Saturn’s press conference isn’t scheduled until Monday morning, but General Motors might have released some big Saturn news a day early. It appears as though that GM has plans to bring the Opel Corsa stateside under the Saturn brand.
An Opel Corsa was shown at the GM Style event on Saturday night and graced a GM stage today at the opening of the Detroit Auto Show. While the fact that the Corsa was shown at the Detroit show might not sound like a big deal, the way it was shown was. The Corsa was the only representative of a foreign GM brand and was shown among production cars and concepts heading to production — hinting that the Corsa might soon moonlight under the Saturn brand.
The Corsa would seem to be a prefect fit for the Saturn brand — and GM as a whole in the face of stricter CAFE regulations — and would slot nicely below the Astra. The small hatchback market has proven to be a lucrative one — see BMW’s MINI brand — but GM has yet to field an entrant into the segment.
Saturn officials stopped short of saying that the Corsa was U.S. bound, but gave plenty of hints that it could be. One official said that the Corsa could fill a niche “that Saturn would like to be a part of.”
When Leftlane questioned another Saturn representative about why the Corsa was at the show and if it might be a future Saturn model, all he could do was smile and say, “No comment.”
However, don’t look for Saturn to make any announcements in Detroit or even at the Chicago show. While it remains unclear if the Corsa has been given the green light at this point — although we believe it has — expect an announcement within the next year on the possible future Saturn model.
01/13, 10:52 PM
posted by:
steve333
The Corsa would be a no brainer for Saturn. GM would have worthy competition for the Yaris, Fit, and Versa.
01/13, 10:58 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
So, did Saturn ever find all those responsible for the Ion, shove rockets up their cornholes and launch them towards the sun?
01/13, 11:23 PM
posted by:
441Zuke
is the corsa any good? it reminds me of the FIT
01/13, 11:36 PM
posted by:
Blakkarr
Yo! GM! Where’s my Chevy ULTRA WTCC!
01/14, 12:24 AM
posted by:
Impulsive
’steve’, BINGO! But they would pale in comparison aesthetically … on the outside anyway … the interior is no superstar but then, none of the competitors are superstars are either.
01/14, 12:25 AM
posted by:
Impulsive
{remove the second last word}
01/14, 12:32 AM
posted by:
Brendino
Might as well just round it out…The Astra showed that they don’t care about losing money to get a foothold in the segment. It’s an attractive vehicle, too…I’d love to see it Stateside!
01/14, 12:42 AM
posted by:
C6Racer
My thoughts exactly, johnny. haha
01/14, 1:26 AM
posted by:
A4
My family had a 2001 corsa and it was a perfect entry in the segment and had everything youd want. Smelt good too.
01/14, 3:54 AM
posted by:
ads266
Hearing this frustrates me. Holden used to import Opels and badge them as Holden’s now they get Daewoo’s from Korea. Now Saturn the butt-ugly brand for GM is getting all the good cars. What gives GM?
01/14, 3:57 AM
posted by:
ads266
I wanted one of these new Corsa’s and i did’nt want a rebadged Daewoo Kalos. Because Holden Australia made this decision I went out and bought the European Ford Fiesta which I admit is an amazing car and i should have bought it earlier. Go Ford!!!!
01/14, 4:17 AM
posted by:
M Power
This has the potential to be the first good small car that GM has ever sold in the states and has the potential to be class leading.
01/14, 6:17 AM
posted by:
V2
Agree ads266. We have to settle for Daewoo **** when we had opels to choose from and they were good cars. Well done GM you dickheads!!!!
01/14, 6:19 AM
posted by:
Rotman
@ads266
In Thailand Opels are sold as Chevrolets, while in Europe Daewoo gets that badge. Now Opel is sold as Saturn and/or Vauxhall and/or Holden outside continental Europe. We don’t get any original rebadged Holdens here. It is a bit confusing. Still, they’re decent cars, not very exciting but most models have a rather good quality/price balance.
01/14, 8:24 AM
posted by:
livelyjay
Bring it over, NOW!
01/14, 8:50 AM
posted by:
DeansterTJ
People, no matter how cool this looks, this won’t be class leading in the U.S.
The people that buy these econoboxes are looking for a mundane piece of **** to ferry them around. That’s why the Yaris, as nasty as it is, and the Echo before it, sold so well. People like boring (Camry, Accord) and that’s what sells.
This is too cool to survive. Shame.
01/14, 10:38 AM
posted by:
planet_drive
Gm is becoming increasingly dependant on designs and technology coming from Europe and Australia. Whats happening to this company that they aren’t capable of independanty building cars for the domestic market. This little Opel will be a smart move by GM if they bring it over as a Saturn. I would love it if they just brought it over as an Opel. I say get rid of the Saturn brand and bring Open to the NorthAmerican market. Opel has been around alot longer so noone in the world would even notice if Saturn was gone.
01/14, 12:40 PM
posted by:
swamprat
Check out the opel website. http://www.opel.com. You will find that this car accelerates from 0-60 mph in 12-18 seconds depending on the engine. Too slow.
Top end ranges from 95-110 mph depending on engine.
The diesel model has great fuel efficiency with 40-60 mpg….
01/14, 1:05 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
Swamprat; Like in every other case, U.S. would only see most pwerful motor option which I read was 8.8 sec. to 62 mph.
PlanetD; This is brilliant, this car is considered among the top in its class by all standards. Why shouldn’t GM make use of a product that is good and succesfull. Euros know their small cars. Everyone with a brain has been complaing that GM and Ford hasn’t brought over their “good stuff”.
01/14, 1:14 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
‘LP’, and you are the original “horrid, worthless ****”.
‘Deanster’, because of GM’s reputation now, your view will probably come to pass.
01/14, 1:37 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
What happened to your Seahawks, Fairlight? Can I have your Superbowl tickets?
01/14, 1:44 PM
posted by:
Commodore
Great. Yaris is dead. Fit is in trouble
01/14, 1:57 PM
posted by:
autonut
Corsa posted 8.2 sec. 0-62 with 1.6L turbo engine. It probably will not make it to US due to CAFE requirements. My bet is that 1.8L engine from Astra will propel US version of Corsa and it will be plenty fast for the segment.
01/14, 2:12 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
‘Limp Penis’, you are worthless.
01/14, 9:06 PM
posted by:
TomF
The Corsa is the balls. It makes the Fit look like a Safeway shopping cart. I would LOVE to see this car come Stateside as a Saturn… and I love what that lineup is turning into.
I just wish my local Saturn dealership wasn’t such a craphole. Dropped in last weekend to look at a Vue and a smarmy hard-sell sales schmuck was all over me before I could get the ignition key out of my current ride. Also, they had an old Ion on the showroom floor, marked down to move… way to showcase the new goods, you idiots.
01/15, 5:21 PM
posted by:
sharpie
Good move! This is a better car than the Daewoo based Aveo. This car is a world car and has been sold worldwide under Corsa and Barina name. It is rated right up with the Fit in Australia when it came out. Though it has fallen behind, but still would be good for the rebuilding Saturn.
It might just give Ford that much kick to bring the Mazda2 and Fiesta stateside as well.
01/16, 1:03 AM
posted by:
mazdaman
GM, quit fooling around and bring it over here already!
I agree with Sharpie; there is no reason the Mazda2 shouldn’t be over here already. Mazda needs to take the same advice listed above for GM.