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I recently drove an ION about 20 miles on the highway.
Impressively quiet (almost as quiet as a Passat just a little more road noise).
Extremely stable at speed (80+ MPH)
where is the real truth? Either R&T needs some advertising income from Saturn, or, C&D evaluated the car on more stringent criteria.
Perhaps R&T didn't expect the Ion to be anything earth shattering so they just glossed over it and played nice nice.
Problem is that in the automotive world good taste and stunning styling do play a great part in the success and failure of a car (Regardless of its more objective performance dynamics). That's the way it is folks. Cars for many people are fashion objects.
The ION will need to be redesigned in a year or 2, ala Pontiac Aztek.
The 2004 Malibu looks great right next to the ION.
Auto makers have already run out of excuses for making ugly cars. Good taste and clever design should not take a back seat, specially in the hotly contested compact car territory.
Too many blinded fans in this board.
Right on about no excuses for making ugly cars. The competition is too fierce. The styling of the Ion is bizarre to the point of being a market turnoff. The Cavalier, in its same inception since 1995, is a more desirable vehicle including one item which i will not mention.
The interior is what needs the most repair. The exterior would be an easier fix.
One question, if Saturn was all hell bent with putting the gauges in an easier to read location, wouldn't they have
a) done the same thing on the Vue? (released at near the same time)
b) considered doing an HUD in lieu of gauges? I hear the HUD on the Pontiac actually works well while allowing you to keep eyes on the road. It seems to me that would make it better than the center spot and be more consistent with the goal of better outward visibility and less eyes off road.
Those two reasons are why I think its just the latest marketing thing...the Toyota Echo musta been introduced about two days before design crit in the Saturn studio and someone ran out of ideas.....saw the Echo and musta thought it would be the next big thing.
If Saturn wants so badly to compete with Toyota and Honda why don't they just build a Toyota and Honda instead of trying so hard?
The Neon is more attractive.....
As for making the ION a Toyota or Honda, I do not quite follow you. Toyota and Honda make Toyotas and Hondas respectively. In any event, the new Civic has been getting a fair amount of criticism from people who owned the earlier Civics. The new Corolla seems to be pretty well executed. I would not say it is an attractive car, though.
We drove to my in-laws place which was about 200 miles. The car was wonderful on the highway, much better than our old Civic. Everything works perfectly and there are no creaks or rattles at all. The Ion feels very solid and sure. The center IP takes a little getting used to but after 2 hours behind the wheel I was fine. My wife is very happy and she will be driving it daily, she is also the one that picked the color.
There are lots of "arm chair critics" here like drivinisfun and all I can say to them is they should drive the car before ripping it up. Unless you test and Ion, your opinion isn't valid. We think the looks are great and with Saturn service behind us, we know the experience will be a good one.
Some people look at a car or read a magazine and make up their minds. Until you drive a car and really experience it, you will never really know.
My problem with this car continues to be the ungainly exterior looks and the questionnable interior. My criticism is aimed at the design not at the driving experience, powertrain or performance none of which I have any familiarity with, yet.
The point I am trying to convey here is that if the candy wrapper is unappealing, people will not pay attention to the car even if it is a good drive. Saturn designs its products mainly to appeal towards their primary customer base: Previous and current Saturn owners.
The ION deserves a better exterior body shell. GM is capable and has the talent and resources to create stunning looking cars (Just look at NAIAS or the L.A. Auto show) so why the ION has to be so run of the mill and mediocre at best?
GM can't afford to continue to make styling mistakes. Honda and Toyota can afford to sell ugly boxes (Like the upcoming Scion bbx) because these manufacturers enjoy a great reputation and people line up to buy their products whether they look good or not.
This is not GM's case. GM needs to think and stay 2 steps ahead of the game and beat their competition with "Gotta have products" (Bob Lutz' famous phrase). The ION is not a "Gotta have product" by any stretch of the imagination. If GM expects to have ex-honda, toyota and VW "converts" lining up in their showrooms to buy their products they need to make radical changes in exterior design and interior presentation.
People buy VW's because they feel and look good, not because they are reliable or have excellent dealer service, two of VW's greatest weaknesses.
GM no longer has a quality problem (But they do still have a low quality perception among the general public, again per Bob Lutz) and many of their products have scored high in the initial quality ratings. GM now needs to act quickly and capitalize on offering high quality products that are also desirable and not made by different design comittees and focus groups. GM needs to attract not only the hardcore GM buyer but everyone else.
GM is doing a terrific job with its trucks, but needs to polish its act with thier car lines. The '04 Malibu and '04 GTO are good starts but Saturn needs emergency treatment for its design woes.
I am not a "arm chair" reviewer. I go out and test drive cars when they first become available. I will do so with the ION and while I suspect I will like its driving behavior I will still be disgusted by the mediocre body design.
Car & Driver couldn't have said it better: "Saturn and Saturn fans deserve better than this".
drivinisfun : One word.. Element. Has to be one of the ugliest things on the road next to the Aztek. People love it because it's a Honda. The ION is a thing of beauty in comparison, but people like you pan GM for making anything a little different. Double standard IMO. I like the looks of the ION. I pass the dealership almost every day and after many looks, I like it even more. Maybe not the best, but attractive and very interesting colors.
By the way, an arm chair critic is one who has never driven the car. Since you have not driven an ION, one could legitimately be able to call you an armchair critic.
Don't get me started on Japanese design trends.
This is a golden age opportunity for GM to make kick butt cars..."Gotta have products".
The ION is attractive to you, but you have to consider yourself part of a minority. I like GM but I can't be a cheerleader for some of their mediocre design excercises of late. Let the Japanese gorge themselves in ugly boxes on wheels. GM has the $$$, time resources and talent at hand and cars like the ION contradict Lutz' mission and desire to position GM back atthe top of the world auto players.
