2010 Astra - Sneak Peak

[GM Sky Man]

Here are some pics to whet your collective appetites for the upcoming generation of Astra.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/g...ext-gen-astra/

[mdcclxxvi]

I have my doubts:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/l...not-profitable

[djmtz1]

my concern is if this doesnt make it, is if they will begin to make aftermarket parts? I hate going to the dealer to buy everything

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by mdcclxxvi

I have my doubts:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/l...not-profitable

Wow... It took this long for Lutz to smell the coffee? As much as I admire his work at GM, maybe he should listen a little more to the bean counters...

I have been concerned from day one for Astra owners about their resources for parts and support. That's my only concern over the car.

It's not fun having to struggle to get parts and supplies for your car. Many of use went through this with our early s-series cars, IMO resources for the US Astra will be even more limited.

[davidsky]

Originally Posted by mdcclxxvi

I have my doubts:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/l...not-profitable

Get ready for the new Saturn Cruze!

[davidsky]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

I have been concerned from day one for Astra owners about their resources for parts and support. That's my only concern over the car.
It's not fun having to struggle to get parts and supplies for your car. Many of use went through this with our early s-series cars, IMO resources for the US Astra will be even more limited.

There's millions of Astras in the world though. It just means that parts will have to be shipped from Europe.

[nortsr]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Wow... It took this long for Lutz to smell the coffee? As much as I admire his work at GM, maybe he should listen a little more to the bean counters...

I have been concerned from day one for Astra owners about their resources for parts and support. That's my only concern over the car.

It's not fun having to struggle to get parts and supplies for your car. Many of use went through this with our early s-series cars, IMO resources for the US Astra will be even more limited.

I read somewhere recently that the 2010 Astra will not only be built overseas as they are now, but also in one of the U.S.A. GM factories due to the devalued dollar, as compared to the higher cost to build in Belguium or wherever.
As far as parts go, they are shipped from overseas now and should not be a problem in the future. Aftermarket consoles and some other items are already available on EBay.:

[nababbo]

Originally Posted by mdcclxxvi

I have my doubts:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/l...not-profitable

holy cow did you guys read all the negative comments about the Astra on the article?
My question is, given that the Astra has been a flop thus far and will more than likely stay the same, what is going to happen with resale value? Will it be worse than other GM cars already are?

[JoeyD]

Originally Posted by nababbo

My question is, given that the Astra has been a flop thus far and will more than likely stay the same, what is going to happen with resale value? Will it be worse than other GM cars already are?

It's unfair to categorize the Astra as a flop. It's not a bad car. In fact, it's a success in Europe. It's just not profitable for GM to import. It's one of the reasons it's being considered for assembly in the US or Mexico.

By many standards the K-Car was a huge flop because of quality problems and bad dealerships. Yet it saved Chrysler.

Besides, if they stop offering the Astra because it's not a money maker it could make existing cars more valuable

[/dream]

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by nortsr

I read somewhere recently that the 2010 Astra will not only be built overseas as they are now, but also in one of the U.S.A. GM factories due to the devalued dollar, as compared to the higher cost to build in Belguium or wherever.
As far as parts go, they are shipped from overseas now and should not be a problem in the future. Aftermarket consoles and some other items are already available on EBay.:

That would be great, but IMO current Astra sales doesn't inspire enough confidence for such a large capital expenditure. GM is most likely putting all their support behind the Cruze being built at Lordstown.

The Lordstown Complex is HUGE, it looked like it was over a mile long from the interstate.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by nababbo

holy cow did you guys read all the negative comments about the Astra on the article?
My question is, given that the Astra has been a flop thus far and will more than likely stay the same, what is going to happen with resale value? Will it be worse than other GM cars already are?

There's 10 times as many reviews that rave about the Astra... Saturn's have never had great resale values, it never meant anything because most owners plan on driving them long term.

[foster]

Originally Posted by nababbo

holy cow did you guys read all the negative comments about the Astra on the article?
My question is, given that the Astra has been a flop thus far and will more than likely stay the same, what is going to happen with resale value? Will it be worse than other GM cars already are?

I read a lot of ignorant bull**** from people who have never driven the car.

The guy complaining that you can't shift the car from first to reverse fast enough to rock the car out of deep snow took the retard prize for the day though.

[jaydee]

I agree with the above poster. Just about every complaint I hear about the Astra is not only from someone who's never driven the car, but also never intended on buying one. It drives like a dream, but "OMGosh the cupholder is behind the e-brake it's the worst car in the world Bob Lutz is an idiot"

I think the only thing that could kill the resale value of the Astra, is the 2010/2011 model is just as good as the 2008/2009 with better gas mileage. If they kill the next model for the US, IMO the resale would go up due to the uniqueness of the model. The fact that GM has not put any extra incentives on the car also helps it's resale value.

