VUE BUILDS ON SATURN'S COMMITMENT TO SAFETY LEADERSHIP

From its inception, Saturn has been committed to the idea that safety isn't just for customers who can afford a luxury vehicle. With the new VUE, Saturn builds on its leadership in this area by bringing several notable safety-related advancements to the compact sport-utility market.

Among the VUE's advanced safety features are its space frame construction, innovative head-curtain air bag system, a standardized child safety seat system, and available all-wheel-drive, antilock brakes and OnStar. In addition, the VUE incorporates a number of features designed to reduce the chances of rollover.

"Our consistent commitment to safety is an important part of earning our customers' trust," said Jill Lajdziak, vice president for Saturn sales, service and marketing. "Saturn cars have earned a strong safety record in the real world, and we've brought the same intense focus on safety in developing the VUE for the compact SUV segment."

Structural safety
The VUE was designed from the ground up with safety in mind. Its space-frame construction, unique among SUVs, provides the foundation for an environment with a strong focus on safety.

Key stamped steel structural members are welded together to serve as the vehicle's skeleton for normal use, and as a safety cage to protect occupants from injury in case of collision. The highly rigid safety cage is guarded and reinforced by welded tubular-section members that frame door openings and support the roof. Other steel members in the doors resist passenger-compartment intrusion during a side impact.

To help dissipate energy during a crash, the front and rear parts of the space frame are engineered to collapse in a controlled manner, reducing the forces transmitted to the interior.

Reinforcements have been added to the rocker area to enhance offset collision performance. Metal gauges in the areas of the rocker and A pillar are optimized to resist collapse when frontal impact loads are concentrated on one area of the vehicle.

State-of-the-art restraints
Saturn's innovative head-curtain air bag system, first introduced on its passenger cars in the 2001 model year, is available as an option on all VUEs. This technology is designed to help reduce the severity of head and neck injuries in side-impact collisions.

The head curtain air bag system is stored along the vehicle's body side upper roof rail behind the headliner and garnish trim. Based on feedback from electronic sensors located along the sides of the vehicle, the air bag drops from the roof rail as it inflates, providing a cushion to help protect the head and neck region.

The system was designed not only to provide protection from an impact, but also to reduce the risk of injury from an air bag deployment itself. To meet this challenge, Saturn engineers focused on four aspects: the size of the air bag, the energy necessary to inflate it, the rate at which the air bag is inflated and fold patterns for the air bag's fabric material. Extensive testing was undertaken to achieve a safe design. The head-curtain air bag system complements the VUE's standard driver and front passenger air bags.

Comfortable lap and shoulder belts are provided for all five seating positions. The standardized child safety seat system, LATCH (Lower Anchorages and Tethers for CHildren), is standard and can be used to secure child safety seats in any of the three rear seat positions.

Safety in all conditions
Available all-wheel-drive, traction-control and antilock-braking systems help VUE drivers maintain control during a wide range of weather and road conditions.

ABS, available as an option on all VUEs, helps the driver maintain a level of steering and control under all braking conditions. An electronic traction control system, available only on front-drive vehicles, helps prevent wheel spin in slippery conditions by retarding the ignition timing and reducing fuel delivery to decrease engine torque. A telltale positioned on the instrument cluster flashes when either ABS or traction control is engaged as a caution to the driver about slippery conditions.

An on-demand all-wheel-drive system is an option with the 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine, and standard with the 3.0-liter V6. During normal driving on dry road surfaces, this driveline delivers power to the front wheels. If adverse traction causes the front wheels to slip, power is automatically delivered to the rear wheels. The system works automatically and seamlessly with no action needed from the driver.

While it is engineered primarily for on-road use, the VUE all-wheel-drive system also provides excellent traction and mobility off-road. Unlike heavy-duty four-wheel-drive systems, this is a single-range design not intended for strenuous use.

OnStar
OnStar, General Motors' revolutionary information and communications service, is offered as a factory-installed option on VUE. OnStar uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and cellular technology to link vehicle and driver to the OnStar Center, where advisors are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to offer real-time, personalized help.

With the OnStar system, a three-button keypad located at the base of the VUE's inside rear-view mirror enable a customer to send or receive a call from the OnStar Center, send an emergency call which is treated as a priority, or initiate Personal Calling or Virtual Advisor services. A hands-free microphone is built into the keypad, and radio speakers carry the responses of the OnStar Advisor or Virtual Advisor, as well as personal-calling conversations.

Safety and security services include automatic notification of air-bag deployment, stolen vehicle tracking, emergency services, remote door unlock, remote vehicle diagnostics and roadside assistance. Convenience services include everything from finding ATM locations and getting directions to arranging hotel reservations or ticket purchases.

OnStar Personal Calling service allows subscribers to place hands-free, voice-activated calls on a nationwide wireless network. OnStar Virtual Advisor enables subscribers to access personalized Internet-based information such as e-mail, stock quotes, sports reports, news, weather and traffic updates in a hands-free, voice-activated manner while they are on the road. This information is delivered through the vehicle sound system speakers to help drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

Other safety features
All VUEs are equipped with daytime running lamps that provide reduced headlamp illumination anytime the ignition switch is activated for increased visibility to oncoming traffic.

If electrical power is interrupted during a collision, backup power is supplied to air bags to assure that they function if needed. After an air-bag deployment, interior lights are automatically lit for up to 25 minutes to assist efforts to exit the vehicle. In addition, the power door lock system automatically unlocks all doors to enhance access to the interior.

Child safety door locks are standard on the VUE, and a lockout switch is included with power windows, which are standard with the V6 engine and optional with the 4-cylinder. Optional power door locks can be programmed to tailor the automatic lock and unlock functions to suit personal preferences. To optimize outward visibility, air conditioning and side- and rear-view defoggers are standard.

Car-height bumpers lend increased protection from parking lot damage. In addition, the spare wheel and tire are stored out of the way under the cargo floor - not mounted on the rear liftgate, as on many compact SUVs. Storing the spare in the floor significantly reduces the potential for damage from low-speed rear impacts.

Security systems
For enhanced vehicle security, all VUEs come with the Pass Key theft deterrent system. This system is programmed to deny start-up if any attempt is made to drive the car without the proper ignition key.

Optional power door locks will automatically lock doors as soon as vehicle speed exceeds a few mph, or can be tailored or disabled. Power door lock switches in back are capable of locking all four doors but provide no unlock function. An anti-lockout feature automatically prevents power door lock operation with the key in the ignition switch.

Rear child door locks can be set by a lever in the latch area, preventing the inside door handles from functioning.

Interior lamps light as soon as the power door locks are activated by the remote keyless entry system, and remain on for a short period after occupants enter the vehicle.

Lights inadvertently left on will be shut down automatically after 15 minutes by a battery storage guard. The driver can also initiate storage-mode protection if the car will be unused for a long period.

A "limp-home" feature adds further peace of mind, providing several miles of travel to a safe service location after total cooling loss without damaging the engine.

The fob for the optional remote keyless entry system has three buttons, for lock, unlock and panic. The liftgate locks and unlocks with the VUE's doors. The panic button draws attention to the vehicle by causing the horn to honk repeatedly and the interior lights to flash.

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