Saturn underscoring change in image with Astra

F or years U.S. driving enthusiasts have been denied some of the world's best cars -- not the BMWs, Porsches and Ferraris but the smaller, less expensive, performance-oriented models enjoyed by European consumers.

Traditionally, Detroit's two giants, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., have maintained that Americans don't want, don't understand and can't afford the sharpest pocket rockets and hot sedans they make on the other side of the Atlantic.

This year, however, there's been a change of heart. And it's been led, oddly enough, by a brand that didn't have a high performance bone in its body. In a dramatic turnaround, Saturn is underscoring a change of image begun last year -- with the introduction of the Sky roadster -- by adding the European-market Astra to its model line.

Hatchbacks make inroads

Going on sale in the last quarter of 2007, the Astra is built in Belgium and comes in three and five-door versions. Sharply styled, especially in its three-door guise, the new Saturn should deliver a combination of hatchback practicality and fun-to-drive handling.

GM's thinking may have been influenced by the fact that hatchbacks, long shunned by U.S. buyers in favor of sedans, have made inroads in our market in recent years. The entertaining Mazda3 has been among the breakthrough "hot hatch" models. Another has been that Volkswagen stalwart, the Golf (now Rabbit) GTi. At the Chicago Auto Show last week VW introduced the ultimate Rabbit -- the R32, a compact three-door hatch with all-wheel drive and 250 horsepower.

The limited edition R32 will be priced in the mid-$30,000 range, well above the sub-$20,000 Saturn Astra, which, for now, comes to our shores with only the base 140 horsepower European engine under the hood.

GM is still weighing whether to bring in hotter turbocharged engines for the U.S. Astra. Even without them, the car promises to be engaging behind the wheel, because the chassis design and suspension settings are carried over little changed from European specifications. That means tighter steering and tauter handling than is typically found on small cars from U.S. brands.

Enthusiasts must press Ford

Over at Ford, the near term outlook for fans of Euro models is less encouraging.

After making a good effort with selling the European-derived Focus hatchback in the United States the past seven years, Ford has dumped the hatch in favor of a much more sedate, new generation Focus sedan. Though the outgoing Focus was a dumbed-down version of its European sibling, in its best SVT iteration it was fast and fun to drive.

Hope for enthusiasts now lies in rumors that Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally, is looking at the latest European models his company produces and asking why they cannot be sold in the United States.

If you've seen the latest Bond movie "Casino Royale," you may have noticed O07 driving one Ford model that has caught Mulally's eye, the new generation Mondeo. Strikingly attractive for a mainstream family car, the Mondeo would be a welcome sight in U.S. showrooms and not just because it's better looking than its American counterparts.

Hard to please European auto writers have heaped praise on the car's road manners. Ford of Europe also boasts an eye-catching crossover design called the S-Max, which could make its way here, if the powers that be can be persuaded.

That job may be up to the enthusiasts among us. So make your feelings known to your local Ford dealer.

John McCormick is a columnist for Autos Consumer and can be reached at john.mccormick@detnews.com">john.mccormick@detnews.com.