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Comments
-Loren
I am an aerospace systems engineer with an electrical/electronics background and it my first impression is that you are hearing some form of acoustic resonance artifact resulting from some form out-of-spec performance by the alternator/regulator. This would explain the change in tonal character as you vary the electrical load (lights, radio, etc.).
I suggest you ask your Saturn guy to listen carefully in and around the alternator when the car is cool/cold. As the engine bay and electrical loading on the alternator raise the temperature the sound probably fades away.
If the problem cannot be isolated perhaps you can take some comfort in the 3 year/100K bumber-to-bumber warranty. If the conditions worsens, and it may be an indication of a developing failure, then it will be GM/Saturn's problem to resolve to your satisfaction. You may also want to contact the Saturn regional Customer Center and see if they have heard of anything like your problem. Auras are fairly new and the maintenance patterns/problems/legends are just beginning to take shape.
P.S. I have been enjoying my XR for about 4 months now, now problems so far.
If that proves to be true I'm having a difficult time figuring out why. The Aura's main competition can be had with a stick, and every Opel I've ever rented in Germany has had a stick as well. Why oh why would GM not cover their competition, especially as the Opel version of the car almost certainly offers a stick over in Europe?
Geez, other than the FWD nature of the Aura (which annoys me to no end, but her not so much), the lack of a manual transmission is the only other fly in the ointment for what otherwise looks like a well executed car.
Best Regards,
Shipo
And since the Aura only had a V6 then you are out of luck if you wanted a 4 cylinder with Saturn. Then again if you wanted the V6 you are out of luck at both Saturn and Toyota.
similar on the Accord but you are able to get the manual with the V6 if you get the top of the line Accord.
The market for manuals in this country is pretty slim. Anymore the 5/6 speed autos can do as well as or better with gas mileage than a manual so MPG is not a reason to buy one.
I guess the market for "sporty" midsize FWD sedans with manuals is small. Of course it does make sense with the low end since you can save some money?
Regarding the Camry and the Accord offerings with a manual gearbox, the transmission is in our mind far more important than the engine. That said, she'd probably opt for the larger engine, all else being equal (except price of course).
My point was to say that since the Opel version of the Aura is most likely already being offered with a manual gearbox, it's not like GM has to spend millions of R&D dollars to develop one for the car. Given that their competition is already offering them, why would they not? Dumb.
We'll be doing some test drives in coming weeks and it remains to be seen if the Aura XR's basic goodness will be enough to overcome her desire to have a stick. Current odds only give the Aura a 30% chance of success.
Best Regards,
Shipo
As for automatics, I just bought a car with a 5 speed, and I love it for most driving I do. For those times when I want to stay within a three gear range, I have a D3 for using just the three gear range. And it seems to NOT be shifting mid-term within a turn. If I get the urge to shift again, I will get a sports car as a second. For now, the power of a V6, mated with a good solid automatic is good enough. Automatics are no longer crappy as they once were. That said, it is fun to shift -- at least outside of town or city. Too many stop and go's around my area. The Aura XE I tested would not cut it for performance of those wanting for stick shift car, but the XR may. Your call on that one. As for stick shifts, I did own a Miata at one time, and it was the most pleasing stick shift I ever owned. And come to think of it, my first brand new car was an Opel Manta Rallye, so I indeed had the car you mentioned, a German Opel. At the time Opel was number one in sales, I do believe, though that was back in 1973. Loved the looks of the little coupe, even with what may seem odd; the light yellow color, with blacked hood and black side stripes. It actually out-handled the GT, which was the baby Vette look car.
-Loren
Regarding paddle shifting, ummm, gimmick, I don't get the point, no thanks.
Mrs. Shipo drove both the XE and the XR (I only drove the XR, which was a fairly decent ride), and she opined that the slushbox just took too much from the smaller V6. It might could well be a fun car with a stick though.
You're right about one thing, the tranny that Mazda has in the Miata and the one that they used to use for the GenII RX-7 were brilliant (an old girlfriend left her practically new 1984 RX-7 with me while she went off to get married, I drove the car from Chicago to her wedding in San Francisco and she paid for my plane ticket back home). Then there was my "Opel GT Winter". Another previous GF had left her (then) BF and flown home from SoCal to hang with mom for a while. In the end she decided to stay, and when I went up to L.A. to fetch her Opel GT from her old BF, things got a little ugly. The local constabulary finally managed to sort things out and without further incident; I took the car back down to San Diego with me. Once back in SD I had a chance to really enjoy that car for a couple of months until I had the time to drive it back to Detroit for her.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Umm, the paddle shifters in the aura can shift the auto like a manual and it will not automatically upshift like the systems on other cars.
