Saturn has been quite open about its plans to repackage various Opel products for American consumption. However, you may not have realized that commitment extended to rebadging concept cars. Accordingly, the Saturn Flextreme is a dead ringer for the Opel Flextreme concept shown in Frankfurt, right down to its snazzy wheels.
Fortunately, it's an attractive car so we didn't mind seeing it again. It looks like a futuristic rendering of a five-door Astra, and it's the only car we know of with gullwing cargo doors.
Like the Opel version, the Saturn Flextreme uses an electric motor running off a lithium-ion battery pack as its primary power source. "For customers, this means 34 miles of all-electric, emissions-free driving," said Tom Stephens, vice president of GM's global powertrain division. If you need to drive farther than that, a 1.3-liter diesel engine fires up to recharge the battery pack.
In talking to Frank Weber, chief engineer of GM's E-Flex Systems (the marketing name for the General's plug-in technology), he noted that whereas the Chevrolet Volt was meant to be a sporty take on a plug-in hybrid, "what we want to do here is combine the E-Flex system with something that has some versatility."
And with that he pointed to the Flextreme's roomy hatch (and it is roomy despite the battery pack on board) and the pair of Segways stowed beneath. Because if you have a Segway, you can park and ride, no? -- Erin Riches, Senior Editor
In talking to Frank Weber, chief engineer of GM's E-Flex Systems (the marketing name for the General's plug-in technology), he noted that whereas the Chevrolet Volt was meant to be a sporty take on a plug-in hybrid, "what we want to do here is combine the E-Flex system with something that has some versatility."
And with that he pointed to the Flextreme's roomy hatch (and it is roomy despite the battery pack on board) and the pair of Segways stowed beneath. Because if you have a Segway, you can park and ride, no? -- Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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