blogONE

Rethink. That is Saturn’s slogan, which suggests that we should all rethink the cars from the beloved planet, and from what I’ve read from TTAC and Autoblog about how Saturn is losing its brand visibility, we definitely need to do a lot of rethinking. Or at least the North American automakers have to.

Today I finally went along to test-drive the Saturn Aura, which we have been very interested in. I was also very interested in the Astra (be it Opel or Vauxhaull…or Saturn), to the extent that I had signed up for its info before it even hit the North American shores. Of course, I should be focusing on the Aura right now, which has a standard base price of just under $26k.

There is a lot of buzz on the Intertubes about how the Hankook tires which, come with the base Aura, are too loud. The first Aura we were in, which was the 2.4L, 4-spd XE model with the power-convenience package (power 8-way driver seat, steering wheel audio controls, 17″ fascia chrome wheels), and the ride was pretty comfortable and most importantly, quiet. We decided we needed to test an Aura with the power-convenience package removed (ie. TRULY BASE), and once again we were presented with a 2.4L, 4-spd XE. However, this time the engine seemed to struggle a bit between shifts, and the cabin had a noticeable increase in noise. Initially we believed that the first Aura had Goodyear tires, which attributed to the decreased cabin noise, but upon inspection both models had been using Hankook tires!

Saturn is part of General Motors, which makes it an American car, which many of us believe to suck import balls. However, I believe some American cars are truly improving…but it is simply a matter of timing, pricing, and how much innovation they can pump into the markets to prevent their demise. With this said, we were incredibly shocked and disgusted at one of the so-called “features” of Saturn cars: manual opening gas-tank covers. I’ve been told that this “feature” exists for all other American cars, and I will investigate this matter. With the Aura, you simply press down on the tank cover to have it pop open in reflex, followed by you simply unscrewing the cap to quench your automobile’s thirst for black gold. This is similar for all other the other Saturn models, and I may suspect GMs/Chryslers/Fords. In these desperate times of global warming and rising fuel costs, HOW DUMB CAN THIS “FEATURE” BE!? — can anyone say “Easy fuel syphoning”??

It seems incredibly sad that the reason we wouldn’t get a Saturn (or any other American car if my investigation produces the facts) is because of the gas-tank cover, and its vulnerability to gas syphoning. However, with this said, let us all break the 8th commandment and steal gas from American cars (I’m KIDDING!).