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JayCizzo
January 9th, 2008, 1:15pm
So now that's it's out what does everyone think of this thing?
bc3tech
January 9th, 2008, 1:19pm
stylish, but underpowered
good handling, but underpowered
inexpensive, but underpowered

did i mention it's underpowered? that word actually came straight from a rep at a local dealer when i was talking to him about it. they put out a LNF cobalt, even LNF HHR, but leave the astra outta the LNF family? what the FUCK?! they passed up a great opportunity to compete directly with mazda and subaru in the performance hatch market. stupid, STUPID, idea if you ask me.

no perf version = dead to me. i'd probably have held out for one if they'd have put out a RL trim.
JayCizzo
January 9th, 2008, 1:26pm
Yeah, I agree. Even the Ion offered a 2.4L with a little more power. Maybe they expand in the coming years?
bc3tech
January 9th, 2008, 2:51pm
Yeah, I agree. Even the Ion offered a 2.4L with a little more power. Maybe they expand in the coming years?
who knows. i just think they REALLY fucked up... ms3 just came out, new STI is hatch, they come out w/ hatch, then don't do a perf trim... big mistake. esp when you've got the LNF setup sitting RIGHT THERE. it's not like there's hundreds of thousands that'd be involved in R&D or something.
all4glh
January 9th, 2008, 8:33pm
Maybe it's coming in the next few years? Who knows, maybe they are waiting to squeeze more power out of the LNF. Who am I kidding, they're just pussies.
Maven
January 17th, 2008, 7:24pm
who knows. i just think they REALLY fucked up... ms3 just came out, new STI is hatch, they come out w/ hatch, then don't do a perf trim... big mistake. esp when you've got the LNF setup sitting RIGHT THERE. it's not like there's hundreds of thousands that'd be involved in R&D or something.

Actually that is the reason. It would be really expensive to put the LNF in the Astra, the car isnt built in America. So theyd have to ship them from Europe without a powertrain which mean a massive disruption in the way the line works, they would be hard to ship from Europe with no front wheels functional, theyd have to be unloaded, sent to another plant, have the LNF installed and then REshipped from the plant to the dealers. Not to mention the fact that the price would go up even more because theyd have to create new fuel lines, exhaust pipes, turbo and intercooler plumbing, harnesses etc, because the Astra doesnt get the LNF in europe. They would have had to EPA validate two powertrains and EVAP systems. And on and on and on, the Saturn Astra is nothing more than a slightly rebadged Opel Astra, I mean they didnt even change the name, it just now gets a planet logo instead of a lightning bolt. They couldnt even be bothered to change the writing n the radio and computer buttons to common GMNA nomeclature(it still uses the exact same stuff as the english language EU Astras. For example we have a DIC or Driver Information Center in virtually all our cars here. The Astra has a BC....wtf is that?? Its a Board Computer. Euro shit.

I think the Astra is everything you do, except I believe its overpriced.
$18,495 for a 1.8L 140hp manual trans hatch with 17's?? Come on. You cant get a sunroof(an option on all the others) it has less horspepower and no better mileage than every other car even remotely in its category. There is no optional body kit, there is no optional power upgrades, no navigation, it has a TIMING BELT, a weak trans, no aftermaket support in the USA, I could go on but lets finish with the good news....it'll only be around for 2 or 3 years MAX.


I like the car, thought about buying one. But GM droped the ball and watched it roll out into the street where it was run over by a real hatch and then eaten by a dog.
bc3tech
January 17th, 2008, 10:19pm
so you don't think the LNF architecture under the hoods of the HHR SS/TC and Cobalt SS/TC would just slap into the astra??

other than that, very valid points and complete agreement w/ everything else you said. i hope you're right about the 2-3 years, and that paulumbo's right about the 2010 epsilon getting a 450hp TT setup... that'll be just about time for me to get outta the Aura :up_to_som:

welcome to EI, btw, maven - good to have ya :)
MGM1979
January 18th, 2008, 7:16am
this better not be the thread were you announce you're ditching your RL for a more "family oriented" vehicle...
bc3tech
January 18th, 2008, 9:47am
this better not be the thread were you announce you're ditching your RL for a more "family oriented" vehicle...
:rofl: that'd be hilarious

i guess along those lines somebody found that they're going to be doing the new cobalt ss/tc in sedan.... :indifferent:
Maven
January 18th, 2008, 4:41pm
so you don't think the LNF architecture under the hoods of the HHR SS/TC and Cobalt SS/TC would just slap into the astra??


welcome to EI, btw, maven - good to have ya :)

No I am 99.44% sure that the LNF as used in the Cobalt and HHR(which have differences between the two of those cousins) would not drop into the whole where the Astra's meager little 2HO sits right now, and unfortunately the 2.0Turbo that Europe gets in the VXR for some reason couldnt EPA validated either:shrug:

If there was an LNF/LK9/LSJ equipped Astra I would have already ordered it instead been sitting here search dealer inventories for the perfect '07 SS/SC
bc3tech
January 18th, 2008, 4:46pm
No I am 99.44% sure that the LNF as used in the Cobalt and HHR(which have differences between the two of those cousins) would not drop into the whole where the Astra's meager little 2HO sits right now, and unfortunately the 2.0Turbo that Europe gets in the VXR for some reason couldnt EPA validated either:shrug:

If there was an LNF/LK9/LSJ equipped Astra I would have already ordered it instead been sitting here search dealer inventories for the perfect '07 SS/SC
yeah an LNF astra would be in my driveway as well.
JayCizzo
January 19th, 2008, 9:06pm
this better not be the thread were you announce you're ditching your RL for a more "family oriented" vehicle...

