October2
Saturn has announced a launch date for its upcoming Astra hatchback. Based on the European Opel Astra, Americans will be able to purchase their own Astra starting on January 2, 2008.
Saturn released pricing for its upcoming Astra 3 and 5-door hatch backs last month. Prices start at $15,995 for a manual 5-door XE and top out at $19,820 for an automatic 3-door XR. Prices include destination charge. Base models do not include air conditioning, which is a $960 option. .
Not bad, but $1400 for a 4 speed auto is pretty steep.
Nice-looking car
wait, is the 3 door more than the 5 door?
Nice looking car for a nice price. Kudos to Saturn for bringing this car over and double kudos to Opel and ze germans for making it.
Saturn very well done!
Looking nice, but A/C not standard on base models? That is really..just…wrong. I live in AZ goddamn it!
Commodore: I kind of shrugged at that myself. I’m in the IE, and if I buy a car without air conditioning, I’m getting (F) divorced. No marriage counselor, no trial seperation …
Really good job, Saturn. I had also noticed the air conditioning not standard, but they’re most likely doing it for the advertising factor.
Many economy car’s base models don’t have air conditioning standard
JimJack, knowing that no A/C will cause your wife to leave you is your ace in the hole. Now when you meet the women of your dreams, you just go out and pick up a base Astra and your problems are solved?
It’s like a No-dicker Divorce!
even the ion (which the astra is replacing) has AC standard.
this isn’t europe for christ’s sake. it’s the US. and it’s been 100 most of this month in the midwest. ridiculous.
But does it come with a Diesel?
As stated above, the only reason “AC a $600 option” is so they can advertise a deceptively low price. Hyundai has done the same lately with the 2007 Elantra. Base price stayed about the same as the 2006, but with the AC being optional, it actually bumped prices up. I’d gander that the only Astras that actually are built without AC are those specially ordered from the factory.
My bad, $960, not $600.
These prices are too high. With a couple of options, this car is priced in Aura territory. GM should have manufactured this car in the United States to keep costs down. We are paying for a european car with our deflated American dollars. Without disounting, GM is not going to sell a lot of these.
GM needs to take out some of their unnecessary electronics such as ABS, stability control and On-Star to bring the price to a reasonable level. There is nothing wrong with offering these things as options, rather than making them standard.
swamprat… did you forget your meds this week or something? At first I thought you were just the typical LLN domestic-bashing, “detroit can do no right,” wanker… but now I see you’re completely off your rocker. Who the hell is not going to want ABS? That and stability control should be standard on every single car as they have been proven to save lives. What’s next, make air bags optional? It’s 2007 pal, people want these things. Also being 2007 those prices are not ridiculous… $19k for a fully loaded plus a new car warranty… 15K for a base, probably 16K for one with A/C.. they are going to sell a lot of these. GM’s quality has made great improvements.. and Saturn has had a loyal following for a number of years with their customer service being top notch. Maybe you need to relocate to China, you might find the kind of vehicle you’re looking for over there.
^ Big flaw in your argument - ABS is good when properly designed and implemented. GM is notorious for producing an “ABS” system that sounds like a ****ing jack-in-the-box exploding. It DOESN’T work, not on any of the Cavaliers, not on any Buick products, not on any small car.
If they’re going to outfit the Astra with that sort of ****ty system, then they can keep it.
ABS on my OLds works just fine
The 3 Door XR with full options sounds like it would a fun car to drive.
test
test1
Yup, still exciting.
this thing is out in europe and goes by the name of vauxhall astra. Google Vauxhall Astra VXR its a pretty exciting car
It is definitely an Escort beater. Based on publications from Europe Astra is reliable car. Of course, don’t confuse what comes stateside with European version: 60% have very smooth little diesel. I drove one and it is really impressive (with manual transmission). I believe they are made in Belgium.
the only problem is the engine choice: 140hp that really sucks. oh also Europe has 6 speed trannies we get 5 speeds
The diesel in Europe is only 90 bhp, but has 140+ lbs of torque from 1800 rpm. It makes all the difference in the world. Number of gears is really irrelevant in my book, as long as they are smooth shifting (which wasn’t in Europe, but what do expect in rental fleet?)
