Maximus
01-21-05, 10:02 PM
The Saturn roadster and sedan bowl over the consumer panel. Kia, Dodge and VW entries don't impress.
Dodge Charger, a full-size sedan derived from the popular Chrysler 300, resurrects the iconic Charger name from the 1960s and 1970s. "I'm a Chrysler girl," says Delores Hunter of Detroit. "But it don't give me no 'oomph.' "
Reginald Alexander, 41, checks out DaimlerChrysler's tiny smart car. The 6-foot-4-inch Detroiter was surprised to discover that he fit after many other models were too cramped.
The buzz about Saturn and its latest cars - the Aura concept sedan and Sky convertible - raced through the ranks of the 2005 Detroit News Automotive Consumer Panel before they even set foot in the Saturn display.
"The Sky is hot," said Paul Tassi, a 17-year-old University of Michigan freshman from Northville. "I've seen the pictures. I really don't like Saturns, but I like this car. I like the concept of an affordable two-seater."
Saturn was one of the last stops on this hypercritical panel's tour. And there were few smiles until they got there.
The dour panel universally panned the retro-inspired Dodge Charger.
They scoffed at the Kia KCD-II Mesa, a Korean sport utility vehicle that was designed in California to be a Ford Explorer fighter.
They laughed at the tiny, fuel-efficient fortwo from smart, a popular European brand that may be coming to the U.S. market.
"Yes, we're harsh," said Viola King, 37, a Detroit lawyer. "We're trying to get the most for our money. We're looking out for the everyday person. Our expectations are high."
The 10 panelists - a group of ordinary consumers who range in age from 17 to 56 - were bored by the Volkswagen New Beetle Ragster concept, yet another riff on what appears to be a well-worn retro theme.
A pair of much-anticipated models - Honda's Ridgeline pickup and Ford's Fusion sedan - drew very different reactions. The Ridgeline's surprise trunk and two-way tailgate (it can be opened using a conventional handle or a hidden button) won kudos, but the Fusion went virtually unnoticed.
And some panelists seemed concerned about the moral implications of the Ford SYN US, a tiny armored concept car that Peter Horbury, Ford's executive director of North American design, described as something of a new twist on the old automotive "passion pit."
All the negativity and constant griping made the panel's assessment of the new Saturns that much more powerful.
The judgment of this group, which includes a special-education teacher, a dentist and a private investigator, is that Saturn is the star of the 2005 Detroit auto show and that the much-maligned General Motors Corp. brand is poised on the brink of greatness.
"Saturn is the most improved player at the auto show," Rob Blakeley, 29, a Ferndale special-education teacher, said after studying the Aura and the Sky.
Lora Leneschmidt, 32, a South Lyon stay-at-home mom and former paralegal, sat in the backseat of the Aura, running her hands over the textured leather trim and bubbling over the improvements she was seeing up close.
"Saturn used to be utilitarian with no style," Leneschmidt said. "This is a lot more luxurious."
After crawling all over the Sky and the Aura, the panelists huddled away from Saturn executives and shouted out adjectives to describe the new vehicles.
"Refreshing" and "luxurious" were repeated again and again. When asked about their previous impressions of Saturn, the panel used words like "boring" and "ugly."
"They have changed," said Nancy Helganz, a 37-year-old private investigator from Canton. "They aren't grandma's car anymore."
The Sky goes on sale in early 2006 and will be priced under $25,000. The production Aura hits the market in fall 2006.
http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=575&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=576&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=577&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=578&stc=1
Dodge Charger, a full-size sedan derived from the popular Chrysler 300, resurrects the iconic Charger name from the 1960s and 1970s. "I'm a Chrysler girl," says Delores Hunter of Detroit. "But it don't give me no 'oomph.' "
Reginald Alexander, 41, checks out DaimlerChrysler's tiny smart car. The 6-foot-4-inch Detroiter was surprised to discover that he fit after many other models were too cramped.
The buzz about Saturn and its latest cars - the Aura concept sedan and Sky convertible - raced through the ranks of the 2005 Detroit News Automotive Consumer Panel before they even set foot in the Saturn display.
"The Sky is hot," said Paul Tassi, a 17-year-old University of Michigan freshman from Northville. "I've seen the pictures. I really don't like Saturns, but I like this car. I like the concept of an affordable two-seater."
Saturn was one of the last stops on this hypercritical panel's tour. And there were few smiles until they got there.
The dour panel universally panned the retro-inspired Dodge Charger.
They scoffed at the Kia KCD-II Mesa, a Korean sport utility vehicle that was designed in California to be a Ford Explorer fighter.
They laughed at the tiny, fuel-efficient fortwo from smart, a popular European brand that may be coming to the U.S. market.
"Yes, we're harsh," said Viola King, 37, a Detroit lawyer. "We're trying to get the most for our money. We're looking out for the everyday person. Our expectations are high."
The 10 panelists - a group of ordinary consumers who range in age from 17 to 56 - were bored by the Volkswagen New Beetle Ragster concept, yet another riff on what appears to be a well-worn retro theme.
A pair of much-anticipated models - Honda's Ridgeline pickup and Ford's Fusion sedan - drew very different reactions. The Ridgeline's surprise trunk and two-way tailgate (it can be opened using a conventional handle or a hidden button) won kudos, but the Fusion went virtually unnoticed.
And some panelists seemed concerned about the moral implications of the Ford SYN US, a tiny armored concept car that Peter Horbury, Ford's executive director of North American design, described as something of a new twist on the old automotive "passion pit."
All the negativity and constant griping made the panel's assessment of the new Saturns that much more powerful.
The judgment of this group, which includes a special-education teacher, a dentist and a private investigator, is that Saturn is the star of the 2005 Detroit auto show and that the much-maligned General Motors Corp. brand is poised on the brink of greatness.
"Saturn is the most improved player at the auto show," Rob Blakeley, 29, a Ferndale special-education teacher, said after studying the Aura and the Sky.
Lora Leneschmidt, 32, a South Lyon stay-at-home mom and former paralegal, sat in the backseat of the Aura, running her hands over the textured leather trim and bubbling over the improvements she was seeing up close.
"Saturn used to be utilitarian with no style," Leneschmidt said. "This is a lot more luxurious."
After crawling all over the Sky and the Aura, the panelists huddled away from Saturn executives and shouted out adjectives to describe the new vehicles.
"Refreshing" and "luxurious" were repeated again and again. When asked about their previous impressions of Saturn, the panel used words like "boring" and "ugly."
"They have changed," said Nancy Helganz, a 37-year-old private investigator from Canton. "They aren't grandma's car anymore."
The Sky goes on sale in early 2006 and will be priced under $25,000. The production Aura hits the market in fall 2006.
http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=575&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=576&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=577&stc=1http://www.sicgmtrucks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=578&stc=1