Saturn Astra XR 3-Door: A Saturn Worth Looking At

[Charlie]

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[drupal=3203]Saturn Astra XR 3-Door: A Saturn Worth Looking At[/drupal]

Karl Perkons from the Canadian Auto Press: I think I have to declare the Astra 3-door the best-looking car General Motors is responsible for. Sure the Cadillac CTS looks good, but it's a premium car, and looking good is part of the deal, not the main attraction. The Astra 3-door can sell itself on looks alone.

[AstraNorth]

I have the 5 door Astra and I love it's looks, I do love the 3 door as well but not for my lifestyle. Myself and other Astra owners KNOW it is a GREAT looking car.....I guess we are the only people with taste....ha ha. Maybe Magna will be smart enough to bring Opel to Canada, I would support them.

[plato]

Astra looks are ok, 3dr much nicer than 5 dr. As far as selling itself on looks....that ain't working.

[BobbyP]

Ditto... I also liked the looks of the 3-door Astra, but America avoided the Astra like the plague... Americans historically have never bought Opel's in significant numbers. It's always been a niche product.

[AstraNorth]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Ditto... I also liked the looks of the 3-door Astra, but America avoided the Astra like the plague... Americans historically have never bought Opel's in significant numbers. It's always been a niche product.

What exactly do Americans want???....a cookie cutter car??? The reason "I" bought my Astra is because it is different from the millions of Cobalt's, Sunfire's, Civic's, Corolla's...etc etc. I think of Buick's as a niche product...WELL...until I turn 60..."Oh...GOD HELP ME"

[Astra La Vista!]

Originally Posted by plato

Astra looks are ok, 3dr much nicer than 5 dr. As far as selling itself on looks....that ain't working.

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Ditto... I also liked the looks of the 3-door Astra, but America avoided the Astra like the plague... Americans historically have never bought Opel's in significant numbers. It's always been a niche product.

I think the truth to the two above statements is that GM barely advertised the Astra -- or any other Saturn for that matter. Nobody's gonna buy something that nobody knows about. I also don't think that Americans specifically avoided the Astra because it's an Opel, simply because your average car buyer has no idea where such-and-such a model is actually made anyway. I have heard that hatches aren't as popular in the States as in other parts of the world, so maybe that has something to do with it.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by AstraNorth

What exactly do Americans want???....a cookie cutter car??? The reason "I" bought my Astra is because it is different from the millions of Cobalt's, Sunfire's, Civic's, Corolla's...etc etc. I think of Buick's as a niche product...WELL...until I turn 60..."Oh...GOD HELP ME"

Look at the Top 10 best selling cars for the past ten years or so and you'll see exactly what Americans prefer.

June 2009 this is what Americans bought.

1. Ford F-series 35,915
2. Toyota Camry/Solara 26,394
3. Chevrolet Silverado 24,766
4. Honda Accord 23,955
5. Honda Civic 20,954
6. Toyota Corolla/Matrix 19,935
7. Ford Fusion 18,561
8. Nissan Altima 16,350
9. Ford Escape 15,385
10 Chevrolet Impala 14,931

I really don't desire any of them... The passage of time hasn't influenced my choice of cars. I've always owned somewhat unique automobiles.

Being a hatchback model did hurt sales, and Saturn knew this before hand, but decided on them anyway. Look at the Mazda 3's sales the non-hatchback models dominate 70% of it's sales. In Europe 70% of the Mazda 3's sales are for the hatchback model. The buyers in this car class already have prejudices on what they want. They want Civics and Corollas...

The unfortunate fact is the American automobile manufacturers drove their customers away to the Japanese manufacturers. The current economic problems will continue to drive customers away because they want to make certain that their car companies will be around in the future.

[crystal scan]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Look at the Top 10 best selling cars for the past ten years or so and you'll see exactly what Americans prefer.

June 2009 this is what Americans bought.

1. Ford F-series 35,915
2. Toyota Camry/Solara 26,394
3. Chevrolet Silverado 24,766
4. Honda Accord 23,955
5. Honda Civic 20,954
6. Toyota Corolla/Matrix 19,935
7. Ford Fusion 18,561
8. Nissan Altima 16,350
9. Ford Escape 15,385
10 Chevrolet Impala 14,931

people buy there hondas because you put gas in them and they go
I really don't desire any of them... The passage of time hasn't influenced my choice of cars. I've always owned somewhat unique automobiles.

Being a hatchback model did hurt sales, and Saturn knew this before hand, but decided on them anyway. Look at the Mazda 3's sales the non-hatchback models dominate 70% of it's sales. In Europe 70% of the Mazda 3's sales are for the hatchback model. The buyers in this car class already have prejudices on what they want. They want Civics and Corollas...

The unfortunate fact is the American automobile manufacturers drove their customers away to the Japanese manufacturers. The current economic problems will continue to drive customers away because they want to make certain that their car companies will be around in the future.

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices with oil changes and trans fluid changes , people just want to drive and maybe a oild change here and there and thats it, the amrican people are dumb robots they are told what to buy so they buy like good little robot

[plato]

Originally Posted by crystal scan

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices with oil changes and trans fluid changes , people just want to drive and maybe a oild change here and there and thats it, the amrican people are dumb robots they are told what to buy so they buy like good little robot

nah, Hondas are solid cars. This is why people buy them. This is why the Japanese took customers away from Detroit. I did own several in the past and the cars were built like tanks. I switched to Saturn because of the plastic body. My next car will not be a Saturn or GM for that matter. Ford or BMW. If Ford starts taking bailout money they'll be off my list too, but their current line is nice.

[madpogue]

Originally Posted by crystal scan

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices ... the amrican people are dumb robots ...

