<VV> Automobile magazine mention

[Wrsssatty at aol.com]

Robert Cumberford's monthly "By Design" column in Automobile magazine  
discusses the Saturn Aura in the December '06 issue.  He  takes  GM to task for  
having "de-contented" the production model's interior  in comparison to the 
prototype's interior which he found superior.  He  laments; "Bean counters love to 
cut costs from the part of the car that buyers  see most:  the interior."  He 
adds; "The failing is not new.  The  first 1960 Detroit compacts were supposed 
to send Volkswagen back to  Europe.  Ford's mechanically miserable Falcon, at 
least had a decent  interior in the top models, but GM's innovative Corvair 
had gray,  linoleum-inspired cabins that Volkswagen would not have dared offer 
on a base  Beetle.  Eventually, GM got it right, but the sales it lost were 
never  regained."  Bear in mind that Mr. Cumberford devoted an entire column to  
praising the exterior design of the 1960 Corvair a few years back.
 
~Bill Stanley