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I dont think the Altima is going to convert anyone who doesnt already like the Altima. It's going to have slightly more power and a CVT but other than that its no huge leap pver the 2006 model. I dont know how you can judge the materials based on photos but based on Nissan's track record I wouldnt expect anything too revolutionary. Nissan has hard plastics in everything from the Altima to the Armada.
I'm sure the new Mazda 6 will be nice but it''s performance should roughly the same as the Aura with Ford's 250hp V6 and a 6 speed auto. Of course, the 6 will probably will have a manual available with the V6.
Are you seriously upset with this? See here in lies the problem. America has gotten to be full of greedy people. Now America has set up a situation where it costs domestics twice as much to produce a car here compared to foreign manufacturers. Don't make your bed and not want to lie in it. Look at our IT industry, shipped to India, look at our clothing industry, shipped to China. The Japanese and the Chinese artificially influence their currency and have much more flexibility in their workforce than domestics. Did you hear Nissan trimed hourly wage almost in half at some plants? Ford can't do this. I say more power too Ford. If the system becomes corrupt, I am not going to fault you for getting out of the system. Would you rather they stayed in the US and file for bankruptcy and go out of business entirely. GM will begin shifting too. The next generation Aura might be made in India. More power too them.
GM is the biggest consumer of Viagra in the US because its health care benefits allow the employees to purchase it and GM has to foot the bill and the unions REFUSE to change such a ridiculous situation. If you and I were running the helm and I came to you with this problem, wouldn't we agree that moving to India is a good idea at this point.
When is Saturn going to update their website with more pics of the Aura? Information is scarce right now.
I too am frustrated with the lack of pictures of the Aura on the website. I am surprised they don't even have a bundle of pics taken at the autoshow on the website. Ford did that with the Edge and Fusion and it worked well. Real life pictures are much better than the promo shots.
Ford has released info for the new Fusion. It will get navigation, AWD, mp3 jack, satelite radio and standard side airbags for 2007. The new Sebring is supposedly going to be launched tomorrow. The Aura has some more competition.
Now that the details are out on the Sebring I am impressed with its equipment levels, but not with its looks. It has quite a few features not found on the Aura or some of the competition, but the car isnt attractive and the interior appears to be cheap. Overall a decent effort and for those who must have navigation it will be a better choice than Aura.
Playing it safe just isn't gonna cut it anymore. Someone has to have the balls to take chances and leading the pack are Nissan and Chrysler.
I dont think I am alone with regards to the Sebring's looks, most comments I have seen on other sites echo my own. The car has very strange proportions. They should have evolved the existing design instead of starting from scratch.
I think they are going to have a red line and green line of this car, but i could be wrong.
That would sell some cars!
Also saturn sold a good number of L series wagons so that could be encouraging.
anthony
The service is called Turn-to-Turn at approx $35 month for the complete On-Star package including safety and mechanical telemetrics with a monthly email reflecting the condition of major mechanical components. Plus there is the optional hands free phone system from On Star that is excellent. I use it every day for business.
Turn To Turn (TTT) will NOT have a screen. From my perspective this is only a loss to those who need visual clues or who are impressed with visual gadgets, which is fair enough. And traditional Nav systems will still be available in many models - mostly because they are extremely profitable for the manufacturer.
But there are a host of significant advantages with TTT:
1. much less expensive and no up front costs.
2. completely voice activated - and can be activated or changed without stopping the car as current Nav systems require.
3. All directions are voice commands as well as a readout below the instruments indicating mileage yet to travel for the current segment.
4.Allows for less dash clutter and in some models, for a 6 CD changer vs a 1 CD player.
GM/On Star is leading the way in automotive telemetrics.
Because of it's low cost and ease-of-use, I predict TTT will be extremely successful. I know I will get it in my next car.
I like wagons too.
However, as the next VUE is going to be smaller and more car like than the existing, I doubt much emphasis will be placed on an Aura wagon.
But most people keep a car 3-4 years, so it is a lot less than an additional 5K for the average user. Plus you failed to factor in the map updates and they are not cheap.
The TTT cost is half of the 35 per month, the other half for base Safe and Sound On Star package.
So if you are an On Star user and keep you car for 4 years, the additional cost for TTT is approx $850.00, less than half of a traditional Nav system.
You have to go out to 10 -12 years for the traditional Nav to be break even. But as you said, some will still want the screen display and that is very understandable.
Point is - many more people will have a navigation system available at low cost. And some do not care for the screens on the dashboard. So it will be a great alternative to traditional Nav systems.
GM's push into automotive telemetrics bodes well for the consumer.
When are they going to learn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh wel, at least they have a nav system in the car, thats a start. Its just horrible to see good cars like the Malibu and G6, looseout of the japanese because they look like barbarians from the 20's without the nav screen.
Remember that one bond movie from the 60's, he had a nav screen in his car. It was so futuristic back then. ITS NOT THE 60's GM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An aura wagon is possible as well as a g6 wagon. They'd look like the malibu MaXx. I think the Aura would be better off with a convertible like the G6 but not the coupe. I've yet to see a g6 coupe on the road, lot, or auto show!! Gm has a long way to go. If offering a sporty brand, 3 luxury brands (Saab Buick and Caddy), and 31/2 common brands (Opel Chevy, Saturn and the 1/2 being 1/4 Isuzu and 1/4 Suzuki) Gm has the money to make a decent nav screen. To bad they haven't yet :mad: ...
I personally think the Onstar nav system is a nice compromise for those who want nav as a practical feature as opposed to something to impress their friends or make their car seem more expensive. GM is expanding navigation availability because the Equinox/Torrent now offer it.They have been slow to get it into sedans.
