General Motors Corp. has launched its new, as yet unnamed, SUV, over a year before the vehicle will go on sale. Saturn executives are giving themselves a year to build up interest in the vehicle and to convince customers that the company can build something beyond small economy cars. The unnamed Saturn SUV will enter a market already filled with competitors from Ford, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai. The Saturn SUV will be a little longer and wider than its competition, and it will offer a few unique features. Saturn hopes to sell about 50,000 SUVs a year, with prices starting below $20,000 for the base model. The new SUV will be built in Spring Hill, TN.
The SUV will come with two engine options: a 138-horsepower four-cylinder and a 181-hp V-6 shared with the L-Series sedans and wagons. It will also offer either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The four-cylinder will be the first SUV to use a new kind of gearless automatic transmission. Called a continuously variable transmission, it uses pulleys connected by metal bands instead of gears to transfer power from the engine to the wheels. The new transmission is intended to improve fuel econpmy by 5 to 10 percent over a traditional automatic. Saturn will outfit the SUV with plastic side body panels, like its passenger cars have, that resist dents and don’t rust. It will also offer a head-curtain side airbag system.