ChgoBlues @ ImSaturn

Here it is, 60 days since delivery and I'm at 3,100 miles. Wow! Guess that's what a 70 mile round trip commute will do to a new car. And that new car being the 2008 Saturn Astra XR 3 door. Or 2 door hatch as some call it. Whatever you want to call it, I call it a really fun car!

When I first saw the Astra at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, I knew that was going to be my next Saturn, after I bought my Sky Red Line of course. I was driving an Ion Red Line and was laying the ground work for the Sky pu… Continue

Well, I did it. After much hemming and hawing, I made the decision to trade the Ion Red Line in for an Astra XR 3 door. Why you ask? Why go from a supercharged, 240+ hp ride, polymer panels, XM, fun ride to an Astra? LOTS of reasons.

First, I love the styling of the Astra 3 door. The lines are great, especially the rear quarter into the tail light. The aggressive stance from the front with the flared wheel well openings, 18" 40 series wheels, and the low profile roof line.

Second, and one of t… Continue

Well, the Ion hit the 30,000 mark last week. After taking delivery in late 2005 it finally hit the mark. My impressions of this milestone are somewhat mixed. Maybe it's because it's the end of the year? Or is it because my ex has written me lately on how "miserable" life is? Granted, part of what's going on isn't all necessarily his own doing. The current economy has much to do with it. Or is it because life took a major turn for me this year, leaving my native Chicago, my friends, family (of wh… Continue

Wow. There it is, in the GM viability plan submitted to Congress. But it comes to mind after following the Saturn story as to why this is the case, at least from an "outsider's" point of view. Here was a new car company developed by GM to fight the imports, mainly Toyota and Honda, that had a new philosophy, a new way of doing business and what appeared to be a fresh start for a company that had continued to do things, "business as usual". "A different kind of company, a different kind of car".… Continue

Well, as all my friends know, I recently finished school, December 2007, and involved in a long distance relationship for a year, so the time came to relocate from Chicago to Boston. Now the Chicago area is my hometown and I've lived in and around there all my life with the exception of a very short stint in Battle Creek, MI as a kid.

I completed the first part of the move the beginning of April. It wasn't the smooth, trouble free move I was hoping for but, life is an adventure and this really… Continue