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Old 04-24-2010, 07:25 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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Buick's New Baby: Due For U.S. In Late 2011 - With A New Name | Car News Blog at Motor Trend
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Old 04-24-2010, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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Based on Opel Astra, it'll come here as a sedan instead of a hatchback. It won't be an Astra nor the Chinese Buick name. They said they also won't revive an old Buick name for this car. Skyhawk would have been a shoe-in name for this car. I kind of like the four door hatch version. Am wondering if the sedan version will be nothing more than old fasion GM badge engineering of a Buick version of the Chevrolet Cruze. If it has the same engine, transmission as the Cruze, then why pay Buick price for a Chevy?
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Old 04-24-2010, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA
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Didn't they try to bring that car over under a Saturn name?
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Old 04-24-2010, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pinetreecity View Post
Didn't they try to bring that car over under a Saturn name?
Yep, they brought the previous generation Opel Astra over here as a Saturn. Mistakes they made included only bringing over the weak 1.8L engine, building it in the Brussels plant thus increasing the cost of the vehicle, and gearing the transmission for fuel efficiency instead of performance. Another problem with the Saturn Astra was the dashboard layout was somewhat confusing. The car itself was built solid like a tank and it handled great. This is based upon the next generation of the Opel Astra. Don't know which engines it will receive. The Cruze shares with the Astra and has a base 1.8L and an optional 1.4L turbo. Both have similiar horsepower but the turbo has higher torque. If they're going to do badge engineering, I hope they do the 1.4L turbo as the base engine and pick something with more power and torque for the optional engine. A Buick luxuary acceleration should be about the torque with smooth steady acceleration. Going by the looks of the car, a manual shifter should be offered for those who want a bit of fun on the winding roads.
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Old 04-24-2010, 08:50 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
10,915 posts, read 31,243,414 times
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Buick is supposed to be near luxury, with Cadillac above, so I don't see how the Astra will fit in that line up, especially since it used to be a Saturn. I could envision it as an upgrade within the Chevrolet family, for a five door hatch, but a Buick? I just cannot see that it will attract buyers, without alienating the Buick customer, since the only distinctive touch is the grille. Other than that, it looks like an economical hatchback, which is not a Buick.
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Old 04-24-2010, 09:05 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc View Post
Buick is supposed to be near luxury, with Cadillac above, so I don't see how the Astra will fit in that line up, especially since it used to be a Saturn. I could envision it as an upgrade within the Chevrolet family, for a five door hatch, but a Buick? I just cannot see that it will attract buyers, without alienating the Buick customer, since the only distinctive touch is the grille. Other than that, it looks like an economical hatchback, which is not a Buick.
I questioned that myself when I saw the photos. In the current luxuary tier, Buick is being set up to compete with Infinity, Lexus, and Acura. I'm not that familiar with the three brands, but I don't think they have a small luxuary FWD sedan like this. I think the smallest of the bunch is the Acura TSX and the Buick Regal is suppose to compete with that car. Pricing will make the difference. I'd have loved to see this hatch go straight to Chevy with a different nose to compete with Mazda3, Civic, Corolla, and others like them.
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Old 04-24-2010, 09:27 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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I just checked Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti's websites and none of them have anything close to this. Their smallest model is roughly on par with the upcoming Buick Regal. Infiniti's smallest car is a RWD sedan/coupe. About the closest competitor is Volkswagon. Let Buick bring this car here as a two or four door hatchback and price it right and it'll compete with the Golf and GTI. Something tells me they'll find a way to ********** up.
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Old 04-24-2010, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
14,100 posts, read 28,379,066 times
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Wow, even Lexus's smallest sedan, the IS is RWD.
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Old 04-24-2010, 10:08 PM
 
404 posts, read 1,546,732 times
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i like it because i like the Astra a lot. if this turns out to be a low volume car and depreciates as fast as other GM models it could be the same sort of great deal on the used market as the Saturn Astra is now

i'd buy one used, sure. so long as GM didn't inflate the price at initial sale on account of the Buick name
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Old 04-24-2010, 10:11 PM
 
1,628 posts, read 4,021,229 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ploopy View Post
i like it because i like the Astra a lot. if this turns out to be a low volume car and depreciates as fast as other GM models it could be the same sort of great deal on the used market as the Saturn Astra is now

i'd buy one used, sure. so long as GM didn't inflate the price at initial sale on account of the Buick name
I might by a used Astra too, if I could find one.

GM has to go to Opel to get any kind of decent car, and around here, they are all snapped up.
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