Verdict: The Aura is a winner. Shoppers in the fiercely contested midsize sedan segment would do well to add this to their shopping list rather than just buying another Camry, or Accord.

Quotes like this are liable to start changing shoppers minds.

 

Quotes like this are liable to start changing shoppers minds.

Let's hope so! This was and excellent review and I know lost of people read the MSNBC website.

 

...And with its excellent new Aura midsize sedan, this time it might just run rings around the competition.

Yeah, baby!

 

I've been saying this for MONTHS.

 

Hopefully the new Malibu will get the same response.

 

I think the new Malibu is going to do really well.

 

Great review. I think the Malibu is going to do even better though - in reviews and sales.

 

The Aura is if to a pretty good start and it is starting to build up a good rep, now keeping up with continous improvements for the Aura would really help, adding things like a rear seat armrest, a navigational radio(I know this is re-occouring theme!), more wheel options, maybe some nice chrome wheels, a manual option, dual zone a/c, a 4 cylinder non-hybrid XE, rear seat entertainment, also, I remember that there was a proposed wagon version in the works, how about a coupe too, to compete against the Accord and Altima coupe, a 1-2 punch with the G6 coupe, where the G6 coupe is more of a 2+2, the Aura coupe could be a little larger 5 seat coupe.

 

Has anyone not liked the Aura?

 

Great review. I think the Malibu is going to do even better though - in reviews and sales.

The Aura was never ment to be a big seller. The Malibu is GM's bread and butter mid-sized FWD sedan. Most people think of Chevrolet when they think of American competition to Toyota/Honda.

 

Wow, GM is on a roll. So many great products lately. Bob Lutz is worth every penny he gets paid. Wonder what he drives...?

 

Has anyone not liked the Aura?

C&D didnt like it too much and edmunds did their normal damning with faint praise routine.

They had a huge sign up at the Philly autoshow about the Aura winning NACTY. They had three models on display but no GL model, not even on a turntable. The interior looked pretty good to me, I would own one. c&D was definitely exaggerating the cheapness.

 

Has anyone not liked the Aura?

Consumer Reports

 

Why doesn't GM sell Saturn through more of their dealerships. In many rural areas of the country, the only Saturn dealer is so far away it retards sales. People will not buy a product they have to drive 100 miles to get serviced. Why not sell Saturn at Cadillac or Buick dealers, I can understand why they don't at Pontiac and Chevrolet, but they definitely need more outlets.

 

Why doesn't GM sell Saturn through more of their dealerships. In many rural areas of the country, the only Saturn dealer is so far away it retards sales. People will not buy a product they have to drive 100 miles to get serviced. Why not sell Saturn at Cadillac or Buick dealers, I can understand why they don't at Pontiac and Chevrolet, but they definitely need more outlets.

Your view is shared by at least a few here. GM is starving old established brands and pouring money into Saturn, and Hummer, when sales are limited by just what you say, the paucity of dealerships.

 

Why doesn't GM sell Saturn through more of their dealerships. In many rural areas of the country, the only Saturn dealer is so far away it retards sales. People will not buy a product they have to drive 100 miles to get serviced. Why not sell Saturn at Cadillac or Buick dealers, I can understand why they don't at Pontiac and Chevrolet, but they definitely need more outlets.

While you'd have to drive 100 miles to buy a Saturn, that Saturn can be serviced at any GM dealer near you.

 

While you'd have to drive 100 miles to buy a Saturn, that Saturn can be serviced at any GM dealer near you.

The only problem is, most people dont know that saturn is part of gm, let alone the fact that they can get thier vehicle serviced there

 

The Aura was never ment to be a big seller. The Malibu is GM's bread and butter mid-sized FWD sedan. Most people think of Chevrolet when they think of American competition to Toyota/Honda.

The Malibu should do a lot better...they have more dealerships. The Aura is the best car out of Saturn in a long time. It will do well too it just can't compete with the Malibu from a dealership point of view. People that are loyal (and want to stay loyal ) to Saturn will have a "car" that they want again.

 

The only problem is, most people dont know that saturn is part of gm, let alone the fact that they can get thier vehicle serviced there

So thats what those new GM badges will help out with. To unify all the brands.

 

I know the Malibu will be the bread and butter but hopefully the Aura will lay some groundwork and do better at some of the conquest sales. I've had a new XR for about two weeks and other than the placement of the remote mirror control love it. Even thought the dealer here doesn't have very many, expecially XRs, I almost never see one on the road. I guess it just takes time to fill that pipeline.