Negative. The RL is my more "family oriented" vehicle. I have a feeling it will be several years before I get another car. The wife on the other hand.....
MGM1979
January 19th, 2008, 9:41pm
Negative. The RL is my more "family oriented" vehicle. I have a feeling it will be several years before I get another car. The wife on the other hand.....

She wants a Red Line!?!?!?! :bananahump:
Cat Ion
January 20th, 2008, 12:59am
Not ditching the RL any time soon. I'm actually considering adding the Sky RL to the garage collection. Outlook, IRL, SRL! That would be nice!
Akai oni
January 21st, 2008, 2:42pm
Not ditching the RL any time soon. I'm actually considering adding the Sky RL to the garage collection. Outlook, IRL, SRL! That would be nice!

yeah... wifey wants an Outlook XR, and once we get some bills paid down and i start making more more money we will prolly be getting an SRL...
bc3tech
January 21st, 2008, 2:57pm
yeah... wifey wants an Outlook XR, and once we get some bills paid down and i start making more more money we will prolly be getting an SRL...
my wife likes both the outlook & the vue, and has agreed to get a hybrid if she insists on another SUV. so i'm happy either way, tho i haven't seen an outlook hybrid yet.
Cat Ion
January 21st, 2008, 8:51pm
Not sure if there's even a consideration for one or not?.....hmm
Blue04RedLine
January 27th, 2008, 11:26pm
Like I've said in a couple other astra threads, one of the biggest considerations with what they're offering in the Astra is time frame, more so than money. They knew the Ion was gonna be dead, and they hadn't planned on even replacing it in the line at first. The astra was a last minute thing and it took 21 months for them to get JUST the 1.8 certified for use over here in the states. Obviously the LNF is already certified, but as Maven said it would have required even more time to get it to fit and run in the Astra. The biggest reason they were "ok" with this as I've read has been because the entire Astra line, world over, is due for a massive overhaul within the next 2 years. They seem to be planning on actually building models over here and offer more than two bodies and one motor. They have a friggin Astra convertible over in Europe, so they have plenty they can do with the car. Motor Week I saw yesterday reiterated that the astra is the best selling car in ALL OF EUROPE, and GM seems to hope it catches on here as well. All it needs is some more power, although, it seems to be geared towards handling more than straight line just like the Ion RL.
bc3tech
January 28th, 2008, 9:16am
The interior needs an overhaul if they expect it to fly over here. I test drove one this weekend and hate every single aspect of it. and good god people weren't kidding when they said it was dog-ass slow.
Blue04RedLine
February 3rd, 2008, 3:12pm
It currently has a whole .3L bigger motor than the friggin Aveo, what did you expect? Granted, it makes just about as much power as the older 2.2L's but still, that's not alot. Anyone know what it weighs?
bc3tech
February 7th, 2008, 1:27pm
there was a lady up there asking if we had questions about the car. I asked the basic questions pretty much to see if she actually knew anything about the car. She seemed surprised that I knew so much about how it was a Vauxhall/Opel just rebadged, things like that. She knew everything I asked her and was really confident in her answers, so I threw out the question..."So...when are they gonna make the Astra Redline?" Her reply went something like...

"Ah, so you know more than I thought..." (dunno what that means but I explained I had an Ion Redline, and that I thought the Astra was kind of cool). "Well, what's going to happen is we're keeping the Redline on hold for now. We want to see how well this car does in the states first. If it does as good as we hope it should in the first year or so, then they've got plans for the Astra Redline to start production." She even threw out the "It'll have the 2.0L Ecotec Turbo setup...we're hoping to just bring the Astra OPC, or VXR over..."
:bouncy::boink::thumbsup::wiggle::twothumbsup::heart::clap::rocker:
bc3tech
February 12th, 2008, 10:55pm
ok now i'm pissed.

even mexico (http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1199920) gets a performance ver of the astra, rebadged under Chevy, w/ the vauxhaul badge on the engine, and the 2.0T setup!
AND it looks good!
REDFOCZ
February 12th, 2008, 11:09pm
I like the way that the astra looks but when I sat in it, I did not like the lay out of the radio and all the other stuff like a/c.
Ahriman is BRUTAL
February 13th, 2008, 1:01pm
ok now i'm pissed.

even mexico (http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1199920) gets a performance ver of the astra, rebadged under Chevy, w/ the vauxhaul badge on the engine, and the 2.0T setup!
AND it looks good!

thats fucked... they have to bring it here now. how hard is it to get a mexican purchased vehicle registered in the US? seirously....


i did get to check out the astras in person last weekend, and i must say i was really impressed. i thought the 3 door looked sexy as hell!
bc3tech
February 13th, 2008, 2:04pm
thats fucked... they have to bring it here now. how hard is it to get a mexican purchased vehicle registered in the US? seirously....


i did get to check out the astras in person last weekend, and i must say i was really impressed. i thought the 3 door looked sexy as hell!
you din't drive one tho... had you, you're impressedness would've been toasted.