The wife and I stopped by the dealership Saturday afternoon to test-drive the Midnight Blue AURA XR. She liked it a lot, and her only disappointments were with the interior color (the XR's all-black vs. the XE's tan) and the silver painted trim vs. the wood trim surrounding the dash. We both agree the Morroco Brown leather isn't cutting it for us, so if we end up with the XR (which is what I want), then she'll just have to deal with the all-black. My disappointment came in the fact that on the XR the steering wheel and shifter are not leather-covered unless you order the leather interior (this XR is cloth and without the sunroof option). This is pretty crappy, especially for the other luxury touches Saturn/GM has put into this model (I could see it not being a feature of the XE model, but this should be standard on the XR regardless of cloth or leather seats). So at some point this week I'd like to go and get my trade appraised and then get a lease price on this XR. If it's in the range I want to be in, maybe I'll see if they have one with leather interior at either of their other two facilities to compare the price (and if it has the wood interior, it will make my wife happy ). More to come later this week...

Well, as far as the lack of interior color choice in the XR, it was said on the SaturnFans board not too long ago from someone that attended a dealer meeting, that Saturn had said they would soon into a gray and a beige choice (both already on the XE) for the XR, because they did now realize just black and Morroco brown just weren't enough for that model.

I believe they were just going to be later '07 intros, so I would presume anytime now. Actually, dealers should know something about it, especially considering that a lot of buyers have probably been asking.

Well, as far as the lack of interior color choice in the XR, it was said on the SaturnFans board not too long ago from someone that attended a dealer meeting, that Saturn had said they would soon into a gray and a beige choice (both already on the XE) for the XR, because they did now realize just black and Morroco brown just weren't enough for that model.

I believe they were just going to be later '07 intros, so I would presume anytime now.  Actually, dealers should know something about it, especially considering that a lot of buyers have probably been asking.

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Yeah, they also stated that GM is redoing the door panels. I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, the steering wheel audio & DIC buttons have been chenged (at least on the AURA XR we drove Saturday). The buttons are now more pronounced, rather than flush-mounted on the wheel. They stick out more and there's lettering on some of them (list "list" instead of a small pic of a list). So there's one running change made already!

Thanks for thinking of me!  I didn't realize, until after logging off last night, that the SKYs leave the factory with Goodyear RSAs.  On the positive side, my SKY really doesn't get used in the rain (has been in two heavy storms and one light rain since April) and will definitely not see any snow or salty roads afterwards. Dry pavement use has been great so far (I had to replace one already - $338)       

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Why did it have to be replaced? If it was under a certain mileage (10k I think) it should have still been under warranty.

The wife and I stopped by the dealership Saturday afternoon to test-drive the Midnight Blue AURA XR.  She liked it a lot, and her only disappointments were with the interior color (the XR's all-black vs. the XE's tan) and the silver painted trim vs. the wood trim surrounding the dash.  We both agree the Morroco Brown leather isn't cutting it for us, so if we end up with the XR (which is what I want), then she'll just have to deal with the all-black.  My disappointment came in the fact that on the XR the steering wheel and shifter are not leather-covered unless you order the leather interior (this XR is cloth and without the sunroof option).  This is pretty crappy, especially for the other luxury touches Saturn/GM has put into this model (I could see it not being a feature of the XE model, but this should be standard on the XR regardless of cloth or leather seats).  So at some point this week I'd like to go and get my trade appraised and then get a lease price on this XR.  If it's in the range I want to be in, maybe I'll see if they have one with leather interior at either of their other two facilities to compare the price (and if it has the wood interior, it will make my wife happy ).  More to come later this week...

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My favorite combo is the tan and wood, with leather seats...The Morroco Brown is overkill.

And, since this is still the thread that started with me picking on the Aura's build quality, Im pleased to say that all the cars I have seen since have been very well assembled.

Yeah, that combo looks hot Ted, too bad you can only get in on the XE

Wish you were able to get a clearer shot of the steering wheels; I was hoping to see if they changed the icons on the buttons.

Yeah, that combo looks hot Ted, too bad you can only get in on the XE 

Wish you were able to get a clearer shot of the steering wheels; I was hoping to see if they changed the icons on the buttons.

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That is the exact interior my wife wants - she prefers leather, but is okay with the cloth.

AURA XR, the steering wheel pictured still has the older style buttons. When I get back to the dealership this week, I'll try to get a picture of the new style buttons for you and post it here.

Why did it have to be replaced? If it was under a certain mileage (10k I think) it should have still been under warranty.

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There was a screw in the curved part of the tire that two tire places said a plug wouldn't hold in. I think the screw was placed there by someone <vandalism>, but don't know how long it was there and had no evidence to prove it to my insurance company. So I had to shell out the money to buy a new tire since the original tire was completely flat and non-repairable.

There was a screw in the curved part of the tire that two tire places said a plug wouldn't hold in.  I think the screw was placed there by someone <vandalism>, but don't know how long it was there and had no evidence to prove it to my insurance company.  So I had to shell out the money to buy a new tire since the original tire was completely flat and non-repairable.

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Who'd you buy from? Sounds kinda pricey:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/OETireResult...icleSearch=true

-RBB