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Here in San Francisco Saturn held a combined retailer/consumer product event for the Astra. Retailers were allowed to drive the Astra during the day and consumers got their turn at night.

The soul of the Astra is a 138-horsepower four-banger. While we've seen several automakers bumping displacement of their compacts from 2.0 liters to something in the 2.3- to 2.5-liter range recently, Saturn seems content to buck the trend by moving backward to a 1.8. Even if it means Saturn can't win the spec sheet wars, the engine still impresses with its willingness to do what you want and expect of it. The Ecotec is ready to rev and is responsive in the 3,000-to-5,000-rpm arena, while the exh...

Saturn is bringing a new compact model based on a European model to North America. The Astra is Saturn's version of General Motors' Opel Astra, and GM has announced plans to sell a five-door sedan and three-door coupe here. The Astra is nearly an inch longer , and 1.7 inches wider than the compact Chevrolet Aveo five-door, and it has more interior space.

The Astra, essentially the same car sold as an Opel Astra in Europe and assembled in Antwerp, Belgium, replaces the Ion as Saturn's price leader, but beyond that, there is no comparison. The Astra comes to the United States in three- and five-door hatchback configurations (versus the Ion sedan and coupe models) and provides spirited Euro-engineered underpinnings that skew to go-kart versus golf cart.

One letter. On paper, only one letter separates Frankfort, Ohio from Frankfurt, Germany. In reality, the two cities could not be more different. One is a small town with a blue-collar population of 1,045; the other is a true international city of 650,000 with industries ranging from biotechnology to banking. Regardless, General Motors is betting the same small car will play in both places. The car is the Astra, and history supports the theory. "We sell the Astra everywhere," says Michael Harder ...

Google has begun scanning the streets of Paris, gathering data for its Street View service, which adds street-level photography to the satellite views offered by Google Maps. The search company will gather a wealth of data from the project but, thanks to France's strict privacy laws, it may also pick up a few lawsuits on the way if it chooses to publish the photos unedited. Two Google employees were spotted on the Western outskirts of Paris on Friday as they mounted a sophisticated array of came...

To modify the Astra for U.S. tastes, GM did just the minimum to meed federal regulations - the headlights, fuel tank, and front and rear fascias were redesigned to meet U.S. standards. Beyond that, however, transforming the Saturn back into the Opel can be done by switching a total of three badges - one each on the grille, steering wheel, and tailgate. The nifty on-board computer even retains the capability for 13 various languages, including German, Dutch, and Spanish.

Inside, the soft-touch materials are very good and the fit and finish is up there with the Astra's Japanese competition. Considering its station in life, the Astra is rich. The driving position is also very good. The seats are bolstered but do not confine, the tilt/telescopic steering wheel has a pleasant heft in the hand and the pedal setup promotes heel/toe shifting.

The Saturn franchise boasts one of General Motors' better portfolios. The addition of the 2008 Astra hatchback is going to make it the place to shop if you're after a stylish, sporty ride.