1. Downhill engine braking; very helpful in hilly terrain, and the XE's D and L choices are not nearly as useful as the XR's choice of any gear. I find 3rd most useful.
2. Low-torque startup under low-traction (snow) conditions. The XR has gobs of low and torque and the 1st gear is quite low resulting in poor grip/slippage at startup. The owner's manual recommends selecting M2 or M3 (2nd or 3rd) for startup in low-traction situations. If find this has worked very well for me in getting moving in the snow. The XE has less torque but does not allow you to manually preselect a high-gear start.
The manumatic software for the 6-speed auto has recently been changed to soften abrupt downshifts when the transmission is burdened (i.e. uphill and low rpm). The fix also decreases the paddle upshift time by a few 10s of milliseconds and increases the torque converter clutch pressure for more positive shifts when under load and high rpm.
One more thing, when in stop and go traffic I have found that using the manumatic+paddle-shift to hold onto 2-3rd gear and to startup in 2nd tends to keep the rpm lower and increase my fuel mileage in these circumstances. The added engine braking also makes it easier to coast (with engine drag/braking) and use less braking.
Sorry to bust your bubble buster, but the manual is alive and well. Our local Honda dealership has quantities of both four and six cylinder Accords on the lot ready to be had. My informal count was that roughly 35-40% of the I4 models have a 5-Speed and an easy 20% of their full boat EX-L V6 models have a 6-Speed.
As for the continued "need" for the manual transmission, since the dawn of the automatic there hasn't been a true "need" for them, and yet they persist. Why? Because many folks, my wife and I included, "want" them. Like it or don't.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I saw an Aura at an auto show recently. Couldn't hardly get close to it because of the crowd around it!
-Loren
Not bad, and this portends the beginning of trend toward better vehicles, greater sales and, eventually, better resale value. The improving sales are not due to the ION, nor the Relay, but primarily reflect the Aura and Sky launches.
Market Division Vehicle Total - February
% Chg
2007 2006 per S/D
Buick 15,108 21,425 -29.5
Cadillac 14,142 16,251 -13.0
Chevrolet 187,088 177,710 5.3
GMC 41,279 33,751 22.3
HUMMER 4,177 5,645 -26.0
Oldsmobile 0 92 ***.*
Other - Isuzu 960 832 15.4
Pontiac 24,563 29,107 -15.6
Saab 2,221 2,787 -20.3
Saturn 22,225 13,945 59.4
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thank you
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/aura/overview.jsp
Anything specific you're looking for?
Best Regards,
Shipo
Picture Malibu Maxx done right (Chevrolet could never figure out what to do with it), and supported by the GM division that promotes euro flair!
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/futurevehicles/index.jsp
http://cars.about.com/b/a/216928.htm
I think you are talking about the Astra and not the Aura. I believe this is the Euro car to come to the States. Interesting! The turbo will be a quick car. This car and the Volvo new hatch to come, will be popular, or should be popular cars for those young, or young at heart drivers, which like the hatchbacks. While very popular in Europe, the hatch is considered as a cheaper car here in USA. Just something etched in minds due to some of those cars in the market here back in the 70's.
Malibu Maxx is the Aura Recommend test drive of XR if looking for sporting.
If you want sporty and a hatchback I'd suggest the Dodge Magnum Hemi :shades:
http://www.opel.de/shop/cars/vectra/product/bodystyle/content.act?bodystyle=0J%2- 068&
This is the Euro car that is already here albiet 4 door sedan.
http://www.opel.de/shop/cars/vectra/product/bodystyle/content.act?bodystyle=0J%2- 069&
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/aura/overview.jsp
I would recommend to GM that they keep and eropenize the MAXX. After all the MAXX and Aura are build on the same chassis foundation.
Somehow, Saturn found a way to make the suspension really work fantastically. It is so much better than the MAXX that I would say they aren't built on the same foundation. I love how my XR handles and it was number two on my reasons for buying an Aura over the Malibu or Impala.
Engine/transmission being number one.
The Malibu would mean tooling up all new quarters and many other parts. Saturn is supposed to be the Euro division at GM so let them try the Euro 5 door.
http://cars.about.com/od/saturn/ig/2008-Saturn-Astra-gallery/index.htm
Are you sure it is not the Astra???
My favorite looking Opel will always be my first new car, the Opel Manta Rallye.
Wish they still made the 1973 - looks wise anyway. Engine would be a bit weak by todays standards. http://www.opelclub.com/html/opel_manta.html
Loren
original comment is correct from kurt. Aura is based on Vectra and they have a 5 door version in Europe.
