burlapp car

One of GM’s many problems

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Cars that shouldn’t even be produced….

Just look a this ad. Who in their right mind would pay over $3500 to save 1MPG?

The Aura is a really good car. One of my favorite midsized sedan.
But they shouldn’t even produce the hybrid version.

Conversation 23 comments

  2. the problem with saturn and all the other GM brands is they are all REDUNDANT…..just like Mercury is to Ford…..REDUNDANT. The Aura is a Malibu.

  3. I verified from the comparison data on carsdirect that this truly is a major waste of money. Thought for sure there would be significant added content on the hybrid (like maybe leather, stereo upgrades, maybe a sunroof) but no, there is just std automatic A/C (as opposed to std manual A/C) and for that GM deleted some other crap that is available on the non-hybrid, so basically they want $3,500 for 2 more mpg city, 1 more highway. Ridiculous.

  4. I always said Saturn needed to advertise more, and when they finally do advertise, this is what they put out there. And they wonder why they’re in so much financial trouble. I’ll bet if they get the bailout they’ll be in trouble again in about a year.

  6. All the “hybrid” is on these models is a start/stop function and regenerative braking. Dump the extra weight from the regen braking and implement the start/stop as standard on all the 4-cylinder models. Sure you lose the cachet of “hybrid” but they’re really not fooling anyone anyway.

    Another problem with all GM hybrids is the “limited availability”. They’re nearly impossible to find in MN. Even if they were worth it, you can’t find them.

  7. Do keep in mind that the mileage stated is for the highway. Hybrids don’t gain mileage on the highway. City is where they perform better. However, it’s still a mild hybrid and probably not worth the cost.

  8. “Rethink”. Ha! Looks who’s talking. They need to take their own words to heart and “Rethink” again.

  9. I completely agree, the whole “mild hybrid” concept is a complete joke. GM should have stuck to 4 cylinders and 6 speed gear boxes in the first place. Instead they offer 8 trim levels with pricing that makes little sense on half od them. GM’s failure is imminent. I would never buy one again!

  10. This is a joke. This most certainly can’t be real. Who would pay 27,000 for a basic Aura when you can get a loaded Mllibu sans the useless hybrid materials for the same price? No wonder Saturn is on it’s death bed, they PUT it there. Like I said before, they NEED differentiation on their redundant models:

    Malibu should be Sedan Only.

    G6 Should be Coupe and Convertible only.

    Aura should be Sedan/Wagon only.

    This alone would give something unique to each brand. However they are afraid of having a “specialty” brand that would take the volume sales away (the true purpose of the G6 and G5).

    It’s sickening. This is ONE thing that Chrysler was on the ball with…sort of. Them half a$$ing it didn’t work either.

  11. The $3500 is for that little “Hybrid” emblem…It makes the stupid little people who are bad at math/physics/thermodynamics feel superior when they drive.

  12. Saturn website listed 26 city/34 hwy for hybrid and 22 city/33 hwy for regular 2009 Aura.

    Not great even for city ….

  14. Prius owners pay well over $10,000 to save 10MPG– is that any different? It’s all MARKETING. (Yaris vs Prius; comparable equiped)

  15. Well its marketing that worked well.
    The prius on the the other hand is a fair bit larger than a yaris.
    Maybe comparing a prius to a corolla may have been a better idea.

  18. I think people making fun of Prius is either uninformed or don’t like Toyota. There is really no competition for Prius (maybe the next Honda Insight) in price and features.

    I keep reading about payback etc. but haven’t you really priced out a typical Prius. It is typically around 25k-26k and you get lots of technology with the price (smart key, backup camera etc).

    Its competition is not Yaris or Corolla or Civic but more like Camry and Accord and Altima.

    So leave the number of year of paying back a hybrid if you are comparing the same car in the same line. i.e. Aura vs Aura Hybrid, Camry vs Camry Hybrid, Escalade vs its hybrid. You get my point?

  21. First off the Aura is not a Malibu, but a 6-7 year old Opel Vectra (witch is a terible car). Hybrids are just a load of crap! Here in Europe we have fuelsaving carsm the’re called Diesels! Take an Opel Vectra 1,9CDTi (150hp, 320Nm) will get 39,2mpg in mixed driving(eurocycle). Witch is too be frank not that good compared to the other europeand cars in that segment. Or the Prius witch will get 52,2mpg in the european cycle. My peugeot 207 1,6Hdi gets the same MPG! And at 2/3 of the cost is mouch better value. The base modell is almost half price of the Prius. But I have loadet my car with leather, dualzone climate, rain sensing wipers, power windows and a JBL premium sound system! Still it doesent even get close to what the Prius costs.

    So I hope you amaricans get all our diesels, they are great! Arfter you go diesel you never go back, and I have had my share of the petrol cars, my last one was a 99 BMW 523iA.

    Las week i drove a 04′ BMW 525d (197hp/400Nm) and the torque is amazing! Hte fuel milage you asked? 38mpg in mixed driving.

  23. Diesels are not fuel saving here in the USA because of emissions laws and the oil companies are forced to scrub the sulphur out. European cities are filthy with diesel soot as well.

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