2007 Saturn Outlook Preview

2007 Saturn Outlook
Is it getting warm on this planet or what?

In about a month, give or take, the first of GM's new 3-row "crossover" utes, the Saturn Outlook, should begin dribbling out to dealers. Here is a link to a preview by a Canadian site, Carpages.ca. Though it offers 3 rows of seating, the Outlook also weighs over 4900 lbs. in AWD trim. That's more than the porky Chrysler Pacifica, and not much below a GMC Yukon truck-based ute. It's almost 1000 lbs. more than a Toyota Highlander. If Carpages' fuel economy projections (and my metric conversions) are right, an EPA rating of 17/25, though good for this size of vehicle, would still be nothing to brag about overall. It's comparable to today's competion, but it's probably below what is coming around the bend. Projecting from their hybrid sedans, Honda and Toyota have the technology to bring out a 30/30 MPG city/highway minivan right now. One must keep in mind that the Outlook will spend most of its model run competing not with what's on the market now, but with what will be on the market in the near future.

The bottom line is that global warming is an inconvenient truth. The future of family transportation can't be a 4900 lb. behemoth. Between the full-size utes that started the year and the crossovers like the Outlook, GM is too dependent on SUVs. It is arguable that as a matter of national policy, the biggest cost of a GM bailout would not be the money funnelled into the corporation but, rather, the impact of the hefty vehicles streaming out of the plants.