There is a market for 5 doors, but how large the size of such market is the question. Now in the smaller car, in hatch only, I think will sell.
Loren
If the Aura is an Opel, granted it looks a lot like it, Why does Gm say the chassis is built on the next-generation Epsilon platform, the previous version of the architecture which underpins Chevys Malibu and Malibu Maxx, Pontiacs G6, G6 Coupe and G6 Convertible, and Saabs 9-3 sedan, 9-3 Cabrio and SportComb. Thats Saab, a Swedish car, not an Opel.
I admit I am very new at this forum and know very little about the company that built my car, but my car was built in Kansas, not Germany.
What I don't know is, Does GM own Opel and Vauxhall? IF so Can I get my GM/Saturn dealer to order parts from Opel?
It was built for all of GM. LaCrosse, G6, Aura, Malibu (future), CTS, SRX, STS, Equinox and others use it.
All current smaller midsize GM vehicles use the Eps 1 architecture that was developed in Europe. The Malibu, G6 were designed here on the Eps 1 platform and the Aura on the outside is a Vectra but with a much nicer US designed interior (IMO). The next gen Eps 2 platform will not be out until 2009 or so. I think the first usage will be the LaCrosse or Saabs but not sure (G6 would have been but it may be going RWD?). The Saabs were designed in Europe. All the above cars are built here with the exception of Saab which are imported.
Opel, Vuaxhall, Daewoo(part of it), GM China, Holden and others are part of General Motors.
I do not know if you can order a part from Opel thru a GM dealer. Perhaps if you had a part number you could try (find a German enthusiast to get one).
I'm also curious if Saturn will import the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, a B-segment car which shares similar design features as the Astra.
If you want to learn more about Opel cars, but prefer to read it in English, take a look at the Vauxhall web site at http://www.vauxhall.co.uk.
YipYipYipee
The vehicles will be much more similar architecturally than the current versions, but will be assembled at factories in China, Germany, India, Korea, Mexico, Thailand, and Venezuela. A shorter version of the platform will spawn smaller cars like the Chevrolet Spark for the developing world, with assembly and sales in China, Colombia, India, Korea, Poland, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
This new Gamma platform will be used in the following vehicles:
Chevrolet Aveo and future Daewoo Gentra
Opel Corsa and variants from Vauxhall and Chevrolet
Looks to me like Daewoo will be responsible for the mini platform (Gamma) and will develop a new architecture in the 2010 time frame. From it will come what is known today as the Corsa/Aveo vehicles.
I believe the Delta platform, with Opel as responsible, will bring out the Cobalt/Astra/G5 replacements.
the question is what the vehicles will look like. Per some comments by GM I forsee the Aveo being marketed worldwide as much as possible as a Chevrolet. The Corsa would be marketed by Opel and possibly Saturn here.
Now it also looks like Chevrolet will be marketed worldwide and be the Cobalt nameplate. The Astra would be the Opel and Saturn variant.
But what the heck do we know!! This is still 2-3 years in the future and GM probably is still struggling with branding worldwide.
Can Europe really handle a Chevrolet and Opel? I do not know much about that market.
I hope GM is successful in making distinct products from similar next-generation platforms. Manufacturers like Ford and VW have done fairly well in this arena.
YipYipYipee
I think we will see products for both Opel and Chevrolet from both Daewoo Gamma(Corsa/Aveo) and Opel Delta (Astra/Cobalt) architectures in the future. They will be different looking and content differences
Thanks for filling in the blanks regarding specific platforms.
Perhaps it was you who mentioned the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa may make out in Saturn guise, but wouldn't be available until after 2010. If so, why so late considering the new Corsa isn't even shipping yet in Europe? Are they waiting for the next round of engineering updates to make it U.S. safety and emissions compliant?
Yes, I suppose they could follow the "Pioneers get the arrows, farmers get the land" approach and see how well Honda Fit (why don't they call it the Jazz like they do in Europe), Toyota Yaris and BMW Mini do in terms of sales.
YipYipYipee
In that segment GM has the Chevrolet Aveo. Selling very well. Will Saturn get a Corsa? Next platform update.
GM product czar Lutz said the new Corsa wasn’t engineered with the United States market in mind, so it won’t pass crash tests: “It would take two years and be too expensive, so we’ll wait until the next generation,” says Lutz.
That’s the car being engineered in Korea by a joint Daewoo/Opel team; it won’t be in the market for five years “at the earliest,” Lutz says.
But do not believe everything Bob says. 5 years is way too long to develop a new platform.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060725/FREE/60724033/1024
Loren