To say that the Saturn Astra has not been a roaring success would be an understatement of the highest order. It's not that the Astra is an awful car, in fact it's actually quite a nice ride. The problem is that GM literally invested almost nothing to bring it here. Aside from switching the units on the gauges from metric to U.S., the rest of the interior was unchanged and that is the biggest weakness of the car. Well, that plus the fact that is is also kind of pricey for its segment. This is because it's built in Europe and it was introduced here at a time when the dollar was at record lows against the Euro.

A new generation Astra is set to debut in 2010 built on the same Delta platform as the previously announced Chevy Cruze. This time around, the Saturn-badged variant will be sourced from a U.S. factory although at this point it's unknown which plant that will be. It might be built in Lordstown, OH alongside the Cruze or it could initially come from the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. The Detroit factory is scheduled to build the Volt and a Delta-based MPV. Initial volumes of the Volt will be low so it could build the Astra for a while until its volumes ramp up enough to justify another plant.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Click the Astra for a high res gallery

The launch of the new Saturn Astra marked a turning point for GM's youngest brand as it finally abandoned the idea of making a different kind of American small car to compete with imports. The Astra is in fact an import produced in Europe by Opel. For its initial production run, Saturn is only offering the car with one engine, a 1.8L four cylinder, and a choice of either a 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission. Here at ABG we've only had a couple of brief opportunities to drive the new Astra and we'll try to get one for a full review soon. In the meantime, there are two other reviews up right now. Our pal Chris over on the Autoblog side of the house just had one and Canadian Driver also published their review. As Saturn's smallest car, the Astra would be expected to be efficient and compared to many cars on the road in the US right now it is. But context is everything. Chris managed to achieve 28mg during his week with the car while our colleagues to the north got 29.4mpg. Chris was actually impressed by the mileage beating all the other cars he has tested over the past year. Among cars available to Americans it's not in Prius territory, but it's not shabby. The Canadians on the other hand are used to significantly higher gas prices and more fuel efficient cars. As such, they saw the similar mileage as somewhat disappointing - which it is in comparison to what Euro Astra's can achieve with even smaller engines and diesels. Next year, the U.S. Astra will get a smaller 1.4L turbo engine with similar power to the current unit but improved economy and, hopefully, the four speed automatic will also go away in favor of a six speed.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.
[Sources: Autoblog, Canadian Driver]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of the 2008 Astra

General Motors is officially retiring the era of the plastic bodied Saturn with the introduction this week of new Saturn Astra. The new entry level Saturn is coming this fall courtesy of the gang in Russellsheim, Germany. Surprisingly the two and four dour hatchback versions of the c-class German will be the only versions available stateside, at least at first, since the four door sedan, wagon and retractable hardtop convertible won't be crossing the pond. Aside from the Saturn badges the car is unchanged from the Opel right down to the radio. The engine will be a 140hp version of the 1.8L Ecotec four cylinder, mated up to either a 5-speed stick or 4-speed auto-box. GM will be showing the car this week in Chicago and we'll be bringing you lots of live coverage from show floor. In the meantime check out the press release after the jump and a gallery of high-res press shots.



[Source: General Motors]