Canada, Meet the Future Saturn VUE
Though it was widely expected that Opel had something up its sleeve for the Frankfurt Motor Show, I don't think
many pundits predicted something quite so buff. I'd also venture that not many expected Bob Lutz, GM's fearless leader, to follow it up by telling Autoweek that the Antara GTC Concept "will be identical to the future Saturn VUE."
Identical? Now that's brass. GM Vice Chairman Lutz further stipulated that "they can build it in a U.S. plant, and it will be identical." I, for one, can certainly respect Mr. Lutz for not mincing words. But how could Saturn possibly get away with replacing a practical 4-door SUV with a hyper-sporty 2-door muscle-bound Coupe UV? With the Outlook on its way and soon to fill the role of practical people mover (possibly even displacing the Relay from Saturn's lineup),
that leaves room for the VUE to grow down, enhancing Saturn's ever-more-youthful image.
So the Opel Antara GTC concept is coming to the Saturn lineup. Mr. Lutz has avowed that we will see it next spring at the New York Auto Show with a Saturn badge on the grille, and hopefully some preliminaries about engines and specs. The Antara GTC's engine is an Opel turbodiesel that makes 212-horsepower by feeding a 1.9-litre 4-cylinder engine with twin turbos. It is also equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission that gives it Red Line-like performance in simulated tests. With Saturn adopting mild hybrids as soon as next year (see automotive news archive for Aug 7, 2005: Saturn to Introduce ''Green Line'' Mild Hybrid Lineup for 2007), don't expect any diesels to join the family. So let's get skip the mechanicals and talk about its styling.
Though it was widely expected that Opel had something up its sleeve for the Frankfurt Motor Show, I don't think
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| Bob Lutz, GM's fearless leader, told Autoweek that the Antara GTC Concept "will be identical to the future Saturn VUE." (Photo: General Motors of Europe) |
Identical? Now that's brass. GM Vice Chairman Lutz further stipulated that "they can build it in a U.S. plant, and it will be identical." I, for one, can certainly respect Mr. Lutz for not mincing words. But how could Saturn possibly get away with replacing a practical 4-door SUV with a hyper-sporty 2-door muscle-bound Coupe UV? With the Outlook on its way and soon to fill the role of practical people mover (possibly even displacing the Relay from Saturn's lineup),
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| The Antara GTC's engine is an Opel turbodiesel that makes 212-horsepower by feeding a 1.9-litre 4-cylinder engine with twin turbos. (Photo: General Motors of Europe) |
So the Opel Antara GTC concept is coming to the Saturn lineup. Mr. Lutz has avowed that we will see it next spring at the New York Auto Show with a Saturn badge on the grille, and hopefully some preliminaries about engines and specs. The Antara GTC's engine is an Opel turbodiesel that makes 212-horsepower by feeding a 1.9-litre 4-cylinder engine with twin turbos. It is also equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission that gives it Red Line-like performance in simulated tests. With Saturn adopting mild hybrids as soon as next year (see automotive news archive for Aug 7, 2005: Saturn to Introduce ''Green Line'' Mild Hybrid Lineup for 2007), don't expect any diesels to join the family. So let's get skip the mechanicals and talk about its styling.