GM taking on the RAV4 and CR-V right away. Not a big fan of these small SUVs but happy to see GM react soon to competition. Now if they went back to being an innovator…

Also hate what those 200mm+ lenses do to a swoopy design. Spy shots are always so FLAT with too much DOF.

.

Its automatically better than the CR-V, and better looking than the RAV-4, now if only it would be faster than the RAV.

Did you see the front overhang on this? Jeezus…looks like a cross between an Italian and a …nevermind, that’s not nice.

Anyway, the rest looks OK. I think Saturn might actually make a buck or two this year for GM, and I think they could learn a lot from Saturn’s dealer network. I think Caddy and Saab should operate the same way. It’s weird to think you get better treatment at a Saturn dealer than their upper end brands.

This vs the CR-V would be an interesting comparison.

This is a fine looking SUV. If the engine/transmission combination is state of the art, this will sell very well.
Congrats GM! Those Koreans do know how to build cars.

What a dorky looking SUV. What’s with the slit in front of the doors? What the fuk do they think this thing is, a Land Rover?

Seriously, this thing is nothing special.

Its already on the streets of Europe what kind of scoop is this?

It looks like a Kia or Hyundai, not a GM -which might work.

BrokenCadillac: I think Buick calls them “portholes” (or something like that), but since this is a Saturn, I have no idea.

It’s a Daewoo. I wonder what the Chevrolet Captiva will be sold as in the US?

not a bad design apart from the outdated and old looking head lights and front/back bumpers

LOOKS LIKE ****. what happened to the sick Prevue concept? i loved that thing.

This is really damn ugly, its about as BORING as they come, honestly, find me a more plain looking SUV. The new Rav 4 is far superior looking on the outside, and i can PROMISE, and this is a promise, that the interior quality of the Rav 4 is better than the interior on this Vue will be, GM is incapable of building an interior in a car like this that will better Toyota or Honda. The new CR-V looks wayyy better than this too, and so does the Subaru Forester (my personal favorite). This looks like a boring design that would have looked possibly innovative maybe 3 years ago.

[...] We showed you spy shots of the 2008 Saturn VUE earlier in the week, but that mule’s shape was paritally obscured by a few rolls of black tape. Today we have shots of a VUE sans tape undergoing testing for water leaks that gives a crystal clear view of what the next VUE will look like. LeftLaneNews calls it a 2007 model, but we’re betting the new VUE will actually be a 2008 model considering the current VUE is already listed on Saturn’s website as a 2007 model. Clearly Saturn’s new small CUV is a direct port of the Opel Antara that’s about go on sale overseas. There it’s motivated by a 224-hp, 3.2-liter V6 and a 141-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder, as well as a 150-hp, 2.0-liter diesel engine that’s not long for these parts. [...]

I like it ! As Saturn says “Like always, like never before !!”

Another pinnacle of GM mediocrity. This thing has the character of a Marshmallow. Bland, dull and uninspiring. Should fit well in the rest of the GM lineup.

This version of the VUE is not for me. If I wanted to buy a Santa Fe, I’d buy one. I definitely don’t want a GM version of it. Ugh!

More predictable comments by BrokenCadillac, LamborghiniZ, and GarbageMotorsCo. We need to put all 3 of you under a new user name called BrokenRecord!

Come on guys, you actually think the current VUE looks better? So the front end is oddly long like it doesn’t know if it is FWD or RWD (reminds me of the departed S-series sedan and wagon) and overly square, and the rear is abruptly short, and the side vents are laughable.. but it still looks better than the current model. Unfortunately, the current Honda-built V6 won’t make it into the new one.

First, I agree that the white version pictured here is boring because the lines don’t show but the opel link shows much more promise. Are the haters telling me that the opel one pictured in the link is that boring?

Second, if you think the new RAV4 (muchless the old one) interior is something special or hard to beat you are on some sort. The RAV4 interior looks like a 1950’s bad space movie robot head in the middle of the dash. It could be made with sold gold and diamonds but if it looks inept then it is not better than the competition. If GM put the word “Ingenious” on their website about their product even something as awesome as the Sequel concept you import fans would be calling for their execution…(http://automobiles.honda.com/models/interior_overview.asp?ModelName=CR%2DV)

Then there is the CRV interior. Not a smooth line available on the center dash. I love the recessed radio that makes the Trailblazer radio look flush. But I guess you do need to *waste* space to hold 50 CDs in the center dash since there doesn’t appear to be an auxillary jack like the *current* VUE has so you can bring your MP3 player with your whole collection.
(http://automobiles.honda.com/images/banners/2006/cr-v/interior_gallery/large11.jpg). To top it all off it looks like no less than 4 colors of plastic on the center dash (tan, black, dark gray, and brown gray).

