Saturn's game plan for the Ion
Just about every automotive journalist tries to give the Saturn ION a fair chance. Unfortunately, there tends to be too many things that pluck at an auto journos nerves to let the littlest Saturn get by. One of the hopes for the Saturn brand is the plan to bring the Opel Vectra to the United States in a form that isn't too watered down. The Saturn Aura is planned to be the Opel/Vauxhall Vectra's North American twin. We got a tip from Josh over at Cheersandgears.com that shows some illustrations of the next generation ION. If this isn't the spitting image of an Opel Astra, we're not sure what is. So, what's the moral of the story? Taking successful European models and tailoring them to the North American market is not a bad idea. The previous generation Ford Focus, the Hyundai Elantra GT, and the VW GTI are just a handful of vehicles that have followed the Europe-first formula. Anyone who thinks that GM's on its deathbed, needs to consider their success abroad. Hopefully this trend of importing solid, successful models will continue.
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