CarShark Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Probably the nicest small car (looks wise at least) out there. ...but then again, the Aura is a great car and not selling that well. Saturn dealers are few and far between and the brand is too far off many people's radar. I hope this changes that for them. Its a nice car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Star Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Kinda pricey. I don't really think GM will have much success with Opel in the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Kinda pricey. I don't really think GM will have much success with Opel in the USA. Not really pricey when you consider it undercuts its main competition (the Mazda 3) by about $2K. http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/pdf/pricin...008-pricing.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Star Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Mazda3 starts under $14,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Mazda3 starts under $14,000. I was doing an "apples to apples" approach with the 5 door (since that what the Astra is). The 5 door Mazda 3 is $2K more then the Astra. Yes, the four door (which the Astra is not) version of the 3 is cheaper. But the absence of a hatch kind of negates the comparison. That would be like instead of comparing the Impala to the Charger, comparing it to the Magnum. Same basic car, but two very different buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Star Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 (edited) Still think it's overpriced. $16,000 starting price for compact? Most of mid-size sedans are available for only $1,500-$2,000 more. Edited August 18, 2007 by Red Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Did anyone else notice this? A Sport Handling package, available only on the 5-Door XR, costs $695 and adds 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, stability control, lowered sport suspension and quick-ratio electrohydraulic power steering. Gee I guess the two door sporty version of the car shouldn't get the sport handling package. Makes perfect sense. What moron makes these decisions at the high levels in these companies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Did anyone else notice this?Gee I guess the two door sporty version of the car shouldn't get the sport handling package. Makes perfect sense. What moron makes these decisions at the high levels in these companies? If you read further down the write-up: Among the free-standing options are a dual-panel sunroof ($1,000), stability control ($495; standard on the 3-Door) and cloth heated front seats ($250). My guess is the 3-door comes standard with the sport package. You'll also note the 3-Door is only available in the up-level XR trim and starts at $18,495, $950 more than the 5-Door XR. I'm guessing the 3-Door comes pretty well equipped and has the sport group standard. As to pricing: XE 5-Door $15,995 XR 5-Door $17,545 XR 3-Door $18,495 The Mazda3 5-Door only comes in the uplevel "s" model, has a standard 156hp 2.3L engine (vs. the Astra's 140hp 1.8L) and starts at $18,275. Add the "sport group" to the 5-Door, which I'm sure it'll need to come close to the 3's handling, and the price difference is $35. $18,240 vs. $18,275. GM/Saturn have already acknowledged this is a low-volume effort. I might add, an unprofitable low-volume venture, but I don't think Saturn could exist without a small car entry. And importing these Astras at a loss still might be less-costly than trying to give away those awful Ions. I don't think Mazda is losing sleep over the Astra coming. There is a growing movement in the US to buy more lavishly equipped small cars. It's been happening in Europe for many years and with the Mini Cooper & upcoming BMW 1-series small cars are catching on, somewhat, here in the US. The Astra & 3 will happily coexist. Now Ford, about that 5-cylinder Focus ST... Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 (edited) Stability Control and a sport handling package are not the same thing waymon. If they were, they wouldn't offer one or the other as an option. You can get stability control on a VW rabbit with 15 inch rims and nice flexible 6 inch sidewalls on the tires. As for your gueses, I never put much stock in poeples guesses around here as 90% of the time they turn out to be wrong. Edited August 19, 2007 by BlackHorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Stability Control and a sport handling package are not the same thing waymon. As for your gueses, I never put much stock in poeples guesses around here as 90% of the time they turn out to be wrong. Wow. Thanks for that news bulletin. Anyway, I used deductive reasoning skills to determine a very likely outcome. I agree that 90% of the guesses on this board are wrong - but those generally concern something like Ford making an all-new Panther product for a 2009 launch or the 3.0L PIP coming with 260hp, direct injection, and 35 mpg all while burning regular gas. My reasoning is a bit more sound in this case. But if you think GM isn't going to offer the sport package on the 3-Door because edmunds.com doesn't directly address it in a brief write up that's fine. And if you think the $950 price difference between 3- & 5-Door doesn't include any equipment changes - again because edmunds.com's writeup doesn't mention it - that's fine too. We've gotta keep up that 90% rate somehow. On a less accusatory note - did anyone else notice the optional automatic is a 4-speed? One more notch for the 2.3L Mazda3. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 For what its worth...it is C&D afterall. http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...1/70820016/1014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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