Astra may be pricey, but you get what you pay for

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008 | by James R. Healey

What a great time for General Motors to have a sweet-driving, decent-looking small car like the Saturn Astra. It's a barely Americanized German Opel Astra and went on sale in the USA in January.

Saturn and Opel are both General Motors brands, and it cuts costs for GM to spread a car over multiple brands and markets. The art is to alter the versions enough to fit regional preferences without spending too much to tailor the car for each market. Bit of a tightrope.

The result in the Astra is a vehicle not quite aimed at Yank tastes and one that's a bit pricey. It gives you roughly the same space as a Ford Focus, its dead-on rival and one of the best-selling small cars. But Astra has slightly less power and gas mileage and a window-sticker price from hundreds to...