Opel goes to the USA, via Saturn

The Saturn Astra joins the Aura, which is built on GM’s Epsilon platform upon which the Opel Vectra and Saab 9-3 are based, making it the second Opel-derived model sold by Saturn.

This doesn’t stop here – the new Saturn Vue SUV is based on the same platform as the Chevrolet Captiva and Opel Antara, both of which will join the Chevrolet and Opel line-ups here in Singapore.

While platform sharing and badge-engineering is now no longer a GM or Ford ‘game’, and it is used extensively by the Volkswagen Group (VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti), Peugeot-Citroen, the Fiat Group (Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo) and even the Koreans (Hyundai and Kia).

It is a pity though that Saturn, which GM created to take on the Japanese carmakers in late 80s, has been reduced to marketing made-in-the-USA Opel products. Saturns used to be quite unique – all its models has poly-carbonate body panels attached to a monocoque structure. These panels were dent resistant and they because of its unique construction, it allowed the coupe version to have 4-doors without a central B-pillar, like the Mazda RX-8, but the Saturn came out a few years earlier. The promise was that the panels would also allow for more frequent face-lifts.

A new, leaner GM probably means the end to costly experiments like Saturn and the GM EV1 electric car, but perhaps GM’s opportune takeover of Korea’s Daewoo, and the aggressive re-launching of the Chevrolet brand in Asia, is anything to go by, the General still may have a couple of tricks up its sleeve, and they will all have an Asian focus, since this is where all the action is.

Credits: Justin_Lee