2007 Saturn Sky: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star August 13, 2006
The Sky is an undeniably gorgeous car, the sort of design that resonates with pretty much anyone with a pulse. Can it get by on good looks alone?
THE cheery people at the dealership still clap and sing and take your picture when you buy a new Saturn, though I wonder how they have mustered their enthusiasm for the last 10 years.
Saturn has long suffered as General Motors? most pathetic brand, with neither the sales nor products to truly justify its continued existence. Those pumped-up salespeople were about all Saturn had going for it.
But now they have something real to validate their shiny, happy attitude: the Sky, the first Saturn worthy of all those Polaroids.
The Sky is an undeniably gorgeous car, the sort of design that resonates with pretty much anyone with a pulse. This is one two-seat roadster that will not be saddled with the ?chick car? stigma. Sure, its chrome jewelry is as abundant as it is pretty, but the sharp fenders evoke the most muscular of sports cars past (think 1970?s Corvettes). Men, women and children swoon.
I am so enamored of the car that I won?t think too deeply about whether it made sense for G.M. to give it a Saturn badge. I am sure it did not, but I cannot argue that the people stopping in to look at the Sky were probably not otherwise headed to their local Saturn dealer. While I doubt anyone is buying an Ion or that mistake of a minivan to tide them over for six months while they wait for the back-ordered Sky, at least they might enjoy some free doughnuts and come away with a positive impression.
I might recount some more Saturn history in support of the idea that the Sky is an odd fit, but that?s pretty much a moot point, as the brand is in the midst of a thorough revamping. Corporate G.M. has rendered Saturn just another of its many parts, all of which are in a desperate search for new customers. If the Sky is its new best face, then that is a good enough reason that the car is not a Chevy.
Regardless of which badge is stuck on the Sky, underneath it?s all Pontiac Solstice. The Sky shares the same rear-wheel-drive platform and is powered by an identical 177-horsepower 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine.
While the suspension and brakes are willing performers, the unfortunate weak link in G.M.?s would-be sports car package is the engine ? it builds revs with all the alacrity of Katrina reconstruction. Power output occurs at a high engine speed, as maximum torque of 166 pound-feet is created at 4,800 r.p.m. With big tires on 18-inch wheels fitted as standard equipment, any fantasies of burning rubber are merely delusional.
A remedy for this power deficit will be offered in the Sky Red Line (and its twin, the Solstice GXP), which will employ a turbocharged 260-horsepower 2-liter version of the same engine. This more performance-oriented Sky goes on sale late next month.
As much as the Sky is crying for a more thrashable power plant, this is the car?s only serious shortcoming.
Yes, the Sky still suffers from a long list of trivial faults similar to those of the Solstice. But the difference is that the Sky feels finished ? an improved version of the Pontiac. Imperfect, yes, but complete. The car hangs together in ways that the Solstice does not, as if the people who designed it were more capable of realizing their vision in what they had to work with. Ultimately, the Sky is the better car.
I actually prefer the smooth lines of the Solstice, but then again, I?m a minimalist sports car type of guy. And that?s the biggest problem with the Pontiac ? the engine is such a disappointment that the Solstice pretty much falls on its face as a sports car.
The Sky, on the other hand, is trying to be less a sports car than a budget boulevardier. And it is that: a really nicely appointed, sharp-looking roadster that you wouldn?t be ashamed to park next to something that cost twice as much. If I were a valet, I?d leave this one up front.
The Sky?s ability to look expensive when it is not (the base price is $24,195 plus delivery) is downright amazing given G.M.?s usual attention to detail (or lack thereof). But the company has nailed the Sky, with excellent fit and finish and a lot of eye candy.
- Posted in : Uncategorized
- Author : arnold
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