Green Line likely will start as a low-volume car and
steadily build sales momentum.

No national ad campaigns are planned for the Aura Green Line. Saturn
is planning to promote the car heavily on the Internet and might buy
print ads. But Saturn spokesman Randy Fox says the company has other
vehicle introductions and limited resources.

Neither Fox nor Kazewych would say how many Aura Green Lines GM plans
to sell.

John Danielson, sales manager at Saturn of the Lakes in Tavares, Fla.,
says few customers have asked about the Aura Green Line, and no orders
have been taken.

Danielson says the Vue Green Line crossover hasn't sold as well as
expected. Most customers, he says, want the Vue with the Honda V-6.

"If gasoline hits $3 per gallon this summer, that might change," he
says.

The Aura hybrid, made in Kansas City, Kan., is expected to arrive just
about the time dealers run out of the Vue Green Line. Production of
that vehicle ends in March at Saturn's Spring Hill, Tenn., plant.

The new Vue Green Line, which will be produced in Mexico, will be
introduced in the fall.

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

Good article, thanks. Too bad Saturn chose not to properly market the GL
Aura. I like many others block adverts from my websites and will probably
never see them. "Go Green w/o going broke" is a great idea, I'm sure
interest will pick up in them as Summer gas prices go up as they already
have been. Just too bad that they are NAFTA cars. I guess UAW workers are a
rare commodity nowadays? That was a very strong point with many buyers and
still is.

--
marx404

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:30:24 -0500, "marx404" > wrote:

>Good article, thanks. Too bad Saturn chose not to properly market the GL
>Aura. I like many others block adverts from my websites and will probably
>never see them. "Go Green w/o going broke" is a great idea, I'm sure
>interest will pick up in them as Summer gas prices go up as they already
>have been. Just too bad that they are NAFTA cars. I guess UAW workers are a
>rare commodity nowadays? That was a very strong point with many buyers and
>still is.


No that Saturn is fully part of GM and no longer on its "own" its long
term viablity and competiveness is questionable. You buy a Saturn now
you are basically buying a GM car with a different label which goes
against the whole reason GM first created the brand. Also Saturn
started as a econobox maker and GM is phasing that out to focus on
SUV's which is another long term mistake along with dumping plastic
body parts that set it apart for other vehicles as well.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

In article >, SnoMan > wrote:

>No that Saturn is fully part of GM and no longer on its "own" its long
>term viablity and competiveness is questionable. You buy a Saturn now
>you are basically buying a GM car with a different label which goes
>against the whole reason GM first created the brand. Also Saturn
>started as a econobox maker and GM is phasing that out to focus on
>SUV's which is another long term mistake along with dumping plastic
>body parts that set it apart for other vehicles as well.

Please fix your broken newsreader configuration.
Tools | Options | Display | Message List Pane | Reply Prefixes
It should say re and nothing more -- but yours is blank.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:05:35 -0800, a rock fell the sky, hitting
iwhtcimtlfmwmaomopw on the head, and inspiring the following:

> http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...002/1528/video
>
>
> Will Price Rule?
> Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid arena
>
> By RICHARD TRUETT | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
>
> AutoWeek | Updated: 02/26/07, 8:31 am et
>
> In taking on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry hybrids, the gasoline-
> electric Saturn Aura Green Line will offer a dramatically lower price
> and roughly the same high fuel economy rating. But is that enough to
> make it a success?
>

Man, that is a stupid idea. Here they have a perfectly good diesel like in
the Opel Antara (Vue) and the Opel Vectra (Aura), yet they're not
capatilizing on the option here in the US.

Too bad!

I wonder if saturn will come out with a mid-size car/suv anytime?

