16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 4, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com 538 Plains Road, Burlington ON L7T 2E3 www.autotek.ca e-mail: info@autotek.ca "It's worth the drive to Burlington" phone: (905) 632-2400 · fax: (905) 632-4600 Saturn has a Vue on expanding its customer base By Jim Robinson OAKVILLE BEAVER SPECIAL SUZUKI The fastest growing car company in Canada AJAC Award Finalist Best new SUV / CUV ($35,000 / $60,000) category 2007XL7 Available AWD, 3.6 litre, V6 engine, Seating for seven Climate control, A/C, ABS, Traction control, 5-speed automatic, Fuel economy: City -- 12.9 L/100 km; Hwy -- 9.0 L/100 km Suzuki of Oakville Lease $ per month from Lease % For 60 months rate Down payment $1,780 / MSRP $30,995* For more information, visiT XL7.ca 379 2.9 2219 Wyecroft Road, Oakville, ON L6L 5L7 905-469-2429 · Toll Free 1-866-229-3897 fax 905-469-4562 CONSUMERS SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING: Vehiclemay not be exactly as shown. *MSRP for the 2007 XL7 with automatic transmission (model 6E1D8A7). Destination and Delivery ($1,295) not included in MSRP. Registration fee, license, insurance, administration fees and applicable taxes are not included. **Limited time offer to qualified retail customers on approved credit (O.A.C.) available through FinancialLinx to lease a new 2007 XL7 with automatic transmission (model 6E1D8A7) ) for 60 months. Total lease obligation of $24,519.76 including down payment of $1,780 or equivalent trade-in, with 100,000 km total mileage allowance ($0.10/km for excess mileage). First month's lease payment is required at lease inception. Lease payments include Destination and Delivery ($1,295). This offer does not include license, insurance, acquisition fees of $350, administration fees, PPSA of $60 + taxes and any applicable taxes which are due at lease inception. ***These offers cannot be combined with any other offer except for the Suzuki Graduate Program. With the Suzuki Graduate Program, recent university or college graduates may be eligible for an allowance on the purchase or lease of certain models. Fuel economy based on Transport Canada ratings. Source: Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC). Based on 2006 calendar year. Dealers may lease or sell for less. See participating dealers for details. SUZUKI.ca Things are rosy at Saturn these days with May car sales up 98.3 per cent over May 2006 and Saturn trucks up 37.3 per cent for the same period. In fact, Saturn is experiencing its best calendar year ever with overall sales up 32.1 per cent. But it wasn't always this way. Ramped up at the start of the 1990s, Saturn was conceived as being Japanese-like with products long on durability if not in style. Pushing the marketing gambit of being enviro-conscious with features like rust-free polymer body panels and a no-quibble pricing policy, Saturn was designed to appeal to those were who looked at cars as a necessary evil. Saturn officials today speak openly about the "bad times" about five years ago. GM was in the throws of making major changes to its division lineup and its image. In short, Saturn was in trouble. The outcome saw GM decide to make Saturn one of their global brands along with Cadillac, Chevrolet and Hummer. One of the first things to go was the rubber bodies. Focus groups all said they liked the no rust, no dent body panels that set Saturn apart, but they were not prepared to pay extra over the cost of steel. What Saturn kept was the one-price policy as well as rigourous attention to making the customer feel welcome, bolstered by several call-centre follow-ups. But the big problem was product. As late as March 2006, Saturn shops only had three vehicles to sell: the Relay minivan, the Vue compact crossover and the Ion sedan. The first generation Ion is etched in my memory as being like driving a wad of cotton batten. Devoid of poise and personality, the Ion did fill the "Japanese-like" promise of being unassuming and dependable. With the decision to position Saturn as a global brand came with the need to offer vehicles with verve. The first was the Sky sportscar late last year and more recently the Aura midsize sedan that was named North American Car of the Year at this year's Detroit auto show. By December of this year, the Ion will be gone replaced by the Saturn Astra compact. With the Outlook SUV already in showrooms, Saturn now has an offering of seven vehicles compared to only the three in March 2006. The seventh in the mix is the 2008 Vue crossover utility vehicle (CUV) as tested here. All of these products will be part of an expanded marketing syllabus that retains the core buying strategy of making customers "feel at home" with no-hassle prices. In addition, dealers will be promoting side-by-side test drives with two main competitors on the lot for intenders to test drive and compare at their leisure. In the U.S. and expected here, is the Saturn.com 24/7 live chat website that is attracting 650 chats a day at this writing. In the small Canadian CUV/SUV market, pricing is everything because there are so many choices these days. Saturn put the sticker on the outgoing 2007 base Vue at $23,595. The base 2008 adds standard curtain/thorax airbags, active head restraints (hooray for Saturn), Stabilitrak pitch and yaw control, automatic transmission, ABS, XM satellite radio, and 16-inch alloys for a price of $26,990. Had the 2007 been standard with all of this, the equivalent price would have been $27,840. I spent a morning driving through the Terra Cotta, Orangeville, Blue Mountains and Beaver Valley areas of Ontario with Betsy Chisholm, product manager, truck division for Saturn. A veteran of 17 years at Saturn, Chisholm made no bones about Saturn going through tough times and told how managers agonized about what had to change within the division to keep it from going the way of Oldsmobile. She was proudest of the look of the Vue, with definitely styling cues taken from the Sky and Aura such as the large headlights and the tight wheel to body fits. "I love the glovebox on this, it's big enough for even man bags," she said. Blending tones of the material used in the interior was also important to her in addition to providing more lateral support for the seats. As usual, I rode part of the way in the back seat to see if (a) it was big enough for a full-size adult and (b) if the seat was supportive enough for long rides - the Vue passing on both counts. The 60/40 rear sear folds flat as does the front passenger seat to easily transport an eight-foot ladder. With a very short front overhang, the Vue can negotiate tight confines like a walkway I snuck down to take Chisholm to the Old Stanton Store in Blue Mountain Village. Don't miss this incredible gift shop if you're ever in the area. The Vue comes in three basic versions starting with the base XE in front-drive (FWD) only with a 2.4-litre Ecotec four-cylinder engine (169 hp, 161 lf/ft) with a four-speed automatic starting at $26,990. Next up is the XE all-wheel-drive with 3.5-Litre OHV V6 (222 hp, 219 lb/ft) with a six-speed automatic starting at $31,275. The XR is the topline version with 3.6-Litre twin cam V6 with variable valve timing (257 hp, 241 lb/ft) in FWD/AWD with a six-speed automatic at $31,335/$33,920. There is also the Red Line version of the XR FWD/AWD priced at $36,020/$38,605. It comes with "unique" ebony interior with suede seat inserts, "tap shift" on the automatic, sport tuned suspension, 18-inch alloy Continued on Page 18