Bloomberg reported Friday that Saturn is considering adding a smaller vehicle, slotted beneath the upcoming Astra compact, to its lineup in the next few years. "We think there is definitely room at the bottom for an economy car for Saturn," Lisa Hutchinson, Saturn's product development director, told the news service in New York. "There is a growing interest in fuel economy as prices have gone up." Given Saturn's relationship with Opel, the most likely candidate would be a Saturn version of the Opel Corsa subcompact. The vehicle would give Saturn an entry to battle against the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit.

AutoBlog commented about the Bloomberg story over the weekend and recalled how GM product boss Bob Lutz told Automotive News at the Paris Motor Show in October 2006 that the Corsa "will very definitely go to the United States." The auto periodical reported that it wouldn't arrive in North America as a Saturn for at least five years. The problem? Sources say that today's Opel Corsa was not designed to meet U.S. safety standards. There has been no word if GM plans to accelerate the arrival of the next-generation Corsa.

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Source: Bloomberg, AutoBlog, Automotive News