Availability and variety of hybrids continue to grow. General Motors has announced that a hybrid version of its new Saturn Aura will debut some time in early 2007.
According to hybridcars.com, a UAW chairman states that GM has requested the manufacture of several hybrid Auras for testing before the car goes into production.
The Aura would be the second vehicle as part of the Saturn’s Green Line of fuel-efficient, high-mileage vehicles. The Saturn Vue Green Line is currently the only vehicle available for sale. The Aura Green Line will later be joined by a hybrid version of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.
Our take? GM may have a winner here. Customers’ biggest complaint about hybrids have been their prices, especially when compared to lower trims of the vehicle. The Saturn Vue Green Line is one of the lowest priced hybrids, though, due to the simple hybrid system that enables the SUV to achieve 27 mpg in the city and 32 mpg for highway driving. The Aura hybrid, which will use the same system, will most likely be priced similarly and consumers will be less hesitant to purchase the higher trim (i.e., like consumers buy more products priced at $1.99 versus $2.00).
Via hybridcars.com
“Buyers looking for technological sophistication will probably go elsewhere.”
I can then see Saturn making a killing. Non-enthusiasts are known for considering budgets first, not technological sophistication like overhead cams and the like. How’d you think GM and Ford could push those pushrods and 4-spd transmissions as long as they did
Saturn will have to sell it on “bang for the buck” since it’s a much simpler system than the one Toyota is using in the Prius or Camry. Buyers looking for technological sophistication will probably go elsewhere.