LOOK TO THE SKY FOR NEW SATURN STYLE
Source: GM Media
All-new 2007 Saturn Sky signals new design direction for brand.
With dynamic design and quick, agile performance, the Sky roadster delivers a bold message about the next generation of vehicles from Saturn. Available this spring, the Sky is the first Saturn to feature the brand’s European-influenced design, which will carry forward to future products.
“As we build on our reputation for great customer care, Saturn is introducing a bold new design and level of refinement with Sky,” said Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak. “The Sky represents the future of the Saturn brand.”
The Sky is an all-new vehicle, and is an affordable performance roadster for driving enthusiasts. Built on GM’s new global rear-wheel drive compact performance platform, the Sky is fun to drive with a striking profile and sophisticated interior design.
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price on the Sky (including destination freight charges) is $23,690 for the 2.4L DOHC 4-cylinder/5-speed manual and $24,540 for the 2.4L DOHC 4-cylinder/5-speed automatic version.
Bold, dynamic design
The Sky’s design was inspired by the Vauxhall VX Lightning Concept, created in 2003 at GM’s Advanced Design Studio in Birmingham, England. A team of designers at GM’s studios in Warren, Mich. adopted some of the Lightning’s innovative styling and created the Sky to establish Saturn’s new design direction.
“The Sky’s exterior conveys a sense of technical harmony, combining taut, controlled lines with fluid surfaces to create a dynamic feeling,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president for global design. “The vehicle’s strong front end is the new face of Saturn, with a pronounced fender peak and a bold, chrome bar that carries an integrated Saturn badge.”
With a commanding road presence and stance; aggressive, edgy and sharp lines; and clean, sleek surface, the Sky offers a distinctly European look. Decorative hood vents emphasize its dynamic performance character and accentuate its long dash-to-axle appearance.
Several of the vehicle’s key body panels are produced using sheetmetal hydroforming. Relatively new in the area of sheet metal fabrication, hydroforming has been used for years, primarily in the production of light-duty truck and SUV frame members. Sky's large, sharply-creased clamshell hood, as well as its door inner and rear quarter outer panels, could not have been made with conventional stamping.
The interior is driver-focused with integrated controls and displays and premium materials. Creative use of contemporary, upscale black and chrome finishes combine with available leather seats and technical grains to emphasize richness and precision. Jeweled detailing on the HVAC and lighting controls is executed with tight fits, highlighting the attention to detail.
Roadster performance
The Sky also has the hardware to back up its bold styling. It is equipped with a 2.4L, 177-horsepower DOHC Ecotec engine with variable valve timing and a five-speed Aisin manual transmission with a short-throw shifter. A five-speed automatic is available. It also features electronic throttle control (ETC) for remarkably precise engine control response.
“The Sky’s performance pays off on its dynamic design,” said Tom Wallace, vehicle line executive for GM performance cars. “We carefully selected the powertrain, suspension and handling components to provide agile, yet refined, performance.”
The Sky uses a hydroformed tube structure for an extremely strong and rigid chassis, especially for a convertible. With its purpose-built chassis, Sky looks the part of a true sports car and has all the stiffness and torsional rigidity necessary to make it a nimble, fun-to-drive roadster for the enthusiast driver.
Designers engineered the Sky suspension to optimize handling and steering feel – with no compromises. Key attributes that enable the Sky’s impressive handling include high lateral acceleration with minimum body roll, light and responsive steering and a smooth, stable ride.
The vehicle’s power rack-and-pinion steering system provides the performance expected from a high-end roadster or sports sedan. The system exhibits excellent on-center feel, and enables the driver to feel closely connected to the road. The result is a vehicle that is precise, yet easy to drive.
The Sky’s brake system is designed to provide optimal driver feedback. The power-assisted dual-diagonal brake system comprises a vacuum booster plus 11.7-inch ventilated front and 10.9-inch solid rear discs. Working together, these components yield a responsive, solid and linear braking feel with minimal pedal travel.
In addition, Sky has a standard anti-lock braking system (ABS) with dynamic rear proportioning (DRP). DRP, or electronic brake distribution, provides superior braking stability by continuously optimizing front/rear brake balance to accommodate a variety of driving conditions, including deceleration, surface traction levels and vehicle loading conditions.
The vehicle features 18x8-inch five-spoke aluminum wheels, Goodyear Eagle RSA P245/45R18 96V, high-performance all-season tires with a large, wide sport appearance and aggressive tread pattern that enhances the stance of the car. The combination offers excellent all-season performance, excellent longitudinal grip that contributes to best-in-class stopping distance (60-0 mph in 116 feet) and road gripping ability with a maximum lateral acceleration of approximately 0.90g. Chrome five-spoke wheels are available.
The roadster’s manual fabric top is easy to operate. The rear hinged deck lid closes over the entire mechanism, hiding everything in a seamless flow of sheet metal; with no visible evidence the vehicle has a top.
Sky has a host of safety features, including a supplemental restraint system (SRS) with dual-stage front airbags – one in the steering wheel and another in the instrument panel on the passenger side. A standard Passenger Sensing System (PSS) uses the latest sensing technology to turn the front passenger air bag on or off.
Security features include standard OnStar Communication System, remote keyless entry system including a panic alarm, and engine immobilizer with PASSKey III theft deterrent feature.
All Sky models are built at GM’s Wilmington, Del., assembly plant using a modular assembly process and implementing the GMS lean manufacturing production system with a focus on quality.
