Saturn debuts Vue Red Line

By Gail Kachadourian
Automotive News / April 08, 2003

Saturn will unveil its 2004 Vue Red Line SUV at the New York Auto Show this month.

The limited-production Vue Red Line is the first of Saturn's series of performance-tuned vehicles, which will share the Red Line name.

The Vue Red Line features a lowered body, sport suspension and steering, ground effects and 18-inch wheels and tires. It will be offered with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Production is set to start early next year at Saturn's assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn.

Pricing has not been determined.

The Vue Red Line will come with a standard V6 engine that delivers 250 hp and up to 242 pounds-feet of torque. The Red Line's engine also will be available on other 2004 VUEs.

The General Motors Performance Division developed Saturn's Red Line lineup, which will include a special-edition ION quad coupe to be launched early next year.

The Car Connection:
The current generation of plastic-bodied Saturns could be the last, according to several well-placed General Motors insiders. When GM launched the Saturn brand in the late 1980s, it promoted several potential advantages of plastic panels, including their resistance to parking lot dings and dents. But in practice, they’ve proven more difficult to manufacture than steel. And the fact that plastic requires significantly larger gaps between body panels — because the material tends to swell and shrink depending on outside temperatures — has generated numerous customer complaints. “We would like to solve that problem,” said one Saturn executive, asking not to be identified. But added another, “it’s all a matter of money.” There are ways to stabilize the plastic panels, but that would add too much cost, especially on Saturn’s entry-level models, company officials lament. So unless an alternative can be found, the next generation of Saturn products seems likely to switch back to conventional steel panels. Ironically, Saturn’s new Red Line performance models are finally justifying another one of the original claims made for using plastic. It’s easier and less expensive to make frequent changes to plastic panels, since they don’t require the costly tooling used to stamp steel. But until now, Saturn has had fewer body updates than almost any competitive product. —Paul A. Eisenstein

Originally posted by Derek Smalls
hmmm....the ion doesn't look too bad......this is kind of a AMX-type shot of excitement to the dull-boring AMC-like saturn.did i say that right?the ion has tough competition in the SRT and SVT focus,but at least it shows someone at GM is awake.