Topic: Should the Saturn Astra have been a Cadillac instead?

[Dante]

"...Should the Saturn Astra have been a Cadillac instead?..."

Nope.
Should have remained an Opel Astra.
And Saturn should be killed off.

  My thoughts exactly.

Astra isn't a sales success because it's too expensive for a car with such a powertrain when compared to Mazda3 and Rabbit.
If Astra was priced to compete with Versa it should've been fine. Add to this the fact that you cannot haggle on price when you can do that easily with any other car in this discussion. In order to be able to do that, GM should've built the Astra in North America.
Upgrading the powertrain closer to Mazda3 and Rabbit level wasn't possible for GM since the 2.0 Turbo does not come with an Auto in Europe. Spending money to create the right combination of powertrains for North America on a car that was approaching its EOL and it wasn't going to be a big seller in NA anyway wasn't a viable solution.

The result: a patch solution for GM, just to close a line-up gap for short-term.

Astra’s lack of success shouldn't prompt the conclusion that bringing Euro models here wouldn't work. It will work for sure if done right and hopefully Ford will do it.

[Zombie]

Saab, people, Saab.  GM should, and is going to, sell the next-generation Astra in tarted-up form as a 9-3.

This is GM we are taking about. The Astra can be both a Cadi and a Saturn!! All you have to do is move the body panels around and ta-da a new model.

Yeah, as opposed to the Camry/ES, Land Cruiser/LX, 4Runner/GX, Accord/TL, Highlander/RX, Fusion/MKZ, GTI/A3, etc...lots of companies tart up mass-market models and call them luxury cars.

Good point but GM has the most badges so haha 

SO for the Saab what would they call it a Saopel or a Saabaturn.

[The Mighty Duck]

Honda has shown that selling Euro models in North America does work.  The Fit was introduced to A five years after the rest of the world, and it's been a huge sales success.  Our TSX is little more than a Euro Accord.  So even the concept of taking an economy car and branding it a luxury car can work.

With the Astra, I agree with Mitlov: a Saab Astra would be very cool.  Isn't the Astra smaller than the 9-3 though?  I think an Astra-based vehicle would make a great 9-1...

[Mitlov]

SO for the Saab what would they call it a Saopel or a Saabaturn.

The current 9-3 already uses an Opel platform (Vectra), and people just call it a plain old Saab.

[Mitlov]

With the Astra, I agree with Mitlov: a Saab Astra would be very cool.  Isn't the Astra smaller than the 9-3 though?  I think an Astra-based vehicle would make a great 9-1...

As I said in my first post of the thread, Saab is downsizing the 9-3 for the next generation.  A 9-1 is on the way, from what I've heard, but it's likely going to be a Mini-sized vehicle which platform-shares with an Opel Corsa.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/23/gm-europe-decides-to-downsize-future-saabs/

The midsized sedan has been growing in all directions for decades, but soaring fuel prices have customers begging for something smaller. GM is heeding the call as it is preparing a smaller batch of next generation Saabs. The next 9-3 was originally slated to be underpinned by the Epsilon II, but in March GM decided to instead utilize the lower-medium Delta architecture. The Delta platform will also be used for the next-gen Chevy Cruze, which is slated to eventually replace the Cobalt. The end result will be a smaller, lighter, more efficient Swedish sedan.

With the 9-3 shrinking, Saab will also need to down-size its planned 9-1, which was originally scheduled to be Delta-based. Speculation has Saab reaching into GM's global architecture bin to use the Gamma platform that currently underpins the Opel Corsa. The idea has legs, too, as the Swedish automaker calls the idea "imaginable." Both vehicles are said to contain small, efficient turbocharged powertrains, which is in line with what Saab already uses. We're all for smaller, more agile Saabs, and killer fuel economy wouldn't hurt either.

[barrie1]

Saturn does have some strange ideas about selling their vehicles but they do make some very dependable vehicles. I drove on for a year and a half and the young man who bought it from me has almost 3 years on it now as well. He is still quite pleased with the car.