--
kai
www.perfectreign.com || www.4thedadz.com
www.filesite.org || www.donutmonster.com

closing the doors that surround me
so no one will ever penetrate
complete my retreat just to wait for the day
that never comes so i will laugh alone

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:17:52 +0000, a rock fell the sky, hitting Doug
Miller on the head, and inspiring the following:

> In article >, SnoMan > wrote:
>
>>No that Saturn is fully part of GM and no longer on its "own" its long
>>term viablity and competiveness is questionable. You buy a Saturn now
>>you are basically buying a GM car with a different label which goes
>>against the whole reason GM first created the brand. Also Saturn
>>started as a econobox maker and GM is phasing that out to focus on
>>SUV's which is another long term mistake along with dumping plastic
>>body parts that set it apart for other vehicles as well.
>
> Please fix your broken newsreader configuration.
> Tools | Options | Display | Message List Pane | Reply Prefixes
> It should say re and nothing more -- but yours is blank.
>

Huh?

Hey, at least he isn't using Outlook Express (and neither are you) -
that's a good thing! :)


--
kai
www.perfectreign.com || www.4thedadz.com
www.filesite.org || www.donutmonster.com

closing the doors that surround me
so no one will ever penetrate
complete my retreat just to wait for the day
that never comes so i will laugh alone

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

The original Saturn concept of the 1990's is over for good.

You are correct, Saturn has been terminated
by General Motors. Sad but true.






"SnoMan" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:30:24 -0500, "marx404" > wrote:
>
>>Good article, thanks. Too bad Saturn chose not to properly market the GL
>>Aura. I like many others block adverts from my websites and will probably
>>never see them. "Go Green w/o going broke" is a great idea, I'm sure
>>interest will pick up in them as Summer gas prices go up as they already
>>have been. Just too bad that they are NAFTA cars. I guess UAW workers are
>>a
>>rare commodity nowadays? That was a very strong point with many buyers and
>>still is.
>
>
> No that Saturn is fully part of GM and no longer on its "own" its long
> term viablity and competiveness is questionable. You buy a Saturn now
> you are basically buying a GM car with a different label which goes
> against the whole reason GM first created the brand. Also Saturn
> started as a econobox maker and GM is phasing that out to focus on
> SUV's which is another long term mistake along with dumping plastic
> body parts that set it apart for other vehicles as well.
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

In article >, PerfectReign > wrote:
>On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:17:52 +0000, a rock fell the sky, hitting Doug
>Miller on the head, and inspiring the following:
>
>> In article >, SnoMan
> > wrote:
>>
>>>No that Saturn is fully part of GM and no longer on its "own" its long
>>>term viablity and competiveness is questionable. You buy a Saturn now
>>>you are basically buying a GM car with a different label which goes
>>>against the whole reason GM first created the brand. Also Saturn
>>>started as a econobox maker and GM is phasing that out to focus on
>>>SUV's which is another long term mistake along with dumping plastic
>>>body parts that set it apart for other vehicles as well.
>>
>> Please fix your broken newsreader configuration.
>> Tools | Options | Display | Message List Pane | Reply Prefixes
>> It should say re and nothing more -- but yours is blank.
>>
>
>Huh?
>
>Hey, at least he isn't using Outlook Express (and neither are you) -
>that's a good thing! :)

Every time SnoMan replies to a reply, his incorrectly-configured newsreader
prepends a superfluous " " at the beginning of the subject line. Google up
a few threads that he's responded in multiple times, and you'll see posts
with subjects beginning " ".

Here's a sampling:
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_e...up=rec.auto s.
makers.saturn

I'm hoping eventually he'll realize that the problem really *is* with his
setup, and not with everyone else's.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

On 28 Feb 2007 16:52:36 GMT, PerfectReign
> wrote:

>Man, that is a stupid idea. Here they have a perfectly good diesel like in
>the Opel Antara (Vue) and the Opel Vectra (Aura), yet they're not
>capatilizing on the option here in the US.


Diesels days in cars may be numbered. For many years they operated via
a loop hole in emission laws that let them release a LOT of NOx (may
times a normal car) and that loop hole starts to close with 2008
models and it is not going to be cheap or easy to clean them up. They
are finaily "catching up" with them
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales
 

On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:17:52 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

>Please fix your broken newsreader configuration.
>Tools | Options | Display | Message List Pane | Reply Prefixes
>It should say re and nothing more -- but yours is blank.


Guess again, it is not blank and it does say "re" only too! (always
has)
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com