Straightline

Want to know what the 2008 Saturn Vue is going to look like? Then take a look at the Opel Antara. Saturn is beginning to adopt designs pulled directly from Opel's studios and this Antara will be one of them. It was introduced for the first time this morning and although it doesn't look quite as striking as the Antara GTC concept shown last year it's not bad for an SUV.

GM kept the shtick level low with nothing more than a short intro video and some words by Euro design chief Bryan Nesbitt of PT Cruiser fame. The most riveting aspect of the press conference came when Nesbitt lost place among his huge handful of index cards and stood in silence with little to say. He was no doubt hugely embarrassed, but we couldn't help but think he would have done much better if GM simply told him to go up and talk about the design of the Antara. Instead, they hand him a full deck of cards chock full of corporate jargon and tell him to make it sizzle. Kind of makes you wonder if that's how the cars get designed at GM too.