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General Motors Chairman Roger Smith came up with the idea in the 1980s of forming a new division to produce small cars at a profit.

At the time, Toyota, Honda and Nissan had gained a foothold in the U.S. by successfully selling subcompact cars.

The U.S. automakers didn’t care much about small cars with their even smaller profits, but Smith realized that those who bought Toyota Corollas or Honda Civics were moving up into Camrys and Accords when the time came for a bigger car.

Smith’s idea became reality when Saturn starting selling cars for the 1991 model year.

Despite wanna-be Olds Cutlass styling, Saturn started out strong with world-class customer service. But the lineup was limited to small cars, styling never was flashy and a midsize sedan was oh-so-slow in coming.

It took the arrival of Bob Lutz at GM in 2001 to give Saturn new product and expand the lineup. GM finally awoke to the fact that 60 percent of the 200,000 Saturns sold each year were to folks who otherwise may have gone import.

Lutz’s fingerprints are all over the two-seat Sky roadster that bowed for 2006 as a halo car to attract folks into showrooms–where they’ll now find the midsize 2007 Aura sedan.

Only about 10,000 Sky roadsters will be sold annually, but they are expected to draw about 80,000 Aura buyers into the family.

Aura is built off the same platform as the stretched Maxx version of the Chevy Malibu.

Like Sky, it’s fashion, not just function at a division known for being behind the times in the styling department.

Large jewel-like headlamps and a thick chrome bar over the grille holding the Saturn logo give it instant identity.

A surprising number of passersby paused to say, “So that’s a Saturn.” The new design on the replacement for the aged L-Series sedan is doing as intended–attracting notice.

But those who saw the concept Aura on the auto-show circuit since 2005 may be a tad disappointed. The production model doesn’t have the air vents in the hood or wire mesh grille from the concept, a couple of sporty, eye-rabbing accessories.

Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak said those touches would be more in keeping with a high-performance Aura Red Line.

There’s some debate whether a Red Line should be added because Aura will get a Green Line gas/electric version next spring. It would be GM’s first hybrid car, and pushing performance and mileage at the same time might send conflicting messages.

The Aura Green Line will be powered by the same hybrid system as in the Saturn Vue Green Line sport-utility, which combines a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder with a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack. At idle the gas engine shuts off and the battery provides a brief boost at takeoff, but unlike other hybrids, the battery doesn’t lend a hand to pass or climb.

Still, the hybrid Vue delivers 5 m.p.g. better city and highway mileage than the non-hybrid version. Lajdziak wouldn’t estimate the savings for the 4-cylinder Aura hybrid.

The Vue Green Line carries a $2,000 premium over the gasoline-only version, though Lajdziak also took a pass on the premium for Aura.

For now, Aura comes in two versions, base XE with a 3.5-liter, 224-horsepower V-6 and a 4-speed automatic rated at 20 m.p.g. city/29 m.p.g. highway, and the top-of-the-line XR with a 3.6-liter, 252-h.p. V-6 with 6-speed automatic and paddle shifting to run through the gears manually if you want. It’s rated at 20/28.

We drove both, but spent more time in the XR, with its smoother, quieter and much more spirited V-6.

And while the XE comes with 17-inch treads, XR comes with 18-inch, very sure-footed, performance-tuned radials and a suspension system that better absorbs road blemishes and offers more grip on twisting pavement.

One day of the test drive was at the Autobahn Country Club track in Joliet. The XR was far better able to dart into and out of the turns on the serpentine course than the XE.

Partnered with anti-lock brakes, StabiliTrak also is standard for more precise, controlled stops as well as enhanced traction/yaw (lateral) stability during aggressive maneuvers.

Lajdziak is quick to point out attention to detail, such as LED taillamps that illuminate more quickly than conventional bulbs to give those behind more time to react to your braking.

And overhead cabin lighting helps point the way to the door levers and cupholders at night, though neither are that hard to find at any rate.

She also points out that the leather seats feature French stitching, which means fancier than that in most midsize sedans or done on the assembly line by some guy named Pierre.

More appreciated touches are remote start, which warms the car and defrosts the windows before slipping in on a cold morning.

And heated cloth seats are standard.

There’s also power plugs in the dash and center console and an indent in the console to slip a cell phone recharging cord through, plus a coin holder in the dash and a deep storage bin under the center console armrest.

Though deep, the trunk isn’t very tall, however, and the outside mirrors are a shade small, leaving large blind spots along the sides.

There’s also no rear-seat DVD entertainment system or onboard navigation system, which means no rearview camera using the navi screen to show what’s behind when backing up.

“Not on this generation,” Lajdziak says of the pair.

Base price is $23,945.

Standard equipment includes side-curtain air bags, automatic climate control, power folding and heated outside mirrors, power windows and door locks, AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 input jack and radio controls on the steering column.

A tilt and slide sunroof is available for $800 or a four-panel panoramic sunroof borrowed from the Pontiac G6 coupe is a $1,500 option.

For $425, a convenience package adds power passenger seat (driver’s side standard) and power adjustable pedals.

OnStar satellite communications system is standard with one year free service. For 2007 OnStar adds Turn-by-Turn Navigation, which allows consumers to talk to an adviser, who provides step-by-step audio directions to a destination through the stereo. So there’s no need for a $2,000 navi system, after all.

Roger Smith would be proud.

2007 SATURN AURA XR

Price as tested: $26,269 *

Wheelbase: 112.3 inches

Length: 190 inches

Engine: 3.6-liter, 252-h.p. V-6

Transmission: 6-speed automatic with manual paddle shifting

CITY: 20 m.p.g.

HWY: 28 m.p.g.

STICKER

$23,945 Base

$800 Leather trim package with leather seats and leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel

$800 power sunroof

$425 Convenience package with power passenger seat (driver’s side standard) and power adjustable pedals

$199 XM satellite radio and three months free service

$100 Premium floor and trunk mats

* Add $650 for freight

PLUSES

Thousand times better than the L-Series it replaces.

Spirited, yet quiet, V-6 with decent mileage.

Features such as side-curtain air bags, remote start and sure-grip, 18-inch radials standard.

Pleasant ride, controlled handling.

Higher mileage hybrid coming next spring.

MINUSES

$100 floor mats?!

Aura concept had sportier front end.

Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Tuesday and Thursday in Business. Hear him on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.

jmateja@tribune.com