2007 imports:
http://www.toyota.com/images/vehicles/2007/rav4/gallery/interior/photo_2.jpg
http://automobiles.honda.com/images/banners/2006/cr-v/interior_gallery/large2.jpg

2006 VUE:
http://www.nctd.com/06/06-vue-interior.jpg

Have you even looked at the interiors of these vehicle before spewing out promises. You are incapable of sight apparently.

Anyway, here are the two links that were voided by the parenthesis…

“Ingenious” link (humble of you Honda)…
http://automobiles.honda.com/models/interior_overview.asp?ModelName=CR%2DV

Wasted CD holding space (put an MP3 jack on the head unit)…
http://automobiles.honda.com/images/banners/2006/cr-v/interior_gallery/large11.jpg

Zzzzz… Zzzzz… Zzzzz…

Ack! It’s a Tucson!

MHW, sorry if I’m a realist, but it’s not my fault that GM and Ford make overall, really really inferior products, and that the companies that actually make high quality vehicles like Toyota and Honda don’t get enough credit. If you think we’re being predictable, that’s fine, you’re entitled to yoru opinion, but what’s really predictable here is that GM is coming out w/ another mediocre SUV, and yes, I’m going to comment on that, so what you should really be complaining about is how GM and Ford come out with car after car and SUV after SUV that don’t really meet today’s quality standards, because if they didn’t do that, I would have nothing to critique them on. I’m a realist, so if GM and Ford are really sucking right now, and they’re products overall are pretty damn bad, I won’t sugar coat that or ignore it or pretend it’s not an issue, I’ll address it, and everytime I see another garbage GM car coming out, I’ll make a comment on it, because it’s a serious issue when in the 21st century the domestic manufacturers can’t even make a decent car.

Realist? LMAO.

Your screen name represents unreliability in a vehicle. Tell you what. Call Pat Goss and ask him if GM vehicles are as bad as you state… Ask him if Toyota and Honda have 20 times better reliability.

But you probably mean other things. Like excitement? Oh, yes, Toyotas are so exciting. And the Accord makes me weak at the knees anytime I look at it.

No, you must have meant technology. Is that why the most profitable car company (Toyota) wanted to work with GM on the latest technology (HFV) and another company that keeps growing (BMW) wanted to start with GM’s hybrid system as the base and engineer hybrid systems for their cars with mostly GM technology. And OnStar, used by import luxury brands (literally they use OnStar not a copy but the GM product) all the time. Things BMW brags about in commercials (ability to call the driver with oil change info, etc.) can be done in a $16K Cobalt. How about Heads Up Display. GM has had that for how many years now? Two hybrid system in their hands and don’t forget the Sequel. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/09/19/sequel-test-drive-part-3-behind-the-wheel

In countries where their test scores are higher than us Americans GM is growing by double digits (China and India to name a couple).

But I must admit, other than the reality part, you do seem to be a realist.

LMAO(yet again).

Pat Goss is too busy because he is on the radio and TV in the DC area every weekend. Answering questions people ask about: cars. How many washed up people put themselves out there for people to ask and rebute against (well, besides yourself)? But call him up, literally, he *is* on the radio every weekend, and tell everyone how he doesn’t know anything because he is washed up. http://1067freefm.com/pages/1851.php there is the 800 number, no excuse.

Anyway, in white it does look boring but good that you spent more time telling us how Pat Goss is washed up than disputing other facts presented about GM.

Again, in white it does look boring in these pictures but the pic from the Opel site looks better unless your eye sight is null and void as the other guy who sees beautiful interiors in the CRV and RAV4. But way to judge the vehicle on spy shots alone. That is smart in the sense that only someone as you could encapsulate.

They do build cars. They have a Corvette, a G6 Hardtop convertible, Solstice, Sky, the Aura is nice and the Redline version will be a winner, they have the V-series of *cars*. They have a Lucerne with available nav, magneride, stability control, heated and cooled seats. Then they made cars with plastic body panels so that salty/snowy climates wouldn’t have to replace panels or live with rust and all the “experts” complained about gaps. How about a Quad Coupe, something no one else has done. How about OnStar in a $16K Cobalt. They just neglect cars. Toyota neglects everything for the Camry and GM puts more effort into vehicles they are on top in, that is smart.