When I see GM concepts such as the Chevy SS, I find it even harder to justify mistakes like the Aztek and ION even more.
GM can do it. Saturn can do it.
What makes you an authority on other people's tastes??
Get real.
might as well buy the year old L series....they are going for 11 grand at the used lots....major depreciation hits....still a larger car than Ion with the same powertrain and no quirky styling.
But while we're on that topic...why didn't Saturn follow through with the Sky convertible? Now that would liven things up!
birdman : The regular Corolla looks pretty good, but the S looks odd. The Civic is no looker either. I think the Sentra is pretty nice (but nothing special) and the Protege is actually my favorite small car in terms of looks, though the Focus 5 door hatch is pretty nice also (don't like the sedan though). ION is pretty nice IMO, I agree.
2 manual 14010
2 auto 14910
3 manual 15510
3 auto 16410
add 485 dest to all. As far as I know these prices have not yet been released.
Regfootbal :: The L-Series does not seem as well made as the Ion. I have heard mixed things about it's reliability and it's not made in Spring Hill like the Vue and the Ion. I really think you have told us enough times you hate the looks of the Ion. Like Dindak says, you are beating a dead horse.
vocus :: Our sales rep called us last night and told me he has the Hot Wheels car for us. I will pick it up tonight. He is a really nice guy. Wish all car sales men were like him.
For the money, the ION is a great value and a good larger sized compact car.
Automobile magazine(July 2002) had a styling critique of the new Ion, both coupe and sedan. The title of the article was:
"Why GM Needed Bob Lutz: What the 2003 Saturn Ion lacks in looks it makes up for in charmlessness."
Exerpts:
"Wheels look like something intended for a sytlish farm tractor--heavy, crude and ugly."
"Horrifying slash along side is a gratuitous wound. Why?"
"The Ion lacks a 'face,' with no grille and only two bare rectangular slots for air intake......Except, of course, for the bags under it tired eyes."
Actually my first car out of college was a 1995 Saturn SC2. This car look pretty slick in the 91-94 generation, but the 95's and 96's were even better executed. It had proportion, sleekness, and a purposeful look for what was a short, 99" wheelbase, car.
Haven't said that I think the Ion is a loser in the looks department, both interior and exterior. The exterior is something I could learn to live with if the car was great(e.g. Subaru WRX), but I can't stand and ugly interior that I have to look at constantly. Maybe that's why I have a VW GTI 1.8t in the driveway.
Bob Lutz should have delayed the introduction of this car and set up a team of designers to redesign it inside and out.
It never ceases to amaze how these group of GM defenders lack true debate skills....
"GM can do no wrong"...LOL
So far, very happy with the car.
I, and some of the others here have tried to broach the topic of the merits of the delta platform, ecotec 4 cyl., 5 speed automatic, the gertag manual, etc., only to be summarily shot down with a subjective: 'that is an ugly car.'
In legal circles, appeals to common perceptions is called pandering to the jury. Not uneffective, perhaps, but certainly not a quality debate tactic in the classical sense.
This car has an all new platform from the ground up and deserves a much better interior/exterior. I hope Bob Lutz recognizes this as soon as possible.
Lotsa folks say my oval Taurus is ugly, and that doesn't bother me, I could care less. I realize that common consensus is that its not an attractive car. I happen to like my SHO, though, with the deeper fascias it looks good to me. At the same time, I'm not gonna freak and lash out at general population who tend to think its ugly. I mean, if most folks think its ugly, its ugly. May not be ugly to me...but i have to accept what the general feeling is. I mean, if you married a heinous looking girl, just because you like her looks or who she is, does not change overall opinion about whether she's ugly or not. And what's wrong with the truth being said?
NOW that said, there's no actual poll been taken about what the percentage of folks say its ugly vs. not. Most of the feedback I have read on Edmunds, on other sites, in magazines, and elsewhere has gravitated towards the car being unsettling and unattractive. If indeed that's the general consensus......and you do not side with the majority....you still have to accept the majority feeling. The comments about the mechanicals have not been raves but have been generally decent.
It doesn't make it a bad car overall and it doesn't mean the powertrain's not decent. But good mechanicals won't make an ugly car attractive (i.e. WRX).
Part of this too, you have to admit fellas, is an undying love for anything with a GM label. Lets see you put this much energy defending a car like the Ion if the label on it said 'Mazda' or 'Ford' or 'Peuguot' or 'Dodge' or 'Volkswagen'. You're all lying through your butt if you say the car to you is as good as you think it is if it had some other badge on it. If this Ion said 'Honda' on it, there's no way you'd be praising it like you are. So admit it, and lets move on.
Or is it a case of the car being an "american" car?
Like I said b4, if you like the car and buy it that's cool. But that doesn't mean the car is free from criticism.
drivin is funs points in 1020 are well said and valid.
Don't feed the trolls!
I also think the Aztek is yucky, but I would in some instances getting one.....compared to settling for a minivan or truckish SUV.
Saw my first one on the road today, dark cherry red. A 40 year old lady was driving it. It was nice to see one in traffic, loved the color.
Let's move on, please, and try to stick to the ION.
Thanks.
The radio was off, just a little bit of road noise. Frankly I was shocked.
Also traffic slowed me to about 50, and when it cleared I just left it in 5th and gave it gas to see how it would pick up. Pulled very smoothly and in a few seconds I was at 80. The tourque is always there for you.
Check out how the 2.2 produces its power..
http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/ecotec_tour/images/tc_l- g.jpg
Thanks.