Opel Antara/Saturn Vue
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From all recent spy pictures seen on the web, it looks like the next Saturn Vue will pretty much be an exact copy of the all new Opel Antara.
This should almost complete an amazing turnaround for Saturn.
Could they really become the 1st true American challenge to Toyota and Honda???
Was Opel the answer all along?
Is Ford Europe the answer to Ford US?
Or at least Mercury…
If they ever want to sell it here, I guess people will pay more for “oldsmobile”, buick, or cadillac badges. Salesmans will have pretty tough time to convince people to pay more for a saturn crossover that is smaller than other GM crossover entries.
Is it true that I recently read Saturn will NOT be bringing the Opel Astra over for it’s Ion replacement afterall?
That seems like the one that was poised to really put Saturn back on the map.
It’s a huge improvement, this Antara. But… it does look older than the Rav4, CX-7, and Grand Vitara. Not quite the same effect as the concept. And those vents hugging the nav screen look like a triple bra.
But it does look good, and most of the interior looks great.
Many of us can’t believe Ford and GM didn’t bring over a lot of their foreign market products; we’ve been suggesting it for a while!
Vince, yes to all your questions.
I always thought that Mercury would have done well in the 1980s and 1990s fielding the rebodied Mazdas that were developed for Asia-Pacific markets and used them to challenge the Japanese. Ford’s smaller offerings would work well in the US, but for the NIH syndrome that Dearborn is known for.
Anyone got the dimensions for the Antara? This, and the Daewoo-built Captiva, look small but I understand that they are not as small as we think.
But the problem is if they look small, they will suffer, regardless of how voluminous they really are.
GM & Ford should stop fooling around with North American designed cars and just import their Euro models here.
This will save them a lot of money (fire all those lousy designers/dead weight) and headache (trying to sell those cars in their dealerships).
Chrysler, Jeep & Dodge are doing a lot better with Daimler/Benz.
Agreed Vince. These are dynamic cars…especially when compared to the previous Saturn models. I don’t think even this revised Opel line up will be a huge threat to Toyota or Honda though. It’s going to take more than rebadged European models to take on cars with that much momentum. A move in the right direction…I haven’t lost complete faith.
Err.. dont get too excited. The jury is still out on saturn.
Whether opel is on par with HonYotisans of this world, thats debatable. But it doesnt matter as most people wont crossshop GM/Saturn with Toyondas.
I would not say Opel has always been the answer to Saturn gaining market share from the Japanese; Opel itself has only had a real turnaround in the last 5 years. However Opel, even in its major late 90s rut would have done wonders in improving the abysmal build quality of GM derived Saturns.
The Saturn Vue will differ a little from this model. The exterior styling will be slightly modified, which is probably a result of GM making this meet US crash standards. The interior is also a little different to. It won’t get the Opel radio/Nav screen setup but the GMNA radio/HVAC controls (yeah.. the one they use for every new GM car)
But, it’s basically the same car. It’s also going to be slightly smaller then the current VUE according to Edmunds..but I find that information to be questionable.
The Saturn is a great looking SUV. For me, it’s better looking than the new RAV4 and the current Honda (let’s see about the re-design). Saturn will have two car based SUVs’, a compact and a full sizer. It will be very very successful.
If their goal is to attract people who might buy say Santa Fe, or even an Element, or (non-awd, slightly smaller) xB…..LOL…Good Luck with this (almost) dated look!
General Mess….GM.
They have the better looking vehicles overseas, yet, dump this on us.
It may be better than the current Saturns, but, they should maybe take a field trip to Scion, or Honda, or even Hyundai/Kia dealerships, and look around at what’s selling, and the styling.
Go look at the Mini Cooper , which itself commands a high price, for the size of car, and looks good.
These guys are a day late and a dollar short, on style, as per usual.
This thing will(does) look dated… in no time.
How could any one not seeing the resemblance to a CRV? Especially the front. I’m not knocking it down, but at least give Honda some credits when they’re duplicated.
How could any one not seeing the resemblance to a CRV? Especially the front. I’m not knocking it down, but at least give Honda some credits when they’re duplicated.
Being a Honda fan, I’d surely give them the credit if I saw it, but I just don’t. I think this Saturn is far more attractive. Honda does, however, deserve credit for solidly establishing this category of efficient SUVs. I hope this new Saturn will be as stingy on fuel.
the Green 3 door Antara on this link/page? That was what was originally shown at the autoshow(s) as the Vue replacement, and now, we get…..The Saturn Santa Fe! 5 doors!? Aren’t there engough 5 doors in the universe as-is? This is getting to be like large SUV’s 10 years ago: Every maker had a few, or more.The uglying-down of a wonderful 3 door vehicle( since it is a Saturn, why not have made it like the 3 door concept, but add the 2 “hidden” doors, like on Ion?. Techincally, it would have been a 5 door, but look like the much better 3 door sporty version, instead of this watered down, no way would I consider it, looking thing!)Well, there’s always Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Hyundai/Kia, Suzuki,and Nissan(?) to consider, or Ford or Chrysler,Mitsubishi ,etc..