Opel/Vauxhall's Insignia sedan debuted this weekend at the London Auto Show. The first Epsilon2-based car in GM's portfolio appears to be off to a great start. The biggest surprise so far: the Insignia looks stunning. Needless to say, there was some suspense when Maximum Bob Lutz was asked to confirm that the Insignia is coming stateside as the next gen Saturn Aura. Which was closely followed by stunned disappointment as the Man Of Maximum revealed that the Insignia IS the new Aura– but only under the skin. "We've researched the Insignia around the world, including the U.S., as an internationally spectacular new design, but the Saturn version will be its own car," says Lutz. So GM builds a mid-sized, front-wheel drive car that even Jeremy Clarkson likes (inside and out), and The General sends it to America to be fitted with (doubtless) tacky American couture. Why is GM spending money to redesign the looks of a perfectly desirable car?
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It could go either way. It could look like the new CTS or Malibu. Like I said, it could go either way.
It’s certainly prettier than that new pregnant praying-mantis Mazda 6 hack-job restyle piece of junk. And yeah, I don’t understand GM either.
Stupid decisions like this is why GM is in such a mess today. Who are they to decide what Americans prefer? Why fix something that isn’t broken?
What was the point of making Saturn into Opel West if the more desirable products are being held back or hamstrung?
This really smacks of the same attitude GM takes with hybrids: we’re going to prove the concept (European cars in North America) is flawed by ensuring that it will fail. Because, as we all know, if GM can’t do it, no one can.
And yes, Mazda doing the same thing is silly. Chasing the Camry and Accord is what made the last 626 such a rousing success.
The theory is, likely, that since the Astra isn’t exactly flying off the lot, it must be because it’s European.
The Astra isn’t moving because:
* The mileage to power to price ratio isn’t competitive
* Saturn’s marketing is terrible, when it exists at all.
* Saturn’s brand image is problematic.
Admitting to these, though, would mean that GM’s product planning department screwed up again. It’s easier to just say it failed because it’s European, and go back to business as usual.
psarhjinian:
I hope the Ford Fiesta and MK3 Euro Focus are successful here so GM can get a little inspiration. I really want to see the Opel Corsa stateside…
I’d like to meet the expert at Saturn NA who knows so much about the midsize auto market that he knows what changes to make to the highly aclaimed Insignia to make it sell as well as the Aura does presently.
Hmm, it looks like a giant suppository to me. Not that I think the Saturn re-design is gonna come out better.
The Insignia as it is would look perfect alongside the current Aurora as Oldsmobile’s new midsize offering.
Oh, wait…
Everybody complains about GM’s badge engineering on their cars. Now your saying they should badge engineer the car. So which is it?
It’s not the same thing as making a Chevy a GMC by slapping a different grille on it. The Insignia does not already exist in here under another brand name, it’s a completely unique car.
Everybody complains about GM’s badge engineering on their cars. Now your saying they should badge engineer the car. So which is it?
Yeah, this is a good question!
As for me, I hope they do redesign it for Saturn because as it is now it’s just plain fugly!
Everybody complains about GM’s badge engineering on their cars. Now your saying they should badge engineer the car. So which is it?
Yeah, this is a good question!
As for me, I hope they do redesign it for Saturn because as it is now it’s just plain fugly!
In the past, GM has badge engineered cars that were horrible. The Insignia is most-likely a world-class car, so badge engineering it would actually make sense this time. There is nothing wrong with badge engineering a GOOD car. It makes sense to a car company financially working with a great car. The Honda Civic/Acura CSX(Canada)example comes to mind as badge engineering that works.
Badge engineering would be taking the Malibu, changing the grille pattern, taillights and slapping a Saturn badge. This is more like brining the Holden Commodore here as the G8. However, I’d have more respect for GM if the decided not to do it at all.
Given that the Malibu and LaCrosse/Invicta should bookend the mid-size, FWD market, GM may be realizing (finally) there isn’t profit for Saturn and Pontiac versions in between.
Hopefully.
Doubt it.
