About the Saturn AstraAstra arrived on the American car scene at the wrong time in history for success. It had been produced previously in Europe as a GM Open or Vauxhall brand. Brought to the U.S., Astra was destined to only survive one year of production, the 2008 model year. Unfortunately, under Saturn, the Astra vehicle was gone almost as soon as it arrived because of the imminent bankruptcy of GM and discontinuation of production for the Saturn brand. It was a pricey vehicle in the eyes of Americans for what it offered compared to other brands. The powertrain was not up to par by comparison, and there was no sedan styling offered.While in production through October of 2009, the U.S. Saturn Astra was assembled at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The vehicle was offered as either a 2-door or 4-door hatchback with two trim styles. The base model XE trim style was a 4-door with many nice standard features. The 2-door sporty XR trim model had extras, including a sport-tuned suspension for 2-door models, alloy wheels, upgraded audio, and air-conditioning. Some of... View more these features were available on the base model as options. Both could be ordered with a sunroof on 4-door models. The Astra base vehicle was equipped with 6 airbags, a CD player, tilt steering, telescoping steering wheel, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Astra was another of Saturn's attempts to compete with popular Japanese model vehicles. Production of Astra continues today in countries outside the U.S., including China, the UK, Brazil, and the Ukraine. Unfortunately, the Astra did not generate sales, and U.S. production ended in 2009 along with the Saturn brand. Most reviewers commented that the car did have a well-designed interior, but it still had European controls that may not have been appealing to the American car buyers. The total number of Saturn Astra cars sold was 18,266 units. Both trim styles of Saturn Astra had 60/40-split fold-down rear seats, which could increase cargo space to about 45 cubic feet. The Astra engine was a 1.8L 4-cylinder machine that could produce 138 hp, and it was teamed with a 5-speed manual or optional 4-speed automatic transmission. The Astra had an MSRP price tag of $17,045 to $19,545 depending on trim style. It could achieve fuel economy of 24/32 city/hwy mpg, and could tow 1388 pounds. There was a good basic 35/36,000 warranty, plus 60/100,000 on the powertrain, and 72/100,000 for rust corrosion. ABS brakes were standard on all models, as was the cargo area cover, cruise control, tachometer, tilt/telescopic steering, trip computer, radio, power windows and many other features. The vehicle weight was approximately 2800 pounds for all models. Astra had basic rack & pinion steering, airbags, child safety door locks, keyless entry, power door locks, and many other extras. It was a good value for price but still was not generating enough expected sales View less | |||
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