New Car Review: 2007 Saturn Sky Redline
There is so much to love about the Saturn Sky Redline it makes it even harder to accept the things that detract from the overall package.It's absolutely beautiful, first of all.
Not merely a good-looking, proportionate car -- but a stunner. A Baywatch bikini model, curvy and tight in all the right places. Long, wide clamshell hood that swoops up over the front wheels, ever so provocatively. Artfully cut side scallops. A great tail. The chopped-looking, low-profile roofline that seems to cant forward where it meets the steeply raked front glass. Those twin "speed cones" that taper behind each headrest to the rear deck.
Nice.
No, more than that.
It is perhaps the best work to come out of a GM styling studio since the early '60s and the Sting Ray Corvette. And it has the same power to turn heads as a '63 split-window coupe.
Oil Change Intervals Changing?
It may not be necessary to change your vehicle's oil and filter as often as you once did. Recommended service intervals have been increasing over the past few years from as often as once every 3-4 months and 3,000 miles to as infrequently as once every 5,000 (or even 10,000 miles), depending on the car -- and its manufacturer.The reasons for the longer change-out intervals have to do with both improved engine designs (more efficient engines don't produce as many combustion byproducts, such as unburned gasoline, that can contaminate the oil) and improved oil formulations and additive packages -- which extend the useful life of the oil itself.
But there are several important caveats to be aware of.
Should Federal Gas Mileage Standards Be Raised?
Rep. Ed Markey thinks your next new car should get 35 mpg, which is a very nice idea -- provided you aren't concerned about the functional compromises and costs that might involve.
Along with Republican co-sponsor Todd Platts, Markey has authored legislation that would push federal fuel economy standards for both passenger cars and pick-ups and SUVs to 35 mpg. Up to now, trucks and SUVs have always been considered separately -- and subject to a less onerous 21.5 mpg "fleet average" (vs. the current 27.5 for passenger cars) on the entirely reasonable notion that it's unreasonable to demand close to 30 mpg from a vehicle that needs to be powerful enough to pull a 9,000-lb. trailer, etc.
Things You Can Expect To See More Of Soon
If you want to see progress in fast-forward, compare the typical new car of today with the typical new car of 2000 -- and then compare both with what the typical new car of 2012 is likely to be like (as far as we can imagine that).
In 2000, for instance, in-dash GPS units were still fairly rare -- and found almost exclusively on high-dollar luxury cars. In 2007, GPS is commonplace -- and available on modestly priced ($20k or so) new cars like the Honda Civic and Mazda3.
Within five years, GPS will become a "given" on most every new car, irrespective of price -- just like air conditioning and power steering are today.