I was going to comment about how correct you are Ed, but then I decided my opinion of GM’s cars may not be worthwhile to them. I likely won’t ever buy a saturn no matter how nice it looks.
I can’t tell you how much of a homerun GM would have to hit for me to seriously consider one of their products again. I don’t really know myself.
I do know that their long history of screwing members of my family with bad products makes it hard to want to buy from them. Cap that with the idea that I am supporting the UAW with a purchase. Put icing on it with the idea that I am supporting their ridiculously bad management and corporate culture if I buy one of their crapmobiles. As you can see, it will be tough to win me back.
Why GM would spend a dime redesigning the next Aura is a mystery to me.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for it…
http://imsaturn.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2033334%3ABlogPost%3A42511
Having said that, I thought I read somewhere that new Saturns were just going to be Opels with Saturn badges (like Astra). Did i miss a memo?
I’ve been playing with European captive import cars
for 35 years, in that time 100% of them were tuned
for the American market. I’m talking suspension, soft
and squishy…
No wonder that any of the enthusiasts in the US didn’t
buy them after a test drive, once the US engineers got
hold of them, they turned to crap…
SteveL
Not sure that a recommendation by Clarkson will do much for sales. Often as not his comments are the kiss of death
The Insignia doesn’t even look that good IMO. It looks kind of like a Malibu. They will bring that over, and make it look like a Malibu with some Saturn badges on it probably.
And here I was ready to *consider* a GM car for the first time. Now that it will be North Americanized (read: shittified), I have no interest in waiting for it. I guess I’ll wait for the new Fords.
GM needs to focus the energies they waste on brand studies that result in the obvious, interviews from octogenarian executives spouting insane gibberish, Camaro and Volt vaporware announcements, and the mountains of press releases (that seem to be the only creative thing GM can do) and just build some cars. Great ones.
I was part of a GM marketing internship class at the U of Washington in the mid-90s. I was amazed at how clueless our GM and dealer reps were. Here we were, a bunch of students who would never want a Pontiac (our case study), trying to find something, anything, that would make the cars look good compared to Hondas and Toyotas. They lived in a vacuum – unaware of how uncompetitive their cars were and again spouting the “perception gap”. I walked away from the internship vowing never to own a GM vehicle. Twelve years later, they’re even more pathetic.
Good riddance.
BRING IT! (and don’t screw it up bu changing it). I have much more faith in Opel engineers than I do Detroit engineers -or rather Detroit marketing folks.
Of course they will screw it up and it’ll be as interesting as a Buick… VBG!
Hoping Saturn does become Opel-West.
I’d really like to see GM market the G8, Saturn Aura, Malibu and whatever Buick equivalent together. It is very, very easy to forget a division or twos products when pondering which sedan I might want to shop for…
Think about it – six-eight distinctive GM sedans. All good. All competitive. All different. The only thing they ought to do make them last like a Honda.
I used to take issue with the whole GM deathwatch thing but now I have to agree. I really like this car and it puzzles me as to why GM would push its release back AND redesign it for our market. Why not leave it and bring it here quickly, saving development costs. If it isnt broke dont fix it. The Cruze will arrive with a torsion beam suspension? Maybe it will come with an 8 track MP3 player too. If your gonna be a player you have to at least match your competition, preferably outclass them(i.e. Civic in the case of the Cruze). They need to rid themselves of the current product czar and bring in some guys in their 20’s or 30’s to give them some perspective on the REAL market. We have an 04 Yukon we have had since new and if they put that kind of care into ALL their products they would be leading, not trying the “lets throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” approach.
schinbone- torsion beam= bigger trunk
more people care about cargo space than “handling”
It could be that the US “design” will simply be a matter of putting a less confusing climate control and radio in the car. Everyone here is assuming the worst.
Leave the trunk space to the Buicks and sell this just the way Opel makes ’em. Downgrading the handling in favor of trunk space is the first step to building another ho-hum car. They’ve got PLENTY of big trunks and marsh-mallow rides already.
What’s wrong with a FWD sedan that handles?