[ad_astra]

Resale value seems to be not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I live in the state of virginia, which has a parsimonious form of taking money from the population known as the "personal property tax." This means that they can tax you on any big ticket items that you own, the most typical of which is one's car, hence the nickname "car tax."

They tax you based upon the value of the car. After six months of ownership of a 5-dr XE with 5-spd and a/c they rate the value as $14,767. I'm surprised it's that much, given that I paid $16,205 for it.

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by ad_astra

Resale value seems to be not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I live in the state of virginia, which has a parsimonious form of taking money from the population known as the "personal property tax." This means that they can tax you on any big ticket items that you own, the most typical of which is one's car, hence the nickname "car tax."

They tax you based upon the value of the car. After six months of ownership of a 5-dr XE with 5-spd and a/c they rate the value as $14,767. I'm surprised it's that much, given that I paid $16,205 for it.

Well of course the state is going to value your car more highly. They're basing their tax hit on THEIR decided value. Not the market's. So they can suck more money out of you.

But if it makes you happy that your Astra is "holding it's value"........

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

There's 10 times as many reviews that rave about the Astra... Saturn's have never had great resale values, it never meant anything because most owners plan on driving them long term.

They DID have a great resale value in the 90s, that was one of their appealing features. Demand was strong both new and used. That kept the resale value high. No rebates, retail pricing, etc.

[Citation84]

What I would like to know is: why exactly does the source continue to claim the next Gen Aura will be based on the Opel Insignia ? It's already been stated over on GMI [announced by Bob Lutz] that it WON'T be, that the current Aura will be kept as is with some freshening for longer than planned. {Unless the plan has changed again}. The next Gen will be based on the Insignia platform but have it's own sheetmetal and interior.

And yes,unfortunately, the Astra IS a flop. The projected sales were to be between 40 and 50,000 units. Now we're told the goal was 25,000. And only 7900 or so have been sold ? That's a flop. The ION sold 100,000 units a year and that was considered a "flop", when the S Series clocked 285,000 in it's best year and 178,000 in it's worst.

Parse words and #s any way you please, this was probably the best small car Saturn ever offered and it's bombed. They can't even move them in the middle of a frigging gas crisis.

If you don't meet sales projections and you lose money on every car sold: that is a flop.

Doesn't matter if it's a great car or it's popular in Europe. GM NA is the one that needs the hit and the traction and for the car to SELL, not back up on it's lots.

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by jaydee

I agree with the above poster. Just about every complaint I hear about the Astra is not only from someone who's never driven the car, but also never intended on buying one. It drives like a dream, but "OMGosh the cupholder is behind the e-brake it's the worst car in the world Bob Lutz is an idiot"

I think the only thing that could kill the resale value of the Astra, is the 2010/2011 model is just as good as the 2008/2009 with better gas mileage. If they kill the next model for the US, IMO the resale would go up due to the uniqueness of the model. The fact that GM has not put any extra incentives on the car also helps it's resale value.

Pretty much what they did and continue to do in regards to the ION. Welcome to the club. Actually: welcome to Saturn ownership. It goes with the territory.

[BobbyP]

Originally Posted by Citation84

They DID have a great resale value in the 90s, that was one of their appealing features. Demand was strong both new and used. That kept the resale value high. No rebates, retail pricing, etc.

Must have been the early 90's. The days when you had a hard time even finding a used Saturn... I heard dealers would buy them as soon as they find someone else had them for sale to maintain their value.

When my sister bought her SKY, the first month they were for sale, they made he sign a form stating she could not sell it to anyone other than the Saturn dealer for 1 year.

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by BobbyP

Must have been the early 90's. The days when you had a hard time even finding a used Saturn... I heard dealers would buy them as soon as they find someone else had them for sale to maintain their value.

When my sister bought her SKY, the first month they were for sale, they made he sign a form stating she could not sell it to anyone other than the Saturn dealer for 1 year.

Do you really think that would stand up in court for one second ? Not being argumentative, it just seems there's no way that could be enforced. What could they do if she did ? Repossess her ? Or get her first born child ?

Though, post WW II, dealers, attempting to cut out the black market in cars because demand was so heavy, insisted that people sign something similar that they wouldn't turn around and resell it within a certain amount of time. At that time there were months long waiting lists for everything, even Crosleys as pent up demand after the war was far greater than supply. It was a seller's market.

I don't see how that could possibly be legally binding. And I totally believe you, just have no idea how that could be enforced.

I'd love to know what the stipulations in that document were, Bobby P. Sounds like a good old fashioned dealer ploy like etching and $500 paint and interior treatments and tint and "additional dealer mark up".

As for the resale of the early Saturn's that was exactly why resale remained high, one of the many reasons. And they had a sort of mystique back then, the newest thang on the block. That helped as well.