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Automotive News & Views Saturn gets Opel Astra
154 messages, Last post on Feb 21, 2008 at 2:23 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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It happens every morning on the Saw Mill and Hutchinson River Parkways in the New York area. Sounds like they need to relax a little out there. No wonder so many people complain about poor gas mileage. 
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It happens every morning on the Saw Mill and Hutchinson River Parkways in the New York area. Even though I don't live in NY, I have visited there a number of times and the issue is that those roads were built in the 30's and 40's and the on ramps are devilishly short -- maybe 100' long, in some cases. You have to floor it to get up to a speed where you can safely merge into traffic. Here's hoping for an Astra Red Line - 260HP turbo from the Sky RL -- woo hoo!
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Replying to: michaell (Sep 14, 2007 1:07 pm) It's been a long time for me but the Merritt Parkway in CT is the same way.
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Replying to: fezo (Sep 14, 2007 6:18 pm) Unfortunately most drivers have never visited the last two thirds of their accelerator pedal so they dribble onto the parkways at 35 or 40 endangering themselves and oncoming traffic.  True Confession: Perhaps it's because I come from the NY area but I still floor it when merging onto any limited access highway (assuming the ramp is straight enough to see if the entry's clear) and it's been quite a few years since I've seen nineteen.
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Sounds like the speed limits are too high to support the on ramps. You guys should holler at your local reps to lower the speed limits. Like that will happen. 
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Replying to: andys120 (Sep 16, 2007 5:34 am) The original design of the Parkway was fine, but it was built for a state with the half the population of today's New Jersey.
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Replying to: fezo (Sep 17, 2007 4:37 am) If they want to sell this car in the north east, it better have a 55 or 60 sidewal option rather than the mazda 50 or below. Anyone of you Europeans have an idea?
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Replying to: ballbuzzter (Sep 19, 2007 4:38 pm) |
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Lutz: Saturn Astra a huge cost saver Bringing the redesigned Opel Astra to the American market as a Saturn has saved General Motors about $900 million in development costs, says GM's vice chairman and product czar, Bob Lutz. -Rocky |
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As a loyal Saturn owner ('98 SW1, 180K and bought new), I have mixed feelings about the new partnership with Opel. While it quickly brings the division some exciting and (to North America) unique new products, it reflects a loss of some of the elements of what made Saturn so special in the first place. One of them is the plastic skin, discontinued because of long-term fit-and-finish issues. This made for lighter and more economical cars that still rated very well on safety. (Look at what that extra quarter-ton of weight has done to the VUE's economy! You might as well buy a Michigan-built Outlook instead and get all that extra room.) My vehicle exterior still looks fairly new, whereas my mom's '94 Prizm with 1/3 the mileage is getting eaten alive with rust. I do hope that the ASTRA is eventually produced in Spring Hill, although postings I've read here indicate that Lordstown is more likely. The shutting down of the VUE line there in favor of the Mexican-built Antara (just 51% US/Canadian parts content despite US engine/trans) was a real disappointment but an unfortunate reflection of the realities of the global economy (and the very real need to extend more prosperity south of the border). A gentleman at my dealership said that he heard that, at the moment, Spring Hill is making Chevys! Tennessee had a unique culture that Saturn really couldn't manage to export when they started the L-series in Delaware. I'm old enough to remember the small and cute Opel Kadett that GM brought here over 40 years ago so that Buick dealers would have an inexpensive entry-level car to offer. (On a family vacation to Cape Cod in 1966, I saw the guest at the adjacent cabin out there all day polishing and waxing his red one, trying to shelter its finish from the very salty local air.) By the late '70's, German Opels got too expensive to import so GM created the "Opel by Isuzu" from Japan. My neighbor in Virginia at the time had a blue "Buick/Opel" coupe based on the Isuzu Gemini; looking at it from my 2nd-floor window showed its windshield and A-pillars identical to those of my Chevette (although they did a good job of making the car look quite different). To see Opel today as GM's primary global nameplate is indeed quite an awakening. While the vista-roof ASTRA coupe probably wouldn't comply with US safety regs, I do hope that the European Opel/Vauxhall Astra station wagon eventually becomes part of Saturn's offering. Part of the reason I still have my SW1 is that none was ever offered in the ION line and I have never been interested in an SUV. Saturn has always been the most affordable of the boutique brands, with a buying and ownership experience that usually can't be had at mainstream dealers. At a time of great upheaval in other sectors of my daily life, it has been a real blessing to have a vehicle whose reliability I can take for granted. In the coming year I hope to be able to afford a new Astra, and see if it can continue this tradition. |
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