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GM will take the first step in an expensive effort to turn around its lackluster Saturn brand Sunday at the North American International Auto Show, when it unveils two heavy-horsepower vehicles.

More and more information is trickling in about Saturn's plans for the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) next month. While Saturn has not officially announced whether or not it will have any debuts at the show, rumors suggest that Saturn will have three, yes three, never-before-seen vehicles on display.

At the start of the 2004 model year, XM will be available on 44 GM models, including the ION and VUE.

Saturn and General Motors have teamed up to create an enthusiast version of the Saturn L-Series sedan - the Saturn LST.

Buick may join Saturn, Saab, Chevrolet, and Pontiac in building a midsize car based on General Motors' new midsize Epsilon platform.

Although GM is keeping the marketing pressure on competitors, it is turning cautious about capital expenditures. The company is slowing its product portfolio and plant expansion decisions. GM is nervous about slower sales next year. But GM officials and industry sources also say the new team of Robert Lutz and Gary Cowger are in the middle of an extensive product plan review. "Everything just seems to be on hold," said one supplier executive.

General Motors design chief Ed Welburn remembers the moment the next phase of Saturn formed. About a year ago, Welburn called one of his many group meetings inside GM's design center in Warren, Mich., and laid out a plan. With the Saturn portfolio ready to double over 24 months, Saturn finally had a new design face. Now it needed a mission.

A new family of midsize crossovers will roll out of a new assembly plant GM is building near Lansing late next year or early in 2007. "They'll have the spaciousness of full-size SUVs, with more cargo and passenger flexibility and better fuel economy than midsize SUVs," Lutz said. The first of those crossovers will debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this January.

GM says it will build a small sporty car for its Saturn division based on the same underpinnings as the Pontiac Solstice roadster. But jobs will be lost at the Wilmington, Delaware, plant that will produce both vehicles. The struggling midsize Saturn L-series will go out of production in July.

Saturn will have a six-vehicle lineup within three years, says Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's vice president for sales, service and marketing.

General Motors said it will start building a Saturn sports car in 2006 at the Wilmington, Delaware, factory that will be shut down for a month because of slow sales of Saturn sedans.

Despite a lack of new product during the late 1990's, Saturn is working hard to re-establish itself as a 'different' manufacturer of class-leading, import-fighting vehicles.

The Outlook and Aura will come to market next fall for the 2007 model year. Along with the Saturn Sky roadster, which goes on sale early next year, the new vehicles will double Saturn's portfolio to six models from three.

Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak also confirmed that Saturn's 2007 midsize sedan, scheduled to enter production during summer 2006, will carry the name "Aura."

GM announced that Saturn will target economy-minded import buyers with its all-new minivan in 2004.