Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid arena.
Richard Truett - Automotive News - Feb. 26, 2007
In taking on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry hybrids, the gasoline-electric Saturn Aura Green Line will offer a dramatically lower price and roughly the same high fuel economy rating. But is that enough to make it a success?
The Aura Green Line is a so-called mild hybrid. Unlike the Camry and Accord hybrids, the Aura's powertrain isn't capable of driving the car on electric power alone. And that might matter to environmentally conscious buyers who want to drive at least part of the time on electric power only.
Mild hybrids, such as General Motors' pickups and the first generation of the Honda Civic, have not sold well.
Aura has a belt-alternator-starter hybrid system that provides a light boost during acceleration, captures energy during braking and restarts the engine after the vehicle comes to a stop.
Light weight, less filling
But a mild hybrid's advantage is less weight and mechanical complexity and a much lower price. The hybrid Aura costs just $1,700 more than the gasoline model, making it the least expensive mid-sized hybrid sedan.
The Aura goes on sale in early May with a sticker price of $22,695 and an EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg city and 35 on the highway. The fuel economy figures are the same as the Honda Accord Hybrid, which has a base price of $31,685. The Camry Hybrid has a base price of $26,820 and an EPA rating of 40 city/38 highway. All prices include shipping.
Scott Stapf, director of the Hybrid Owners of America, a Washington lobbying group, thinks the Aura may do well even though it doesn't have the technical sophistication of the Camry or Accord. "You still do have an environmentally sensitive group of consumers who are worried about emissions and global warming, and just about any hybrid will cut it," he says.
And then, Stapf says, the Aura could attract buyers looking for a low sticker price as well as less pain at the pump.
But he says the majority of hybrid buyers generally want more than just high fuel economy. They want to be on the cutting edge of technology. The Aura Green Line isn't.
The least expensive
Andre Kazewych, product manager for the Aura Green Line, says Saturn will pitch the car to potential buyers as the least expensive hybrid on the market.
"We're not looking at it in terms of tech sophistication but as an economical way to deliver better fuel efficiency," Kazewych says.
"It's going to offer a lot of people a hybrid option who don't have one. It should be a strong product in the marketplace," says Kevin Riddell, an analyst at J.D. Power and Associates in Troy, Mich. He says the Aura Green Line likely will start as a low-volume car and steadily build sales momentum.
No national ad campaigns are planned for the Aura Green Line. Saturn is planning to promote the car heavily on the Internet and might buy print ads. But Saturn spokesman Randy Fox says the company has other vehicle introductions and limited resources.
Neither Fox nor Kazewych would say how many Aura Green Lines GM plans to sell.
John Danielson, sales manager at Saturn of the Lakes in Tavares, Fla., says few customers have asked about the Aura Green Line, and no orders have been taken.
Danielson says the Vue Green Line crossover hasn't sold as well as expected. Most customers, he says, want the Vue with the Honda V-6.
"If gasoline hits $3 per gallon this summer, that might change," he says.
The Aura hybrid, made in Kansas City, Kan., is expected to arrive just about the time dealers run out of the Vue Green Line. Production of that vehicle ends in March at Saturn's Spring Hill, Tenn., plant.
The new Vue Green Line, which will be produced in Mexico, will be introduced in the fall.
Green Rivals
2007 Saturn Aura Green Line
Base price: $22,695, including freight
Powertrain: 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and 4-speed automatic transmission
Hybrid system: Mild, belt-alternator-starter
EPA estimated mpg: 28 city/35 highway
Available: Spring
2007 Honda Accord Hybrid
Base price: $31,685, including destination
Powertrain: 3.0-liter V-6 and 5-speed automatic transmission
Hybrid system: Full, integrated electric motor
EPA estimated mpg: 28 city/35 highway
Available: Now
2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid
Base price: $26,820, including destination
Powertrain: 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and continuously variable transmission
Hybrid system: Full, integrated electric motor
EPA estimated mpg: 40 city/38 highway
Available: Now
About the AH, well dahhh. That thing will be lucky to sell 200 units/month by summer. Not that we have not all told Honda it was a mistake to release it w/ the V6 a thousand times … And imagine what the HiHy would do if it had the TCH’s I4 in it?
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