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SEEING Red.(News)(Saturn launches Red Line )
Byline: ROGER HART
Saturn, the car company that we're told begs to be different, is making a double-barreled assault on the performance market with a couple of products that are, well, different for Saturn. They're real performers.
Saturn kicks off its Red Line (get it, red line, like in a tachometer?) with two vehicles, the Ion Red Line and the Vue Red Line. The 2004 Ion Red Line is aimed at the tuner car culture, which mostly buys import models and then customizes them to not only perform better than stock, but to look different from every other like-model car on the road.
Saturn's engineers started with a two-fold directive: The car must be competitive in the market and on the track. The engineers had first crack at GM's new small-car Delta global platform, and they had the entire GM global parts bin from which to scavenge pieces. After flogging several Ion Red Lines around the road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, we'd say the work paid off.
Powering the Ion Red Line is a supercharged version of GM's inline four-cylinder, 2.0-liter dohc Ecotec. The Eaton supercharger (found on GM's 3800 V6 engines) can deliver boost up to 12 psi and features an air- to-water intercooler. The engine develops 205 hp at 5600 rpm and 200 lb-ft at 4400 rpm. GM engineers dipped into the "global durability parts bin'' for high-performance pieces like sodium-filled valves and a forged crank. And the electronic control module has been calibrated for performance. It is the strongest motor you've ever felt in a Saturn, with enough oomph to easily do smoky burnouts, the kind the kids love. It will even give a good chirp of the front tires on the 1-2 gear change. On the road course, too much throttle in second-gear corners easily broke the tires loose. There is no traction or stability control.
The Ion Red Line's five-speed gearbox, the same one used by Saab and Opel, has a nice, short-throw shifter. It is the best Saturn shifter we've used. There are equal-length halfshafts and beefed-up CV joints to handle all the torque. We attempted several full-throttle launches and never once uttered the words "torque steer.''
While base Ions are fitted with drums in the rear, the Red Line car features four-wheel disc brakes, 11.6-inch rotors up front, 10.6 in the back, and ABS. The brakes held up with no fade after repeated hard laps around the track.
- Saturn ION Red Line Sets Speed Record.
- Press release article from: PR Newswire October 17, 2003 700+ words
...PRNewswire/ -- Saturn's new ION Red Line quad coupe raced into the record...based on the new factory-built ION Red Line sport compact and powered by a...performance capabilities of the ION Red Line package under extreme conditions...
- Saturn Announces ION Red Line Pricing; New Performance Vehicle Debuts in...
- Press release article from: PR Newswire March 31, 2004 700+ words
...first performance coupe -- the ION Red Line -- will carry a MSRP of $20...Saturn general manager. "The ION Red Line is a capable vehicle engineered...to our growing line-up." The ION Red Line, which was developed with the...
- Saturn Performance-Tuned Vehicles to Carry 'Red Line' Name.
- Press release article from: PR Newswire April 8, 2003 700+ words
...s compact SUV; and the 2004 ION Red Line, a specially modified ION quad...a new market for Saturn -- the ION Red Line will include an Ecotec 2.0...bisecting it. The VUE Red Line and the ION Red Line will go into production in early...
- 2004 Saturn Red Line.(New Cars)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: Popular Mechanics Dunne, Jim February 1, 2004 700+ words
...There is a Vue Red Line and an Ion Red Line. These are high-performance...as well as backlit gauges. The Ion Red Line boasts a supercharged 2.0-liter...their sporty compacts. Under the Ion Red Line are larger brakes, including discs...
- Saturn entra en la liga de high performance: con los nuevos ION y VUE Red...
- Magazine article from: Automundo Magazine Alfaro, Camilo March 1, 2004 700+ words
...deportiva y un rendimiento elevado. ION Red Line Desde que Saturn empez con el modelo...opurtunidad de probar el Saturn ION Red Line en la pista de carreras Las Vegas...gasolina para que se corrigiera. El ION Red Line estar disponible a finales de este...
- Saturn's Red Line a small step up.
- Newspaper article from: San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, CA) March 3, 2006 700+ words
...on the market. But its $2,495 Red Line package sets it apart. Here is a...before we get to the messy stuff. Red Line is Saturn-speak for a higher...AMG treatments. There's a Saturn Ion Red Line coupe and there's this Vue Red...
- This bit of road science delivers positive charge of entertainment.
- Newspaper article from: The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service) September 2, 2005 700+ words
...Line series, consisting of the Ion Red Line and the Vue Red Line. The Vue...as performance-oriented as the Ion Red Line. That model, tested here, has...minor updates as 2006 models. The Ion Red Line I drove is a 2005 model. It...
- The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Nuts and Bolts column.
- News wire article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News June 30, 2004 700+ words
...Line models are realistic. The Ion Red Line starts at $20,950, which includes...it's difficult to fault. The Ion Red Line is also a success, but it took...carry stuff, much easier. The Ion Red Line Quad Coupe has a significantly...
- Flash.(Briefs)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: AutoWeek June 28, 2004 700+ words
...some six-cylinder models reportedly was overstated by as much as 20 hp. Recall won't derail Ion Red Line A safety recall of all 46 Saturn Ion Red Lines already in customer hands won't delay shipments of future cars, Saturn officials say...
- Much more zoom with a Vue.
- News wire article from: The America's Intelligence Wire June 4, 2004 700+ words
...makes Saturn's decision to keep the Red Line's interior fairly standard questionable...Saturn needs to outfit the Vue Red Line with a monochromatic black interior like it does the new Ion Red Line. That may come, say Saturn officials...
Source: HighBeam Research, SEEING Red.(News)(Saturn launches Red Line )