Nice looking, but no A/C on the base? That’s stupid
If only the Astra sales will FORCE Ford into bringing over the Euro Focus! Nice looking car, and I can’t believe I’m cross shopping Saturn. Can’t wait!
AMGoff -
The studies that I have seen show that there is no difference in accident rates between cars equipped with ABS and those that do not have it installed. ABS is useful in maybe one percent of traffic situations. If ABS, Airbags and safety roll cages saved so many lives, how come 43,000 people still lose their lives on highways every year? The only car I have ever owned with ABS was my 1996 Ford Mustang. The brakes were lousy on that car, not because of ABS, but because they were Ford.
Until you show me a study that has shown where ABS and stability control have reduced accidents and fatalities, your comments are baseless. You must be smoking too much medical marijuana.
This is a nice looking car, but man, I hope you can get something besides that damned gray interior. I am SO sick of gray interiors, the lack of any alternative is enough to make my not buy the car, where otherwise I would have.
Goldfish: 140 horsepower!? They best make a more powerful Redline version & best make it now!
All in all - Nice car Saturn.
Another product to help turn the ship.
WHY IS THE 5 DOOR MORE THAN THE 3 DOOR
a few dollars shy of 20,000 dollars, the 3 door(with automatic)……why?
Because it’s built in Europe?
Build it here, or Mexico, China…somewhere where the MSRP could be, oh, around 17K-18K, where the Scion tC is.
That would be more competitive, 17-18K, not 20-21K.
I like it, so far, but I won’t consider one for that price.
Sorry.
Maybe next time(if they can lower MSRP 2K).
have a good week.
GM- quit wasting halfway decent cars on the Saturn brand. A Chevy Sky would have been so much better. No one wants to be seen in a Saturn…
No one wants to be seen in a Chevy. It’s the lowest of the low brands, like being seen with a fat girl on a date. Anything but Chevy.
deantj: wrong
The drivetrain in these cars is just fine when paired with the manual transmission. Buy the automatic and you have a completely different car. I guess it’s fine for 90% of the American customers who just need cars to get from point A to point B. The Big 3 would have been long gone at this point if that wasn’t the case….
few things I forgot last post:
1)0GSharK6
you are correct about Elantra. Also, they have the Accent(lower level car) with 8 way adjustable seats, but not the 17-18K Elantra? What gives? Decontenting(as you said.. make A/C optional, too?).
And Hyundai wonders why their overall sales YTD are down, vs 2006.
2) I see an article(link) above “Astra hybrid in 2010″…. if this includes the 3 door….what will it cost, 23-25K?????
When the Astra outprices the Civic(which, to be honest, I think they are too high, too), Just Say No.
Maybe employees, etc, can get the GM discount , then it might be ok priced; an acceptable price.
I have seen 2-3 Storms still running around, and one was 98,000 miles…. looked in good shape.
The other was on the road…and was not loud, rusty, etc..
I hoped this would be reasonable, 2008 version(but nicer). It is nicer, it appears…but it is also priced as much as a Civic Hybrid(loaded up, it’s over what, 21-22K, this Astra 3 door?).
No.
They should have saved the cash, 3 door /top hat the Cobalt.. and saved money(tweaked the suspension, etc..)
I don’t know.
have a good one.
I like this car, in fact its on my list of potential vehicles to buy this winter. My only worry is that in a year or so the red line will be on the market and I’ll be stuck with 140hp… and that just won’t do. Its built on the same cobalt platform and its even blown in Europe. C’mon GM… this is the USA where bigger is better and faster is a common desire of all citizens. The website advertises the car as a driver’s car with fun handling characteristics and a zippy attitude, you atleast have to hit the 170-180hp mark to be “zippy”.
I like the fact that the astra will be priced closer to the Scion TC price point but it’s still not quite there, all this stuff is standard on the TC which is 170hp standard and at least supercharged is an option!
And since we’re on pricing; Why would I buy a 22-25k cobalt SS when I can get the VW GTI or Honda Civic SI for the same or lesser priced? I mean who on God’s green Earth would pay 450/mo to drive a Cobalt? So GM when the Redline does hit, stick with the lower price point!
As for the Chevy vs Saturn Brand war, I think the overall brand image of Saturn is much more sophisticated (And there for more successful) than Chevy. If it weren’t for the heritage of the logo I’d suggest that shevy revisit the bowtie. Its too dated!