K, this isn't really about the 5th gen, but one thing is going right at GM...

And that is Ion.

Yeah, the press panned it. Yeah, it's got a goofy steering wheel. Yeah it's got a beam rear axle. Yeah, it's got an Ecotec...

And it will have an available supercharger.

Whoa.... wait a minute here...

A supercharger.....

Information varies at this point, but the supercharger will take the pedestrian Ion from ~140hp to 200-220hp.

The option will be dealer installed, covered by warranty, and can be rolled into the financing.

Now, I need to buy a second car soon for going back and forth to work, and the Ion just made the top of the list.

By my math, 2800 lbs and 220hp = 14 second quarter mile times. More than enough to whack a ricer or two.


The most intriguing thing is this:

The precedent of having GM Performance parts installed UNDER WARRANTY by the dealer! Wow.... just think of the possibilities there...

 

it's still fugly.

 

Ya, That vertical C-pillar is just hideous... what a horrible body line!

And don't get me started on the interior...

Those 4-spoke wheels are nasty too...

The rear clip is actually not bad, IMO, and the front is 'ok'....

 

I work part time at Saturn , and I think Saturn has a major problem here . People are not buying this car , and I dont mean thier just not selling very good , I mean since they have come out we have sold less than 20 in a few months . Compare that old very outdated S-series that even given its age was knocking down 20 to 30 cars a month . This is Saturns bread and butter car and even the VERY loyal Saturn owners we have are firmly rejecting it . After working at Saturn for so long , these are a loyal bunch of car buyers who love their cars and everything Saturn was about . Current Saturn owners deserved alot better than this car from an appearence standpoint , not the trying way too hard to appeal to young people (which it doesnt even do) car they got .
I don't know what the hell they were trying to accomplish by making this car so OUT THERE , but its gonna take a hell of a lot more than a supercharger on the coupe to get people to actually like this car . It looks like 10 completely different people were assigned seprate areas of this car to design , then when done ...all was thrown together without ever once communicating with each other .

Its really to bad , because take away the appearence and the interior this is really a fantastic car from a mechanical and quality standpoint .

 

Wow.... if you took this quote out of conext... I'd think you were talking about Aztek

 

Ugly? I couldn't care less. But I must say that the 4 door IS pretty ugly. Luckily, the quad-coupe looks better (at least to me).

220hp supercharged Ecotec and a 5-spd are all I care about.

In my best Tony Montana voice:

"Here Civic.... I want to introduce you to my little friend..."

***WHACK!***

 

Haven't read the articles on it but I understand that the car is a flop in the press. Performance with a factory warranty is outstanding, why it has to look as goofy as it does I have no idea. GM is not going to get seriously competitive with any of its small car offerings until the new Delta(?) platform comes along. When is that, anyway? Having architecture from 1982 under your bread and butter cars isn't the smartest thing to do these days....oh yeah, GM's bread and butter cars aren't cars, I forgot.

 

Actually, Ion is the first Delta car....

The Cavalier replacement, also on Delta is due for MY2005.

 

It is??? PacerX said the car still had beam axles...don't tell me drum brakes on the back too? (My sister just bought a 2000 Cavy Z24 and I was appalled to find drums on the back of their top-of-the-line "sporty" small car of just 3 years ago). This can't be their totally new small car platform!

 

Ya, definately Delta...

http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_ion_charges_saturn/

 

That's one heck of a disappointment then. Here I'm thinking GM is going to go all out and build one of the world's best small car platforms to show up the Focus and Civic and basically what we got was a refreshened '82 J-car...

 

Perhaps the Cavalier replacement will come with a better suspension / brake package?

Everywhere seems to claim that Delta is a LOT stiffer than previous GM small car platforms though.... so at least that is one good thing... Cavaliers have a tendancy to rattle a lot of things loose right now.

 

Actually the chassis and interior materials have gotten rave reviews in the media. What has hurt it is the bumper car looking steering wheel, center mounted guage cluster (when will they realize people don't like these), and overall unattractive quirkiness of the car. The car doesn't have the "cute" quotent that sells in this market. I feel bad for GM because I know they wanna make something hip and edgy, but they have no understanding of what it needs to be (at least when this was designed). It's like the kid in high school who desperatly wants to be cool, yet the harder he tries the wierder and more outcast he becomes.

Of course this car was designed during the Ron Zarrella era...

 

I too agree that this car will soon be reported as a "Saturn flop." It makes me wonder who they interviewed when they did the market research for this thing. Superchargers will not help them sell one bit. I hate to say it... but this car is "fruity." Animal print seating option? Center mounted guages? Busted LEGO steering wheel?

People who want a serious sport compact car will definately be headed to Honda, Toyota or Dodge.

The only advantage I see this car having over a Civic Si or RSX is having four doors. If I needed a four door car, I bet the Neon is built just as well if not better and will have way better performance.

Sad thing is, I wouldnt be suprised if by the time GM gets the new Cavalier out, assuming that its a decent car, they might have missed the market surge thats going on right now.

 

I like the way it looks, a lot.

Minority here lol!