For example....

Coincidentally, I actually saw an Astra on the street last night. This is literally the VERY FIRST Astra I've seen "in the wild" here, EVER. Black, four-door, automatic. I would occasionally see a red four-door zipping around, but it always had the dealer plate on it, meaning it was always only out for a test drive. It got to be kind of a sad joke. This is a city of over 200,000, and you can barely turn around without bumping into an S-Series car. I'd honestly be surprised if Saturn of Madison sold more than one or two Astras a month since its introduction.

[Jzguru]

Originally Posted by madpogue

For example....

Coincidentally, I actually saw an Astra on the street last night. This is literally the VERY FIRST Astra I've seen "in the wild" here, EVER. Black, four-door, automatic. I would occasionally see a red four-door zipping around, but it always had the dealer plate on it, meaning it was always only out for a test drive. It got to be kind of a sad joke. This is a city of over 200,000, and you can barely turn around without bumping into an S-Series car. I'd honestly be surprised if Saturn of Madison sold more than one or two Astras a month since its introduction.

Yeah that was the selling point for me with my Astra. I have NOT seen one in all of San Jose, CA since I bought my Astra last december.

[page2171]

I still wish they would have brought an Astra 3-door with the Cobalt SS engine in it here. That would be a blast to drive.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by crystal scan

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices with oil changes and trans fluid changes , people just want to drive and maybe a oild change here and there and thats it, the amrican people are dumb robots they are told what to buy so they buy like good little robot

In the past 3 years I spent ~$150 on maintenance. The 100k maintenance may cost $1000, with my driving habits that may happen in 10 years. That would be $100 a year and well worth the super reliable, world class performance the Honda engine provides.

The only part to fail since I owned my VUE was my seat back, a Saturn part...

Like many other Saturn owners the Honda engine made a believer out of me of how smooth, powerful, and well built an engine can be.

Building the polymer body VUE with this engine was a stroke of genius.

[Kooler King]

Originally Posted by AstraNorth

What exactly do Americans want???....a cookie cutter car??? The reason "I" bought my Astra is because it is different from the millions of Cobalt's, Sunfire's, Civic's, Corolla's...etc etc. I think of Buick's as a niche product...WELL...until I turn 60..."Oh...GOD HELP ME"

I don't see many Astras on the road. One day on my way to work, I noticed a new "Astra" in the driveway of a house I often pass. I did admire the lines on the car at the angle I saw it from the road.

One day, I saw the owner had pulled out of the driveway ahead of me. As I was driving behind the "Astra", I sped up a little to take a closer look. What I saw was actually a Nissan Versa hatchback ... nice car ... so much for the Astra being "different"!

[XRLad]

They are different.Love them or hate them the fact they had a better feel ,look and driving experience then most of the others i test drove was the reason i got one.The amount of stuff that comes in the XR and the fit and finish of the car surpassed the other cars i look at by a bit more.The only car they seem to look like is the Aura from the front.Sadly Astra La Vista! is right,poor Advertising for a great car is what has hurt it the most.Every one that has seen my XR has pretty much said the same thing " reminds me of the Volkswagen style interiors".Thats when i tell them it is German made.I have had a couple of DIE HARD import friends try it and the "reluctantly" lol admitted it was a lot better then they would have thought,and they really liked it.But again because advertising sucks they never knew it was here till i got one.

[s-seriesguy]

Originally Posted by crystal scan

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices with oil changes and trans fluid changes , people just want to drive and maybe a oild change here and there and thats it, the amrican people are dumb robots they are told what to buy so they buy like good little robot

Weren't you the one whining a while back becuase you're moms Aura said that it had low tire pressure after owning it a month and a half

[Kooler King]

Originally Posted by crystal scan

people buy there hondas because the low maninence Gms are high maintence vehices with oil changes and trans fluid changes , people just want to drive and maybe a oild change here and there and thats it, the amrican people are dumb robots they are told what to buy so they buy like good little robot

Is that what your teacher is telling you in school? What do your mom & dad think about this, or do they like Hondas better too?

[plato]

Originally Posted by Kooler King

Is that what your teacher is telling you in school? What do your mom & dad think about this, or do they like Hondas better too?

that's what the nanny says!

[madpogue]

Originally Posted by Kooler King

Is that what your teacher is telling you in school?

Teacher? School? With her/his typically displayed level of writing, unlikely....

Originally Posted by Kooler King

I don't see many Astras on the road. One day on my way to work, I noticed a new "Astra" in the driveway of a house I often pass. I did admire the lines on the car at the angle I saw it from the road.

One day, I saw the owner had pulled out of the driveway ahead of me. As I was driving behind the "Astra", I sped up a little to take a closer look. What I saw was actually a Nissan Versa hatchback ... nice car ... so much for the Astra being "different"!

Well, is the Astra a look-alike to the Versa, or is it, pun intended, vice-versa? The Astra is new here, but it's been around elsewhere for years; not sure about the Versa.

Those Versas are uncannily popular 'round here. In the past, Honda/Toyota were king of the econocar world. Behind that were Saturns, VWs, and behind them were the domestic throwaways. Nissans were harder to find than hen's teeth. Weird how the tables have turned. With this latest go-round of suppository-cars, the most commonly-seen one is the Versa, then the Fit. Then you see the Yaris, and an occasional Aveo. As for the Astra, it really wouldn't surprise me if the one I mentioned above that I saw was the only one registered in Dane County. How the Versa got to be so ubiquitous around here, with its predecessors (what the eff did it replace, anyway?) virtually unseen, is a mystery. Maybe the local Nissan dealer is offering them dirt cheap.