More recruiting last evening meant another tough rotation of great food and cool transportation, this time in the form of the newest members of the Saturn brand. In between kibbitzing about GM's Strategic Initiatives group there was time to drive Saturn's Sky roadster, Vue Green Line hybrid, and the brand-new Aura sedan. Sky is a totally competent little car that feels solid and stiff, with a pleasing exhaust note and comfortable interior. I'm pretty mehh about the Vue and hybrids in general (So if you live in a city and drive ~10k miles per year that makes sense, but who does that?) but I am anything but mehh about the Aura. This is a sharp, tight car with a great interior, 255 hp in the uplevel XR trim, and legitimately attractive styling. It rolls on 18" wheels and has two sunroof options. I think Saturn has discovered what Dad and I have long suspected: people would like to buy a cheap(ish) car and add a few thousand in options to make it nicer than the base level of the next model up. Here, why buy a base CTS when you can get an Aura with more stuff for $9k less? My suspicion, though I've not driven either, is that Camry and Accord are very similar and at $25k for the XR I'm sure Saturn is right in the hunt.
That's all I've got; it's Habitat build day and I'm off to Ypsilanti to put some labor into a house.
Friday, September 22, 2006