I think it will do better on the market with the opel badge

Nah. Nobody in the masses under the age of 30 knows what an Opel is. Then there’s the issue of dealer networks, etc.

I hope this car does well.

It is certainly a better car then disgraced Ion was (it could get worse only if GM would start selling Daewoos as Saturn, but Suzuki got lucky with those products). Based on British press reviews it is not a bad car and was a leader in Europe when first introduced. But the same press compared it with Honda and Toyota offering in Britain and found “japs” to be hard to beat. Of course there is a following in states of Saturn devouters and they are startving for something more presentable that Ion. This car should work, but it will not set the world on fire. Overall it is definitely a step in the right direction for GM, unlike re-painted Hummer.

Im under the mass age of 30 and i love the opel brand significantly more than saturn, but saturn will do. Im sure theyll make a conversion kit.

i dont care what it is called its a nice car.

average driving ability, average build quality , average reliability, and below average interior.
i’d stick with the golf,civic,etc etc

A4 – when i said the masses, I mean the average car buyer. You post incessantly on a car blog; that makes you not average…er, ABOVE average. or something.

point is, we all know opel, but most don’t.

The car is attractive as a Saturn, I think it will do well. The Aura and Sky have made impacts as far as rebuilding Saturn’s brand equity.

Now if only GM would pay as much attention to other struggling brands, like Saab and Pontiac. A ghetto’ized G6 and the G8 isn’t enough.

I’ve driven Astras before, in the UK and I always thought they were nice enough cars with decent power. It should do well.

I think autonut’s right, Saturn has enough of a following to keep the Opels badged as Saturns. Saturn has a like of brand equity in the no-haggle pricing, etc., as well.

The other two of the “Big 3″ U.S. car companies should just make note: European styling seems to be the common denominator. 33% more units sold than expected is *always* a good thing. Let’s hope the demand in ‘08 is actually that high.

I think this car is definitely a better fit in the lineup than the ION. It has one or two flaws in interior offerings (putting only one cupholder in a car for sale in the U.S. is crazy), but the overall package should be way more satisfying. I would like to see more variants when the next generation makes it to market (sedan, coupe, coupe-cabrio, and wagon).

I don’t think GM should change the brand name from Saturn to Opel. GM has spent too much time and money adjusting Saturn’s image to just throw it all away now and start over with a new brand. The Opel name is well known among enthusiasts but probably has little market recognition with the normal consumer. I’ve seen the same suggestions made about switching Pontiac to Holden, which I think is just as ludicrous. I applaud GM for having the good sense to bring over products from their foreign divisions and I think they are wise to fit them into existing brands in the U.S.

In America no one cares about the Opel name… Ask any person under 30 and they know Saturn most had the SL1 as their first car after their parents gave them the family car.

Ive noticed less and less new Civic’s around thank god maybe the cattle group have actually started looking at other venues and this car is coming in at the right time because the offerings at Honda (Fit), Nissan (Versa) and Toyota (Yaris) are all ugly as hell.

this car does not compete with the yaris,jazz, it is bigger, this car is not near as good as the civic in terms of anything

cept the Civic looks like the embodiment of all ass, and the Astra looks amazing.

‘cardesigner’ … change your handle. You are out to lunch permanently. The interior of this Astra, the center dash being garbage, will compare equally to Honda, the space age theme also garbage. They nullify each other. The exterior of this car is more attractive than the Civic. Again, Honda’s futuristic wedge will present itself more clearly in the future as a design ERROR.

But please continue multiple postings defending your lost case. Just don’t expect to convince anyone.

Stop complaining about bringing the Opel brand over already. Go on Ebay and get you some badges and grille if Saturn bugs you that much. GM is wise enough to take advantage of the existing Saturn dealer network and there is still some good faith left in the Saturn name. It is afterall a brand designed to compete with the Japanese brands. Seeing that the Astra did well both in Europe and Australia against the Japanese and Ford, it will do fine here and it fits in with the Saturn profile. Finally, Saturn is carrying out its original mission and I am glad that there is a large demand for it.

I’ll bet the UAW is happy about this.

I look forward to the Red Line version, something I cannot say for another product from Saturn.

CD5, you semiintelligent polesmoker: If this car was of everage build quality, it’s be a lot better than that POS civiv. Don’t even start, I owned one.

There was a tuner version of this at SEMA. Sweet!

Rompn4x: May people are starting to realize you can get a better car for less. Not long ago I had to drive an ‘07 civic. my back hurt for several days after.

Jimstar: it looks like what it is