If people like you see *no* good cars at all from GM then why would GM put a ton of effort in a car that people like you would ignore anyway while they could continue to make money on trucks and SUVs?

They do fine with cars but I don’t blame them for trying not trying to give up SUVs just to build cars where import fans are so blind to reality. They see beautiful interiors in the crappiest of Japanese CRV and RAV4 interiors.

But you have a nice day. I’m going to enjoy my Saturday. This will give you time to enjoy what ever come back you have until I get back later and destroy all your exagerations and lies with a simple touch of reality.

PS – Hopefully I will hear you on the Pat Goss radio show today (since you now have the numbe) as the many who listen will think you are the washed up person after they here you make a fool of yourself.

ur fstick- let’s compare, shall we, various aspects between the Japanese and American cars.

Reliability- An easy one, Toyota and Honda DO have this one easy, the stats show it, the repair records show it, everyone knows it, if you know anything about cars (which you clearly dont) you’d know that Ford/GM do NOT make vehicles as reliable as Toyota and Honda.

Sportiness- Toyota doesn’t make sporty vehicles. I’m not going to pretend that it does. Honda, however, does. The Civic Si is a far better vehicle in every way than the Cobalt SS, and both are sporty. The Accord, Altima, Mazda 6, and Legacy are ALL sportier than the, for example, Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6, Pontiac Grand Prix, etc etc. Ever heard of the 350Z, the Honda S2000, the Toyota MR2 Spyder, Subaru WRX/WRX STi?

Technology- Toyota and Honda have been leading the game in hybrid technology, Ford and GM are playing typical catch up, launching either one hybrid (the Escape), or just ****ty hybrids (the Silverado), Toyota and Honda also know how to maximize power and efficency, just look at the engines found in such cars as the S2000.

Interior Quality- NO COMPARISON. American made cars have, in general, really sub par interiors, while those on Japanese made cars (some relatively recent Nissans are an exception) are gorgeous. Look at the Accord, the Camry, the Avalon, look at the Civic, look at the S2000, the Legacy, the B9 Tribeca, the Rav 4, etc etc, the list goes on and on.

And this is all without even mentioning Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti. Learn something about cars before you start making stuff up.

Sidenote that I forgot to add, everyone bashes Toyota for boring vehicles, but jesus christ, other than a few exceptions the main American brands do NOT offer a high majority of sporty vehicles, and just to be fair, i’ll use sporty in a very loose definition of the word, and i’ll only look at car offerings, no suv’s or vans. Let’s take a look.

Ford- Non Sporty- Focus (Not anymore, its old/outdated), Five Hundred, , Crown Victoria, Fusion
Sporty – Mustang, Ford GT

Mercury- Non Sporty – Milan, Montego, Grand Marquis
Sporty- None

Lincoln- Non Sporty – MKZ, Town Car (dont say the MKZ is, its hardly sporty, its in the class of the BMW 3 series for gods sake)
Sporty – None (the LS is out of production)

Chevy – Non Sporty – Aveo, Cobalt, HHR, Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo (yes the impala, malibu, and monte carlo come in SS editions, but those arent really sporty, sticking a big engine in a front drive car doesn’t make a car sporty)
Sporty- Corvette, Cobalt SS/SS Supercharged

Buick – Non Sporty – LaCrosee, Lucerne
Sporty- None

Pontiac – Non Sporty – G6, G5, Grand Prix, Vibe
Sporty – Solstice, GTO

Cadillac-Non Sporty – DTS
Sporty – CTS, STS, XLR

Saturn- Non Sporty – Ion, Aura
Sporty – Sky

GMC- Non Sporty- Everything (all SUVs)
Sporty- None

Hummer – Non Sporty- Everything (all SUVs)
Sporty – None

Props to Cadillac, props to the Corvette, props to the GT, and props to the idea behind the Solstice/Sky and the fact that they excuted that idea, but look at the huge number of NON sporty vehicles there. These brands w/ the exception of say, Cadillac, are not geared towards sporty vehicles. So let’s not bull**** ourselves any longer w/ the concept that Toyota is the only brand that makes “borrring cars”

tuscons are better than this heap.

AT LEAST GIVE US THE ANTARA TAILLIGHTS! THESE ARE BORING!

