2007 Saturn Sky on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 2007 Saturn Sky

The Pontiac Division didn't have long to live when the Solstice first appeared in 2005 as a 2006 model, and Saturn's head was inching toward the chopping block at about the same rate. Still, optimism reigned — at least, it did until the global economy fell apart — and so Saturn Dealers got a rebadged version of the Solstice to sell: the Sky. Available for just the 2007 through 2010 model years, slightly more than 34,000 Skies rolled out of showrooms before the doors were nailed shut. Here's one of those rare cars, found in a Denver-area self-service yard a few weeks ago. I've found a handful of discarded Solstices in car graveyards during the past few years, mostly with crash damage. This Sky endured a medium-hard impact in the right front corner, which sent it to this place. The 177-horsepower, 2.4-liter Ecotec still resides under the battered hood. The Sky Redline version had a turbocharged engine rated at 260 horses; we can assume that such an engine would be yanked and purchased by the first junkyard shopper that realized what it was. The base transmission in the Sky was an Aisin five-speed manual, but this car has the optional five-speed automatic.  The Sky had its own nose and some different badging, but otherwise didn't differ much from the Solstice.  For the South Korean market, the Sky got Daewoo G2X badges and was advertised as the ideal vehicle for high-speed chases through Seoul traffic. The same car went to Europe as the Opel GT. Sadly, GM ran out of money to make right-hand-drive Skies, so we never got to witness Holden or Vauxhall versions. Here's Bob Lutz describing the new Sky. Lutz really hated car names molded into plastic bumper covers, so he takes great care here to describe the genuine glued-on emblems. Related Video:

Saturn Vue ignition switch leads to new group of GM recalls totaling 312k

General Motors has another spate of recalls to announce. This time they cover 312,280 vehicles worldwide, including 269,041 of in the US, in a total of six campaigns. In 2014, the automaker has recalled 29,079,765 vehicles worldwide, with 25,754,356 of those in the US.
The largest among them covers 215,243 units of the Saturn Vue from 2002-2004 model years worldwide, 202,115 in the US. It's possible for the for the key to be removed even when the ignition isn't in the OFF position. The company knows of two crashes and one injury caused by this problem. Dealers are checking the parts and replacing the ignition cylinder and key set, if necessary.
Next is 72,826 models worldwide (48,059 vehicles in the US) of the 2013 Cadillac ATS four-door sedan, 2013 Buick Encore and 2013 Chevy Trax in Canada. It's possible that the for lap belt pretensioner to retract but not to lock, which could increase occupant movement during a crash. Both front, outboard lap belt pretensioners are being replaced, and a stop-sale is in effect on unsold models until the problem is repaired. There are no known crashes or injuries, though.

Junkyard Gem: 2008 Saturn Astra XR 3-Door Hatchback

GM's Saturn brand spent the first part of the 2000s shifting over to vehicles on global corporate platforms, then spent the second half of the decade increasingly flailing for relevance as The General itself struggled to stay upright. By 2008, prospects for Saturn— and the American economy in general— didn't look so great, but that was the first model year for the Saturn-badged Opel Astra in North America. The announcement that the axe would be falling on Saturn came the following year, soon after GM declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and so 2009 became the final year for the Saturn Astra. Some MY2010 Saturns were sold (the Sky, Outlook, and Aura), but the Astra shares the dubious honor of the shortest Saturn sales run with the long-forgotten Saturn Relay minivan. For this reason, I keep my junkyard eye open for discarded Astras, and finally found this very clean '08 three-door in a Denver self-service yard last week. The Astra could be purchased with three doors or five, in two very similar trim levels. This car is the three-door, which was available only in semi-high-zoot XR trim. I'm not sure if the Opel Astra got these GM "Mark of Excellence" fender badges, but all American-market 2005-2009 GM vehicles have them (not counting stuff bearing the crypto-GM Suzuki badge). I've got dozens of these badges glued to my garage wall, because why not? Just one engine was available in the Saturn Astra: a 1.8-liter Ecotec four rated at 138 horsepower. The Ecotec has proven to be an unusually reliable engine, but I suspect that this one died in some expensive manner (because the rest of the car looks so nice) and that's why the car is here now. The base transmission in the Astra was a five-on-the-floor manual, and that's what this car has. The four-speed automatic cost an extra $1,325 on an $18,375 car (that's about  $1,765 on a $24,475 car in 2022 dollars), so either the original purchaser of this car preferred three-pedal driving or was just a cheapskate. I haven't seen enough junkyard Astras to know if the manual transmission is very rare in these cars; the five-door I found a few years back had the automatic. Presumably, an American car shopper looking for the European-style driving experience of an Opel might prefer the manual. Built in Antwerp, Belgium! As this was just a rebadged Opel, the Astra did not have the standard GM radio faceplate found in everything from the Chevrolet Equinox to the Saab 9-3.