 

great to see GM getting good press for cars.. something we were dreaming about just one year ago.. good to see the changes.

I really like the look of the AURA....

3.6 Aura or a 3.8 GP... what to buy

decision....... help please..

 

great to see GM getting good press for cars.. something we were dreaming about just one year ago.. good to see the changes.

I really like the look of the AURA....

3.6 Aura or a 3.8 GP... what to buy

decision....... help please..

Uh....no contest. Aura XR.

 

C&D didnt like it too much and edmunds did their normal damning with faint praise routine.

They had a huge sign up at the Philly autoshow about the Aura winning NACTY. They had three models on display but no GL model, not even on a turntable. The interior looked pretty good to me, I would own one. c&D was definitely exaggerating the cheapness.

Forget the Green Line, I want to know if/when we'll see the Red Line. THAT would be sweet, if it looked like the Aura concept and added another 30-50 horsepower.:yup:

 

In real life, one thing has become apparent.

New GM styling at the green house, is chunky.

Unnecessarily thick pillars on the exterior are exacerbated on the inside with huge thick plastic caps (seemingly to hide airbags). The problem is that the new GM styling is like taking a model who once had 38-28-38 measurements and making it 40-40-38.

The Aura is one of the first (though from the looks of the first and last ever G8, it won't be the last) of the top heavy vehicles. Viewed from near three-quarter view, the appearance is unsettling fat looking. Not a graceful line can be viewed from the Aura. If someone is sitting inside the Aura, you can see how much side head room is taken up with the fat and intrusive pillar design. So fat is the a, b, and c-pillar on side to side intrusion that you'd think the designers would have at least carved an ear hole out for your ears so that they won't bump the side of the vehicle.

I've also noticed that new GM design philosophy is to make fat cars with chunky front ends that are thick with extensive overhang. Beltlines are near ear level and rear ends are lifted up off the tarmac as if they were more designed for off-road ground clearance than making room for cargo.

The overall effect of the new GM design philosophy is pure boredom - more copycatism - this time of early 1990's BMW designs without the svelteness of their simplicity or low betlines. Fat is in at GM and taste is out.

Interiorwise, GM has gone from building the cheapest possible interiors to building stupid ones - the latest hint of the G8 with parvo dog refuse colored leather (ette) shows that GM is trying too hard to be cute and doing less to build designs that actually work. The Aura, the Outcadia, the new Cadillac CTS instrument panels are disjointed collections of parts that are assembled with the care given by drunken workers who don't quite know how to insert tab a into slot b. The CTS is one of the worst designs I've ever seen from a perspective of flow and assembly continuity. Just when you expect wood to start, it has some outrageous part assembly joint and it interrupts the design flow. Instead of being assembled from the fewest parts available, Cadillac chose to make the most of its assembly intricacy while forgetting to make it flow into a coherent design. I was astonished that GM could reconcile assembling the dashboard of the new CTS with so many parts - the cost of assembly alone must be staggering. The cost to the eyes of the consumer who will end up getting a shoddy product will be more surgery and blindness.

The Aura is a decent product executed poorly. It isn't refined nor is it pretty. It steals Honda elements, G6 boot, overly thick everywhere else, and an interior that is surprisingly cramped despite the spin we've been told about the platform off which it is built. Had this product arrived five years ago, it would have been near cutting edge in this class. The fact that it arrives now only shows that it will be yesterday's news tomorrow when competitors with more foresight launch interiors with simpler lines, simpler assembly, and more attention to build detail.

If someone at GM is listening, cut the cuteness and start building for the real world. I can only imagine what that parvo waste brown color will look like when it ages.

Green anyone?

 

I've been saying this for MONTHS.

It will have an even better response. The 4 cylinder gets a 6 speed, and the interior is even better. They basically fixed the Aura's flaws, which already won awards. Question is, how will it stack up to the new Accord? Probably not quite good enough unless Honda missteps - and they could with a star trek interior for instance, but it will be resoundly better than the practically brand new Camry. Whats the best way to deal with C&D's love for the Camry? Drop the DI motor into a Malibu Sport and hit 300hp with a 6M. Aura has the chassis dynamics to compete well with the Accord. The interior will be fine, what they need to do is something better. My guess is they just might do it since the Aura will have a Redline version. Also, get a 6 speed on the hybrid with a DI 1.8L