LamborghiniZ, some of your statements just don’t hold water if you look at the record. According to the 2006 J.D. Power Dependability Study, which is based on interveiws of 47,620 original owners of 2003 model year vehicles, the domestic brands are holding there own nicely. If you take GM’s main stream brand of Chevrolet for example, they rank higher than Nissan, Mazda, Porsche, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Volvo, Audi, Mini, Isuzu, Volkswagon, Kia, Suzuki, and Land Rover. Only Lexus ranked higher than Mercury, Buick and Cadillac, which all beat out your beloved Toyota and Honda! The domestic brands are far more reliable than you are willing to give them credit for.

You also give no credit to the domestics for there improvement in interior quality. Look no further than the old Escalade vs the new Escalade. If you can’t see a vast improvement in both the design and quality of it’s interior, you are as blind as a bat! With each new intro the gap between Import and Domestic shrinks ever further, some people just choose not to see it.

MHW, Yes, if you look at JD Power I’m sure it says that, they always try and make the US automakers look good. however that’s only one source for stats.. According to the data collected by Consumer Reports, which is, like JD Power, collected by tens of thousands of model owners over the past few years, the manufacturers with the highest number of reliable vehicles were Honda, Subaru, Toytoa, Volvo, Acura, Hyundai, Lexus, and Mazda. Some American brands did well, and of course they’ve made improvment reliability wise over the past few years, but brands like Ford, Dodge, Chevy, and Chrysler were at the near bottom of the list. If you look at problems per 100 vehicles, not one American brand beats my “beloved Toyota and Honda”. JD Power has always been biased, for instance, I’ve read on multiple versions of their studies how Jaguar is at the top in quality/reliability, when in reality, everyone knows that Jaguar’s are about as unreliable as they come. Everyone I’ve ever talked to that has owned one or has known someone who has owned one says so, Consumer Reports verifies that, etc. So my trust for JD Power’s little list that you’ve cited there is low. Even the mainstream auto magazines like Car and Drive and Motor Trend always recognize legendary Honda and Toyota reliability, it’s a simple fact that Honda, Acura, Toyota, Lexus, etc are extremely reliable, don’t try and deny that, because its a fact. You can cite a biased source like JD Power any time you like, but biased info isn’t really info at all.

On one level, you’re right about interior quality. Huge strides have been made. You’re right about the Escalade, the old interior literally looked like a gapfilled dash made out of trash, I myself could have designed a more attractive interior, hell a 12 year old probably could have. And while the interior on the new Escalade is a huge improvement, and looks good, the interior on the Mercedes Benz GL450 looks better. The interior on the BMW X5 looks better (and that’s been around for a while), the interior on the Range Rover looks better, the interior on the G-Class looks better, etc etc. Yes the Escalades interior is improved, but when cars that have been around for 5 years or more have better interiors than the brand new one Cadillac made for 2007, that’s telling. The interior of the new Escalade is the interior the last generation Escalade should have had. And while other GM cars have made improvements too, the fact that they’ve made improvements dont really matter when you compare them to the competition. The Chevy Cobalt for example – new interior, looks better than the terrible Cavalier’s, yet it’s FAR FAR worse than the new civic, the mazda 3, the new sentra’s, etc etc.

Summary: GM has made improvments on interiors, but the other brands have made improvements too, which once again makes the GM interiors look outdated and outclassed, which they are.

J.D. Power doesn’t report what you like to hear so they are automaticaly biased? Consumer Reports has been the topic of debate more than J.D. Power, so maybe I will do the same and simply call them biased. And the rest of your post is simply your opinion. In the end I guess we just agree to disagree.

I guess we shall. And while the rest of my post is technically opinion, basically anyone with 2 eyes and a brain would agree, its more fact than opinion really, if you compare the interior of a Honda Civic with that of a Cobalt, the Civic CLEARLY has a higher quality, more imaginative, and snugger fit interior. That’s a fact. But i suppose ignorance is bliss for you

I promise this is my last post on this thread. (lol) While the Cobalt interior may not be the stuff that dreams are made of, neither is the Civic’s. I will give the Civic the edge on fit and finish, but the design looks like a Star Wars movie gone bad. And yes, that’s just my opinion, but many other seem to agree!

The quality is far superior, we can use the Mazda 3 as an example then, higher quality than the Cobalt, no crazy futuristic design, just quality and attractiveness. the cobalt loses again

i’m sure X5 owners will be rushing in crowds to thier local saturn dealerships…