I'd *much* rather have an integrated unit, thanks.
The fact that the aura does not have a Nav system is very dissapointing, turn by turn system or not, its about the marketing benefits, and drawing the customer in to see the highest trim model, then walking out with what they can afford.
GM is making very good strides, I bet it made more money selling its cars this june then last june, since those sales were driven by discounts, more so than this year. GM really is changing.
If nav is a must have option than the Aura isnt for you. BTW, the GP offers nav and I dont believe I have ever seen one outside of an auto show with the option.
Now on a lighter note, I received a brochure in the mail today which contained some really great pics of the Aura and Outlook. I must admit that both look very upscale.
I'm betting that GM is quietly doing what I thought they should do which is to make Saturn the new Buick. And I say that if they can get this brochure into the hands of import owners they would really change some peoples minds. But that could all fall apart if they go for a test drive and the cars don't perform well. But I doubt that will happen.
It's great that ToyoHOnda offer nav, but that doesnt change the fact that most people dont care. The Altima offers HIDs and yet you rarely ever see one with that feature. The Accord and Camry dont offer HIDs and yet it hasnt diminished their appeal to buyers or caused thousands of people to abandon them in favor of the Altima. You can find exclusive features on almost any car in this class but in most cases those features are not enough to make or break the decision to get the car. The Fusion will offer nav for 2007 so it will be interesting to see if that leads to more import lovers checking out the Fusion.
The Aura (and other GM cars) lack nav but lets not forget they have Onstar which no camry or accord offers. I always find it amazing how people treat Onstar like its a pointless gimmick, but then go on to suggest navigation is a critical option that no car should be without. Onstar lacks a 6.5" screen in the dash, but it does a lot more than any DVD nav system.
In GMs case they could have done this years ago when they first started putting On-Star in Caddys but they didn't. Ford and GM miss the mark at every turn and thats the reason the Japanese keep handing them their asses.
Offering nav is a good idea, but my point is that it alone will not attract a lot of new customers. This is proven by the low take rate on navigation in midsize cars. A lot of people refuse to buy American, but the lack of navigation is definitely not one of the major reasons.
For instance; do you really believe the same company that builds the Corvette (a car which has won numerous awards and accolaids) is unable to replicate the success with it's other products? If you do in fact believe that, then your more in denial then they are.
Fact is Ford and GM are in this position because they allowed it to happen. The difference between the Japanese and U.S. Automakers is that the Japanese don't just throw anything to their customers. They actually listen to what the customer wants and delivers it.
GM and Ford have had consumer organizations pleading with them since the 70's to make cars that are more fuel efficient. But instead of taking on the challenge they decided it was better to do business as always. The Japanese saw an opportunity and they ran with it. Missed opportunity!
Oh so because Ford is NOW adding nav its ok? Years after the technology was first offered by its competition?
To be honest I would take the Aura over any of its competition as well BUT it still lacks features that I consider to be key to my decision.
I totally agree that GM is now doing a fantastic job......but look what it had to take to get them off their butts! Why did it take the threat of bankruptcy to get them to offer better designed and equipped products?
Ummmm.........you need to go back and read my posts because I NEVER said Nav was the end all be all. I said it should "at least" be offered because the competition offers it.
Actually, with hybrids, the Japanese government stepped in and subsidized development. No such luck in the US.
As it happens, GM, Daimler and BMW may turn out to have bested the Japanese at the Hybrid game when their dual phase hybrid system launches later this year.
When it comes to diesel, the US makes are at the same level or even ahead of the Japanese, owing to their presence in Europe. If the US will allow diesels, the competition will be pretty equal.
Japan has done better bringing its smaller models to NA. I am not sure why it took GM so long to bring the Astra, here, for instance. I hope GM brings the Corsa and Zafria as well. Ford should bring the Ka and some of the little trucks it sells in Europe and South America as well.
It's apparent that you are living in some type of Japanese automaker induced propoganda zone because you are way off the mark. The Japanese did some things better than the US companies, but other times they just got lucky. They capitlized on the demand for small cars in the 70s because thats all they made at home. They didnt make 6 and 8 cylinder engines back then nor did they make many trucks. Small cars where their specialty and thus they came to the US at the right time. Meanwhile, they have takena bout 35 years to figure out how to make competitive pickup trucks and they still arent doing that great in that segment. Maybe the new Tundra will change that.
"Why did it take the threat of bankruptcy to get them to offer better designed and equipped products?"
Any products you see today where planned three or four years ago so it's ridiculous to say bankruptcy is behind this latest product renaissance. BTW, check out the pics of the GMC Acadia for an example of GM "missing the boat" once again. It blows the Pilot and Highlander out of the water. Freestyle and Pacifica as well.
"For instance; do you really believe the same company that builds the Corvette (a car which has won numerous awards and accolaids) is unable to replicate the success with it's other products? "
Yes GM has had no success with models like the CTS, Escalade, Cobalt, Impala, HHR, Tahoe, Solstice/Sky, Lucerne, G6, etc.
Personally, I have a Freestyle, which is not as wide as a full-size minivan, gets 26mpg HWY, and has about the same or greater interior space than an Acadia, which is bigger on the outside. The Acadia is wider, so it will seat 3 in the 3rd row, but the Freestyle can fit through my 8' garage door! If I needed something bigger, then I'd go for a 8 pass Sienna.
I think if they would have made the Acadia and the clones about the same exterior size as a Pilot or Highlander and were able to squeeze in the interior space of a Freestyle, then that would be something unique.